Everybody feels down now and then. Everybody gets the blues. But that’s not depression. Depression is a daily prison of self-hatred, a life with long stretches of wretched darkness. The darkest place of all for a Christian is to fear that it was God who sent the misery. Has God Read more…
Not long ago a man driving on the Hoan Bridge high over Milwaukee’s harbor watched in horror as a woman got out of a parked car on the bridge deck, climbed over the railing, and jumped to certain death hundreds of feet below. A great many people can identify with Read more…
Does anybody feel ashamed about anything anymore? The immediate response might be no. Criticism like the phrase “you ought to be ashamed of yourself” doesn’t seem to haul much freight anymore. Cohabitation and childbirth out of wedlock no longer carry much social stigma. But I think people still feel shame. Read more…
“I wish my faith was stronger.” “I wish I could believe like my grandmother.” “I don’t have much of a faith.” “My faith is so weak.” Sound familiar? Do you worry about your lapses in faith? One of the great things about the Bible is the unflinching honesty in its Read more…
What are the most serious obstacles to your faith? Materialism? Busyness? Evolutionary science? Pleasures? How about stamina? When God makes you wait and wait and wait some more for his providence, does that grind down your confidence? Have you had some long stretches of poverty or illness or unemployment? David Read more…
The story of Judas is a miserable one, and I don’t mean for the reasons you think. True enough, Judas was a greedy, selfish, money-hungry, lying, betraying weasel. But that is not the worst part. The worst is that his massive guilt made him think that he was a bigger Read more…
We all have bombs dropped on our lives—nasty setbacks that shake us up. Some families have had atomic bombs fall—major house fire, catastrophic illness in the breadwinner, or worst of all, a child-sized casket. Satan will always exploit openings like that: “How can you still believe that your so-called heavenly Read more…