In 1 Timothy 2:1–4, Paul connects prayer for “all who are in high positions” with a peaceful life for the followers of Jesus, and with his desire for all people to be saved.

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

There are two goals in praying for kings and leaders—that is, for political structures that exist, or might exist, in the Middle East.

1. W

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The sons of Judah, Er and Onan, were wicked men, and the Bible says, the Lord killed them.

“Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death.” (Genesis 38:7)

“What Onan did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also.” (Genesis 38:10)

But what are we to understand from the statement that God killed them, since God governs all life and death? None dies but by God’s plan.

“The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)

“The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.” (1 Samuel 2:6)

“There is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; a…

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Chronological smugness is the feeling that we have advanced to a moral condition higher than the generations before us. Shelby Steele has a good warning for us. We may not be advancing, but only reshuffling the vices about which we want to be relativistic or absolutistic.

I wondered if President Clinton would be defended with relativism if he had done what, according to gossip, Eisenhower was said to have done.

Suppose that in a light moment he had slipped into a parody of an old Arkansas buddy from childhood and, to get the voice right, used the word “n-” a few times. Suppose further that a tape of this came to light so that all day long in the media—from the unctuous morning shows to th…

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Francis Chan gave a message at Bethlehem Baptist Church on the Wednesday evening following the Conference for Pastors.

He began by asking a question:

Watch, listen, or download the whole message.

All Christians sin. All churches are blind to some of their sins. None of us is in a position to claim our theology is true because of the quality of our lives. Truth is grounded in God’s word, not our works.

While it is true that “you shall know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16), it is not true that you shall know their theology by their fruits. Man’s capacity for hypocrisy is great. And Jesus can say even of the Pharisees, “Practice and observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do” (Matthew 23:3).

And Paul says, concerning some heartless, pretentious evangelists, “Whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice” (Philippians 1:18). The fact that t…

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Valentine's Day, 2011

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Do you have a main prayer for yourself that you come back to again and again?

Mine changes only slightly from year to year. Different words come to mind with different meditations on the central truth of the Bible. But the heart of it has not changed for many years. It always circles back to “Hallowed be your name” (Matthew 6:9).

The way I prayed it this morning was:

Father, grant to me to live intentionally and unintentionally for the supreme hallowing of your name in as many hearts, in as many places and times, as is possible in your wise counsel and sovereign power. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

This is what I want my life to count for—to so hallow God’s name in all I do that the greate…

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One of the great enemies of hope is forgetting God’s promises. Reminding is a great ministry. Peter and Paul wrote for this reason (2 Peter 1:13; Romans 15:15).

The main reminder is the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). But don’t be passive. You are responsible only for your own ministry of reminding. And the first one in need of reminding by you is you.

The mind has this great power: It can talk to itself by way of reminder. The mind can “call to mind.” For example, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases” (Lamentations 3:21–22).

If we don’t “call to mind” what God has said about himself and about us, we languish. O how I know this from…

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Spring Break 1990 in Daytona Beach, Florida

I was a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania. 

If it had been one year earlier I would have been at Daytona Beach to join in the partying. As it was, God had intervened mercifully in my life before going to college, and I was there for a beach evangelism project. Christians sure know how to almost have fun.

A bunch of us had driven down from Philadelphia in an old van. The first night I ended up staying alone in an isolated motel room surrounded by drunk bikers partying outside my door. One night a homeless man who seemed to be high on drugs approached our group while we were out walking and said, "I know who you are!  You're here to te…

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In the debates over evolution, be sure you do not become less intelligent than the beasts, the birds, the bushes, and the fish. They know something the brilliant godless do not know.

But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;
or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you;
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
Who among all these does not know
that the hand of the LORD has done this?
In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of all mankind. (Job 12:7–10)