In almost every endeavor of mankind, there is an attempt to save time, effort and money by taking shortcuts. Even in education, there have been shortcuts made in math and other subjects to the advantage of the students. Not all shortcuts are as advertised, particularly in travel. The shortcut may be shorter, but it may…
ASK KEVIN – Relationship advice for the Slightly Bewildered Dear Kevin, I am hoping you can help me with a difficult issue in my relationship with God. You see, I’ve been a good Christian for almost 12 years and, while things were good at first, lately I’m sensing a separation in our relationship that has been…
“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). There are victims in this world. There are people who have been subjugated and abused by others more powerful than themselves: the bullies and the bullied, the wealthy oppressing the poor, men of power trapping the powerless, adults abusing…
The American saying, “You can’t have your cake and eat it too,” expresses a truth acknowledged by other cultures. The Albanians say, “To take a swim and not get wet.” The Portuguese talk of “wanting the sun to shine on the threshing floor while it rains on the turnip field.” In Vietnam, they warn “you…
Judge not, that you be not judged (Matthew 7:2). It’s a powerful statement. The Lord wasn’t speaking about discerning right from wrong. He was talking about how we discern people. We may see the surface behavior, but we can’t see the way the Lord sees. We cannot discern the thoughts and intents of the heart….
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. We think of a peacemaker as one who stands in the divide between two opposing parties, one who mediates and brings about reconciliation. This is a major function and a needed one between man and man, and between God and man. Christ Jesus…
Recently a friend of mine was challenged with a question from a foreign exchange student. The student asked, “What does the word redemption mean?” As she began struggling with the best way to explain such a spiritually meaningful concept, she thought to ask why the student wanted to know. The girl replied, “Someone told me…
I recently received a call from a research group asking questions about discipleship. I suspected the underlying purpose was for the sake of marketing. I decided to participate, just to see if I could insert something edifying into the conversation. The questions were involved and thorough. The phone conversation took quite some time. One reason…
In the city of Jerusalem Jesus saw a man who had been blind from birth. The process by which He healed the man was uniquely different than other miracles of healing recorded in the Scriptures. We know Jesus could have spoken a word, or merely touched the man, but on this occasion He spat on…
The biblical description of the origin of the universe has several significant implications, one of them being that dinosaurs and humans co-existed. In fact, the Bible explicitly says humans and all land-dwelling creatures (including dinosaurs) were created on the same day (Genesis 1:24-31). While not the most important lesson learned from the first chapter of…