When you pray, don’t claim, decree or declare; just ask
Some Christians believe that when we want something, we can “claim,” “declare” or “decree” our desired outcomes. But overwhelmingly, the Bible teaches us to ask God like children ask their father.
Fear. Hell. Hate. Division. The hard sayings of Jesus
In a four-chapter stretch in Luke, Jesus says several things that would shock the “winsome” sensibilities of those who think Christians should try not to offend anyone in order to attract as many people as possible. Was He being unwise, religious and divisive?
Are everybody’s sins already forgiven? Why people go to hell
One issue in the debate over the extent of the atonement is the question of why unbelievers go to hell. Is it the penalty for our sins, or are everybody’s sins already forgiven and we can still refuse eternal life? The Bible seems to land pretty hard on one of those options.
When God’s people wanted a strongman to fight for them
There was a time when God’s people wanted a strongman to fight for them, and for their country to be great like the other nations of the world. God was not pleased with their desire for power.
An election opus: The thinking behind this Christian’s vote
Here are several Biblical, moral, and political reasons for Christians to vote for neither Donald Trump nor Kamala Harris. Our holiness and the integrity of our witness are at stake, and those are more important than any issue.
Church and nation: A guide to Christian political theology
A compilation of articles that discuss various Biblical and spiritual principles that should govern how Christians think about power, politics, government, winning, and the place of nations in God’s plans.
The tone police: How God wants us to talk and act
Some Christians don't think our tone is a big deal, or that it's too subjective to debate. But the Bible disproves both of those claims; God cares greatly about our tone, and His word has a lot to say about it.
Contentment: The most underrated Biblical virtue
Contentment isn't the most popular topic for some Christians. But it's taught by some of the most beloved Scriptures in the Bible, including where many Christians don't realize it.
We want power and winning. God wants losers.
Many Christians long for the church to have the world's power and strength. They want "winning." But in 1 Corinthians 1, God tells us what kind of Christians He's looking for: weak, lowly and foolish.
From Babel to heaven: A brief history of the nations
Yes, God created the nations. No, we shouldn't just ignore our nationality. But in Christ, from all nations He created a new nation, one without borders, that finds its identity in Him, a unity that transcends earthly nations.
Who hardened Pharaoh’s heart? Check the scoreboard
When Christians debate who hardened Pharaoh’s heart and whether we have free will, we could miss the amazing, wonderful, ultimate purpose of that story: It points to Jesus Christ.
How do we beat the devil? Here’s what works every time
Christians have all kinds of ideas about how to resist the devil. But in the Bible we see a simple solution that beats him every time – humility.
You don’t need to work for any of God’s free blessings
What do you need to do to receive blessings from God, such as healing or a financial breakthrough? Nothing! Everything God does for us in this life is just as free as salvation. See where the Bible teaches that.
Who hated Jesus? More than just the Pharisees
Ever hear people say things like we need to be more like Jesus so that more people will like us, because only the Pharisees hated Him? That’s not what we see in Scripture, including the words of Jesus Himself.
How Jesus reacted to an oppressive, godless regime
Imagine your most hated enemies slaughtering your countrymen. Would you want to fight? That happened in Jesus’ time, and His reaction was, you’re no better.
‘The Physics of Heaven’: Bethel’s New Age book
It’s been a year since Living and Powerful published its five-part review of “The Physics of Heaven,” in which authors from Bethel Church urge Christians to relate to God the way New Agers do. Here are links to all five parts, plus some more resources.
The Biblical case for God’s sovereignty over man’s will
Here are hundreds of examples in Scripture of God exercising control or influence of men’s will and/or actions. It’s an overwhelming case for God’s sovereign power over whatever, and whomever, He pleases.
America cannot be ‘the nation whose God is the Lord’
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” is a Bible verse frequently applied to America, but you only need to look at the second half of Psalm 33:12 to see that it can’t be about that.
‘Heal our land’ doesn’t mean America — in this life
2 Chronicles 7:14, with its conditional promise for “My people who are called by My name” to “heal their land,” is often applied to Christians and America. But its context puts that into question, and raises another one: Do we even have a land?
Winning in the Bible: God defines it differently than us
Some Christians use the word "winning" a lot, often in a political or cultural context. But in the Bible, victory often doesn't look like what we think it does.