“We have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place… –II Peter 1:19 If someone believes in God at all, it would be only logical for that person to wonder what it is God […]
82) Pay Attention (part one) Read More »
By Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), 1885 There lived in olden times a good and kindly man. He had this world’s goods in abundance, and many slaves to serve him. And the slaves prided themselves on their master, saying, “There is no better lord than ours under the sun. He feeds and clothes us well,
81) Evil Allures, But Good Endures Read More »
From Tramp for the Lord, by Corrie ten Boom, 1974, pages 55-57. It was in a church in Munich that I saw him– a balding, heavyset man in a gray overcoat, a brown felt hat clutched between his hands. People were filing out of the basement room where I had just spoken, moving
68) Will You Forgive Me? Read More »
Chapter Five, John Ploughman’s Talks: Plain Advice for Plain People, 1869, Charles Spurgeon, English preacher and author, (1834-1892) Patience is better than wisdom: an ounce of patience is worth a pound of brains. All men praise patience, but few enough can practice it. It is a medicine which is good for all diseases…
St. Marcella (325-410 A. D.) was born into a wealthy family of considerable influence in ancient Rome. Then, she married a man of wealth and influence. Marcella was primed for a life of pleasure, recreation, and relaxation in the very upper levels of Roman society. Less than a year after she was married,
54) The Wealth of St. Marcella Read More »
Last summer Nora Ephron died at the age of 71. Ephron wrote (among other things) movie screenplays, including one of my all-time favorites, the 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally. Many people remember that movie for one particular scene that took place in a restaurant. In case you weren’t going to ‘R’
49) When Harry Met Sally Read More »
Bruce Carroll is a multiple Grammy and Dove Award-winning artist. He is also the worship leader at his church. In 1992 Carroll recorded the song “Sometimes Miracles Hide” which he had written with C. Aaron Wilburn. The song tells the story of a pregnant couple who learn from tests that “things aren’t right.”
39) Sometimes Miracles Hide Read More »
By Martin Luther (1483-1546; married in 1525), recorded in Table Talk (#3508), from a conversation in 1536: He who takes a wife is not idle, for marriage keeps him busy. To remain content in celibacy confronts one with many temptations that are not trivial, as the experienced know. On the other hand, the
37) Troubles, Whether One is Married or Single Read More »
In our post-Christian society we hear much about the failures of Christianity. The late Christopher Hitchens even wrote a book entitled How Religion Poisons Everything. I am a pastor, I have studied Church history, I have for four decades followed closely the news of the church in the world today, I have served
27) Has Christianity Failed? Read More »
A while back I read a very boring book that was written by a most interesting man. I had heard much over the years about a Japanese Christian named Toyohiko Kagawa (1888-1960), and when I ran across a book by him in a used book store I picked it up. The Law of
20) What Would Jesus Do? Read More »
