August 31, 2009
It's the season when many college students head back to school. What advice would you give to believers in Jesus who are striving to live out their faith while being challenged by the anti-Christian perspectives of many university professors?
rejoice!
Throughout Africa, from Sierra Leone to Uganda, rebel leaders have abducted hundreds of thousands of innocent boys and girls and converted them into soldiers. Forced to commit unspeakable crimes and murderous acts, often against their own relatives, these child soldiers are seldom able to forgive themselves or to reenter society after the rare event of being freed from their conscripted…
larger than our fear
I have two boys who are afraid of assorted things: dentists, dark rooms, green peas. Our most recent bout surfaced when our first-grader refused to walk into his classroom by himself. When he balked, I was tempted to point out a kindergarten girl happily strolling into her class alone. I considered sitting him down for a rational conversation with reasons…
maranatha
My children were so excited about their cousins coming over that they rode their bikes to the end of our road in anticipation of their arrival. As I watched them stand sentinel at the top of our hill, ready to escort their cousins’ van to our house, I was reminded of the ancient word parousia. A parousia, or appearance of…
tomorrow
Let's talk about tomorrow—today. What will your tomorrow be like?
Tomorrow could bring death. From the moment we're born, we're dying. Someone has said that death is one appointment you may postpone, but can't cancel (see Psalm 89:47-48).
Tomorrow could bring about sickness (Job 14:1-2). We desire a healthy life. But we have to deal with the fickleness of life and our…
a sunrise and open eyes
Was greeted by one of those amazing crimson sunrises this morning. I can't find the words to capture its beauty. As I praised God for His creative ways, a quote from C.S. Lewis came to mind: "I believe in Christianity as I believe in the sun—not because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." Each day…
walk forward
His father described him as down-to-earth, generous, kindhearted, life-loving, and unselfish.
Maybe that's why so many people were shocked when Australian-born actor Heath Ledger died of a prescription drug overdose. Before his death, Ledger was reportedly fighting an addiction to heroin.
We all struggle with habitual cravings—food, gambling, and porn are just a few of the things that can enslave…
miraculous joy
Something strange happened last fall in the village of Milano, Italy. Residents turned on their home water taps and white wine flowed out! No, this was not a modern-day miracle-merely a mix-up.
A local worker accidentally connected a line flowing with the fermented grape juice to a water main, instead of to a public fountain in the town square. You…
life words
In 1990, Bette Midler recorded the song From a Distance. Her rendition became an instant hit—soaring to the top of the pop charts. Not only did it win a Grammy, it went on to become one of the most requested songs on Saudi Band Radio during the First Gulf War.
The chorus to the song states, "God is watching us.…
August 24, 2009
What has God taught you through the suffering you've experienced?
idols in us
While attending a conference in Nashville, my husband and I decided to use some free time to visit the city's replica of the Parthenon—the temple of the Greek goddess Athena. While the artwork inspired awe, we couldn't shake the hollow and cold feeling that settled on us when we entered. Towering over 40 feet high, the gilded statue of Athena…
represent
Ambassadors are the highest-ranking, appointed diplomats that represent a country. They are normally appointed by a president or an organization to serve as the official representative and spokespersons for their country. Sometimes countries also appoint highly respected individuals as Ambassadors at Large. These people are given specific and temporary assignments to tackle. Historically, the ambassador is a permanent citizen of…
hope at last
You won't find it [Kibera] on your tourist map—or any other map. It's a squatters' camp, an illegal, forgotten city, and at least one third of Nairobi lives here," explains BBC East Africa Correspondent Andrew Harding. Located in Kenya, Kibera is an enormous slum. And it was there that a friend and I encountered an elderly man in a shabby…
who cares?
The book of Malachi was written around 420 BC as a warning to the nation of Israel. God accused the priests of offering "defiled" sacrifices (Malachi 1:7). Specifically, He was concerned with the nation's direct disobedience in not giving Him their best (v.8), and for withholding the tithes He had commanded them to give for His work (3:8-14).
So what…
all the truth
In the 1930s, Spain endured a civil war when General Francisco Franco joined a coup to unseat Spain's leftist Popular Front. While 500,000 died in the conflict, another 114,000 simply "disappeared" in the first years of Franco's rule. When Franco died in 1975, no one was initially willing to investigate this dark history. After years of the victims' families pressing…
