Ask Pastor John

Psalm 91 offers spectacular promises for the one who “dwells in the shelter of the Most High.” What does dwelling in the shelter of God mean for us today?

Countless pastors carry out their ministries faithfully — and some abuse their position and cause many to stumble. What does God have to say to hypocritical pastors?

God made marriage to picture the relationship of Christ and his church. Does it follow that a marriage between an unbelieving man and woman is illegitimate?

God has promised never to leave us or forsake his people. So how do we respond when it feels like he has?

If we’re going to parent well through family troubles, we need to know, first, that our own sin is our worst problem, and second, that Jesus’s blood covers it all.

The Bible talks a lot about feasting — far more than about fasting, in fact. So what is feasting, and how might we enjoy it in our Christian lives?

We know from the New Testament that Jesus will return in power and glory. What can we do to prepare ourselves for that long-expected day?

Jesus’s command to love our neighbors as we love ourselves isn’t a call to raise our self-esteem. It’s a charge to seek others’ good in the same way we seek our own.

When the glory of God grows dim in our eyes, bodily appetites become gods. When we lose sight of a big purpose for our lives, sexual urges become too big.

At what point should a Christian woman keep encouraging her spiritually lethargic boyfriend — and at what point should she call it off?

When do we experience the love of God most deeply? Not when we get whatever we want, but when he does whatever it takes to satisfy us in himself.

We seem hardwired to be happiest when life goes well, and saddest when life goes poorly. How can we root our joy in Jesus instead of circumstances?

Jesus and the apostles regularly warn against the dangers of wealth. So, should rich Christians take steps to downgrade their lifestyle?

Jesus promises spectacular responses to our prayers, but only if our desires are shaped by his word abiding within us.

The Bible repeatedly warns us against false teachers. But how can we actually identify them, especially if their ministry is mainly online?

On the morning after September 11, 2001, a radio station interviewed Pastor John about the day’s stunning and tragic attack. Listen to the 47-minute recording.

The New Testament never pairs the blessing of God with material prosperity in this age. So, what does it really mean to be blessed?

Don’t be intimidated when people far smarter than you level arguments against Jesus. Your personal testimony has power to trump the most sophisticated arguments.

At the end of this age, “the love of many will grow cold.” What will such coldness look like — and how can we guard ourselves against it?

Does Revelation suggest that Jesus already returned when Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70 — and therefore that we should not wait for another coming?

For better or worse, we become what we behold. How should this truth affect our media consumption in the digital age?

Both the sluggard and the diligent might take a nap on their day off. So, what distinguishes the laziness of the sluggard from the rest of the diligent?

Everything in this world eventually runs out: money runs out, health runs out, pleasure runs out, time runs out. But God never runs out.

How can we prevent Bible reading from becoming a lifeless routine? Pastor John offers three principles for authentic daily devotions.

God calls his people to show honor to everyone — but not for the same reasons, and not in the same ways.

If Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth, does he rule over the nations now? Or is he waiting to exercise his rule until his second coming?

If you want to know whether others love God, ask if they love the Jesus of Scripture. Love for Jesus is the litmus test of love for God.

According to Paul, Christians have died, will die, and die every day. What do these different deaths mean, and how else does Scripture speak of our dying?

Podcasts, including Christian podcasts, have great potential for both good and evil. Pastor John explains six dangers to beware of as you listen.

Christians are sorrowful, yet always rejoicing: sorrowful because of the ugliness and horrors of sin, and rejoicing because of the infinite worth of Jesus.

If Christ already paid for all our sins — past, present, and future — then why do we need to work so hard to put sin to death and grow in holiness?

The Old Testament prohibited a husband and wife from having sex during menstruation. Is that command still in force today?

Controversy is essential — and deadly. Slowly, we can begin to care more about defending the truth than enjoying the truth.

What do Paul and Jude mean when they command Christians to pray “in the Spirit” — and what would it mean to pray “out of the Spirit”?

The Bible is perfect; preachers are not. So, why listen to the sermons of fallible men when we can read God’s infallible word for ourselves?

John Newton cherished the doctrines of grace. And he knew that the best way to commend them was with a spirit of graciousness.

Why learn math — especially if studying math feels agonizing? Pastor John addresses an 8-year-old boy struggling to persevere in school.

The Bible doesn’t say how old Christians should be when they marry — or how close in age. So, can a Christian marry someone significantly younger?

Killing an unborn child is illegal if the mother wants the baby — but legal if she doesn’t. The rights of the weak rest in the hands of the strong.

In a media-saturated age, obedience to Jesus requires intentional detachment from the patterns of the world — especially its patterns of entertainment.

Those who follow Jesus may suffer more in this life than those who don’t. But from the standpoint of eternity, they will suffer infinitely less.

People are starving for the grandeur of God. Christian preachers, more than all others, should know this truth — and shape every sermon accordingly.

We all need people who will remind us that Christ is far better than sin, and that unrepentant sin destroys. Without friends, our faith won’t survive.

God made everybody, knitting each of us intricately in our mother’s womb. Does that mean we are each unique, unlike any other person God created?

If God deserves all glory and praise, what does Scripture mean when it mentions God’s glorifying and praising us?

Until we come awake to the great spiritual war that surrounds us, we will never truly know the privilege and power of prayer.

Hebrews tells us that, by showing hospitality to strangers, “some have entertained angels unawares.” Does this suggest that angels walk among us in human form?

God made us to need other people — but not to be codependent on them. So, how can we tell the difference between healthy need and disordered neediness?

With eternity in view, any span of life is a vapor. However long we live, our time here is preparation for the endless days of heaven.

Some Christians seem to be always on the lookout for signs from God in creation or circumstances. Does the Bible encourage us in that search?