Posts from February 2021
God Wants You to Call Him “My Father”
“We will never understand why our creator and rescuer would want to serve us, forgive us, be with us, and be called “my father.” But it is true. Your God is eager for you to. He loves it. It pleases him.” Read more…
How Formal Membership Makes the Church a Family
“Every church has a sense of membership. Every church has some kind of idea of who is a part of that congregation and who is not. But in some churches the distinction between the church and the world is blurry, while in others that distinction is more clearly defined. The life of the church may feel more natural and organic in church without formal membership—but it’s the organic relationships of a commune, not a family. Communes are just people who happen to live near…
I Fear God, and I’m Afraid of God
“Perhaps the reality is that I fear God in a new way. Before I understood he had power, but now I know he has power. Before I knew God would exercise his power in giving what I love, but now I know God will also exercise his power in taking what I love. Before life was easy because God’s sovereignty always seemed inclined toward the things I wanted anyway, but now life is hard because I see that God’s sovereignty may also…
When Saying I’m Sorry is Selfish
“Sometimes “I’m sorry” is a selfish thing to say. Sounds strange, doesn’t it? After all, repentance is a cornerstone of the Christian walk, right? Sadly, I can assure you that it is indeed quite possible to spout humble-sounding words of apology more in self-protection than in real repentance aimed at real reconciliation. The basic dynamic of phony repentance works like this: I say I’m sorry in an effort to make the “offended” person feel better about me or to make me feel…