The revival of Lazarus from the dead found in John 11:1-44 is incalculably rich in its display of power and truth for Jesus. It is an incredible story. It was not at all random. Its grandeur never even entered into the minds of the people present. No one had the wherewithal to ask Jesus for such a miracle. This man’s death was a pre-staged event for Christ’s glory down to every last detail. The Je...  Read More

I haven’t written to you in a bit due to some difficult but necessary website upgrades. Please pardon the absence.     I greatly mean to encourage anyone reading this by writing these devotionals. One ditch many fall into is the idea that the Christian life is always supposed to be some great mountaintop of joy and fellowship with God. Sometimes it is, but Christian there are two ideas I want to s...  Read More

Picture an exhausted man treading water in a torrent a mile upstream from sure death. Along comes a boat to rescue him. The rescue workers, despite their best efforts, have only six feet of rope. The problem is that he’s nine feet down from the side. Even with everyone’s outstretched arms there’s still several inches between his fingertips and the end of the rope. They can do nothing but urge him ...  Read More

Here’s an excerpt from a book I’m writing:     Can I honestly say that God “wants” Judas Iscariot saved in the same way He wants Peter saved? I can’t. Peter would betray Jesus. He was warned, Luke 22:31-32. He was restored, John 21:15-17. Judas was given no such warning, and no restoration was sought. After he willingly did what was prophesied of him (Psalm 41:9) he killed himself and was later sp...  Read More

I just don’t get it, but I’m working at it. By the grace of the Holy Spirit’s illumination I pray I’ll one day see the depth of the dead sobriety and paramount importance of joy in Christ. Joy is more of an overwhelming doctrine than most of us have expanded our minds to search out in Scripture. Here’s my primary text as I sit here in my dusty room in Afghanistan: “Not that we lord it over your fa...  Read More

1 John 4:7 reads, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”      How can love be so simply and surely identified? How is it that the Apostle John can say in a blanket statement that “everyone” who loves in this way is born of God? It seems a bit too easy. After all, there are a lot of “loves” in the world today and most of them are...  Read More