Life's Inanities and Ironies

In an age where the name of Christ is increasingly mocked, where biblical morality is labeled “hate,” and where even many who profess Christianity have compromised with the spirit of the age, maintaining a clear, consistent testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ has never been more challenging—or more necessary. The apostle Paul warned young Timothy that “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). Our Lord Himself declared, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18).  Yet by the grace of God and the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, it is possible to hold fast our testimony even unto death, as the saints in Revelation did: “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Revelation 12:11). This post explores the biblical reality of the struggle, examples from Scripture of those who succeeded by faith, the unique pressu...

I was a very fortunate young man. When I first began high school in the small town of Argos, Indiana, the Lord in His kind providence connected me with a group of young people who would become friends for the rest of my life. This vibrant Christian group influenced me in ways I am still discovering more than fifty years later. It was not only those young people themselves, but their families who left such a profound and lasting impact upon me. At that critical season of life, I learned far more about what a true Christian home should look like simply by watching them than I ever learned in my own home. No matter how earnestly I tried over the years, I was never able to fully replicate the warmth, the godliness, and the Christ-centered atmosphere I observed in those homes. How I wished I could have! What brought all of this into sharper focus for me was the news, just a couple of days ago, that one of the "kids" from one of those families had unexpectedly been called home to b...