Taking Dad's Advice

When I was getting my driver's license, my father tried to give a short lecture on car maintenance. He said one sentence that still bugs me: There's one ...

Wanting What's Right

When we have the feeling that on some occasion we have disobeyed God, it simply means that for a time we have ceased to desire obedience.

When the Law Breaks the Law

Hurrying my 11-year-old daughter to school, I turned right on red where it was prohibited. "Uh, oh," I said, realizing my mistake. "I just ...

Bonhoeffer on Disobedience

Disobedience, as well as obedience, has the power to transform a person completely. Through disobedience in a particular decision, one can falsify the ...

Losing Peace and Joy

I remember talking to a girl here in this church two or three years ago. She said, "Jill, I've lost my joy, I've lost my peace, and I want ...

Forgiveness Must Be Unconditional

A man came into my study not too long ago. His daughter was going to marry a young man he didn't like. (I too thought the young man was a turkey, ...

Taken for a Ride

At the elementary school where I teach, we recently had a problem with students throwing rocks. The principal made an announcement over the intercom warning ...

Secret Sin Blocks Prayer

In his book Why Prayers Are Unanswered, John Lavender retells a story about Norman Vincent Peale.

When Peale was a boy, he found a big, black cigar, slipped ...

When Desire Takes Over

Selfishness is a phenomenon of the will, and consists in committing the will to the gratification of the desires. ... Selfishness begins when the will ...

Too Self-Centered to Do Christ's Will?

If I really wanted only Christ's will (as I claim), then when you remind me in front of a nominating committee that I never get things in on time, ...