Gandalf is beloved by many, and for good reason. J.R.R. Tolkien’s wizard is a noble picture of wisdom and strength in the face of great evil. It’s hard not to like him. In Gandalf, Tolkien sets forth the wizard in his most positive and righteous light. This positive light has been captured recently in a…
Category: Health
Goats in Sheep’s Clothing: Why We Warn the Lukewarm
Mr. A is a member of the church. He was baptized years ago, still professes faith, and shows up routinely on Sundays. While he isn’t known for possessing much love to Jesus, or much zeal for spiritual things, neither is he known for being an open sinner. He is nice enough. He serves from time…
The Seeds None Could Afford: How Martyrs Built the Early Church
When the emperor Nero blamed Christians for starting the fire that destroyed much of Rome in AD 64, persecution became official policy for the first time. Though it remained sporadic, many early Christians never knew when they might be forced to pay the ultimate price for their faith. Pictures of such Christians facing lions in…
‘My Kingdom Is Not of This World’: The Lordship of Christ and the Limits of Civil Government
The thesis of this essay is that Jesus Christ, the absolutely supreme Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of the universe, intends to accomplish his saving purposes in the world without reliance on the powers of civil government to teach, defend, or spread the Christian religion as such. Followers of Christ should not use the sword of…
Dangers in Exposing Cultural Sins
Audio Transcript Welcome back to the podcast. This week we’re looking at controversy. We opened the week looking at the sick love of controversy. In APJ 1949, on Monday, we looked at this disease called “craving for controversy,” as Paul calls it in 1 Timothy 6:4. Today we look at how to best speak of…
Entrusted with Agony: How to Love a Suffering Soul
Recently, a friend asked me to share some advice for how to be a caring presence for people experiencing deep emotional pain. He didn’t ask this because I’m a trained counselor or therapist — I’m not. He asked because, even from my high school days, people have sought my help in dealing with all manner…
Midwives Among the Dead: How Missionaries Persevere in Hard Places
After six humid summers in Burma (now Myanmar), where temperatures topped 100 degrees, Adoniram Judson (1788–1850) hadn’t seen a single convert. Malaria, dysentery, and other diseases threatened the weary American and eventually took the lives of several members of his beloved family. Excruciating trials on top of terrible disappointments punctuated his 38 years of gospel…
Vanity and ashes in the wind.
Vanity and ashes in the wind. Posted by appolus on June 12, 2023 Jesus Christ spoke rugged truth. He was never ambiguous, and He says it is better to be maimed than damned-better to live your life lame in the people’s sight and lovely in God’s than to be lovely in humans eyes and lame in…
The Sick Love of Controversy
Audio Transcript Good Monday. It’s a big week for us on the podcast, with two hot topics on the table. I’ll put them back to back because they’re related to one another. Both are very relevant for this season in church life, where social media plays a large role in our culture — or at…
The Sight That Changes Suffering
Suffering changes our vision. Just as our natural eyes can’t see as well in the dark, in suffering we struggle to see beyond our pressing needs. Everything looks hazy — except our problems, which seem disproportionately clear and intense. It takes the eyes of faith to see past our present circumstances to the presence and…