when sleep eludes
I tossed and turned on my bed. My heart was troubled and my mind disturbed. I was deliberating a decision that could set my life on a whole new course. In this scary time, I found myself praying: Lord, teach me how to pray!
doing good things
My neighborhood in Uganda was relatively quiet until a businessman disrupted our peace by opening an outdoor bar across the street from my home. Now loud music blares the entire night, with the bar owner refusing to consider the residents he’s disturbing. He tells us that he’s a good man, and since he gives money to the poor people shouldn’t complain.
boys to men
Studies of children who grow up in fatherless homes reveal that they often face major challenges in life. The statistics are alarming: Youths who grow up in fatherless homes are twice as likely to end up in jail as those who come from traditional two-parent families. Eighty-five percent of children who exhibit behavioral disorders and 71 percent of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes. Ninety percent of homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes—32 times the average!
new kind of father
Many people struggle in their daily life due to a poor relationship with their earthly fathers. I’ve counseled some who tend to humanize and view God through the lens of their negative experience. Many believers in Jesus also get tripped up in their relationship with their heavenly Father. If their earthly dads have failed them, it’s hard for them to believe that God won’t do the same.
the privilege of children
Erik Hatzinger confessed to stealing money from several businesses over many months. He seems to be repentant, for when the judge ordered him to pay $13,000 in restitution, Erik informed the judge that he had stolen more and would like to pay it all back.
“That’s the son I raised,” his mother told a reporter. “I’m not surprised he wanted…
when God ran
Straining to see the distant horizon, I squinted my eyes in an effort to catch sight of the person I was waiting for. A thousand thoughts raced through my mind: Does she know where to get off the train? Did she understand my directions? My heart pumped faster as the seconds ticked by. Finally, the person I so wanted to…
oscar for fathers
James Cameron, of Avatar and Titanic fame, has reportedly said, “Anybody can be a father or a husband. There are only five people in the world who can do what I do, and I’m going for that.”
It isn’t only Hollywood directors who succumb to the siren song of success. Clergymen also put ministry ahead of family. And even King David committed…
our Father
Bilquis Sheikh, a Pakistani, wrote about her conversion to Christianity in the book I Dared to Call Him Father. The title caught my attention. Dared to call Him Father? We usually take it for granted that we can address God as “Father.” We hardly realize what a great privilege it is anymore! Jesus introduced something completely revolutionary when He told us…
tossing it back
During a Major League Baseball game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Nationals last summer, a man named Steve Monforto caught a foul ball as he sat in the bleachers. Since fans are allowed to keep balls hit into the stands, Monforto handed the prize catch to his 3-year-old daughter Emily. But instead of treasuring the gift, she innocently…
the embrace of God
Adrian Edwards was separated from his parents as a toddler, passed along from institution to foster home, and introduced to a life of crime at a young age. As a teenager, he was convicted of armed robbery and spent time in Western Australia’s Fremantle jail. There, in a strange twist of fate, he met his father who was serving time…
