Selfish ambition is a sin that always seems to be “crouching at the door” (Genesis 4:7). It contaminates our motives for doing just about anything. It shows up even in the most holy moments, like it did for Jesus’ disciples…

Why did Jesus still the storm? Imagine what the disciples might have been thinking a half-hour later. *          *          * The sea was quiet now. And there was just breeze enough to push the boat along. The disciples were quiet…

Today is John Piper’s 65th birthday. Join us in blessing a man for whom retirement from the kingdom work is not on the horizon! Pastor John, in honor of your birthday the DG staff has compiled 65 reasons why we…

And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people' (Luke 2:10). The Bethlehem shepherds were afraid of the holy angel. That’s understandable. Holy glory…

And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers…[and] went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them. (Judges 2:12) The ancient Israelites repeatedly turned to the idols of the surrounding nations despite…

Imagine what Zechariah and Elizabeth talked about after their friends left the naming ceremony where Zechariah had miraculously regained his speech. What might he have learned in those silent months? “So… are you going to tell me?” Elizabeth was ready…

One of our dear small group members recently sent all of us this hymn by John Newton. It was refreshing to my soul. Thank you, God, for John Newton—and for my friend! If you’ve been praying for greater faith and…

In Luke 19, Zacchaeus the tax collector was converted. He vowed to give back fourfold to anyone he had defrauded. Imagine a conversation he might have had when returning the money.  *          *          * "Dad, there's a man at the…

I have been so helped by John Piper’s recommendation in his book, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: I [do not] want to give the impression that I think there is virtue in reading many books. In fact one of…

Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her. (Luke 10:42-42) Jesus’ gracious rebuke to Martha haunts me. "Martha was…

. . . Or What Jesus Meant When He Said, “Whoever Feeds on My Flesh and Drinks My Blood Has Eternal Life” The previous day Jesus had fed 5,000 people with a few loaves and fish. Then that night he…

For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (John 6:33). As I explained in my previous post, hope is what energizes the soul, and promises are what we feed…

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4) When our bodies need energy, we know that we need to eat. So we eat a variety of…

The only thing that qualifies us to be followers of Jesus is that we are sinners who need grace. Sinners are the only kind of people Jesus calls, as the Apostle Levi (Matthew) discovered.1 *** Levi looked around the…

The Supper that Jesus instituted on the night he was betrayed was a new Passover meal. Or we might say that the Passover was the Old Testament Lord’s Supper. The reason the Lord instituted the Passover was so that people…

Today is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It is perhaps the holiest day in the Jewish year. The nation of Israel has all but shut down operations. And similar to Easter for non-religious people from Christian backgrounds…

The Christian life is a journey to the greatest joy that exists. But "the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (Matthew 7:14). Why is that? Because, paradoxically, in order to pursue our…

Today we are burying my father, Marlin Bloom. He died at 8:16 PM on July 8th, just days short of his 78th birthday. Having battled numerous health issues over the years, his body simply wore out. Dad’s wish was to…

A few years back I wrote about the 5 "D's" I pray for daily. Recently, I added a sixth: desperation. I need to feel continually my desperate need for God. Whatever it takes, Lord, give me... Delight in you as…

In 2 Corinthians 11-12, Paul describes one of the most difficult things for us to grasp and believe about the life of faith: God purposefully blesses us with weaknesses for the sake of our joy. *** So-called “super-apostles” had found…

A few days ago I listened to a sermon by a man who is preparing to lead a missionary team that will plant itself into one of the least reached nations in the world. The most optimistic estimates of the…

Today, July 28th, marks the 28th anniversary of the plane crash that killed Christian singer/songwriter and evangelist, Keith Green. He was 28 years old. Also lost in that crash were two of Keith’s children (Josiah & Bethany), the pilot…

One thing the Bible isn’t is utopist about life in this world. It gets unfairly criticized for encouraging a pessimism that makes people passive about doing anything to improve things; people who are “too heavenly minded to be any earthly…

Today marks the 30th anniversary of John Piper’s pastoral leadership at Bethlehem Baptist Church. Thirty is a significant milestone in a number of ways. John was just over 30 years old (34) when he assumed the senior pastorate on…