If you belong to Christ, like the apostle Paul you can and should learn the secret of a contented life. When Paul wrote “godliness with contentment is great gain” he wasn’t just speaking philosophically (1 Tim. 6:6). He had learned the secret to contentment in every circumstance of life (Phil 4:11-2). While that secret eludes [...]

God’s Word provides us with two reasons that God’s children continue to face suffering after salvation. First, though delivered from the dominion of sin, Christians still experience the effects of sin. The reality of suffering endures in a world tainted by sin. Even believers experience pain, disease, aging, and death, and we often fall victim [...]

Not necessarily. Even the apostle Paul experienced perpetual struggle with sin throughout his life (Romans 7:7-25). All of us struggle continually with sinful thoughts, sinful attitudes, sinful habits, and sinful desires. It is those who don’t struggle—those who deliberately and eagerly revel in their sin—who need to have their sense of security shaken. So don’t [...]

You’re troubled, so you pray. You’re distressed, so you cry for God to bring you quick relief. But all you hear in reply is silence—a silence so deafening it drowns out every thought but this: God isn’t listening. Is that your testimony? If so, we want to help you attain a biblical perspective by providing [...]

A bad habit is usually connected to wrong beliefs and attitudes. We should not want to change a habit only because it is embarrassing, expensive, unhealthy, or makes us feel guilty—rather we should want God’s greater purpose for our life to be fulfilled. Until we deal with the underlying wrong beliefs that weaken our resistance [...]

That’s a good question because most people seem to err on one side or the other. Some people think it is best to overlook every offense and take pride in their tolerance. However, Paul confronted the Corinthians for tolerating sin in the church and rebuked them for failing to deal with a man living in [...]

Psalms for the Anxious The Bible not only instructs us how to think; it also informs our emotions and helps us gain a comforting perspective. And of all of the books in the Bible, the book of Psalms is perfectly suited for times of trouble. In the Psalms you can identify with the psalmist as [...]

A: The four English translations used most widely by evangelical Christians are the King James Version (KJV), The New King James Version (NKJV), the New International Version (NIV), and the New American Standard Bible (NASB). The KJV is the oldest of the four and continues to be the favorite of many. It is known as [...]

A: John’s explanation of 2 Timothy 3:16-17 in his series The Transforming Power of Scripture is really helping me understand the importance of knowing God’s Word. Are there other passages that spotlight directly on Scripture?  There certainly are—Psalms 19 and 119 come immediately to mind. John has preached a sermon on Psalm 19 (80-19), which we trust [...]

A: Here’s the short answer: nothing in the New Testament prohibits interracial marriage. Christians are at liberty to marry whomever they wish—as long as the other person is also a Christian (1 Corinthians 7:39). The Old Testament contained some restrictions on whom the Israelites could marry. These were meant to protect the people of God [...]