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Christmas Changes Everything
“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight, At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more, When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death, And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Over the years, I’ve come to see Christmas in a new light. Magical to me as a child. Mixed feelings during parts of my adulthood. Now, a time of hope and waiting. The people of God have long been familiar with the concept of waiting. After the prophet Malachi concluded his message from the…
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“Christian” Homosexuality Advocates, part 2
“They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or the things they insist on so confidently” (1 Timothy 1:7). These columns are in response to a reader named Donald, who wrote to me in the comments section of my column entitled, “Should a Christian Attend a Homosexual Wedding?” In his comments, Donald laid the foundation for reinterpreting or dismissing the passages of Scripture which teach that homosexuality is a sin. (For part one of this series, see here.) In his response we read, “I do not see Scripture as saying that every homosexual act is a sin, although some translations may…
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The Resurrection of Jesus Christ (Part III)
“Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David; such is my gospel” (2 Timothy 2:8). And so we arrive at the final installment of a study looking at the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In part I and part II, I gave the following proofs or reasons why Christians believe in the literal and physical resurrection of Jesus Christ: 1. Jesus predicted his own resurrection. 2. The authors of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, as well as the Apostle Paul in his letters, provide at least five different historic sources about the events. 3. The testimony of eyewitnesses. 4. The testimony of the earliest Christian writings. 5. The…
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The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
“[I]f you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). On this Resurrection Sunday, it is important that we look at the foundational cornerstone of Christianity: the resurrection of Jesus Christ from death and the grave.. The resurrection of Jesus is central to all Christian belief. The Apostle Paul even went as far as to say, “[I]f Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he…
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Christmas Eve Waiting
Your house bustles with activity. Christmas Eve services—everyone “get into the car.” Family gatherings and gift exchanges. Last minute baking. Today busyness abounds in most of our homes. But infused into all the hustle and bustle is a sense of expectation—of waiting. Tomorrow we will rise to celebrate our Savior. We will give gifts because He gave us the greatest gift. We will sing and laugh and feast together because ultimately He came near. But today, we wait. I like what C.S. Lewis said about waiting: . . . I am sure that God keeps no one waiting unless He sees that it is good for him to wait. When you…
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Spiritual Plagiarism: How We Steal God’s Glory
I never cheated in school. I was always too afraid. Afraid of a big scarlet "F" on top my paper. Afraid of an ominous visit to the principal’s office. Afraid of the terrible consequences listed in the class syllabus. But lately I'm learning that plagiarism isn't confined to the English classroom or the inventor’s office—it threatens our spiritual life too. In his book Prayer, Tim Keller summarizes the essence of sin as failing to glorify and thank God (Romans 1:18-21). He explains: Think about plagiarism for a moment. Why is plagiarism taken so seriously? It is claiming that you came up with an idea yourself when you did not. It…
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Danger in Digital Dust
In our electronic world of texts and instagram, conversation tends to get left in the digital dust. Condensing relationships to tweets and texts often shortcuts the heartfelt encouragement or support of friendship. Yet this is the world we live in and simply dismissing or dissing it doesn't truly address practical reality. Can we capture the convenience of instant communication and couple it with the deep realization that conversations matter because people matter? In the past several weeks two friends entered eternity unexpectedly and I was reminded again that only two things last forever: people and the word of God. People matter to you and me and to God. How we…
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Sleepwalking vs. Soul Awareness
Confused as to why I woke up in the adjoining cabin instead of my own bed, I returned to my cabin and my bed that was empty, wondering what happened. It happens to 1% of preschool children and 2% of school aged ones, most of whom usually outgrow it. I had sleepwalked through the adjoining bathroom into the next cabin and pushed the girl in the bed out and climbed into her bed. She spent the rest of the night on the floor. It all seemed rather innocuous at the time – no harm done and nothing to be alerted to. The event even made it into the camp newspaper…
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Halloween: Are Witches and Wizards Evil?
Six years ago, my friend and former student Marla Alupoaicei published a book, Generation Hex (Harvest House). She did so because she’d had little interaction with Wiccans until she was in college. And there she met a girl in a writing class who told her, “I’m a white witch.” Marla didn’t know what to say, and having been taught to stay away from anyone involved with witchcraft, she remained silent. Marla still regrets being unequipped to have a spiritual conversation with that girl. But the experience led her to co-author a book that helps Christians have meaningful conversations with Wiccans. When the book came out, I ran a column here…
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Lead by Loving
If you asked twenty good men today what they thought the highest of the virtues, nineteen of them would reply, Unselfishness. But if you had asked almost any one of the great Christians of old, he would have replied, Love. . . A negative term has been substituted from a positive . . . The negative idea of Unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing good things for others, but of going without them ourselves as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point. — C.S. Lewis The poignant words struck my soul. What if we lived and led by Lewis’ observation? What if…
