Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him. The Bible speaks plainly to parents: if you love your children, you will discipline them with the rod, that is, spank. Sparing the rod has become commonplace among today’s parents, and our children show it. Kids are out …
Have you ever heard a woman complain that her husband treats her like a doormat? That he disregards her opinions? That her contributions are unappreciated or unnoticed? Maybe you’ve thought these things yourself. Many people (both men and women) have attempted to fix this problem through the “liberation” of women from their “enslaving” marriages. They …
Church attendance is suffering. According to Pew, 63% of Americans profess Christianity, but only 43% regularly attend religious services, presumably even fewer exclusively Christian services (Pew). These numbers have been getting worse for decades, and COVID was just a catalyst (Gallup). People are asking, “Why should I go to church?” In this article, I will …
Most Christians rarely or never fast. It is simply not a part of our cultural milieu. The reasons are obvious. Fasting is hard. It’s unpleasant and inconvenient. It shakes us out of our normal routine. Plus, many of us haven’t been taught why we should fast or when. I learned just how uncomfortable fasting can …
The Holy Spirit is the enabler of the Christian life. He helps, counsels, comforts, and advocates for us (John 14:16). He speaks to us through Scripture, fellow believers, visions and dreams, and impressions upon the believer’s heart. This article is about that last category–impressions, sometimes called promptings or whispers. Many Christians struggle to know the …
Am I Hearing the Spirit’s Voice or My Own Thoughts? Read More »
The Curve At the start of this year, I was brought on as Ministry Development Leader at Innerfire. One of my first projects was preparing the Haiti Missionaries episode of our podcast for release. We were blessed with the opportunity to speak to some of the Mennonite missionaries who were held hostage in Haiti shortly …
Intentionality. We hear about it all the time. You have heard the phrases, “We want to be really intentional about this” or “She is so intentional in her relationships.” Maybe you have even said them. Everyone agrees that intentionality is good, and we need it. But you will not find the word in the Bible. …
Marriage and Commitment Marriage is the oldest of all social institutions. The second person God created was the wife of the first (Gen. 2:18-24). The world’s first two people were also its first married couple. Like many of our oldest institutions, marriage is being challenged. While the ratio of divorces to marriages (a whopping 1:2) …
Why Should I Commit to Just One Person My Entire Life? Read More »
There is an age-old question that was most famously uttered by Pilate as he was examining Jesus, “What is truth?” If Pilate had a question about it two thousand years ago, imagine how much more confused he would be today! However, the reality is that our trouble is not in knowing the truth, it is …
As Christians, confession is a fundamental aspect of our faith. From the time we are little tikes, we are taught that it is one of the ABCs of salvation–admit, believe, confess. Though almost all of us give our intellectual assent to this core principle, as with many other things, we are much less inclined to …
