What should I do to be successful in following Christ?

A. W. Tozer wrote "Every soul belongs to God, and exists by His pleasure. God being who and what He is and we being who and what we are, the only thinkable relation between us is one of full Lordship on His part and complete submission on ours."

Psalm 1 says this:

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers [Paraphrase: Blessed is the man who does not so abide in his culture that the ways of his culture abide ...

Are you Willing to be Hated for Speaking the Gospel Truth?

When Gianna Jessen spoke at our church a few weeks ago, she said many memorable things. The one that I've been thinking about is that to be a follower of Christ you need to be willing to be hated.

I agree, and that's what I want to talk about. Of course, this does NOT mean being hateful. Nor does it mean seeking to be hated. Or having a persecution complex, so you think people don’t like you because you’re following Christ, when they actually don’t like you because you’re an idiot.

I am all ...

Dietrich Bonhoeffer and The Cost of Discipleship

When I mentioned Dietrich Bonhoeffer last week, five people told me they’d like to hear about him. I’m glad to oblige, in this blog and the next.

I first read The Cost of Discipleship in the summer of 1971 (I wrote the date in the front of the book). I was a teenager who’d known Christ less than two years. It made a great impression on me.

Three weeks ago I picked up my original copy (Nanci located it for me on one of my bookshelves, since being a man I can’t find things). Two weeks ...