In answering the question why we should care about an author’s intention, C. S. Lewis gives two answers in his book An Experiment in Criticism.

"Why," they ask, "should I turn from a real present experience—what the poem means to me, what happens to me when I read it—to inquire about the poet’s intentions or reconstructions, always uncertain of what it may have meant to his contemporaries?"

There seem to be two answers. One, is that the poem in my head which I make from my mistranslations of Chaucer or misunderstandings of Donne, may not be so good as the work Chaucer or Donne actually made.

Secondly, why not have both? After enjoying what I made of…

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One of the growing ministries of Desiring God is the outreach to prisoners. Those of you in the Philippian Fellowship hear about this more often than the rest of our website guests.

On Thursday a team of four of us stopped in at Angola Prison in Angola, Louisiana. Warden Burl Cain was very gracious to take us into his world, even the most painful part of it.

Here is what he said three years ago in Decision Magazine about this prison:

This prison is the largest maximum-security prison in America. It is one of the most famous prisons in the whole world. It has only murderers, rapists, armed robbers and habitual felons. The average sentence is 88 years, with 3,200 people …

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Here is Chesterton on the essence of art.

Art is limitation; the essence of every picture is the frame. If you draw a giraffe you must draw him with a long neck. If in your bold creative way you hold yourself free to draw a giraffe with a short neck you will really find that you are not free to draw a giraffe. (Orthodoxy, 71)

When I read this I remembered the thoughts I had in writing the advent poem called The Innkeeper.

So quickly do we pass over the Christmas words, “Herod...slew all the male children…two years old and under.” But the poet lingers, weeping, raging, looking at the dark spot, in hope that any prick of light might become a portal for the s…

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Dear fellow shepherds of God's people,

For over 20 years, we have assumed the foundation of Christian Hedonism at the Desiring God Conference for Pastors. But we have never focused on it. Until now. I thought it was time. Our theme for 2010 is

The Pastor, the People, and the Pursuit of Joy
The Apostolic Aim of Pastoral Ministry

At least twice, the apostle Paul sums up the goal of his ministry in the joy of his people. First, to the Corinthians:

"Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy." (2 Corinthians 1:24)

Second, to the Philippians:

I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith…

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If your "want to" does not conform to God's "ought to," what can you do to have peace?

I see at least five possible strategies.

1. You can avoid thinking about the "ought to."
   
   This is the most common strategy in the world. Most people simply do not devote energy to pondering what they should be doing that they are not doing.
   
   
2. You can reinterpret the "ought to" so that it sounds just like your "want to."
   
   This is a little more sophisticated and so not as common. It often takes a college education to do this with credibility, and a seminary degree to do it with finesse.
   
   
3. You can muster the willpower to do a form of the "ought to" even t…

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What an amazing array of glorious acts of love God shows toward us in 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14. I pray that God will make my thoughts this dense with magnificent truth.

• Loved
• Chosen
• Saved
• Sanctified
• Believing
• Called
• Obtaining glory

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14:

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved , through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth . To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ .

Did you wake up not feeling like reading your Bible and praying? How many times today have you had to battle not feeling like doing things you know would be good for you?

While it’s true that this is our indwelling sin that we must repent of and fight against, there’s more going on.

Think about this strange pattern that occurs over and over in just about every area of life:

• Good food requires discipline to prepare and eat while junk food tends to be the most tasty, addictive, and convenient.
• Keeping the body healthy and strong requires frequent deliberate discomfort while it only takes constant comfort to go to pot.
• You have to make yourself pick up that n…

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Not until recently had I ever felt the weight of the fact that those outside Christ have no defense against the devil. God can restrain the devil from doing his maximum worst. But the world cannot. They are helpless before Satan’s supernatural power. They are utterly in his sway, except for God’s restraining providence.

This should make us tremble for the hopelessness of the world and marvel at the magnitude of God’s power and grace to keep the world from being ten thousand times more violent and miserable than it is.

Consider these passages to show the plight of the world...

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No, no, no. My friend, Mark Driscoll. No, no, no.

Yesterday you tweeted and facebooked to a gazillion people:

Only the hardcore uber geek theological types who love footnotes will care, but John Sailhamer's The Meaning of the Pentateuch & Andreas Kostenberger's A Theology of John's Gospels & Letters were just released. For both of you - enjoy.

Emphatically, no. To all pastors and serious readers of the Old Testament—geek, uber geek, under geek, no geek—if  you graduated from high school and know the word “m e a n i n g,” sell your latest Piper or Driscoll book and buy Sailhamer.

There is nothing like it. It will rock your world. You will never read th…

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In Psalm 51, as he laments and repents of his adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah, David confesses at least five ways that his sin is extremely serious.

1. He says that he can’t get the sin out of his mind.

It is blazoned on his conscience. Verse 3:

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

Ever before him. The tape keeps playing. And he can’t stop it.

2. He says that his exceeding sinfulness is only against God.

Nathan had said David despised God and scorned his word. So David says in verse 4,

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.

This doesn’t mean Bathsheba …

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