The “Inner Courtroom” of Anger (Powlison)

I'm in the middle of studying the fascinating story in 1 Samuel 20. In this story, King Saul goes into rage mode against Jonathan because Jonathan is protecting David. Jonathan, in turn, is angry with Saul because Saul tried to kill him, because Saul shamed David, and because Saul was trying to kill David. I'd…

Afflictions, God’s Sovereignty, and Our Foundation (Powlison)

 In chapter 17 of Good & Angry, David Powlison talks about being angry at God. Obviously it's sinful to be angry at God and blame him of wrongdoing.  Powlison's discussion of this topic is a good one; it's worth reading for sure!  I especially appreciated the following paragraphs: When the Bible portrays and discusses suffering, God…

Anger and Us – Our Anger (Powlison)

  David Powlison's book Good and Angry is an outstanding resource on anger.  It does a good job balancing and summarizing the biblical teaching about anger - God's and ours.   In chapter five Powlison noted the truth that our anger isn't just a "thing" or an "it," but something we do as humans.  Here's a summary of…

Motives at Work in Sexual Sin (Powlison)

Last week I mentioned David Powlison's forthcoming book, Making All Things New.  Today I want to highlight part of it that is quite helpful in thinking of the nuts and bolts of sexual sin, whether it be adultery, pornography, homosexuality, or lust (and so on).  Below are various motives at work in sexual sin, which…

Only Six Verses That Mention Homosexuality? (Powlison)

Here's a paragraph I appreciated from David Powlison's forthcoming book, Making All Things New. "I've heard arguments against the biblical sexual ethic that say, 'There are only six Bible verses that mention homosexuality,' and then proponents wiggle the definition of homosexuality to exclude modern forms.  This is mere trivializing of Scripture.  Narrowing Scripture's relevance to…