I never paid any attention to “The Shack” until a friend mentioned it to me not long ago. The book came up in the context of a prison ministry that he and his wife lead each Sunday. He said that the prisoners love the “The Shack” because almost all of them can relate to the concept of a “Great Sadness” on the ins…
In this busy election season, with so many competing viewpoints and so much clamor, and with all the needs of the world pressing upon us, it’s easy for the church to lose its way. Here is a wonderful reminder from Hugh Thomson Kerr (HT Of First Importance):We are not sent to preach sociology but salvation; not economics but evangelism; not re…
Perhaps the best portion of The Shack comes when Mack (the father whose daughter was abducted and murdered) faces Sophia, a personification of wisdom, in what we might call the Hall of Justice. In a scene reminiscent of the last chapters of Job, the grieving father who lives with the Great Sadness of his daughter’s death finally gets his chan…
The Scene: Dr. Phil is interviewer an aspiring author who tell him he has a sensational idea for a new book.Dr. Phil: So what’s the book about?Author: It’s about a man who meets God one weekend at a shack in the wilderness.Dr. Phil: Uh-huh.Author: And here’s the cool part. God turns out to be the Trinity.Dr. Phil: This guy meets t…
It isn’t often that self-published book rises to the top of the bestseller lists, in fact it is so rare that when it does happen, we ought to stand back and ask ourselves, “What’s going on here?” Several years ago William P. Young set out to write a story for his children. Some friends found out about the story and encourage…
I was saddened to hear of the death yesterday of Tony Snow, former Press Secretary to the President and well-known news anchor and commentator. He died of colon cancer at the age of 53. After he was diagnosed in 2005, he sought treatment and went into remission. When the cancer returned in 2007, he wrote an article for Christianity Today called …
I found this quote (originally put in the form of a question) from John Bunyan a great comfort to my soul. If you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the sin you see in the world around you, and much more by the sin you see in your own heart, here is a good word from Mr. Bunyan. There is “more worth and merit in one drop of Christ’s blood to …
I am writing this note from my room at Maranatha Bible and Missionary Conference in Muskegon, Michigan. If you check the map, you’ll see that Muskegon is on the eastern short of Lake Michigan. The conference center owns a nice stretch of beach where families go to swim during the day. The main buildings are located just over a wooded hill tha…
Since this is my final day at home for three weeks, I decided to make a list things I need to do today. In no particular order . . . 1) Haircut.2) Ride my bike with Bert Duncan.3) Show Mark how to do make mp3 files from cassette tapes of my Christmas and Easter sermons.4) See if I can find those cassette tapes of Paul Smith teaching on 1 Corinthian…
Last year I discovered a daily email called Of First Importance that each day sends a free email to your inbox that contains a quotation from a classic Christian writer relating to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Think of it as a kind of spiritual Vitamin B12 for the soul. Many days I find the quote is just what I need to focus my heart on the Lord Jes…