Jesus says His departure is their advantage, yet the disciples hear it as loss. That tension exposes a problem deeper than grief. We often judge Christ’s wisdom by immediate pain, and when sorrow fills the heart, we cling to what …
A warning is only useful before the thing it warns about arrives. A tornado siren after the roof is gone is not a warning but a report. On the night Jesus is arrested, He gives His disciples a specific warning. …
We have been studying John 15 for eight weeks now. Jesus uses the metaphor of a branch connected to a vine to teach His disciples how spiritual growth actually happens. We have seen that all spiritual growth begins and ends …
Our culture prizes authenticity above almost every other virtue. The person who speaks honestly and refuses to hide is celebrated for it. But that celebration has a limit, and the limit arrives when the truth being spoken is a Christian …
Walk into almost any high school cafeteria and you can read the room in thirty seconds. There are the athletes and the kids in honors classes. There are the ones who always seem to know what is happening and the …
A few generations ago there was a man who had enough money to buy distance from everyone. Most people cannot do that, but we still try in smaller ways. You can lock your door at night, and you still have …
We’ve been studying Jesus’ words to His disciples in John 15 about how to really grow to be like Him. He has been telling them that real growth is not produced primarily by willpower, but by abiding in Him. Using …
Many of us know what it is like to live the Christian life as if we are on a spiritual roller coaster. One week we feel close to Christ, and the next week we feel like frauds. A good day …
In his book, “The Courage to Change”, journalist and self-help advocate, Dennis Wholey, describes how easy it is for many people to get stuck in the past and unable to move forward. Some of the saddest people he met were …
