Life's Inanities and Ironies

Propitiation is one of the most profound and precious doctrines in all of Scripture. It lies at the very heart of the gospel, explaining *how* a holy God can forgive guilty sinners without compromising His justice. The word itself may be unfamiliar to many modern ears, but the reality it describes is the very foundation of our salvation. Without propitiation, there is no true atonement, no genuine reconciliation with God, and no hope for eternal life.   What Propitiation Means The English word “propitiation” comes from the Greek term *hilasmos* (used in 1 John 2:2 and 4:10) and *hilasterion* (used in Romans 3:25 and Hebrews 9:5). In biblical usage, it carries the idea of appeasing or satisfying wrath through a sacrificial offering. It is not merely the covering or removal of sin (though that is involved); it specifically addresses the righteous anger of God against sin by turning it away through a substitute. In the Old Testament, the concept is vividly pictured in the **Day of At...

One of the greatest misunderstandings about the Christian faith is the notion that a loving God sends people to hell against their will. Nothing could be further from the truth of Scripture. The Bible consistently teaches that **God does not send anybody to hell**. Hell is real, eternal, and terrible—but every person who ends up there has chosen it for themselves by rejecting the only Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is not a harsh teaching. It is a merciful one. It reveals both the justice and the tender love of our God. He has gone to unimaginable lengths to keep us out of hell, yet He will never force anyone into heaven. The door stands wide open. The question is whether we will walk through it. The Character of God: Holy, Just, and Loving Scripture opens with the declaration that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). The same Bible declares that God is “of purer eyes than to behold evil” and cannot look on iniquity (Habakkuk 1:13). He is perfectly holy and perfectly just. He cannot overlo...

 Slightly different kind of blog. Today. I had written this several years ago for a genealogy and history site and I think it's a pretty good retelling of what happened on a February night in 1940 in Rochester, Indiana.  When I was a boy, my grandfather and my great-uncle would sit on the front porch, spinning yarns about their youth and the historic moments that shaped our neighborhood. Their stories covered everything: Uncle Buck’s days mining in the Iron Mountain area of Michigan, his time working at the Kingsbury Ordnance Plant during the war, and Grandad McDougle’s romantic tales of courting Grandma in a surrey with bright yellow wheels. Both told me about the storm that passed a tornado less than 50 ft of the house and pointed out the path that was still evident in the trees across from the house. Sometimes their stories were benign. Other times, they grabbed a young boy's imagination and tore off down the street with it. Now, to be fair, both of them had a distinct prop...

In an age that celebrates "user empowerment" and "personalization," a strange frustration has become commonplace. You open Instagram hoping to catch up on posts from the people you actually follow—family, church friends, ministry partners—and instead find yourself scrolling through an endless stream of algorithmically chosen Reels, suggested accounts, and sponsored content. You tap the logo, hunt for the "Following" tab, switch to chronological order... only to have the app nudge you back toward the "For You" experience next time. Or you Google a straightforward biblical or theological question and are greeted first by an AI-generated "Overview" that summarizes (and sometimes subtly frames) the results, with no prominent, persistent toggle to simply turn it off and see traditional links.  You want the off switch . Not because you hate technology, but because you want *control* over what shapes your mind, your time, and your attention. I...