In the past decade, a growing number of Christians have been coming to the conclusion that the Bible either affirms same-sex unions or that it is unclear on the matter. Are they right? As well-meaning as they may be, no they’re not. Have you ever been watching a really intense, complex movie when, somewhere in the middle, a friend walks in, sees you’re watching something, and sits down next to...
When battling sin or addiction, especially sexual sin, we often feel the pressure to change everything all at once. We have to completely give up that particular sin and rededicate our lives to Christ; if we falter and sin again, we think we’ve failed and are back at square one. We forget Jesus’s gentleness in wooing people to himself and replace it with our own harshness. This makes our failures...
What do you do when God doesn’t seem to be showing up in the ways you need Him? When you continue to struggle and it seems to go on and on. You’ve been working hard to love your spouse but the love isn’t returned.You’ve cried out to God to set you free from porn but you keep slipping.Your daughter starts referring to herself as “he,” and some of your Christian friends applaud her decision.You...
Have you been trying to apply spiritual disciplines to work your way out of a sinful habit? I know so many people who dive headlong into doing Christian things in hopes of overcoming an area of sin, only to be disappointed again and again. Jan committed herself to memorizing a new Scripture verse each week to help remind her of the truth and keep her from falling into sexual temptation again with...
Confession is an amazing gift given to us by God, particularly because of the healing we experience through it. We’re especially blessed by the simplicity of confession: just come to Jesus and tell Him what you’ve done. Don’t try to minimize the sin by explaining it or excusing it. You don’t need to give God a reason to forgive you. Forgiveness was His idea, not yours. “If we confess our sins, He...
With five kids of my own and countless conversations with parents everywhere, two things have become clear to me as a dad seeking to raise kids in a digitally-connected, porn-saturated culture: First, no one has a perfect road map or a 3-step method, for parenting in our day. Not even the Bible—as absolutely central and essential as it is—offers a one-size fit all list of instructions for how to...