April 30, 2009
How has accountability helped you in your walk with Jesus? What has it meant for you to be accountable to an individual or to a group of other believers?
food court theology lesson
So here I am, sitting in a shopping mall food court. My body is tense, my stomach knotted. My to-do list is long and my progress this particular day is disappointing. Unexpected complications have brought delays and I'm fretting over the deadlines ahead: a radio show to plan, an article to write, the myriad details of a national project I'm…
sunflowers
I was gawking, but I couldn't help myself. Painted over a century ago, van Gogh's Sunflowers lit up the museum wall in front of me. I wondered at how such a broken man could create an image brimming with beauty. Vincent suffered from mental disorders, financial difficulty, and other challenges. Yet, he produced almost 900 paintings within 10 years.
Like…
the swine flu and you
Here’s hoping it doesn’t come to this, but Martin Luther offers some timely advice in his open letter, Whether One May Flee From a Deadly Plague. The Bubonic Plague came to Wittenberg in 1527, and Luther responded by closing the university and sending his students home.
When concerned citizens asked how Christians should act during this epidemic, Luther said that…
Jesus' motivation
So, what motivates you? People-pleasers are inspired by praise. "Type A" personalities love to create projects and relish in seeing each task accomplished along the way. Some impoverished people are simply seeking their next meal-motivated by the need to survive.
Speaking of food, when the disciples encouraged Jesus to eat after a morning of travel, He said, "My nourishment comes from…
April 28, 2009
What would you say to someone who asked, "How is Christianity different from other world religions?"
the prayer of the forgotten
In places like Darfur, the western region of Sudan, where genocide and starvation run rampant, human crises move far beyond the theoretical. Recent UN estimates suggested that hundreds of thousands of people have perished due to disease and war. Tribal warfare exacerbated by competing national political interests has laid this province to waste (literally).
The most incomprehensible part of this…
April 27, 2009
With governments around the world hurryng to contain a new strain of the swine flu virus, how does a major health threat such as this affect you spiritually? What's your response?
tofu buildings
A massive 8.0 magnitude earthquake rocked China's southwestern Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008. It was felt as far away as northern Pakistan and caused destruction in an area three times the size of Belgium. More than 70,000 people died and another 365,000 were injured.
Although the buildings in the quake zone were supposed to be constructed to withstand a…
what God hates
Shortly after moving to Uganda, I learned of a volunteer who contributed significantly on behalf of the East African people he came to serve. Yet despite all he accomplished on the field, he also caused harm by speaking falsehoods that caused rifts among his mission team members.
God's Word firmly addresses such conduct, saying, "There are six things the Lord…
working from the right book
My wife recently told me about one of her students who was having problems understanding a seemingly simple math assignment. She wondered if the assignment was too difficult, but she also noted that the other students weren't experiencing the same challenge completing it. As she walked over to help the student, she immediately recognized the problem: The student was working…
April 24, 2009
How are you helping Christians around the world who have been persecuted for their beliefs?
why me?
I can tell if it's good news the moment my oncologist walks through the door. Having battled cancer three times now, it's easy to read him. When he's all businesslike and somber, I know the results aren't pretty.
During a recent appointment, following many rounds of radiation therapy for a mass in my abdomen, he came bounding through the door…
April 23, 2009
What's your favorite Christian song right now? Why?
light bright
As a child, I always hated walking down the long stairway to the cavernous basement of our house.
Each step brought me farther from the light and deeper into darkness. With no light in the stairwell, I had to descend the entire flight and walk into the pitch-black room before finally reaching the switch. Possessing an overactive imagination, I never…
