Hi Friend, Having just gone through the account of the Israelites coming out of Egypt, I am drawn to the purpose for these catastrophic events.  There was more to it than simply making people free, though that was the means to the end. God does not hide His intent.  In

Hi Friend, Choosing leaders without a commitment to God has always led to corruption. That’s why the Psalmist also It’s true that the pen is mightier than the sword—and sometimes more cruel.  Books have changed the course of mankind in dramatic ways for both good and evil. Recently an article

Hi Friend, A lot of biblical commentators try to explain “what” is 666 but the bigger question may be, “Why 666?”  It’s in the Book of Revelation—a book whose very title is intended to “reveal” the truth.  The question naturally arises, why did the Apostle John use this mysterious metaphor

Hi Friend, In his book “Straight Talk to Men” author James Dobson shares an anecdote that may illustrate, as well as any other simile, the problem our country is facing. A mother took her young son, Robert to the dentist. Mom loved Robert more than anything in the world and

Hi Friend, What would it take for you to walk away from everything you own and move to a foreign country?  Let’s say you own a business, a home, have friends and family and a few financial investments.  What circumstances could cause you to walk away from every bit of

Hi Friend, The greatest king any nation ever had was David, King of Israel. The reason, of course, was that he was a just man. No people ever had a human king more concerned about protecting the innocent than Israel when David ruled. It was a characteristic that appeared early

Hi Friend, During the past few months the world we live in has changed dramatically.  Formerly we were accustomed to living in a country with freedom to worship God, where leaders invoked the Bible, the name of God, and revered the God of the Bible.  All those freedoms are now

Hi Friend, There are thoughtful and intelligent people who like to play the “what if” game to gain a deeper understanding of life.  So here’s a “what if” question. What if you learned you could not trust other humans?  You could only trust your spouse, your children and a few

Hi Friend, The story of Queen Esther is a fascinating account of the power that exists within one person to change the course of the world. God chose one young girl, not even a muscled soldier trained for combat, to save an entire nation. It’s hard to be more alone

Hi Friend, When boarding a commercial jet, the mind goes to all the things that could go wrong.  It’s more than just moving at over 500 mph—you’re seven miles above the surface of the earth.  I’m nervous about climbing a ladder to clean the gutters.  I tell myself that more

Hi Friend, Nature abhors a vacuum, as my 8th Grade science teacher used to say.  Since God created nature it must be a reflection of His mind—in both the physical and spiritual world.  God’s contempt for a spiritual vacuum is expressed in His condemnation of the Church of Laodicea. The

Hi Friend, It was a Friday afternoon in late November and the Geometry teacher was explaining the logic of mathematics to a class of fifteen-year-old students when there was a knock on the classroom door.  It opened slowly, revealing an ashen faced office worker who made an announcement of a

Hi Friend, A close friend and I once had an ongoing conversation about a plan I was contemplating for the Church.  He was convinced that it would have a positive impact in a needed area.  After several discussions he humorously chided me for not taking action. “Why don’t you do

Hi Friend, One of the unique blessings of American citizenship is the rich heritage left by the Pilgrims who landed on Plymouth Rock. There is a good reason these first settlers instituted a Thanksgiving celebration—and it’s much different than schools are teaching. The good intentions that accompanied the majority of

Hi Friend, Maybe the most frustrating problem that God encountered in dealing with His chosen people was getting them to embrace the gift of freedom.  Israel witnessed ten incredible miracles that demonstrated the unassailable truth that God was more powerful than the puffed-up potentate who had enslaved them. Throughout the

Hi Friend, There has always been widespread corruption in government—especially in big cities.  There’s the infamous Tammany Hall in New York—the notorious Boss Tweed.  Then there was Chicago—the Daly machine. Everyone knew of the corruption.  More recently it was Detroit and Mayor Kwame.  If those were the only three big

Hi Friend, Do you remember the best time in your life?  What were you DOING that made it so good? What time was the most fulfilling? When people are asked to respond to this question on psychological surveys the answers overwhelmingly talk about a time when something was happening. It

Hi Friend, He is one of the most unforgettable people I have ever met.  He agreed to speak at a church event to describe his experiences as a prisoner in a Nazi Concentration Camp.  As we sat over lunch in an upscale restaurant, he recounted his childhood memories of being

Hi Friend, One of the parallels that jumps out at a serious student of the Bible is the analogous relationship between the flow of money and the flow of the Holy Spirit.  Money is the most frequent metaphor used in the parables of Jesus. Even Adam Smith, the father of

Hi Friend, The first home Donna and I purchased was built by a contractor who was Jewish.  He and I had several conversations—often about God.  He told me about his aunt who was imprisoned with her parents during the Holocaust. All of her immediate family had been killed in the

Hi Friend, Several years ago, a watchdog group in Washington claimed that at least forty-two sitting members of Congress had either been convicted or were under investigation for some significant wrongdoing.  That was eight percent of the population of Congress, meaning Congress had a higher percentage of criminals than most

Hi Friend, There is a dangerous epidemic in the country that is far more threatening than Covid-19.  Are you ready—it is dependence on government. Coronavirus attacks the body but government kills the soul. It is worse than bad politics—it is idolatry. William Bennett makes a salient point in his new

Hi Friend, Columnist Mona Charen wrote about a tour group of elite intellectuals visiting Mt. Vernon, the home of George Washington.  The tour guide was David McCullough, the historian, who presented a compelling picture of the character of our first president and our founding fathers.  At the end of the

Hi Friend, An intriguing and delightful play called “On Borrowed Time” was written in 1939.  It’s the story of a grandfather who has a special relationship with his orphaned grandson.  The grandfather is dedicated to protecting Pud, the boy.  No one else has sufficient concern for Pud’s welfare. “Gramps” becomes

Hi Friend, Imagine for a moment that you are approached by a thug who threatens to take your life if you don’t give him your money.  You, being the rational person, quickly decide that life, especially yours, is worth more than money, so you give him everything you have.  The

Hi Friend, This is what the Kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head,

Hi Friend, When a centenarian was asked how she managed to live past a hundred, her simple response was, “I just didn’t die.” There may be more to that statement than is visible at first blush. A defensive driving school in Georgia trains students to avoid accidents by driving through

Hi Friend, It is hard to think of God as being discouraged but there was a time when He became — can I say the word — depressed, because evil had taken over the world.  It was so bad that God said He was sorry He made man. Maybe the

Hi Friend, What is it about man that makes him think the grass is always greener someplace else?  We often undervalue what we have, the things closest to us, and overvalue what’s distant. It’s surprising when grandma’s discarded closet scraps are sold under the auctioneer’s gavel as priceless heirlooms. In

Hi Friend, She was an unforgettable person—even years later she is emblazoned on my mind.  Her name was Goerta, whom I met while walking the dogs — or the grand-dogs, since we were dog sitting while the kids were on a business trip. I noticed an older lady making her