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More violence. Bloodshed. Destruction. Hate. Death... And we wonder aloud: Are you going to put a stop to this, God??! If so, how? And when?! Are You really going to let this pass? We wonder if the wickedness, injustice, and immorality is ever going to cease...

Impure motives of pride, heartless obligation, superiority, longing for admiration, applause, success, wealth, rank, or pity are never sung aloud from our lips for all to hear. We quietly hide them, creatively disguise them, and carefully redefine them. We naturally think ourselves very good at judging the motives of others, but how about our own motives? Ouch. That question seems to drop like a sharp knife between my toes. Perhaps the most penetrating and uncomfortable question for all of us to ask ourselves is: What is my motive? To determine the answer to this question I believe we need a litmus test.

Having a strong intellect is a good thing, yet there is an inherent danger in touting our mental powers or relying on human intelligence. A person may have a high IQ and be missing the essential ingredient for the soil of becoming spiritually mature – to grow in the faith and in the likeness of Jesus. The measure of one’s intelligence does not indicate the measure of one’s spiritual maturity or usefulness in God’s mission. . . .

We don’t like having a finger pointed at us because it implies we’re guilty! However, we are pretty natural at pointing toward someone else. It seems quite easy to see the sins of others; doesn't it? We think we're quite accurate at evaluating the faults and failures we presume to observe in friends, family members, neighbors, and the like. . . .

When we're jogging along in a healthy trajectory of spiritual growth, we can find ourselves gaining an inordinate confidence in ourselves. We gaze back at our past accomplishments with a token note of thanks to God, yet also an encroaching desire for a good ole' pat-on-the-back. We might ease up on the throttle, subtly believing we've crossed a threshold in obvious maturity. . . .

All our time and energy goes into “that one day” and when that day is done, many of us might be happy but a lot of us feel wiped out, burned out, let down, or downright empty. But what if the biggest thing you and your family looked forward was something more, something that would never let down? Is there a hope that never dies…that sustains you, motivates you, inspires you, energizes you…and even dramatically changes your focus about everything?

We love all the festive decorations, candles, lights, trees, and ribbons of Christmas around our house. In fact, Christmas music has been ringing and singing through our place since the beginning of November... or maybe even October. Memories of snowball fights, goofy red sweaters, sleigh rides, and hot chocolate warm my soul. How about you?

I can still hear their muffled cries. The sound won't leave my ears. I can still see their mud-stained tears. The sight won't leave my mind. I can almost smell the faint aroma of the seashore... While we may have myriad questions about the politics and economics involved in this refugee crisis, as Christians the most important question is not if they come but when they come, how does God want us to respond? Wherever they are in the world, how should we respond to the sojourner, the refugee?

We here at North Park Baptist Church of Grand Rapids are calling one another to 12 days of focused prayer. If you're part of our church family, I invite you to join with me in praying the 12 requests below over the next 12 days. You might take just one per day, following the sequence below. If you have additional time, you could pray through the list several times over the next 12 days. But most of all, let's pray and keep praying because this is the way we fight and keep fighting the right fight... God's way. 12 Days of Prayer for North Park As an expression of our desire to be a church committed to personal and collective prayer, we encourage you to pray for the following items...

Satan wants to get in your head and convince you that his lies are true. But don't expect his schemes to be obvious. He is cunning and smart like a snake. He bites into us when we're exposed to pain, hurt, and abuse. He splits hairs to craft wrong to look almost right. Our enemy camouflages destructive ideas with the appearance of life and light (2 Cor. 11:14b).

As the old saying goes, "If you don't like the weather in Michigan, just wait five minutes." Today is proving the wise old sage knew what he was talking about. Yet from sunshine to storms...and back again to sunshine then storms this is the day the Lord has made, therefore, let us rejoice and be glad in the One who has ordained it...

As I've interacted with many of you who are following Jesus Christ, there has been an unmistakably tone of despondency. On this Fourth of July weekend, many of you may understandably feel torn between a wholesome love for our country and a sense of sadness about the direction our society seems to be taking. . . .

Yes, there comes a point in the life of every mother (and most fathers, too) when they feel like throwing a tantrum … …maybe it was the “adventure of the dirty diaper” when your toddler decided to paint the walls with a certain smelly brown paste they found in their drawers after a nap, …or perhaps it was the seventy-ninth time you pierced the sole of your foot on a tiny Lego block, …or maybe it was the third burnt dinner (with the fire alarm going off) while you were trying to bathe your kiddo after an “accident” – and your husband walks in the door...

We’ve opened the proverbial “can of worms.” Yet we believe it’s a really important “can” that must be opened and understood in light of the Gospel. Are you ready to dig in? Our culture is filled with a multiplicity of messages about morality and ethics. Throughout social media, TV, movies, and music, it’s easy to hear all sorts of propaganda about recreational drug use, alcohol, sexual experimentation, and of course, how we MUST watch the next season of [you name it]. But what does God have to say to His people about these moral and ethical issues?

One of my "old favorite" movies is geared around the search for the cup from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper, some call this cup the Holy Grail. And why in this film are the Nazis, a medieval-oriented religious group, and Indiana Jones on a mad-dash against each other to find Christ’s sacred cup? Because they believe anyone who drinks of it will have eternal life – but they are not talking about eternal life as a new and forever relationship with God, as the Bible defines it. No, they think it is like the so-called “Fountain of Youth” that will give them life forever, immortality right now, and invincibility (which, of course was very important to the Nazi general). Now all that is a silly twisting in order to make a Hollywood blockbuster film… But what was the cup Jesus spoke of? Not the actual cup He drank from at the Last Supper, but the cup Jesus spoke of when He expressed His desire to let “this cup” pass by Him, meaning that He longed to not drink of it?

Tears welled up in my eyes. Fear raced across my mind. Anxiety tightened my heart. I never thought it would come to this. Not at thirty-one years of age. Not now… not ever! Never did I dream I’d be pushed along in a wheelchair into the triage unit of a large ER department… in order to evaluate ongoing chest pain that had bothered me for more than four weeks.

Christ’s Love displayed through Christ-followers is the way Christ’s mission goes forward…in the face of mass defection and satanic opposition.

Over the last ten or fifteen years, various Christian lobbying and activist groups have been notifying me of the reality that many companies are “taking Christ out of Christmas.” So with great enthusiasm, I filled out petitions to various stores in order to encourage them to “keep Christ in Christmas.” After all, what is Christmas without a hearty, “Merry Christmas?” The dull, placid remark, “Happy Holidays,” holds about as much cheer as “Grandma got run over by a reindeer.” And the thin veneer hung over the commercialization of Christmas and other associated holidays has become ever more sheer, so much so that I’m afraid my 5-year-old son is about ready to notice the proverbial emperor is no longer wearing any clothes. All sincere meaning seems gone…

Amid the convoluted messages about sexuality and marriage across the news networks and social media feeds, it’s easy to wonder if there is any solution or resolution for the conversation. Has God provided a clear, navigable pattern to follow? Do you wonder how Jesus Christ would respond to questions like: “Can I sleep with my girlfriend, just so long as she doesn’t get pregnant?” “Is marriage really only between one man and one woman for life?” “Isn’t lust and porn okay as long as nobody gets hurt?” “If someone has same-sex attraction, does that mean they’ve been made that way by God? Does God think it’s okay?”

"They are secretly taking over!" "I think there is a hidden plan to outlaw Christianity..." "The communists are leading the media to brainwash our populace!" "I wouldn't be surprised if there is some behind-the-scenes group of wealthy leaders behind these wars in the middle east... and they are all cashing in." If your environment is anything like mine, I would guess you've heard alarming statements like these more times than you can count. Conspiracy theories all of kinds seem to increasingly abound... Yet Jesus and His followers faced the ultimate human conspiracy of all time: Kill Jesus Christ. And in the face of this conspiracy what did God want the followers of Jesus to know… and hope in?

The air was bone-chillingly cold and the wind might have bitten right through your knit hat, if you had stepped outside. The winter season had stretched long and dark across West Michigan and Stephanie and I were beginning to sense the cabin fever syndrome setting in around our little bungalow....

Cancer. That one, singular word cuts into the fabric of our lives with fear and anxiety, doesn't it? Every person knows someone who has battled against cancer - perhaps you know one who is in the middle of the fight right now. This lethal, fearsome disease is waging war against their body, seeking to wrack their frame with total destruction.

What do we value most? What kind of value do you and I place on our money, homes, cars, reputation, vacations, recreation, jobs, success, spouse and children, mom or dad, brother or sister…? It’s not that good jobs, money, homes, or most of all, our family members are bad things to hold as dear. My family is incredibly precious and dear to me. But what do you and I value most… more than anything?

Just this past May, not more than 2 months ago, David Gonzalez, age 35, was busy remodeling an old home in Hoffman, Minn, that he had purchased for just $10,100. But while he was busy tearing out old insulation in the walls and ceiling of the house he uncovered what is considered to be the “Holy Grail” of all comic books: Action Comics edition No. 1. 1938 – the very first comic to introduce the Man of Steel, Superman. Reports indicate the comic book had remained untouched in the home’s ceiling for more than 70 years. Only around 100 issues of this comic book are known to be in existence today, and a recent sale of an Action Comics No. 1 edition in near mint condition took in 2.16 million dollars. To further heighten the attractiveness of Gonzalez’s find for collectors, this past month marked another blockbuster film for Superman: Man of Steel. This was an incredible find, at an incredible time. But the story goes on…

More often than not, we are driven by a mentality that celebrates self-reliance. Learning how to maximize our human potential is the name of the game. We believe if we work hard enough and make the right kind of friends – we can have it all. The world is the oyster of the one who learns to take advantage of every opportunity, so many people say.

Here I was again, cold, alone, and in the dark; trying to get away from the sound by plugging my ears from the banging of metal hitting human flesh. Even though I could not see anything from where I sat huddled underneath the kitchen table, I tightly closed my eyes with the echo of every pounding blow. Why would they be doing this? I thought. Why would these people be so evil as to do something so terrible and gruesome to an innocent man? Oh please stop, please stop!

We live in dark times. And God’s Word makes it clear that our surroundings and culture will only get worse and increasingly act out in depravity – in every form – in the days ahead. Yes, we are hopeful and prayerful for a spiritual awakening in the world. Yet there is no mistaking it. When you and I walked out these doors, we are entering a world that is largely opposed to Christ and/or intentionally ignorant of God and His Good News. They don’t want to hear that sin deserves punishment. They don’t want to really be bothered by the notion of an eternity in either heaven or hell. They want to live their way and would be extremely irritated by anyone telling them what they are doing is wrong.

I will never forget the last moment of communication I had with my Grandma, Betty Czarnecki, as she lay on her deathbed. I had just finished singing, “It is Well with My Soul” at her bedside, and she looked up at me with those sparkling eyes, and although she was unable to speak she gently squeezed my hand two times, as if to say, “Thank you, I love you...and I know it is well with my soul.” And it was finally well with her soul, because just before her final stroke she had placed her trust in Jesus Christ as her personal Savior. Perhaps you recall the final words or last wishes of your grandfather, grandma, mother, father, or uncle. And just like my moment with my Grandma, those last words or moments have been forever emblazoned on your mind and in your heart.

Sometimes we need a good reality check. The rich culture we live in (yes, we are filthy rich in comparison to 90% of the world) is constantly promulgating the idea that the apex of life is achieving a state of financial independence so that one can enjoy constant ease and recreation. Is there something wrong with ease and recreation? No, certainly there is place for balanced ease and recreation in the life of a Christ-follower. However, if we focus our mind's attention and heart's affection on getting to a place of capitalistic nirvana, we will slowly let our guard down and begin to choose what is expedient for ourselves rather than what is effectual for the mission of God.

There once was a young slave named Samuel, who was owned from birth by a wicked, evil, abusive master. This master owned Samuel’s siblings, parents, grandparents, and even great grandparents, and made it his point to abuse them, misuse them, and work them literally to death. Every slave owned by this master died in bondage. Half the property was covered with nameless gravesites. It seemed like there was absolutely no way of escape. No one ever had escaped on their own. Sure, some had tried. But no one ever succeeded. Death was the end of every story.

One bitterly cold, late December day, my brother Stephen and I trekked out to see the ice on a river near our house in St. Clair, Michigan. It had been pretty cold for the past couple of weeks and we were both anxious to lace up our hockey skates for the new season. The Pine […]

The Berlin Wall surrounding East Germany was the singular glaring obstacle to real freedom in Europe from August 1961 until November 1989. For almost 30 years the people of East Germany were locked behind a wall, a wall of communism – a regime that kept the populace bound in a life of fear, freedom-less-ness, and […]

When Jesus walked the roads of Israel He was on a mission with a consuming sense of urgency for the lost sheep, first for the house of Israel, but also for anyone who was spiritual lost and apart from God. Jesus came to seek out and save the lost… If this was and is the […]

We often face walls in our lives that may drive us to unbelief. The wall seems insurmountable. It seems as though we can’t go on. Perhaps we are faced with doubts because of a skeptical, atheistic professor or teacher. Or maybe you are being barraged by friends at school who think your belief in Christ […]

Identification with “status” is all around us. We are daily inundated with the world’s system and orientation – which screams for more attention, more fame, and more prestige. Unfortunately, we also live in a way that all too often abides according to the world’s system of social status and “professional” association. This way of thinking […]

People, situations, or even the circumstances of life are not always as they seem. Such was the case for a young, charming woman – a woman who happens to be the personal hero of my wife. This youthful, smart, and witty young girl had a bright future. All seemed refreshingly exciting. She grew up in […]

:: The Beauty of Grace ::  “The beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair…” ~ Dr. Glenn Kreider   The evening before I headed back from Dallas after my last seminary class on “last things” (how ironic, yet wonderful), I prayed a simple pray that God would be pleased to bring me […]

Imagine with me for one moment… that you cannot speak.  You have completely lost your ability to sing, speak, or even utter one audible sound. Through a strange and irreversible virus, you have totally become mute. This crazy virus, weirdly enough, only attacked your vocal chords, numbing the nerves that control your voice box, and […]