To be godly is to resemble God. If God were unhappy, we’d need to pursue unhappiness, which sounds as fun as cultivating an appetite for gravel. Fortunately, however, God doesn’t condemn or merely tolerate our desire to be happy; He gave us that longing. Through the Cross, He granted us the grounds and capacity to be happy forever. He encourages us here and now to find happiness in the very place it comes from—Him. In one sense, the idea that happiness began... Read more
In the twentieth century, many Bible-believing churches moved from Charles Spurgeon’s “You cannot be too happy” to “God doesn’t want you to be happy.” Some Christian leaders—Oswald Chambers was one among many—saw the word happiness applied to sinful activities (e.g., people abandoning their families to “be happy”), so they started speaking against happiness-seeking. Their hatred of sin and disdain for pursuing it in the name of happiness was fully justified. But their response should have been, “God is happy and built us... Read more
As part of a study related to my Happiness book, I recorded a series of videos, 10 to 20 minutes each, on the subject of happiness in Christ. Though the DVD is no longer sold, our ministry is now able to share all six videos on our website as a free resource. (They correspond with the Happiness Bible Study Book, which is still available from our store.) The quality of the filming was excellent, so I encourage you to consider sharing them with your small... Read more
The entire physical universe was created for God’s glory. When we rebelled, the universe fell under the weight of our sin. Yet God did not give up on us. The serpent’s seduction of Adam and Eve did not catch God by surprise. He had in place a plan by which He would redeem mankind—and all creation—from sin, corruption, and death. Just as He promises to make men and women new, He promises to renew the earth itself. “‘As the new... Read more
Two years ago, I did an interview with Davey Blackburn, who hosts the Nothing Is Wasted Podcast. Both of us have wives who died: Davey’s wife Kristi was murdered, and Nanci had passed away from cancer. (Read more about his story.) We talked about the sovereignty and love of God, as well as the New Earth, and the need to lose our faith if our faith is in the wrong God, a nonexistent God. I think because the conversation was between two... Read more
A reader wrote our ministry, “For several years my husband and I have enjoyed giving most of our discretionary income to our church and various missionaries. But lately we have been counseled that we need to be more ‘responsible’ about preparing for our future, especially since retirement is only a few years away. How do we deal with the guilt we would feel about decreasing our giving, since we still desire to meet the needs we see all around us?”... Read more
God isn’t just in life’s monumental things. He’s present in the little things: rain drops, the artistry of spider webs, and the sound of an acoustic guitar. A child’s laugh, surfing songs, a swing set, sprinklers, and the smell of split cedar. Maple syrup, fresh green beans, buttermilk biscuits, and homemade strawberry jam. Ripe oranges straight off the tree. Pecan pie a la mode, chocolate chip cookies hot out of the oven and a tall glass of cold milk (in... Read more
I had the opportunity to be on a panel hosted by the Barna Group and Pure Desire Ministries, talking about how we can help our brothers and sisters in Christ find healing from unwanted sexual behavior and trauma. Barna also shared new research about Christians and pornography use. Christianity Report says: Majority of Christians Struggle with Pornography, Study Reveals A new study reveals a troubling trend among practicing Christians, with a majority admitting to viewing pornography. The Barna report, Beyond the Porn Phenomenon,... Read more
The Glad Heart of Jesus In the first-ever gospel message of the newborn church, the apostle Peter preached that Psalm 16 is about Christ: “David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. . . . For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. . . . You will make... Read more
It’s true that far too many Bible believers are in effect anti-supernatural. Some Christians argue against the miraculous with the same scorn of atheists and agnostics. The irony is stunning, since the Christian faith is rooted in the miraculous and dependent upon it. I believe absolutely that God does miracles today. I am completely convinced, for instance, that for decades the Lord Jesus has been appearing to Muslims in dreams and visions, bringing many people to faith. The evidence is... Read more
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