“Compromise” is a dirty word to preachers like me. A word search of all the sermons on my laptop computer reveals that...
At the end of a recent business trip, I was exhausted. I decided to go on an earlier flight and had to take whatever seat was left. When I boarded and found my...
Holy, Holy, Holy . . . how do we understand such a vast word in the Bible as the word “holy”? It...
Octavian, the adopted son of Julius Caesar, was a successful leader. In 31 B.C., he led the army that defeated Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium.
I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched...
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During the last half of the twentieth century, one of the cursed human tragedies was the unjust apartheid system in South Africa. The black majority and its leaders, Nelson Mandela and Desmond...
When I entered the conference room, one of my colleagues, Johnny, was already there. Johnny was looking at some materials belonging to another coworker, Bruce, who happened to be momentarily absent...
“Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, ...
In the mid-‘50s, when I was a Boy Scout, the Scout motto was "be prepared." I never quite knew what I was to be prepared for, but recalling the hours spent discussing water...
For much of my life, I thought saints and mystics were the only people really concerned about spiritual matters. I thought their monastic life was necessary for the in-flooding of God’s Spirit. As...
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. . . . By faith Jacob, when...
My Uncle Windy was the most independent man I ever knew—a tall, good-looking white-haired John Wayne. Courteous to the ladies, but otherwise so private that after Aunt Ruby died he moved to an...
When a team wins the Super Bowl, we still feel a need to single out the Most Valuable Player. Our culture emphasizes...
By rep. 11 of a 15-rep. set of exquisite tortures devised by my half-my-age-but-twice-as-buff trainer, I was struggling. He noticed. (He always does.) My arms were beginning to wobble a little, and...
Recently, during a year of research leave from my university, I made a series of journeys—pilgrimages, actually—to Mount Athos, Greece. Known to some as “the Holy Mountain,” this isolated part of...
If we look closely inside the routines of our daily lives, we can find hints of God’s grace.
Years ago a student of mine entered a laboratory to prepare for an academic medical career. In the prior eleven years, she had amassed many skills; now with this further training, her future would...
When Jesus ascended to Heaven to return to His Father, the eleven disciples stood and watched Him rise through the clouds. An angel in the clouds nearby saw Jesus pass by and called...
