“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...

Ed Tuttle was a graphic designer for a large manufacturer. He was also a follower of Christ. Ed befriended the new guy, Eric, at work. That turned out to be providential. Eric was underemployed as a proofreader. His elite Yale education prepared him for loftier...

Patty Morin lives with unspeakable grief. In 2023, her daughter Rachel, a 37-year-old mother of five, was murdered on a hiking trail in Maryland. Because Patty was willing to talk about it, you can listen and learn. To her, pain and suffering do not speak the last...

It was a warm summer morning adorned with birds and flowers. I strolled along the shady, level path, realizing I may never pass this way again. I was on Addison’s Walk on the grounds of Magdalen College in Oxford, England, a long way from home. This is the path where...

After working for several years at a center for women in crisis, Louise Perry changed her mind about morality. She is a writer for the Daily Mail and is a staunch advocate for women’s rights. She published a bestseller, The Case Against the Sexual Revolution (2022)....

Long ago, he grew up on a farm nearby. He lived most of his life elsewhere. On the day of his memorial service, something happened. Let’s just say I hope he liked dogs! I didn’t know the family. Their patriarch had passed months prior. They wished for a simple...

Fifteen million people listen to the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. His guest list includes the likes of psychologist Jordan Peterson, philosopher Sam Harris, and politicians from all over the map. The sheer size of his audience means Rogan can amplify voices like few...

She was only 17 or 18 years old when we met. I’m not sure if her noisy self-confidence was a bluff or self-deception. Either way, she had her peers cowed. She figured she had worked out all the answers about life and the universe, including her loosely articulated...

Aaron Rogers received no Division 1 college football scholarship offers. Nor was he the first quarterback selected in the 2005 NFL draft. But he went on to win the league MVP multiple times. His Packers won the Super Bowl in 2011. Rogers’s journey to success left him...

Ian Hutchinson is Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT. He is a leader in nuclear fusion research and its practical use for carbon-free power generation. He is an eminent scientist who is also a Christian. Hutchinson comes from a non-religious British...

Platforming Faith Will Howard and Riley Leonard are quarterbacks on the college football teams that competed in the national championship game this year. They are also Christians, and outspoken about it. “Before I say anything, I’ve just got to give my Lord and Savior...

If you had visited my man cave a few years ago, you would have seen a stack of bricks, a pile of sand, and sacks of mortar. If you visit me now, we could escape the winter cold by sitting near the wood stove. Assuming you notice the brickwork, at no point would you...

Aunt Matilda, as told by Oxford professor John Lennox, bakes a cake. A group of top scientists analyze it. Biochemists describe the proteins and fats. Chemists list the interaction of elements involved. Physicists talk about the fundamental particles. Mathematicians...

Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychologist, became popular with his book 12 Rules for Life (2018). Tom Holland is a British expert in classical and medieval history. His book Dominion (2019) traces the Christian roots of Western Civilization. These modern thinkers are...

Flannery O’Connor published her first novel, Wise Blood, in 1952. She lived near Milledgeville, Georgia before disease took her life in 1964 (age 39). The abrasive characters she developed in southern gothic writing style gave voice to her commentary on the cultural...

Niall Ferguson is a British academic with ties to Oxford and Harvard Universities. In 2004, Time magazine listed him among the most influential people in the world. He is yet another example of someone who thinks deeply about faith and finds himself on a journey....