Despair is all around us. We see it in countless broken lives and in the tragic suicide rate. We see it at the bottom of the caste system in India, in the rampant sex trafficking industry plaguing many nations, and in the masses of humanity suffering under the brutal reigns of godless, totalitarian regimes. If […]
Guest Editorial |
Week 49 Application |
The Bummer Lamb
We use the word bummerto express frustration and disappointment. Maybe you say things like, “It was a bummer that our team lost the game,” or “You lost your cell phone? What a bummer!” Have you heard of an animal called a bummer lamb? Shepherds use that phrase to describe a lamb raised away from its […]
Week 48 Study |
False Fasting
Perhaps a good way to usher in Christmas this year (today is what is called the first Sunday of Advent) would be with fasting—a change of pace from the wild office party. In the incarnation of Jesus, the widow Anna set a good example of worshiping the Lord in the temple, “fasting,” and waiting for […]
Week 48 Application |
Surprising Delights
I grew up on a farm in Ohio with two brothers and no sisters. My wife, Candy, grew up near New York City with three sisters and no brothers. We started dating and quickly discovered cultural differences we needed to overcome. I introduced Candy to my family’s fields of corn and soybeans, and I gave […]
Week 48 Character |
The Death of Self
Death may be certain, but it’s not a good destination; unless of course it was to lead to something far, far better. In the Bible, “death of self” is a spiritual result, the portal to true life—life that is eternal and pure. Conventional wisdom suggests we order our lives. The lives of our acquaintances, our […]
