Articles by Desiring God

Greg Morse | Beards are no prerequisite for godly manhood. In days like ours, though, they can be a symbol for it.

Marshall Segal | Why might God give a man an ambition to lead, and the character to lead, and yet withhold certain opportunities to lead? Because unwanted waiting can be some of the best preparation for ministry.

David Mathis | The infamous “Billy Graham Rule” is not actually a rule, but a resolution — and just one of four that the evangelist made in 1948.

Jon Bloom | 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.

Marshall Segal | We will not feel the full weight of God’s mercy toward us if we downplay or ignore the fury of his justice.

Greg Morse | What person would not only submit to martyrdom, but would embrace it, relish it, and even eagerly long for it? Ignatius of Antioch.

David Mathis | Our God is not only great, but good. Not only big, but beautiful. Not only strong, but stunning. He is, in a word, majestic.

Scott Hubbard | The patience of God is not like our shallow, short-lived patience. It is deep and long, wide and high. And in the perfection of his patience, we find great hope.

Marshall Segal | Feeling angry over a spouse’s sin may not be wrong. But staying angry is.

Greg Morse | Too many men sit around and watch the world burn without stepping up to tell someone about Jesus.

Joe Rigney | How might we think in an orderly way about God’s attributes? Here’s often overlooked help from Jonathan Edwards.

Scott Hubbard | Even the most faithful Christians end some days deeply wishing we had walked more worthy of our God. How do we find rest when our conscience keeps us awake?

David Mathis | Our families, churches, and communities need leaders who have learned to keep their heads when others are losing theirs.

Marshall Segal | Few realities in human life are as captivating, fulfilling, and elusive as friendship.

Joe Rigney | If a Christian wants to join your baptist church but they tell you that they were baptized as a child, what do you do?

David Mathis | Many today may feel afresh that true unity is rare and precious. But do we know from where that kind of unity comes?

Greg Morse | The world, the devil, and your flesh will tell you there is surely an easier way to heaven than the narrow way, a more comfortable burden than the cross, and a more reasonable spirituality than self-denial requires.

Scott Hubbard | This world needs more people willing to look foolish in the eyes of the world so that more in the world might be saved.

Marshall Segal | Sometimes God allows conflict in a church so that the body might finally heal and be whole again.

Jon Bloom | As Christians, we can build unity, protect unity, and maintain unity because Christ has already made us one.

David Mathis | Faithful confessions, creeds, and commentaries provide crucial insights into Scripture. And they never replace the words of God.

Joe Rigney | Many of the most difficult decisions churches face are ones the Bible does not clearly address. This means pastors have to regularly practice humble, Bible-saturated prudence.

Greg Morse | When we are the victim of another’s sin, we are often in danger of becoming a culprit in how we respond.

Joe Rigney | If sexuality and baptism are both second-tier issues, why is the former often more divisive in the wider church today?

Scott Hubbard | All biblical doctrine is important, but not all biblical doctrine is equally important. So how do we discern which doctrines should divide us?

Jon Bloom | Unity is often harder in our relationships and churches because we assume it should be easy.

Greg Morse | The deepest, fullest, most vibrant unity is found in embracing, not a few favorite verses, but everything God has said in his word.

David Mathis | As the United States celebrates 246 years of independence, and Americans newly remember the ten-dollar founding father, what lessons might we learn from the rise, fall, and redemption of a prodigal son?

Marshall Segal | Deacons are not only handy, administrative, or good at meeting needs. They are also holy, humble, and unusually sacrificial. Deacons are spiritual giants who bow low.

Jon Bloom | In his faithfulness, God promises not only that he will deliver us from affliction, but that we will do something good through the affliction.

Marshall Segal | The moments when marriage feels most challenging are often the moments with the most potential to say something profound about Jesus.

David Mathis | Today marks 25 years since the first Harry Potter book released. What Christian lessons might we take away from the bestselling series?

Greg Morse | Where reverence withers, worship suffers.

Joe Rigney | Being baptized into the church means being immersed in its mission. The old has passed and a new life now begins.

Scott Hubbard | Satan knows the power of words — he’s been undoing souls with them from the beginning. And wherever Christ is faithfully taught, the devil is undone by them.

Jon Bloom | If God’s answer to your prayers hurts, don’t assume he doesn’t love you. Assume his love is working something good you cannot now see.

Greg Morse | Want to measure your growth in grace? Consider how deeply you long for heaven.

Marshall Segal | The friends we need will not always be the friends we want. They’ll often be the brotherly storm that wakes us back up to God.

Joe Rigney | The best readers gladly observe the Golden Rule: they read others as they would want to be read.

Jon Bloom | The hardest part of many trials is how far away God can feel. But he’s not far at all, and if we trust him, he will, in time, flood our dark nights with light.

Greg Morse | If a pitiless culture will not mourn for the missing, she will.

Scott Hubbard | On Pentecost 1862, some five thousand men and women, many of them former cannibals, gathered in the South Pacific to sing the hymn “Jesus Shall Reign.”

Marshall Segal | Those who have been invited into heaven become people who love to open their front doors. They know that ordinary hospitality is often how the lost are found.

David Mathis | He didn’t just give the Great Commission; he lived the Great Commission. What might we learn from Jesus’s own life about what it means to “make disciples”?

Jon Bloom | False teachers may look like sheep, talk like sheep, and even act like sheep for a time. But eventually, they will show themselves to be the wolves they are.

Greg Morse | Some imagine they would believe in God if he would simply write his message in the clouds. But what if he actually did?

Scott Hubbard | Small groups may feel unremarkable, but again and again, God has struck revival with small matches. Here are four marks of the small but daring community.

Marshall Segal | No matter what situation you’re in, the psalms know what you feel. And the psalms can help you feel as you ought.

David Mathis | An astounding and holy contest runs through the pages of Scripture, as the Father and Son seek to “outdo one another in showing honor.”

Joe Rigney | Our own sense of reality is not the same as reality itself. And simply recognizing that distinction can be the first step toward aligning our thoughts and emotions with God’s word.