God the Father

It was 8 a.m. on a Saturday in Southern California while I was settling to watch my four-and-a-half-year-old son play basketball when I received a call from a sister in the Lord, Anne, dying in Minnesota. [1] We never met, but similar difficult providences had connected us for counsel and we became...

“I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means!” – Romans 11:1 The fear of rejection is perhaps one of the more influential considerations in our decision making. The choices we make, the conversations we choose to have or avoid, the way we spend our money; many times, these decisions are...

In the midst of suffering, I often pray, “Lord, help me to suffer well.” What I mean is that I want to suffer in a way that glorifies God. But what does it look like for the believer to suffer well? In the first part of his letter James speaks about what it means to be faithful in suffering through...

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29:11 For regular readers of PlaceForTruth, you may have given a good little chuckle when you read the title of the article and then the prooftext that we’ll be...

Is it difficult for you to think about joy and suffering in the same sentence? Normally, when we are in the middle of suffering, we just want it to be over. Think of the woman who feels betrayed by her best friend, or the wife who feels betrayed by her husband. Consider the mother who longs for her...

Remodeling a home (or church) is hard work. Not only does it take a great deal of planning, hard work, blood (if you happen to be accident prone), sweat, and even tears. There are often unforeseen trials that accompany the work, like leaky pipes, rotted wood, and poorly run wires that all need to...

How do you envision a triune God carrying out the divine missions? Do you picture the Son and Spirit departing the throne room—lunchboxes in hand—only to return to Heaven in the evening and report to the Father? If so, how might we understand our communion with God or the presence of Jesus in the...

A man loses his fortune in a fire. Shortly after, all four of his young children die in a tragic shipwreck. A young woman’s husband is brutally murdered. Her second husband dies of cancer, and she herself passes away after a decade-long battle with dementia. A promising teenager becomes a...

Many years ago, a friend and I decided to visit the church of a famous pastor. We were both in seminary and wanted the opportunity to hear the man in person. Not only was the sermon good, but the church was also wonderful. Almost as soon as we entered the building, a couple from the congregation...

When Paul wrote to the Philippians he was confined to prison, awaiting his hearing before Caesar (see Acts 23:11; 25:9-12; 26:32). Although he was chained to a soldier at all times, he was able to write letters, have visitors, and boldly proclaim the gospel (28:30-31). During this time Paul’s...