Others First
As my sister reads books, she regularly highlights sentences and jots down notes in the margins. One day, while riding a train, she was underlining a passage when she overheard a mother reprimanding her child for doodling in a book. My sister quickly put her pen away, not wanting the toddler to ignore her mother’s words by following her example. The child simply wasn’t capable of understanding the difference between a book loaned from the library and a purchased copy—the difference between vandalism and making personal notes in the margin.
people or God?
I n every realm and relationship I want people to think well of me. I’m tempted to please people, especially when they give me affirmation. I can often tell if I’ve met a person’s expectations by the look on his face or the tone of her voice. But, by God’s grace, I’ll stake my claim that I’m a former addict of man’s opinion, for I believe God is greater than any pull I might feel to please others.
no-sex week
For several years, Yale University—an elite institution in the US—allowed students to engage in an annual 7-day sexual frenzy known as Sex Week at Yale. The week included “prominently featured titillating displays, [porn] film stars, and commercial sponsors of such material.” But a campus group called Undergraduates for a Better Yale College rose up and challenged Sex Week, declaring that…
marshmallow test
You’re seated in a small room with a table in front of you. On the table is a tray of puffy white confections that most of us know and love— marshmallows. A man shows up and explains that he is going to leave the room for a few minutes. While he’s gone, you can ring a bell to summon him…
you choose Q: does "Easter Day" please God?
Q: Does "Easter Day" please God? —Paul
A: “Easter” is not a biblical word, although it was used in Acts 12:4 of the King James Bible. The Greek word is actually the word “Pascha” (Hebrew: Pesach), which means “Passover.” This was the word used in later translations of Acts 12:4 (NLT, NAS, NKJV, NIV, ESV).
It’s true that Easter was originally…
we have this day
Debbie Middlemann was telling me about her mother, Edith, the 94-year-old widow of Francis Schaeffer. Francis wrote powerfully and often about the dangers of euthanasia and the gift of life, and now his wife and daughter were putting his beliefs into practice.
Debbie said that hospices in her country slowly euthanize their patients, giving them ever-increasing amounts of morphine as…
