Mike Wittmer

Category: Theology

  • believe schmalieve

    Last night I attended yet another school concert, and yet again found something to criticize. Tonight is my last one. I’m considering leaving my discernment at home and just going to enjoy the fluff. It will take a Christmas miracle. Last night my seventh grade son’s band joined his school’s choir in a solid rendition…

  • pockets

    I realize this website has been about as useful as healthcare.gov, but that’s because I just completed a two week grading sprint. I’m a bit fried right now, but I wanted to share my latest ODJ devotional, which like my grades, is just going to beat the deadline. I’d much rather work ahead, but sometimes…

  • the command to believe

    Most chapters in Despite Doubt cite Martin Luther, because the man who endured so much Anfechtung has much to teach us about faith and doubt. I found his observation on the first of the Ten Commandments particularly helpful, and I cite it here to encourage you. Luther observed that the first commandment is “the commandment…

  • how to know God exists

    I could point to evidence from nature. Why is there something rather than nothing? And why is this something beautifully arranged, as if it was designed? We live on the razor’s edge in a universe that is finely tuned for life. If the Earth orbited much closer to the sun we would burn up; if…

  • how to be saved and know it

    The dying Israelites didn’t have to look at the snake in any special way. Some may have squinted from astigmatism or less than 20/20 vision. Some may have been selfish, pushing past others to get a better look. Some may have doubted, wondering if staring at a bronze snake would really make them well. It…

  • suing the government

    The many lawsuits against the HHS mandate may be overrun by current events. Now that hundreds of thousands of people are learning that, despite the President’s frequent assurances, they are not allowed to keep the affordable insurance policies they currently have, the Affordable Care Act may collapse of its own weight. Perhaps Nancy Pelosi should…

  • the real Jesus

    Peter said a surprising thing to Cornelius (Acts 10), and I turned it into a new devotional for Our Daily Journey. I won’t submit this for two weeks, so there is time to improve it if you have suggestions. What an odd thing to say! When Peter brought the gospel to the Gentiles, he told…

  • it’s here

    Last night, while Detroit was digging itself into a deep hole it could not climb out of—I mean the Tigers, not the city—my class of urban pastors turned a session on church government into a spirited conversation on homosexuality. I was surprised by their level of passion, because I had naively assumed that homosexual practice…

  • forgiveness

    I don’t mean to be the conscience of the Christian music industry, but there is another popular song that left me dismayed and wanting to say something. So here I go. “Forgiveness,” by Toby Mac and featuring Lecrae, who really should know better given he rapped on the Heidelberg Catechism, repeatedly says “we all need…

  • what do you know?

    My central claim in Despite Doubt: Embracing a Confident Faith is that we should believe only what we know, and we do know enough to believe. I am trying to encourage believers who might be discouraged by the many books on doubt that emphasize what we don’t know and how hard it is to believe.…