Once again “end of the world” associations are being given to a natural disaster. For example, an online video shows video of the destruction observed by a survivor who emerges from a storm cellar to capture images of an “apocaplyse”. The only audible words are, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.” Other survivors [...]
On May 13 Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield returned to earth after almost 5 months in the International Space Station. After 144 days of weightlessness, Chris said his return to earth felt like a car crash. Suddenly he and his two crew members were laying on their side, looking out the window of their Russian space [...]
Genesis tells about a God who spoke into existence insects and everything else that we see and sense (Gen 1:24). This God says the word. Something comes out of nothing. Light pushes back the darkness. Order emerges out of chaos (Gen 1:1-3). In the resulting paradise God begins sharing his life with children bearing a [...]
Somewhere in the Bible it implies that Jesus would be treated like a snake, for us. It’s a stunning thought, especially when we think about the fact that Satan is pictured in Genesis and Revelation as the great serpent and deceiver of the world. Yet Jesus, himself, makes the connection between himself and the snake. [...]
Recurring tensions in this blog reflect the history of our faith. In every century followers of Christ have had a running disagreement about how much emphasis to give to law and/or grace. One side thinks the other tends to emphasize grace to the point of moral license. The other side thinks their counterparts are morally [...]
The report of three women found alive in Cleveland, Ohio after they went missing about a decade ago is the kind of news we could live for. While much information isn’t yet available, it appears that all three were abducted in separate incidents and held captive, for 10 years, in a normal looking home with [...]
Why were “sinners” so drawn to Jesus even before learning that he had come to suffer and die for their rescue? Can we put ourselves in their place, and his? (Matt 9:9-13) Is it possible that the most righteous person who ever lived can identify with “the worst” among us better than we can? Seems [...]
The Bible uses the word picture of hedges in some provocative ways. Satan complains, for instance, that God has bought Job’s loyalty by building hedges of protection around him (Job 1:10). Later after the Lord has taken some of the fences down to give the Devil access, Job wonders why the Almighty has shut him [...]
Tragic events, as we’ve witnessed in the bombings of this week’s Boston Marathon, have a way of showcasing the worst and the best of our shared humanity. Even as we shudder at the thought of how people like us could deliberately carry out acts of murder and mayhem against strangers, we hear of the courageous [...]
As the FBI leads the investigation into yesterdays Boston Marathon tragedy, many will be tempted to try to pin the blame on one or more individuals responsible for such loss and suffering. But even when the investigations of Federal, State, and Local agencies are done, we won’t be at the bottom of this or any [...]
During high school, my closest friend and I took a pair of horses out for an afternoon ride. We slowly roamed through fields of wildflowers and wooded groves. But when…
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