“And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” -Revelation 21:22-23 (ESV throughout) Scripture shows a nuanced story of God's presence from the beginning to the end. It's artistic, symbolic, and easy to miss. In this article, we will look at how God’s presence was lost and how God gradually invaded enemy territo

"17 He (Jesus) said to him the third time, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me?' Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, 'Do you love me?' and he said to him, 'Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed my sheep.'" -John 21:17 (ESV throughout) In our day, we often see a striking overemphasis in churches on either evangelism or shepherding. It seems like one of the two, evangelism or shepherding, is pursued wholeheartedly wh

“It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” -Romans 4:24a-25 (ESV throughout; emphasis mine) In Romans 3, Paul claims that no one is righteous (Rom. 3:10). Everyone has sinned . Everyone has fallen short . There is no human being that has lived righteously . C. S. Lewis has said, “Christ takes it for granted that men are bad. Until we really feel this assump

“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” -Psalm 139:7-10 ESV Some moments, as a Christian, are powerful . We sense that God is with us. By the Spirit, we can discern his presence in the room. It feels like God i

Why do we push past God-ordained limits? Many of us live what appears to be a limitless life (though no one can truly live in a limitless manner!). We try to do too much in an hour, day, week, year, and lifetime. We willingly take on unnecessary debt and live beyond our financial limits. We often stack so much on our schedules that we can't rest. Why? It seems like churches would challenge us on this practice. It seems like they would call us back to sanity. It seems like the

"The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good." -Proverbs 15:3 ESV Sometimes just thinking of how much God is beyond us almost shuts our brains down. We truly cannot fathom it. Undoubtedly, that is true when we consider God's knowledge. In Proverbs we are told, "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good" (Prov. 15:3, ESV throughout). He sees all things. He understands all things. He knows all things. We

Type of Doctrine: Typically Secondary or Tertiary "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." -Galatians 6:2 Why Does It Matter? Christians disagree over whether psychology can be integrated with Christianity. There are views all along the spectrum on this issue. Some say we should not incorporate psychology at all (e.g., many biblical counselors). Others say that we should include some insights from psychology (e.g, Christian therapists who integrate some

Type of Doctrine: Debated “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers . . .” -Ephesians 4:11 ESV Why Does It Matter? New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is a phrase that is tossed around in theological circles today. What is it? This article will explore the definition, the complexity of defining it, the concerning beliefs from NAR, and some concluding observations. Regarding theological triage, this topic is debated. While there are many

Type of Doctrine: Typically Tertiary "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies--in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glor

If you've experienced the bite from a narcissist, then you know firsthand that it can be painful and disorienting. For many of you, sadly, you have experienced this in the church, which can make this bite spiritually disorienting and confusing. And, for those of you who have experienced the bite of a narcissistic pastor or spiritual leader, you have likely gone through profound and prolonged periods of confusion, denial, wrestling, pain, and have found yourself in need of hea

Type of Doctrine: Tertiary "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ." -Colossians 3:23-24 ESV Why Does It Matter? Is Christian music for exaltation, edification, or evangelism? What about two of these? Perhaps all of them? Disagreements abound when a favorite Christian artist that was mostly edifying believers shifts to an evangelistic emphasis

Type of Doctrine: Debated "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." -Matthew 25:46 ESV What Is Kirk Cameron's View of Hell? Kirk Cameron has recently released a video explaining that he has changed his view on hell. ( Click here to listen to Kirk Cameron's podcast as he describes his theological shift.) In the past, Cameron subscribed to one of the eternal, conscious torment views. Now, he is shifting to the conditional view (i.e

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . . " -John 1:14 ESV Yesterday, I was reading John 1:14 as I reflected on the birth of Jesus during our wonderful Christmas Eve service at church. As I read a very familiar text, something jumped out at me from the text. In this familiar text, I saw something that I haven't seen before. You could say that what I saw was an unexpected Christmas miracle. You could say that what I saw in John 1:14 was an unexpected Christmas mirac

Type of Doctrine: Tertiary "1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while." -Revelation 20

"They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed." -2 Thessalonians 1:9-10 ESV As a follow up to my previous blog post, " Why I Subscribe to Amillennialism ," I thought I would zoom in on a few of the key Scriptures that have influenced me to adopt Amill

Picture this: You are standing in the mountains, and in the distance, you can see a shepherd with his flock. At first, you are amazed at the scenery. But, as you look closer, you are shocked. You discover that the shepherd is beating his flock with a staff. He will not allow them to eat, drink, or rest. He is abusing them and driving them hard. He won't allow them to sit down, but instead, he is making them move at a pace that they cannot sustain. What would you think? What w

Type of Doctrine: Usually Secondary "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit...

Where is the millennium discussed? The millennium is the 1,000 years mentioned in Revelation 20. What are the main views? There are three...

Type of Doctrine: Tertiary "15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming...

Type of Doctrine: Typically secondary or tertiary "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." -2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV Why Does It Matter? We believe that Scripture is inerrant and inspired in the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek writings by the original authors. However, many of us don't know these languages so we need t