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, ...

Trivial Pursuit in Church

Trivialization in the church, as in society, results in a loss of the ability to think. Christians are lured to view the world as the world views itself--uncritically ...

Ignoring God

According to the teaching of our Lord, what is wrong with the world is precisely that it does not believe in God. Yet it is clear that the unbelief which ...