While I was reading Calvin Miller’s memoir, the news media reported the death of John Perkins. It occurred to me that both men learned something profound about love. Pastor Miller splashed into the literary scene with The Singer Trilogy (1975). It is a poetic work in...

It is my turn to take a bite at this apple. Israeli PM Netanyahu mentioned Jesus recently. Pundits promptly pushed back. Netanyahu tried to sort the misunderstanding, to little avail. Discussing the conflict with Iran, Netanyahu paraphrased historian Will Durant by...

The national media rarely picks up a news story from our neighborhood. It happened just over the mountain in Hall County, Georgia. This is one of those tragic events that forever changes lives. Beloved high school teacher Jason Hughes died in a prank gone wrong. A few...

I was working at a water filtration site in a disaster zone. During the day, there is a certain ebb and flow to the demands of the equipment. That leaves availability gaps, handy for engaging people who stop for safe drinking water. I was particularly intrigued by one...

Life is far more interesting with a bit of curiosity. It is simply dull to be content with what you already know. Worse, having much confidence despite little knowledge is the embarrassing cognitive bias called the Dunning-Kruger Effect. It is a wondrous combination...

It is not always easy to detect feel-good religious bromides masquerading as Christianity. The words sound right, but you may wonder about the rest of the story. Robert Ritchie (Kid Rock) made news during this year’s Super Bowl halftime show. It was about his new...

David Brooks wrote a NY Times column he called “My Decade-Long Journey to Belief.” He writes for a secular audience, so I’m sure there’s more to the story. But it’s his story. Some of it seems to parallel the faith journey of C.S. Lewis. Brooks describes his pre-faith...

It is the unsparing thief that would rob you of your time, future, and loved ones. Cancer will attack forty percent of Americans. God bless family members and caregivers who support survivors and grieve their loss. Many patients survive cancer. A diagnosis is still...

God in His sovereignty is involved in human affairs in ways not always obvious. That would explain not only things that happen but confirm what the Bible says about your value to God. So, you might want to pay closer attention to things that happen. The Hebrew...

Stephen King is called “the King of Horror.” His books have been adapted into movies, the first one being “Carrie” (1976). In 1999, he experienced his own horror. A man in a blue van almost killed him. The story is in King’s book, On Writing. It was a June afternoon...

Her husband, Rick, had been away on a work trip for two weeks. When he didn’t arrive, his co-workers shuffled Evelyn and the children to a private room. That’s where she learned of the catastrophic failure of Space Shuttle Columbia, commanded by Rick. It was February...

The weather people told us it was coming. Ice, wind, and snow could close roads and leave us stranded in our homes without power. They said “cold air damming with a warm nose” made their predictions uncertain. What happened next was predictable. The governor...

The “Man vs. Wild” TV show made Bear Grylls famous. It showcases Grylls’ survival techniques in extreme environments. Viewers are shocked to see him eating live reptiles, giant larva, and raw mammal parts as last-resort food sources. Grylls began learning about...

David Gergen advised four U.S. presidents. His iconic line still used by political campaigns is, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” He explained, “Rhetorical questions have great power.” Agree. So, I’ll borrow and re-phrase. Are you better off with...

I asked AI bots to list the most common New Year resolutions. It turns out the bots aren’t smarter than you and I, at least on this topic. We already knew most resolutions tend to be about improving health, finances, relationships, and skills. What you may not have...

“Sure, you’re on the clock, but we’re all on the clock.” Former Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse agrees with those empathic words from his friends. In announcing his terminal cancer prognosis he writes, “Death is a wicked thief, and pursues us all.” We tend to view the...

Fritz Vincken was 12 years old when he witnessed a defining event in his life. His father had sent him and his mother to stay in a cabin in the woods, thinking they would be safe from the battles of WWII. They couldn’t have known the Battle of the Bulge would soon...

The Strand Magazine asked C.S. Lewis to write “A Christmas Sermon for Pagans.” Written in 1946, it still sheds prescient light on our modern times. Lewis centers his message on post-Christian beliefs about morality. “There is no objective Right or Wrong: each race or...

A hurricane swept me into a foreign land. I was there to install drinking water filtration systems to meet the acute needs of survivors still in shock from the devastation. For one installation, we were to integrate filtration components with the surviving mechanical...

I spent several weeks bringing relief to a Caribbean island nation recovering from a hurricane. I am amazed at the resilience of the people in the face of hardship. I am also quite curious about their spirituality, and I use that word rather broadly. A man came up to...

The Wampanoag people lived in what today is Massachusetts. In the early 1600’s, European traders arrived. The traders captured some of the unsuspecting people, transported them to Spain, and sold them into slavery. Among them was a boy named Squanto. In time, Squanto...

If you are a regular reader, you know I like telling you stories, especially of people who have embraced faith in Christ Jesus. Sometimes the story is about someone who wrestles with God, however unaware or improbable, and has yet to believe. A few months ago, I...

To frame a theme President Trump spoke about, I refer you to his book on dealmaking written about 40 years ago. Just bear with me on this, and you will see how this applies to you. “I believe in the power of negative thinking,” he writes. “I always go into the deal...

A young widow summoned the courage to stand before thousands and share her grief. Erika Kirk spoke powerful words to those willing to listen. She whispered, “That young man…” Then with conviction she said, “On the cross our Savior said, ‘Father, forgive them for they...

Popular historian Tom Holland observed the steady contours of the Christian story. He documents its positive effect on culture in his book, “Dominion.” Christians have always presented a worldview and way of life quite different than those living outside its...

Nicole Shanahan was the running mate of RFK Jr. until he suspended his presidential campaign in 2024. A few months later, her life took a significant turn. Having a childhood marred by poor parenting didn’t prevent her from becoming an attorney and a Silicon Valley...

Adam Raine (16) accessed ChatGPT for help with his homework. He soon discovered that not only is artificial intelligence (AI) helpful with facts and analysis, it also simulates human conversation. So, he shared his deep anxieties and revealed suicidal ideation to his...

Danny Kruger, a British Member of Parliament, recently delivered a barn-burning speech. At least it would have been, had the chamber not been empty. He made the audacious claim that “Christianity is the wellspring of the West” and that a prosperous future depends on a...

Chuck Johnson, 78, was enjoying a day riding his electric bike. It would be his last day on earth. Joseph Tillman, driving while impaired, hit and killed Johnson then fled the scene. Losing Chuck that way handed his widow Regina reasons to be angry. Tillman was tried...

Charlie Kirk was a guest on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast. These days, civil dialog between people with opposing views is rare. In one four-minute span, Kirk asked eight questions. He urged Maher’s candor saying, “You can’t offend me.” (Later he explained, “I...

Robert Louis Stevenson was born in 1850 to a Scottish family of lighthouse builders. When he announced he was not joining the family profession, his father was disappointed but understanding. When he rejected the Christianity of his family, his father was devastated....

A child in foster care tugs at the heart strings. The workers and foster parents know each child has been abused or neglected. They also know what a child needs to thrive. It is not an easy field to work in, so God bless those who do. A Georgia foster father said,...

A couple embrace and sway to the music at a Coldplay concert until the “kiss cam” invades their privacy. Shocked, they move to obscure their faces. They weren’t just being shy. They were trying to hide something, to no avail. The fallout was painful according to media...

Fraud! That is what leaped from the computer screen to my mind when I logged into my account. Over the previous few days, someone had made multiple large withdrawals, draining my funds. It wasn’t me. I called my financial institution. The message I received was, “We...

As a friend, I would like you to have a nice life. That’s why I invite you to invest a few minutes here. I have two suggestions, which come from personal experience. First, a story. The religious leaders were quite powerful in Jesus’ day. He knew that, yet He didn’t...

It was decades ago but I remember it well. My family and I lived in Haiti long before violent gangs gridlocked the impoverished country. Out on the main roads, sweating pedestrians, smoke-belching trucks, and colorful tap taps compete for space. It is noisy, smelly,...

You have a pain story. Everyone does. It’s quite telling how you narrate your story. The good news is that pain is not the whole story nor are you alone in your pain. The fallen world we live in offers plenty of pain. We grieve over health, relationships, and death....

Actor Dennis Quaid grew up in Houston, Texas. His mother made sure he went to church. Even so, his story is about filling a painful void in his life. “In my teen years,” said Quaid, “I became disillusioned with what I call ‘churchianity.’ It was the late 60’s, early...

The news of little girls washed away in their summer camp cabins is so horrible it defies comprehension. When the Guadalupe River in Texas rose to 26 feet in 45 minutes it swept evil over people sleeping peacefully in their beds. How do we process that? No one needs...

On his podcast, Justin Brierley has conversations with people who tell interesting stories about their spiritual journeys. It’s the story, the process that interests him more than anyone’s fame. A British chap, Mark Baldwin, was one such guest. Baldwin’s philosophy...

“Cool shell formation on my beach walk,” former FBI Director James Comey posted, along with a photo. The shells formed the numbers 8647 on a canvas of sand. The post kicked up some alarming chatter and got the attention of the secret service. But it’s what was NOT...

George Washington expressed the hopes and dreams of his fellow citizens when he delivered his first inaugural address in 1789. We have traveled a long road since then. Even so, Washington’s charge is still before us. In that speech he declared, “The foundation of our...

On a Saturday in May, over seven thousand people were baptized at an event called Baptize California at Huntington Beach. Skeptics might dismiss it, but what if it is evidence of the latest spiritual awakening? I say “latest” because it has happened before in America....

Martin Shaw is an author and former professor at Stanford University. His specialty is mythology and storytelling. His best story is about his own spiritual journey. Shaw grew up in a religious home. As a young man, he played in a rock band until tinnitus stopped him....

Engineering is applied math and science. During my career as a civil engineer, I observed how math and science improved the tools of the trade. Let me borrow from that to address one of mankind’s ultimate questions. My practice area was water hydraulics. Decades ago,...

April 29, 1975 was a fateful and chaotic day in Vietnam. Anyone associated with the Americans was frantic to leave Saigon by any means available. The North Vietnamese were about to overrun the city. Major Buang was a South Vietnamese pilot. In a desperate attempt to...

It was the 1950’s, but to this family it might as well have been the 1850’s. They lived in a log house near the swamps of Louisiana. No electricity. No running water. Their food came from subsistence farming, hunting, and fishing. It was common in that time and place...

Jon Kahn is a singer/songwriter whose star is on the rise. Correlation is not causation, but it’s notable that his rising interest in faith is coincident with his success as an artist. Kahn was not raised in a religious home. As a boy he had profound questions about...

I step into the dimly lit room. A reverent hush restrains those gathered there. We all have the same objective - to witness the Dead Sea Scrolls on display at the Reagan Presidential Library. The focal point of the display is the Ten Commandments – the oldest existing...

I stood alone on the hilltop. It was a cool, Spring morning. I enjoyed the distant vistas. I also envisioned the large crowd of mourners who once gathered here for a sunset ceremony to remember and bury Ronald Reagan. The other early birds at the Reagan Presidential...