A Stranger in the House of God

Send us Fan Mail When I was a college professor, students often asked me questions. Some began by saying, “This may be a stupid question.” For many years, my stock response was, “There are no stupid questions.” But after a while, it dawned on me that I was wrong about this. There are stupid questions. There are also disingenuous questions. Some are traps, and many are merely dead ends. Satan decon...

Send us Fan Mail Most sermons that I have heard, including some that I have preached myself, that focus on Simon Peter tend to portray him as something of a buffoon. They present Simon Peter as a boaster and a blowhard. Peter, as the Gospels admit, said and did some foolish things. But that did not make him a fool. Nor was he a coward. The bravest thing that Simon Peter ever did is probably not wh...

Send us Fan Mail The cure for Christmas melancholia is not, as a popular song tells us, that we “need a little Christmas right now.” Nor is it necessarily Puritan austerity or renunciation of all observance of Christmas. The cure, strange as it may seem, is good theology.  Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Praying th...

Send us Fan Mail I used to think that lullaby carols were odd. Why place so much emphasis on the baby Jesus? But this year, I began listening to Christmas carols in July in connection with a new book I was writing. I see them differently now.  Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Praying the Word column for the Lifeway...

Send us Fan Mail I have heard more than one Christian express reservations about what we can look forward to in the age to come. What is it about Heaven that makes some of us nervous?  Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Praying the Word column for the Lifeway publication Mature Living and is the author of 16 books. Hi...

Send us Fan Mail When Jesus called the two disciples on the Emmaus Road "slow to believe," he was describing many of us as well. The disciples' struggle to believe provides insight into our own slow faith.  Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Praying the Word column for the Lifeway publication Mature Liv...

Send us Fan Mail  Shakespeare called death “the undiscovered country.” But its environs may be more familiar than we think.  The landscape of the undiscovered country is not as alien as we thought. Nor do we have to wait until we pass through the gates of death to catch a glimpse of its powers. In fact, if we take Scripture at its word, all those who are in Christ are already in residence there in...

Send us Fan Mail Scripture says that Job died "old and full of days." Unlike our culture, which tends to view old age through the lens of loss and debilitation, the Bible's perspective on aging is generally positive. What are the five "blessings" that come with old age? Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John...

Send us Fan Mail Christmas is the day that holds pride of place for most Christians. Of all the holidays, it is the one that garners the lion's share of our attention and generates the most excitement. But this has not always been the case. In terms of church history, Christmas, at least as we now observe it, was a relative latecomer. The earliest Christians showed relatively little interest...

Send us Fan Mail During this past presidential election, Joe Rogan attempted to sit down with Kamala Harris for an interview. When they were unable to come to terms, he expressed disappointment. "I hope she does," Rogan said. "I will talk to her like a human being. I would try to have a conversation with her." Whatever you may think of Rogan, he was correct in describing conver...

Send us Fan Mail In a letter discussing the infant theory of quantum mechanics, Albert Einstein famously observed that God “does not play dice.” Perhaps, but sometimes, it feels as if God does play games with us. What is the nature of what Martin Luther called "the divine game?"  Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writ...

Send us Fan Mail John offers a review of Logos Bible Software's new subscription model, designed to enhance accessibility and maintain revenue. Mixed user feedback highlights concerns about costs versus value and the introduction of AI features into the software.  Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Praying the Wo...

Send us Fan Mail Playfulness is not typically attributed to the divine. Common descriptors include holy, sovereign, just, and merciful. Attributes such as omniscience, omnipresence, and self-sufficiency are well-acknowledged. However, playfulness seldom makes it into theological discourse.  throughout the Bible, the grace note reflected in God’s dealings with humanity is that of mirth. Dr. John Ko...

Send us Fan Mail The church is a caravan. It travels in company. In one of his sermons on the nature of Christ, Saint Augustine pictures the church as being a community of faith that stretches across the globe but across time. Or as he put it, “from Abel the just to the end of the world.” This is not what I usually see when the congregation assembles. I can’t help but notice how drab my view of th...

Send us Fan Mail  Faith and hope are essential in prayer. But how much faith is enough before God will answer?  Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Praying the Word column for the Lifeway publication Mature Living and is the author of 16 books. His latest book, On Things Above: The Earthly Importance of Heavenly Realit...

Send us Fan Mail Some years ago, a friend admitted to me that she couldn’t pray. She is not alone. Some of the godliest people have found themselves at a loss for words in the presence of God. How do we pray when we have no words? Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Praying the Word column for the Lifeway publication M...

Send us Fan Mail Everyone learns to talk by imitation. Most people learn to pray the same way. They hear the prayers of others and copy them. Jesus’s disciples learned how to pray from Jesus. His model prayer, usually referred to as the Lord’s Prayer, is a prayer that we can pray for ourselves, but it is also a kind of template.  Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty eme...

Send us Fan Mail It is not a hyperbole to describe the Christmas story as fantastic. That is to say, it has all the characteristics of a fantasy. C. S. Lewis observed, ""The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact."  Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Praying the Word column for the Lifeway...

Send us Fan Mail Many things can get in the way of praying. But one of the most common obstacles is boredom. Prayer can sometimes seem tedious.  How do we stay focused when praying?  Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Praying the Word column for the Lifeway publication Mature Living and is the author of 16 books. His...

Send us Fan Mail Which kind of praying is better, memorized prayers, written prayers, or extemporaneous prayers that we make up in the moment?  Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Praying the Word column for the Lifeway publication Mature Living and is the author of 16 books. His latest book, On Things Above: The Earth...

Send us Fan Mail Sometimes when we pray, we are angry with other people. On other occasions, we pray because we are angry with God. How do we manage our angry prayers?  Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Praying the Word column for the Lifeway publication Mature Living and is the author of 16 books. His latest book, O...

Send us Fan Mail Do a search on books about intercessory prayer on the Internet, and the overall impression you get is that our concerns in this area are primarily concerns of focus and method. Intercession isn't exactly rocket science but that doesn't mean that it is easy.  Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes th...

Send us Fan Mail Prayer is an act of communion with God. But for most of us, it’s also about getting something from God. Most prayers include an “ask” of some kind. We aren’t praying just to hear ourselves talk. We do not struggle with prayer because it is hard. Our problem is that we are not sure it is worthwhile. We suspect that God is not interested in our case or fear that he will not decide m...

Send us Fan Mail Whatever prayer may be, it is not an ordinary conversation. Believers in every generation have understood prayer as one of the means by which God communicates to his people. Yet it is a conversation where we do the majority of the talking. In prayer, we approach God but do not see either face or form and do not hear his voice. Therefore it is a conversation that lacks all the norm...

Send us Fan Mail Most books about prayer either assume that I don’t want to pray or that I don’t know how. Neither is really the case. My problem lies elsewhere. I don’t like the way God treats me when I pray. Dr. John Koessler is an award-winning writer and retired faculty emeritus of Moody Bible Institute. John writes the Praying the Word column for the Lifeway publication Mature Living and is t...