Does anybody remember the call-in radio show with Dr. Laura? For a while, Laura Schlessinger had a very popular radio advice program where she told people exactly what she thought about their behavior and how they should fix themselves. She often didn’t let the caller get to the actual question before she started telling them … Continue reading –>
While many people ask why God does not show them His will for their lives I have come to a simple conclusion. He does not need to. He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk … Continue reading –>
“Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.” Acts 10:34-35, NIV As human beings, we can come to understand our relationship to God in terms of familiar bonds. We can … Continue reading –>
We humans are a funny bunch. We love to talk about fairness and justice and everybody getting what they deserve – just as long as we get to decide just what that means. Jonah is a prime example. God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh and tell the folks there that if they don’t make some … Continue reading –>
“I hate, I despise your feast days, and I do not savor your sacred assemblies. Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings. Take away from Me the noise of your songs, for I will not hear the melody of … Continue reading –>
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to … Continue reading –>
My father was a sculptor. His medium of choice was wood. He was also one of the most patient men in the world. Anybody who asked for a lesson would immediately find themselves situated behind a fresh piece of wood, holding a chisel. The very first thing my father would tell everyone is, “Always cut … Continue reading –>
The truth is, almost every single one of us knows that we need to change at least one specific behavior because it is harmful. Maybe it’s smoking, drinking, over-eating, or maybe it’s not exercising. Whatever the behavior is, we know, usually without any doubt, where that behavior will lead, and yet, we continue along our … Continue reading –>
It’s that time of year when the leaves spring back onto barren trees and flowers bloom back to life. Every spring reminds me of the second coming and resurrection. I believe God lets everything die in the winter and come back in the spring to demonstrate for us His re-creation and resurrection power. Just as … Continue reading –>
“Forgiving the unforgivable is hard. So was the cross: hard words, hard wood, hard nails.” William S. Stoddard “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 You probably remember a man named Ted Kaczynski – the Unabomber. He’s the man who used … Continue reading –>
Have you seen it? The head-bob and the eye-roll? You, the adult, have just said something that your teen has deemed – uh, less than intelligent or, at least, not pertinent to his or her current life situation. I hate to admit, though, that I have also performed that little operation as well. Usually just … Continue reading –>
“The day of resurrection –” John Wesley sang, “Earth, tell it out abroad! The passover of gladness, The passover of God!” But that brings us no closer. What does that mean? The answer lies far, far away. Go back in time. Back a hundred generations, to the margin of the Roman Empire, in a little … Continue reading –>
Do you remember the Charlie Brown Halloween special? Linus, Lucy’s little brother, spends the entire program going on about the Great Pumpkin. He tells everybody he meets about how the Great Pumpkin will appear. He even convinces Charlie Brown’s little sister Sally to wait in the pumpkin patch with him, while all the other kids … Continue reading –>
Several years ago, when we were all much younger, I was taking my older son, KC to his first cello lesson with a new teacher. I think he was in the third grade, and my younger son, Justin, was in second grade. If this hadn’t been the first lesson with this teacher, I would have … Continue reading –>
Test your knowledge. Put your hand over the screen and guess the three most common mental disorders in the US. They are, in order, with lifetime prevalence rates: Anxiety disorders (about 18%), mood disorders (about 10%), and ADHD (about 5%). It might come as a surprise that anxiety rates higher than depression. Actually, anxiety diagnoses … Continue reading –>