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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.

Simon the Magician: The Peril of Pursuing Greatness

Missionary to India, William Carey, once exhorted a Baptist gathering in England by saying, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” I love that quote. We don’t want to squander our lives on trivial, unimportant pursuits. But…

Ask! God Is Willing and Able to Give You the Best Gifts

He was one of the walking dead. It had almost been three years since the priest examined that suspicious spot on his left arm and looked at him with sympathy, “I’m so sorry. It’s leprosy. May God have mercy on…

My Flesh Is True Food: The Meaning of an Offensive Image

My Flesh Is True Food

The Meaning of an Offensive Image

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” Few words of Jesus have been more misunderstood and misapplied.

You Never Know What God Is Growing

Sow Faithfully. The Harvest Will Be Larger than You Think

Olive Nelson passed away a few days ago at age 94. As I remembered her, my heart filled with gratitude. Olive and her husband, Arnie (who passed away a few years ago), were members of Bethlehem Baptist Church for decades…

Joseph: (Un)Planned Detours

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9) As Jesus’ earthly father, Joseph, discovered in Matthew 1-2, that’s just another way of saying that when your plans are detoured and redirected, you find…

Lead Me, O Lord: Ten Prayers for Christian Leaders

Lead Me, O Lord

Ten Prayers for Christian Leaders

Good leaders are good followers first. They depend on God for wisdom, guidance, courage, and everything else they need.

Do You Believe This?

“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.”1 Can you bear these two sentences? The most loving thing Jesus…

5 Helpful Prayers

Here are 5 “Ds” that I have made part of my daily prayers: Whatever it takes, Lord, give me Delight in you as the greatest treasure of my heart. Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires…

Learn to Fly By the Instruments

Your Perceptions May Be Unreliable in a Spiritual Storm

“Spatial disorientation” is something that happens to an aircraft pilot when his plane enters dark storm clouds and he can no longer see the horizon or the ground. Points of reference that guide his senses disappear and he can no…

Could My Tears Forever Flow

“So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him” (John 19:16-18). One astonishing thing about the Gospel accounts…

Kill Me at Once!

Moses had had it up to here. The Israelites' continual complaining and rebellion and lack of faith had been a heavy burden. Now they were standing in front of their tents weeping. Why? Because the food they were eating was…

Who Is the Greatest?

Selfish ambition is a sin that always seems to be “crouching at the door” (Genesis 4:7). It contaminates our motives for doing just about anything. It shows up even in the most holy moments, like it did for Jesus’ disciples…

Make the Most of Your Conference

Make the Most of Your Conference

This afternoon Desiring God kicks off the 27th annual Conference for Pastors in Minneapolis. Yes, in Minneapolis. In February. Early February. More than 1,500 brave souls from all over the States and numerous other nations will travel to the capital…

Trust Promises, Not Providences

This morning my assistant, Bryan DeWire, found out his father, who 24 hours ago seemed in fine health, didn’t make it through emergency heart surgery. This afternoon, my wife called me in tears to update me on a very difficult…

We Are Not So Reasonable

And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers…[and] went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them. (Judges 2:12) The ancient Israelites repeatedly turned to the idols of the surrounding nations despite…

Peter: Rock of Truth, Satanic Stumbling Block

It is humbling to remember that as Christians we are still vulnerable to Satan’s deception. One moment we can speak glorious truth and the next moment destructive, satanic words. We must be on our guard, something Peter learned the hard…

What Does Disunity Say? Three Common Types of Division

What Does Disunity Say?

Three Common Types of Division

Not all divisions are created equal in the church. Some arise from the flesh. Some enter through differences in maturity. Others are necessary to distinguish the false from the real.

Learn from Darwin

We Become What We Behold

Charles Darwin loved his scientific studies. They were his “chief enjoyment and sole employment throughout life.” As a young man he made a half-hearted attempt to become a clergyman, but gave it up because beetles and plants and rock formations…

When the Adulteress Went Home

Living Guilt-free with the Consequences of Past Sin

“Neither do I condemn you; go and from now on, sin no more.” These words were almost unbelievable. A half hour ago she had been dragged out of her illicit lover’s house and shoved through the streets. Just minutes before…

Exposing the Idol of Self-Glory

The love of our own glory is the greatest competitor with God in our hearts. And sometimes we can cloak this idol in a pious disguise. In Matthew 21, Jesus unmasked such an idol with a single question It was…

Hope for "Older Brother" Types

Someone asked a great question in response to my post last week on Simon the Pharisee Much like the two sons in the prodigal son story, how necessary is it to be the younger son to appreciate the Father? …

Troubled But Not Troubled

Jesus’ words “let not your hearts be troubled” (John 14:1a) are comforting. But this it is not merely counsel. It is a command. What Jesus is saying is that in the face of trouble—terrible trouble—we must not allow our hearts…

Come, Take a Look at This!

We impoverish ourselves by not lingering more. Whipping from one thing to the next does not make for a rich, memorable life. Understanding and wonder and worship don’t typically result from doing or reading as many things as possible. It…

Success Can Be Perilous

We are never more vulnerable to sin than when we are successful, admired by others, and prosperous, as King David tragically discovered It was spring again. David once had loved warm, fragrant spring afternoons on the palace roof. But this…

An Antidote to the Disorder

America is the most affluent nation in the history of the world. And affluence is at once wonderful and perilous in its potential. Listen to what Michael Ramsden has to say: Our affluent culture looks for ease in everything. Comfort…

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