Have you ever suffered for your faith? More to the point, are you prepared to suffer for your faith? The idea may seem preposterous, especially here in the United States. Such talk is often dismissed as hysteria, attributed to fake news and conspiracy theory paranoia. I am not an alarmist, nor am I a doomsayer […]
Week 01 Character | Living a Life of Integrity
Seven-year-old Zachary sat in the straight-back chair in his guidance counselor’s office. Pushing round glasses up his freckled nose, Zachary looked around at the posters and books before focusing his eyes on Mrs. Jones. “Zachary, your teacher said she caught you cheating,” she said. “Do you remember this morning in chapel when we talked about […]
Week 53 Character | Grace and Truth
When my first grandchild, a beautiful little girl, was born, I was surprised to learn that grandchildren are born with an integrated GPS. The Grandpa Positioning System can be initiated with a simple smile aimed at the old guy, a pudgy little finger pointing PawPaw in a specific direction, or a cute giggle triggering Granddaddy […]
Week 52 Character | Know Your Enemy
The more I see the great cosmic battle between good and evil play out in our culture, the more I realize the power and the evil that reside in Satan, the great tempter. One of the greatest struggles contemporary culture faces today is the realization of evil. Genesis 3 recounts a conversation that took place […]
Week 51 Character | Blessed Assurance
“Assurance is glory in the bud; it is the suburbs of paradise” (Thomas Fuller). One great tragedy in the church today is the number of believers who can’t say for sure they are saved. What blessings are missed where there is no beyond-a-doubt certainty that we have eternal life. In his soul-winning program Evangelism Explosion, […]