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I’ve received messages over the years from believers who say something along the lines of this: “I struggle with forgiving myself for a past sin. I’ve asked Christ’s forgiveness for it many times but can’t seem to resolve my feelings of guilt and accept God’s forgiveness.”

Some depression comes from simply feeling the crushing weight of pain and brokenness in one’s life and the lives of others around the globe. Of course, self-preoccupied woe-is-me depression quickly becomes deeply unhealthy. But sometimes when we feel burdened, we may simply be joining the whole of creation in groaning because of a suffering world. In that case, we’re in good company, for “the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express” (Romans 8:26).

I believe Jesus will always have those scars on His hands and feet. In Revelation, in His glorified body, He is repeatedly called the lamb who has been slain. The continuity between His risen body and His glorified body once He ascended to Heaven seems to be there.

Years ago I put together a number of Scriptures on the power of our words. Their cumulative weight is stunning. In today’s world of social media, which allows us to publish comments to the world with the mere push of a button, more than ever we as God’s people need to read and meditate on Scripture, and examine our heart and habits. We need to be slower to anger and slower to speak, and quicker to hear and think biblically.

A few years ago I enjoyed meeting recording artist Shai Linne at a conference where we were speaking the same night. We had a terrific conversation in which I thanked him for his extraordinary work and artistry in conveying solid biblical doctrine. Please listen to his powerful words in the following article. They resonate, down to the specific illustrations, with what every black man, from poor guys to rich ones, told me when I interviewed many black Americans while researching my novel Dominion.

Over the years, God has been faithful in what I call “the low tides” of life. In those times, I’ve seen Him in ways not always visible during high tides—periods of relative ease and comfort. As the wonders of underwater tide pools are only seen at low tide, so the wonders of God and depths of our need for Him can become visible to us in our own low tides.

I have posted previous blogs and articles on racial justice, including my last blog post. At the risk of being misunderstood or misquoted by some who will say, “This is no time to defend cops,” I want to also address the role of righteous people of all ethnicities serving in law enforcement, and say something to police officers that I feel deeply.

In this excerpt from my novel Dominion, the main character Clarence Abernathy, a black journalist, discusses issues related to race with his friend and coworker Jake Woods (the main character of the previous novel Deadline). There’s a lot of action in the book, but this is a lengthy dialogue, one that may help you think a little differently about racial issues than a nonfiction treatment might.

I have sometimes envisioned what it will mean for every tribe, nation, and language to gather together and sing the praises of Jesus, as is depicted in Revelation 5:9 and 7:9. I’m sure we’ll learn a lot of great new hymns and songs once we’re with Jesus, most of which we’ve never heard. But I feel nearly certain that one of those songs we’ll sing forever from this life is “Amazing Grace.”

In 2020, Randy Alcorn was interviewed for the Steps for Life webcast. In this video, he talks on the topic of the sanctity of human life.

Though the present Heaven is not our final destination, it’s a wonderful place, and it’s understandable that those who have had loved ones die in Christ wonder what life is like for them there. Based on the Bible’s teaching, we know several things.

Could you explain the difference between Heaven for the saints versus Heaven for the martyred saints? There seems to be a distinction, yet we claim all believers will be given a white robe and their tears will be wiped away. 

My son-in-law Dan Franklin, teaching pastor at Life Bible Fellowship Church in Upland, California, shared the following thoughts on Facebook yesterday. May Jesus be honored, justice prevail, and peace be upheld for the sake of all people.

Here are a couple of photos of Maggie as an eight-year-old (equivalent to about 60 human years, so she’s catching up with us). We love her more than ever, even as she’s slowing down a bit (but she can still dig and chase rabbits with the best of them).