Life is fundamentally measured by weeks, not months, or even years. Here is a principle that everyone endorses and few follow: Keep your balance. Balance is fundamental to athletics and just...
Throughout Galilee, the region of Jesus' early ministry, there were wadis: dry stream beds that would flood during strong rains. A person unfamiliar with weather patterns might build a house on the...
Jesus offers the metaphor of trees and fruit in order to help his disciples identify false prophets. Even if their message seems to be acceptable, the tangible results of their teaching will reveal...
We find versions of the so-called "Golden Rule" in the ethical teachings of many philosophers and religions. Yet these versions almost always take a negative form: Do not do to others what you do...
Jesus often used hyperbole to communicate with his audience.
In the world of Jesus, the majority of people had little more than the bare necessities of life. And these could be easily taken away by war, famine, or disease.
The Rev. Roger Williams was my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather. That would be 1...
From the daily grind to unethical demands, Christians struggle to honor God at work. How do we find our identity amidst the challenges of vocational excellence, ethics, evangelism, and essence? If...
These words of Jesus are as relevant to us as they were to his first audience. But if he were speaking today, he might not refer to moths, rust, and thieves. Perhaps he...
It's an amazing thing to be forgiven by God. Because of his grace poured out through Christ, we can be forgiven for all of our sins, no matter how horrendous they might be...
If God knows everything we need before we ask in prayer, then why should we pray? Won't God give us what we need whether we pray or not?There's no doubt that God gives...
In Jesus' day, as in our own, people often did good works in order to receive public recognition. Charitable giving, when joined with the right fanfare, could increase one's honor. So could public...
How can I find a sense of loving community with other Christians in a safe atmosphere of honesty? I realized that if Christianity is a living relationship with God, I had to find...
When I reentered the corporate world last year, I was leaving behind several years of serving the local church as a pastor. I wondered how I might be able to live out my...
"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. If you speak, you should do so as one who...
At home, after a day at my first real job, I placed the package on our kitchen table. It had come in the mail. A gift from mom. Slowly, I peeled back the...
My second job, like my lawn-mowing gig, was arranged by my father. A local daycare center needed a janitor to come in every evening and do some cleaning. There was a tile hallway...
Jared's supervisor Dan asked him for a detailed job description within the week. At first, Jared said, "Sure, that'll be no problem." But months went by and Jared, who shared his faith freely,...
This is one of the most famous of Jesus' commands . . . and one of the hardest to obey.
Competition is a great teacher—a type of spiritual crucible...All through high school, my friend, Ellery, and I kept up a running competition in our math classes. We tallied numerical scores on...
