What I Would Have To Deny To Deny Hell: If I am to deny that hell is a real place, if I am to deny that hell is that kind of place, I will be turning my back on two thousand years of Christian history—on two thousand years of brothers and sisters in Christ who had great knowledge of Scripture and the illumination of the Holy Spirit. I’ll grant that there are times this is necessary; there are times that many Christians are wrong about many things. But such a decision must be made with great fear and trembling and only on the basis of overwhelming Scriptural evidence.

3 Truths For A Tired Mother: Tired mother, the days and nights with babies sometimes feel long, stretching out in front of you in what looks like ceaseless repetition. But before you know it, your baby grows into a boy who grows into a young man. This is the day the Lord has made. Even when you're tired, rejoice and be glad in it.

Is Your Marriage A Picture Of The Gospel?: If marriage is a picture of Christ and his love for his church, then much more is at stake than my happiness. The world should long for what Christians have. If our marriages aren’t filled with kindness and joy, why would anyone want what we offer? But when they see in us a mutual delight, a gentle and easy trust in one another, they can’t help but ask, “What’s your secret?” And we can tell them that it’s no secret at all. It’s Jesus.

Our Children's First Glimpse Of The Value Of Work: Stay-at-home parents can feel like their work is a thankless and ordinary endeavor. I once heard someone say that the very God who does such routine tasks as raising the sun each morning calls us to daily work in the ordinary and routine. There is much encouragement for the stay-at-home parent in this pattern. We can work with purpose and skill, whether we are in the home or out of the home, knowing that in Christ every labor to which we set our hearts is never in vain.

When The Sex Should Stop: Speaking again to men, when this is our wife’s circumstance, whether by doctor’s order or by that vibe we can intuit, it is our privilege to lead in laying aside our sexual desires for her good. Maybe just for a few nights, or maybe many months, depending on the situation, the sex should stop and we should pray. We should lead our wives in prayer that our marriage reflect the glory of Christ and his gospel, that God transpose the unfulfilled passion for sex into an enjoyment of his sufficiency, and that, as much as possible, the circumstances that made the sex stop stay a sometimes. Because it’s sometimes that sex should stop in marriage.

50 Shades Of Nay: Sin Is A Needle, Not A Toy: Sin is a needle that indulges deadly addictions and murders its victims. It is not the toy it pretends to be. It pierces quietly and deeply to the most vulnerable and longest-lasting parts of us. In whatever package — however beautiful, captivating, and culturally accepted — it is not safe. In the end, the guilty pleasure is no pleasure at all. Only God can please what our eyes and hearts truly crave.

5 Tips For Bible Memory: The process of memorizing can be can a profound opportunity to make sure that we “do not refuse him who is speaking” (Hebrews 12:25). Here are five simple tips for doing a February refresh on Scripture memorization.

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3 Ways To Encourage Peace Between Generations Within Denominations: In the end, it is important to remember that substance is more valuable than style. We can and should be aggressive when it comes to issues of substance. There are things you cannot be and still be considered within the boundaries of your theological tribe—it isn’t a free-for-all. If you are going to be in a family, value what the family values.

The Simple Beauty Of God's Grace: It’s easy to overlook a little phrase like that. It’s easy to let it be little more than background noise, quickly filtered out. But a couple of weeks ago it was like I heard it again for the first time: “By God’s grace.” It’s a beautiful thing! It is an acknowledgement that without the sweet grace of God, the very opposite would be true. It is an acknowledgement of utter dependency upon God.

Intimacy Or Familiarity: When I consider Bible reading, I see two broad approaches: one that aims for familiarity and one that aims for intimacy. Both are good, both are beautiful, and both have their place.

Slander In The Camp: How many of you have witnessed the evils of slander? Sadly, it happens all the time in circles of people who name Jesus as their King and Redeemer. The more I speak with leaders and fellow Christians, the more I realize how prevalent this is.

More Highly Than You Ought: I’m deeply persuaded that we’re addicted to the pursuit of self-glory because, when we look in the mirror, we think we see someone who deserves to be glorified. Instead of using the mirror of God’s Word to keep our judgment sober, we see an aggrandized version of who the Bible says we actually are. I’ve found that there are four common factors that contribute to this distorted view of self:

Rules For Facebook From Parents To Daughter: As long as we live she will always be the object of our concern and love, but one day we will no longer be responsible for her choices. But for now, these are the rules.

The Secret To Abounding: Growing up in the United States, we are bred to believe that we can accomplish anything we want, that all of our goals and dreams are within reach. We like the idea that we can do anything or everything, and at a glance, Philippians 4:13 seems to support that idea—“I can do all things.” But did Paul really mean that as long as we rely on Christ’s strength we can do anything?

Should I Date A Godly Girl I Do Not Find Attractive?: I appreciate Matt Chandler’s response to the question.

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Who Do You Say I Am?: A Mormon And An Evangelical Discuss Jesus: In the past 25 years, Vince has served a full-time, two-year proselyting mission and has held many positions of leadership within his local congregations, including time as a bishop. But he didn’t know which specific points of Christ-centered theology differ from the theology of Latter-day Saints and orthodox evangelicalism. And I didn’t know what Mormons believed either.

13 Ways You Waste Your Money: About once a year I go through a phase—a deliberate phase—in which I evaluate our family finances to see where we’re doing well and where we aren’t doing so well. I especially look for places we are spending money we don’t need to spend—bills that are too high, subscriptions we no longer need, and all of those little money-wasters that eventually add up. And over the years, I’ve collected quite a list of ways that we, and perhaps you, waste money. Here are some of them:

May Jesus's Name Be Known Through Me: Jesus came on mission, lived on mission, died on mission, and left his disciples — including all of us who follow him today — on mission. Conversion is about commission, not just salvation, because we’re not saved to be saved, but saved to be sent. Redemption is a life-saving rescue, but it also involves a profound rewiring and repurposing. We are saved to go out into the world for the glory of our Jesus — to make him known as our Lord, Savior, and greatest Treasure.

Jesus Is Better Then The Super Bowl: “This Super Bowl thing, it’s such a big deal to the people of the Northwest,” he adds. “You can see how the Seahawks provide identity for so many people. What’s cool is that God has opened up a platform through winning to talk about Jesus Christ, the greatest treasure of all. Why do we want to win? I know the brothers on the team, they want to win to glorify God and tell more people about Jesus Christ.”

Do You Believe God Will Save Your Kids?: I do what is right and trust his grace, pleading not my own merit, but the merit of Christ, trusting not in my own works, but in the work of Christ. And I pray—I pray that the God who graciously extended favor to undeserving me, would extend it to my undeserving children as well.

8 Lessons From The School Of Prayer: Throughout my spiritual pilgrimage, two sources have largely shaped, and continue to shape, my own prayer life: the Scriptures and more mature Christians. The less authoritative of these two has been the advice, wisdom, and example of senior saints. I confess I am not a very good student in the school of prayer. Still, devoting [space] to their advice and values may be worthwhile before I turn to the more important and more authoritative of the two sources that have taught me to pray. Among the lessons more mature Christians have taught me, then, are these.

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"Dad Look!" When Your Kids Invite You Into There World: I don’t want to be the dad of a passing glance. I want to enter the world of my children, just like God entered ours. I want to be a father who delights in the imaginary innovations of my children, just like God enjoys watching His children make something of this world He has given us.

Selma: One of the reasons that the events of Selma are worthy of special attention is that they give insight into how local events became a national crisis, involving the President of the United States and the emergence of the Federal Voting Rights Act, signed into law by Lyndon Johnson on August 6, 1965. Why does this story matter today? Here are six answers.

2 Big Reasons Evangelism Isn't Working: We need to see evangelism as a long-term endeavor. Stop checking the list and defeating others. Be incarnate not excarnate in your evangelism. Slow down and practice listening and love. Most conversions are not the result of a single, point-in-time conversation, but the culmination of a personal process that includes doubt, reflection, gospel witness, love, and the work of the Holy Spirit.

I've Sinned; Now What?: More can be said. The nature of blog lists is that they are fabulously limited. The point here is this: we are not perfect, we do sin, and we have a savior who saves to the uttermost. Lean into him.

Is It Possible For Christians To Idolize The Bible?: So friend, let’s heed the important challenge that comes with this question, “Is it possible to make the Bible an idol?”  Let’s be Christians who grow in love and faith through the Scriptures.  But let’s not be confused: God has spoken to us through the Scriptures, so if we would truly know him and love him, we must make listening to him a passionate priority in our lives.

Women's Discipleship And The Mommy Blogosphere: The influence of this niche demographic presents an interesting challenge for those involved with women’s discipleship. Statistically, women make up over 60% of church attendees, but given the fact that (especially in conservative denominations) church leadership is overwhelmingly male, there’s the real probability that church leaders might underestimate its influence on their congregations. Books, church services, and organized women’s ministry are probably not the primary forces shaping the young mothers in your church. Because of this, there are some things that leaders need to understand about the mommy blogosphere.

Husband's, Pray For Your Wives: In a rare change from the norm at Practical Theology for Women, I'd like to give a small word of practical advice to husbands.

The Boy Who Didn't Come Back From Heaven: Inside A Best-Sellers Description: When he wrote a blogpost in 2012, complaining about the explosively popular genre of books about near-death experiences, the evangelical writer and editor Phil Johnson did not know what he was getting into. He was voicing a concern common in the evangelical community about what he called the “Burpo-Malarkey doctrine”. Johnson believed that Colton Burpo, whose story was told in the hugely popular Heaven is for Real, and Alex Malarkey, who had co-written The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven, drew false pictures of heaven in their books...“You’re right, this whole story is fabricated,” Johnson recalled Beth Malarkey telling him.

Ammunition For The Fight Against Porn: Pornography is a multi-billion dollar industry, the largest online. Some statistics suggest that nearly 70% of all men ages 18–24 view porn at least once a week, which is not to mention the struggle among Gen Xers, and increasingly among women. This is not a light matter. Porn is an outrageous sin against God and his image-bearers, including your own body. But we are not without guidance. Through God’s word, specifically 1 Corinthians 5–7, he shows us how to deal with porn and other sexual sins.

Social Justice - A Counterfeit Of The Real Things: This is our role as Christian leaders. This is our role as artists, songwriters, pastors — to lead the charge for seeking justice, renewal and redemption. We demonstrate gospel justice primarily in three steps. I am going to discuss the first of the ways in this post, and I’ll get to the last two in part 3.

What's The Problem With Christian Books: I have a recurring problem in my reading. It is this: that too often I find Christian books uninspiring, compared with how interesting I find so many secular ones.

Why Pray? Because God Is A Forgiving God: Yes, you’re going to get this wrong. Yes, you’re going to pray like a proud idiot sometimes, but that’s no reason to stop praying. It’s only as you go to God with confidence that he hears your prayers even as he forgives them, that you will grow in your walk with God. As you grow in prayer, and you grow in your knowledge of God’s forgiveness, and eventually lose your pride and begin to pray to him the way you ought to. It’s a virtuous cycle. So, why should you be confident in prayer? Because God forgives them.

Your Deepest Identity: More than anything else, your new identity hinges on this one simple truth: You are in Christ. You are united to Christ, and identified with him. Many Christians through the years have said that of all the blessings you receive as a Christian, none is greater than this. Why?

When Prayer Comes Out Of The Closet: Good corporate praying is not just directed to God, but has our fellow pray-ers in view. Which means, like Jesus, we pray most often with “we,” “us,” and “our,” and both with authenticity and with candor that is appropriate for those assembled.

A Prayer For Preaching The Gospel To Yourself: Lord Jesus, these are just verses and doctrines, but my life and joy, peace and liberty. Because the gospel is true, I want to live and love to your glory, until the Day you return to finish making all things new, including me. So very Amen I pray, in your merciful and mighty name.

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Christmas Spending Is A Test Of Your Treasure: ‘Tis the season to test your treasure. Not only are we on gift-expectation overload with Christmas, but then comes the year’s end and that one last chance for tax-deductible charitable giving. December bids us dig deeper in our wallets than any other season.

7 Things Christians Should Know About Torture: But this report should be the beginning, rather than the end, of the discussion on the morality and legality of torture. To aid in future discussions, I’d like to highlight seven things I believe all Christians should know about torture.

Confessions Of A Hardcore Homeschooler: It do strongly believe that insisting on a particular education method is harmful to the church and runs contrary to God’s word. When we insist on a certain practice, we create an “in” crowd and an “out” crowd, with those who are in being more “spiritual” than those who are out. When we take principles and turn them into hard and fast practices, we make the commands of Jesus burdensome. God doesn’t do “in” and “out”. In Christ, we’re all in, and that’s good news. Let’s not mess with God’s good news.

Don't Get An Emotional Divorce Before You Are Married: A dating relationship should gradually and normally progress to a point where a boyfriend and girlfriend are emotionally attached and deeply fond of one another (especially when they get engaged!). But again, hear my warning: Don’t let this happen in the early stages of dating. Why do I say this? Let me suggest two principles to guide the early stages of dating.

How To Build A Disciple-Making Culture: Many people much smarter than me have wrestled with the question “what is culture?”  At the heart of it though, culture is composed of beliefs, values and practices shared by a group of people.  Building a disciple-making culture in the local church is driven by foundational beliefs, shared values and common practices.

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