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Thirty years ago I spent many hours in a Portland library reading and photocopying article after article in years of original issues of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger’s Birth Control Review. I was shocked at the blatant racism I found.

I listened to Sean McDowell’s interview with Lee Strobel, talking about how he as an atheist journalist came to believe in Jesus, through studying whether the resurrection of Jesus ever happened. I think it’s all great, but even if you don’t have time to watch it all, the first 11 minutes or so are terrific.

Last Friday, J. I. Packer, one of my favorite writers and favorite people, went to be with Jesus just five days short of his 94th birthday. I will always love that man. He had a huge impact on me, particularly through his books Knowing God and The Quest for Godliness.

In this blog I’ll address some difficult issues that some will misunderstand or be offended by despite my efforts to speak accurately and carefully. There are many balancing statements in this blog, which partly accounts for its length. If you take one statement out of context without those other balancing statements you can misunderstand anything I’m saying. I hope you don’t.

It’s easy to recite the fruit of the Spirit as if it’s a list of virtues or a badge of honor. But all the qualities are ingredients of happiness. Not just joy, which is happiness, but the whole list.

No conversation, no social media comment, no text should be on autopilot. We need to ask for God’s guidance, wisdom, and empowerment so our words please Him and so we will not have to give account for careless words on the Day of Judgment.

In what form will we be when we see God? Will we be ghostly spirits, floating about? No, we will be resurrected human beings, standing and kneeling, walking and talking, praying and worshiping and laughing, eating and drinking in our new bodies. As Job cried out, “After my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.”

In this excerpt from my novel Dominion, the main character Clarence reflects about life as a black man in America. 

Language is dynamic, not static. It’s always changing, and that’s why applying old rules to contemporary writing sometimes just doesn’t resonate. I’m thinking about this because the use of “whom” has come up several times recently in the editing of my blog posts and book manuscripts.

The following verses focus on what Scripture says is the source of our words: our hearts. In other words, it’s not as simple as saying “I didn’t mean it that way” when we say things that dishonor our Lord.

Today’s blog is the second of a two-part series on singleness by Chelsea Dudley. I have the deepest appreciation for her wisdom and Christ-centered insights. Thanks, Chelsea, for this helpful article.

Chelsea Dudley has written two excellent articles on singleness. This is the first of her articles. They are both on point, solidly biblical, from her heart, and much needed. Even if you’re married, please read them! There is something here for all of us.

Soon after the death of George Floyd, Kelsey Brown, a woman I know and deeply respect, who lives here in Oregon, shared the following words on Facebook. My heart breaks for Kelsey and her family, and all the more having heard these stories over and over again from trustworthy people like her and Vergil.

Unfortunately, many nonbelievers know only two kinds of Christians: those who speak the truth without grace and those who are very nice but never share the truth. What they need to see is a third type of Christian—one who, in a spirit of grace, loves them enough to humbly tell them the truth.