I’m old enough to remember when politics was a season, returning from time to time to disabuse us of our comfortable obliviousness. Now, primary, general, and runoff elections link local, state, presidential, and mid-term elections in a continuous stream of...

“In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thes. 5:18). The “Reader’s Digest” chronicles the stories of random people who shared a life-changing experience.  Holly Winter was planning a reunion trip with some of her friends. They...

Do you consider yourself a thinker? Be careful with that because neuroscientists say your brain processes far more unconscious thoughts than conscious. So, you may not even be aware of what you are thinking or why. You may not be thinking clearly. Cognitive bias is...

Cringeworthy.  That’s one way to characterize the statements of certain people in the news. Kanye West (now known as “Ye”) is a wealthy rap artist. During the last election he announced a presidential bid, naming Kim Kardashian and Elon Musk as his chief advisors....

It was a wondrous thing to behold! It wasn’t just what we saw and heard, but the meaning of it. The Sons of Jubal came to our town (thanks FBC Blairsville!). Jubal Brass accompanied the men’s chorus. Over 200 musicians filled the stage. The Truett McConnell...

OK class, our lesson today is self-awareness. Let me show you a variety of ways it shows up. Then we’ll get personal. Jerry Seinfeld is the master of observational comedy. Once, he was thinking about his role in a wedding. “Pretty good title, I thought … ‘Best man.’ I...

Show me a life of purpose and meaning, and I’ll show you a life of courage and sacrifice. Note that these two traits exist only in the presence of adversity. While recuperating from a war injury, Andrew van der Bijl read a Bible to pass the time. That led him to...

Many people in our mountain village have friends or family affected by Hurricane Ian. The damage and casualty reports are disturbing. This is an opportunity for people of faith to love our neighbors, some of whom escaped only with their lives. The mountains are not...

“The important thing is not to stop questioning,” Albert Einstein said. “Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality.” The reality of the...

Jack London’s The Call of the Wild was required reading in my high school. It is red in tooth and claw. It reveals London’s burdensome view that this harsh world is all of reality. The protagonist of the novel is Buck, a dog. He learns by the “law of club and fang” to...

In 1952, 25-year-old Queen Elizabeth entered Westminster Abbey for her coronation. As she stood by King Edward’s Chair, the Archbishop presented her. “God save Queen Elizabeth!” everyone cried out together. God certainly gave her a long life. She couldn’t have...

A. W. Tozer’s The Pursuit of God reveals a pastor’s heart. “I want deliberately to encourage this mighty longing after God,” he writes. I share his purpose here. So much competes for our time and focus. In this smart phone-social media age, it’s drivel that competes...

Forgiveness is in the news. The president decided that the federal government should forgive $10,000 of student loan balances. I’m not interested here in the politics of that move. I do note how the level of student loans has changed in my lifetime. I graduated from...

When you acquired your first car, started a new job, or first fell in love, you had hope. It wasn’t just a car, but an expression of independence. It wasn’t just a job, but a better income or career. It wasn’t just about a person, but a loving, enduring relationship....

“He could have seen me as trying to throw a punch,” Isaiah Jarvis said about approaching the mound during a Little League playoff game. But that was not his intention. Not at all. Kaiden Shelton threw the pitch that hit Isaiah in the head. Isaiah collapsed at the...

Twin girls born in rural South Georgia during the depression years didn’t have many advantages. But someone took the words of Jesus seriously - and impacted generations. The physician attending their home birth did not believe the tiny babies would survive. But they...

Dr. Michael Guillen was the ABC News Science Editor (1988-2002). He earned a rare 3D Ph.D. from Cornel in physics, mathematics and astronomy. What he learned as a scientist led him to believe in God and become a Christian. He writes about it in his book, Believing Is...

“Young men our age are, honestly, lost. Peterson’s book is about what makes you happy through responsibility, meaningfulness, and finding something you truly enjoy.” That sentiment explains the popularity of clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson and his 2018 book, 12...

Scientists recently launched the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Humans can now see deep space like never before. The images are at once beautiful, mysterious, and comforting. The JWST orbits the sun, unobstructed by earth’s atmosphere. The infrared telescope is 21...

I was visiting with a Samaritan’s Purse chaplain the other day.  He asked me how I would answer the question they hear so often when they are helping people suffering disaster and loss. “Why did God let this happen?” Samaritan’s Purse is a Christian service...

“I don’t have any idea how I did it,” Woody Williams said. PTSD must have something to do with his lack of memory about the day he was in the fight of his life. It happened in 1945 in the black sands of Iwo Jima. The Marines had trained him as a weapons specialist....

“We Make Marines,” the sign shouted as I drove beneath it. It was a steel version of a Parris Island drill instructor making sure I got the message. I was out of my element, and a bit unnerved. The gate sentry made me park within eyesight so he could run a background...

You could use a bit of wisdom today couldn’t you? Take a hint from these bits from the Bible’s Proverbs.  If the shoe fits… “The beginning of wisdom is: acquire wisdom” (4:7). Reminds me of Barney Fife. “Here at the Rock we have two rules.  Rule number one: obey all...

From Columbine (1999) to Sandy Hook (2012) and now Uvalde, our nation’s schoolchildren are under attack by young men. Can we find our way back from this insanity? Not every problem has a political solution. To be sure, gun control vs. school hardening is a political...

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Gen. 1:1) Or did he?  Scientists in the 20th C. assumed there must be another explanation for the origins of the universe.  Many adopted the worldview of materialism, and believed it was their duty to relieve...

Amish fathers let their young adult offspring explore the world outside the boundaries of their faith community. It’s a rite of passage. It’s their “rumspringa,” translated “jumping around.” It’s a time to experience the temptations of living among the “English,” to...

When a world leader invokes God, it stands out. It sometimes comes across as pandering. It always takes spunk because, after all, God is so controversial. This time, it was Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. In a speech to a political gathering, he talked about a...

Dear young lady at the front desk, I wish we’d had more time to talk. You probably tell all the guests “have a blessed day” as they leave. I’m the guy who asked, “What do you mean by blessed?” I wondered about your beliefs. “Just that good things happen for you...

Vox.com published articles on “America’s struggle for forgiveness.” From what I read, Vox could learn something from regular Americans. Vox writer Sean Illing offers a diagnosis. “A lot of people, with good reasons, point to social media and ‘cancel culture’ as...

The U.S. Supreme Court continues to wrestle with religious freedom. That’s no surprise, given the secular trajectory of American culture. The latest case involves Joe Kennedy, a high school coach in Bremerton, WA. His practice of praying on the field after football...

William Shatner, Paris Hilton, and other celebs are buying and selling NFTs. I had to look up NFT – “non-fungible token.” I don’t understand what they are, so they clearly have no value to me. To value something, you must first know what it is.  Take women for...

I shudder to think about what’s happening to children at the hand of adults these days. It’s not the world I grew up in.  Maybe every generation says that… My parents raised me in a community that cared about children and respected a parent’s responsibility to raise...

The whole incident started during the pre-dawn hours in a village in Haiti where I lived. I was shocked at how attractive the lie was. My job included making the daylong journey to Port-au-Prince to purchase supplies. It was a cash economy so I had $400 in my...

If you ever doubted the resurrection of Jesus Christ, that’s understandable. The central feature of the gospel is also the most challenging. In fact, Thomas followed Jesus for years and heard Him explain the resurrection, yet Thomas couldn’t get his head around it....

If you like mystery shows, the Poirot TV episodes based on Agatha Christie’s novels is probably on your radar. British actor David Suchet played the title role from 1989 to 2013. During that time, he was trying to solve his own mystery. In his book, Behind the Lens,...

Some years ago, our county installed a kayak launch in a park on the headwaters of TVA Lake Nottely. I decided to enjoy the amenity in a different way than other boaters. I grew up in the country close to a river. Summer days fishing in the creek (only after doing my...

The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much (Jas. 5:16).   War is horrible. What’s happening in Ukraine is no different. We have the technology to watch it unfolding in real time. That gives the illusion that we know everything that’s happening...

The 2022 MLB season is delayed by an owner-initiated lockout that ended after 99 days. After two years of pandemic, baseball fans just want it to be about the game. When players started anthem-kneeling in 2017 and Commissioner Manfred moved the All-Star game in 2021,...

Russia has invaded Ukraine. And we thought we lived in a world where blitzkrieg would never again change European boundaries. Russian leaders ignore the message of a classic piece of their own literature. In War and Peace, Tolstoy weaves a tale of politics,...

In “The Last Crusade” movie, Indiana Jones pursues the holy grail.  Near the end of the journey he faces a chasm with no way to cross. “It’s a leap of faith,” he mutters, as he steps into the abyss. To his surprise, his foot lands on a bridge he cannot see. It takes...

Willard Scott was the Today Show weatherman until Al Roker succeeded him in 1995. His life calling was to bring joy to the world. Scott started his career as a radio personality. His comedy show, Joy Boys, was popular in Washington. When he returned to the show from...

In his 1977 album, Billy Joel crooned about a love interest who was “always a woman to me.” One of her endearing quirks was, “She never gives in, she just changes her mind!” Politicians change their minds too. But lest you think poorly of them they say, “I misspoke,”...

His call surprised me, mainly because we were only somewhat acquainted. The pastor wanted me to speak at his church - Maranatha Baptist in Plains, Georgia. Perhaps you associate it with peanut farming or the toothy grin of their famous Sunday School teacher. I...

Christianity is for the courageous, even if you don’t live in North Korea. Fear, worry, and despair common to the human existence call for the courage that is coincident with faith. Persecution is real in North Korea. I read about a woman exiled to a life of hard...

Hiroo Onoda was a WWII Japanese army intelligence officer assigned to a clandestine operation in the Philippines. After the war ended, he refused to surrender for 29 years. Onoda lived in a hut in the mountains, carrying out guerrilla activities. After the war,...

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards recently pardoned Homer Plessy. Plessy has been dead since 1925.  What’s this all about? In the post-Civil War era, Plessy committed civil disobedience by violating a state law that required the separation of races in railroad cars. He...

I attended a conference where some highly respected people discussed and answered questions on a serious topic.  Comedian Jeff Foxworthy was the moderator for the evening. Foxworthy was so serious as he introduced the men sitting beside him as academics,...

The word “disruptive” comes to mind when I learn of someone who does not go along with the crowd. They stand out because they’re different, hopefully in a good way. I recently became aware of a University of Georgia professor, Henry Schaefer. He is the Graham Perdue...

I knew it was a risk. I meant it as an opportunity to express uplifting hope, and some saw it that way.  Others didn’t. My social media question was, “What do you hope happens in 2022?” Responses included Jesus coming and COVID going. Some want peace for our sharply...

Perhaps your earliest recollection of Christmas joy is like mine. But the seedling thoughts of a child blossom into a mature, lifetime joy that survives what life brings - if you really get it. When I was a child, Christmas was about lights and decorations, a break...