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Jon Bloom

Jon Bloom serves as teacher and cofounder of Desiring God. He is the author of four books, including Not by Sight and most recently True to His Word. He and his wife have five children and make their home in the Twin Cities.

The Only Thing We Have to Fear

The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied. (Proverbs 19:23) Franklin D. Roosevelt coined one of America’s iconic maxims in his first inaugural address: “the only thing we have to fear is fear…

The Hopelessness and Hope of the Greatest Commandments

The Hopelessness and Hope of the Greatest Commandments

There are no commandments in the Bible more devastating than the two that Jesus said are the greatest: And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and…

Serve in the Shadow God Places You

“Andrew. Oh! You’re Simon Peter’s brother, aren’t you?” Andrew must have gotten used to that. Even the New Testament introduces him as “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother” (John 1:40). Peter’s shadow is cast over Andrew from the beginning. Andrew is mentioned…

Do Not Disbelieve — But Believe

“Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” (John 20:25) The resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth…

A Year-End Prayer for Weary Waiters

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son” (Galatians 4:4). Jesus, you came in "the fullness of time." But how many of your children living during the ripening years wondered at your tarrying? A thousand…

When You Don’t Feel Like It, Take Heart

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…

Christmas: The Dawn of Death’s Destruction

Christmas: The Dawn of Death’s Destruction

The Apostle Paul wrote, “O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). Anyone grieving the death of someone they love deeply will say that “sting” hardly begins to describe the pain. And Christmas often heightens this pain. Certain decorations…

Conference Message

You Really Can! Why and How to Memorize Big Chunks of the Bible

Seminar — 2014 National Conference

You can and should memorize big chunks of the Bible because it will benefit yourself and others, and it’s easier than you think it is.

True to His Word: 100 Meditations on the Faithfulness of God

True to His Word

100 Meditations on the Faithfulness of God

The Bible teaches that God is always faithful, that He’s always true to his word. Saints throughout history have affirmed it, and hymns and worship songs celebrate it.

Let Darwin Teach You

Let Darwin Teach You

Charles Darwin loved his scientific studies. They were his “chief enjoyment and sole employment throughout life.” However, as the years passed, Darwin experienced a tragic atrophy. He described it near the end of his life in his autobiography: Up…

Extraordinary Help for Gospel Productivity

Extraordinary Help for Gospel Productivity

Does God care about how productive we are? He does. Deeply. Consider: Our fruitfulness reflects on Jesus: “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:8). We are to…

The Pride of Nazareth

Jesus and Nazareth are inseparable. Jesus spent most of his life in Nazareth. The prophets had said, "He shall be called a Nazarene" (Matthew 2:23). History would remember him as Jesus of Nazareth. Even the demons called him that (Luke…

Jesus chooses and Uses Failures

"Forgiven," Not "Failure," Defines the Christian

“Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved. Jesus had just asked him for the third time if he loved him. Peter had already wholeheartedly answered yes twice. What else was he supposed to say? Had he…

Be You

“Lord, what about this man?” (John 21:21) Peter asked Jesus this question when he learned that Jesus had ordained very difficult things for Peter’s future. So Peter wanted to know about John. Was Jesus going to give John a better…

God Will Guide-Even Correct-You When the Decisions are Hard

Mary wasn’t herself. Joseph had sensed some urgency in her request that he meet her at “their” tree. She was staring at the ground. She seemed burdened. “Mary, is something wrong?” She looked up at him intensely. “Joseph… I’m pregnant.”…

When God Gives You an Overcrowded Christmas

When God Gives You an Overcrowded Christmas

For many, the last few days before Christmas are rarely peaceful. This is especially true for parents and pastors...

How Grace and Peace Is Multiplied to You

Every morning at 8:45 the Desiring God staff gathers for a 15-minute devotional. We read a small portion of Scripture, apply it to God’s call on us, and then pray for various outreach efforts, needs, and prayer requests. It’s our…

Fight the Poverty of Attention

Oh, that my people would listen to me. (Psalm 81:13) “Attention is focused mental engagement on a particular item of information.”1 I’ll bet you’re finding that difficult to do, aren’t you — paying attention? As you read this are…

Hope for the Battle with Intractable Weakness

We all have sin-infected weaknesses that are intractable. They are deeply woven into the fabric of who we are and are frequently exacerbated by our sinful responses to them. Inherent weaknesses are different from indwelling sin. Indwelling sin is evil…

Is Your World Too Small?

Is Your World Too Small?

We live in a small world at high speed. And this way of living tends to produce spiritual barrenness rather than richness. That’s why G.K. Chesterton, ahead of his time, was sounding a warning more than a century ago. He said to get your microscopes back out.

Born Between God and Man: Welcoming Our Long-Awaited Priest

Born Between God and Man

Welcoming Our Long-Awaited Priest

The king Israel wanted was not the king Israel needed. The king they wanted would have exacted justice; the King they received purchased them mercy.

Unbelief Is Sure to Err

Unbelief Is Sure to Err

Unbelief messes up how we calculate reality and leads us to errant conclusions and really bad decisions. After Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead in John 11, the Jewish religious leaders realized they had a serious crisis on their…

Keep Speaking

It is precisely when it is personally costly to speak, and we *still* speak, that people listen to what we have to say. When it’s costly to deliver a message, the message must be costly. For people only pay dearly for what is valuable. Paying dearly glorifies the valuable thing.

There Must Be Factions

[Post updated.] I’m thankful for First Corinthians. It reminds me that the early church wasn’t only experiencing Acts 4:32-35. The church in Corinth was so divided that you might say it was diced. There were divisions over which apostle was…

What You Teach Really, Really Matters

Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Timothy 4:16) Do you have a communication gifting? Have others commented on how well…

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