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By Al Felder Truthfulness must be taught early. Children need to learn that telling the truth is not merely a way to stay out of trouble. It is part of living before God. A truthful heart is important because God is true, His word is true, and He calls His people to walk in truth. Lying is often one of the first sins parents must correct in a child. A child may lie to avoid punishment, to shift blame, to gain attention, to protect pride, or to get something he wants. Sometime

By Al Felder Responsibility is not learned all at once. It is formed through daily instruction, correction, expectation, and practice. A child learns responsibility when he is taught to finish what he starts, tell the truth, care for what has been entrusted to him, accept correction, admit wrong, keep his word, and understand that choices have consequences. Parents should not wait until children are nearly grown before teaching responsibility. By then, many habits may already

By Al Felder Obedience is one of the first lessons a child must learn. Before a child understands many of life’s deeper responsibilities, he must learn to listen, submit, and do what is right. This is not merely a matter of household order. It is spiritual training. A child who learns proper obedience in the home is being prepared to understand authority, responsibility, discipline, and ultimately obedience to God. The Bible says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for

By Al Felder Children are growing up in a world filled with voices. Some voices come from friends. Some come from teachers. Some come from entertainment. Some come from social media. Some come from culture. Some come from their own desires. Every voice is trying to shape how they think, what they value, what they believe, and how they live. That is why parents must teach their children one of life’s most important truths: God’s word is the final authority. This lesson must no

By Al Felder Every parent teaches something. Some lessons are spoken plainly. Others are taught by habit, example, discipline, priorities, tone, worship, conversation, and daily choices. Children learn what matters by watching what their parents love, what they fear, what they excuse, what they pursue, and what they refuse to compromise. That is why one of the most important things parents can teach their children is the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is not merely be

By Al Felder Forgiveness is not only a personal issue. It is also a church issue. Every local congregation is made up of people who need mercy, people who struggle, people who sometimes sin against God, and people who sometimes sin against one another. Because of that, every church must learn how to handle forgiveness biblically. However, this is where many churches struggle. Some churches emphasize mercy in a way that avoids truth. Sin is ignored, repentance is assumed, disc

By Al Felder Forgiveness is one of the most comforting truths in Scripture, but it is also one of the most often misunderstood. Many people want forgiveness without change, mercy without repentance, and peace without truth. They want the blessing of a canceled debt while continuing to live as though the debt never mattered. But biblical forgiveness is never separated from the truth about sin. God’s mercy is real. His grace is abundant. The blood of Christ is sufficient. Yet S

By Al Felder Being hurt by another person is one of the hardest places to practice Christianity. It is one thing to talk about forgiveness in general. It is another thing to forgive when the wound has a name, a face, a memory, and a history. Someone lied. Someone betrayed trust. Someone spoke cruelly. Someone spread gossip. Someone acted selfishly. Someone sinned and left damage behind. In those moments, forgiveness is not theoretical. It becomes a test of faith, humility, ob

By Al Felder Many people want forgiveness to mean that everything goes back to normal immediately. Once the words “I’m sorry” are spoken, they expect consequences to disappear, trust to return, relationships to reset, and accountability to end. But Scripture gives a more careful picture. Biblical forgiveness is real, powerful, and beautiful. When God forgives, He truly releases the sinner from guilt. When Christians forgive others, they release personal vengeance and bitterne

By Al Felder Many people struggle with forgiveness because they confuse it with reconciliation. They assume that if they forgive someone, the relationship must immediately return to what it was before. They think forgiveness means trust must be restored, consequences must disappear, and everything must go back to normal. But Scripture gives a more balanced picture. Forgiveness and reconciliation are related, but they are not identical. Forgiveness concerns the release of pers

By Al Felder Guilt can be heavy. It can follow a person into quiet moments, interrupt sleep, weaken prayer, and make worship feel distant. Even after a person knows what Scripture says about forgiveness, the heart may still ask, “If God has forgiven me, why do I still feel guilty?” That question matters because many sincere people confuse the feeling of guilt with the fact of guilt. They assume that if they still feel the burden, then God must still be holding the sin against

By Al Felder Debt is a word everyone understands. A debt stands against a person. It must be paid, released, or carried. It can weigh on the mind, limit freedom, and create fear about what is coming. That is one reason the Bible’s language of forgiveness is so powerful. Scripture often describes sin as a debt. When we sin, we do not merely make a mistake or experience a personal struggle. We become guilty before God. Something stands against us. Something must be addressed. T

By Al Felder Many people think of forgiveness as something simple. If someone is loving, they assume forgiveness should be easy. If God is merciful, they may wonder why sin could not simply be dismissed. Why did forgiveness require the cross? Why did the Son of God have to suffer? Why does Scripture speak so often of blood? Those are not small questions. They reach into the heart of the gospel. The Bible never presents forgiveness as God casually overlooking sin. Forgiveness

By Al Felder One of the greatest misunderstandings about forgiveness is the idea that forgiving someone means pretending the wrong did not matter. Many people struggle with forgiveness because they think it requires them to minimize evil, ignore pain, erase consequences, or act as though trust was never broken. But that is not biblical forgiveness. The Bible never teaches that forgiveness means calling sin harmless. God does not forgive by denying sin. He forgives by dealing

By Al Felder Forgiveness is one of the most beautiful words in Scripture, but it is also one of the hardest commands to obey. Many people talk about forgiveness as if it were simple: “Just let it go.” “Move on.” “Don’t think about it anymore.” But anyone who has been deeply wounded knows forgiveness is not that shallow. Forgiveness is difficult because sin is real. Wrongdoing leaves wounds. Guilt leaves a burden. Betrayal damages trust. Hurt can settle into the heart and temp

By Al Felder John wrote, “And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). That statement reaches to the heart of who Jesus is and why He came. It tells us that the incarnation was not only about God coming near, but about God making His glory known in the Son. But what should we see when we behold His glory? That is an important question, because many people think of glory only in terms of visible brightness, ove

By Al Felder Few truths in Scripture are more sobering and more hope-filled than the return of Jesus Christ. The same Lord who came in humility, lived among men, died for sin, rose in victory, and ascended into heaven will come again. That promise is not a side note in the Christian faith. It is one of the great anchors of the believer’s hope. For the world, the return of Christ will mean judgment, exposure, and the end of false security. But for believers, it means something

By Al Felder Grace is one of the most cherished words in Scripture, but it is also one of the most misunderstood. Many people think of grace only as pardon. They think of it as God overlooking guilt and giving salvation to those who do not deserve it. That is certainly part of grace, and a precious part of it. But grace does more than forgive. Grace teaches. Grace trains. Grace reshapes the daily life of the believer. If grace is understood only as comfort for the conscience,

By Al Felder It is one thing to speak about the Word becoming flesh in Jesus Christ. It is another thing to ask what that truth should produce in those who follow Him. The incarnation is not only something to admire. It is something meant to transform. The Word came into the world in visible form, full of grace and truth. Now those who belong to Christ are called to live in such a way that His character is seen in them. This does not mean that believers become divine, nor doe

By Al Felder Many people often think about the birth of Christ, the ministry of Christ, the cross of Christ, and the resurrection of Christ. All of those deserve deep attention. But another question matters greatly and is sometimes overlooked: What is Jesus doing now in heaven? The answer is not that He has simply finished His work and withdrawn into inactivity. The risen Christ is not absent in the sense of being uninvolved. He is alive, exalted, reigning, interceding, and s