Martin Luther King, Jr. was an Atlanta pastor who spent time in an Alabama jail. When his fellow clergymen described his cause “extreme” and called for an end to it, he responded with his now-famous Letter from Birmingham City Jail. King wrote, “You speak of our...

It’s resolution time again, isn’t it? Or not. I suppose any time is a good time for improving, restarting, or renewing something. My suggestion is that if you are planning a resolution, surround it with lifestyle changes that will make it easier to become a habit....

The older you are, the more your memories invade your thoughts during the holidays.  You recall family and pleasant moments.  The finality of the passing of time brings a sigh.  How fleeting is this life! Seasonal songs set the context for reflections about time. ...

When I was a child, it was so hard to wait for the grand reveal of gifts on Christmas morning! Those happy times blended with our family’s celebration of the birth of the Savior.  When we started singing Christmas carols in church services, I knew the gifts would soon...

She was a prostitute and conveniently offered lodging at her house. Two young men found their way to her place, but they weren’t looking for paid favors. They had a job to do. They were spies and staying there would be a convenient cover. Her name was Rahab. She...

When is the next election for U.S. President? When is the baby due?  When did the U.S. declare its independence?  The assumption behind these questions is that important events are marked by their place in time. We humans are wired to understand things by their place...

Someone invited Phillip Johnson’s daughter to attend Vacation Bible School at a local church. Though an agnostic at the time, he became interested in what she learned. He was raised in a Christian home but had never considered the evidence for faith. He graduated at...

The Hallmark Channel’s 10th Countdown to Christmas has begun. Actually, they began their series of Christmas movies before Halloween while you weren’t looking. Maybe you still aren’t looking, because you’ve already seen that movie. Aren’t all those Hallmark movies...

Kanye West just released his much-anticipated album, “Jesus is King.” His conversion to Christianity has been met with both enthusiasm and skepticism.  As a cultural influencer, is he a shrewd businessman or a transparent truth-seeker?  Time will tell, as for all of...

A friend and I stopped at a small, mom and pop restaurant. While waiting for our order, the proprietor sauntered over to our table to amuse us with a math challenge. As he explained it, three men went to an inn and procured a room for $30, which they split equally....

I attended my 40th high school reunion. I have a confession about that. We were a class of only 46 souls, but I could not shake this fear that I would not recognize someone or remember a name. It wasn’t that I wanted to impress anyone with a nimble mind to which I lay...

In 1936 a sixth grade girl, Phyllis, wrote to Albert Einstein asking, “Do scientists pray?” He expressed his doubts about prayer influencing the course of events but admitted, “Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that some...

The politicians and pundits wait breathlessly for a document from the White House. It finally drops. Opposing camps see what they expected and implement their messaging strategy (Impeach! Witch hunt!). If you live by politics, news cycles, and social media, you swing...

Mark Twain published a book in 2017.  With a little help from Professor John Bird and creative collaborators Philip and Erin Stead, Samuel Clemens (his real name) scored a bestseller 107 years after his passing! Bird discovered Clemens’ handwritten notes while...

A dairy cow has a strong maternal instinct.  She objects to the standard practice of removing her days-old calf and challenges any barrier to it.  That natural instinct is the basis of a curious historical event. The Philistines captured the Israelites’ holy symbol,...

I won’t describe the published details of what happened because it’s too painful to read. But I’ll offer enough for you to understand. Dr. Craig Phelps, his wife Susan, and their four children left their home in Oklahoma, excited to begin their trip to a ski resort in...

What shakes your world? What would cause you to put the phone down and say, “My life will never be the same again”? Current events force the question. Rosie Granados was chatting on the phone with her twin sister Mary, who was near the end of her mail route. Suddenly,...

One of the last paintings Rembrandt completed (1669) was “The Return of the Prodigal Son.” This impactful art piece, about eight feet tall and wide, is in the collection at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The subject of the painting is the final in a...

Joshua Harris and Marty Sampson made quite a splash in some circles recently.  They are both religious influencers who announced in writing that they are stepping away from the Christian faith.  That’s disappointing, but should we be surprised?  Probably not. In...

Why am I here? Does life have purpose? These are questions probed by philosophers, but they are also very personal, freighted with implications. Someone with no good answer is more likely to succumb to the modern suicide epidemic. "Psychology Today" magazine reports...

A young woman paced the sidewalk outside the pastor’s home. He and his wife were preparing for a picnic in the park.  They noticed woman’s tentative attempts to approach their door. F.W. Boreham wrote about his experience that day. Realizing that the woman needed...

Journalist Mindy Belz spoke truth to power at the 2019 Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom sponsored by the U.S. State Department.  She argued that a culture will miss the Christian community when it’s gone. Belz has a deep resume of reporting from war-torn areas...

“Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1) is the epigraph in Days of Grace: A Memoir by tennis great Arthur Ashe.  Indeed, he endured much in his short life....

The WWII era was a frightening time as people realized that life as they knew it could actually end. Two leaders from that period noted the link between beginning and ending, expressing hope even in those dark days. The British army had finally turned back Rommel’s...

America’s Voices In Israel is an organization that arranges trips to the Holy Land for prominent and influential Americans. Let’s hear from two men who had similar experiences on their trips. As a believer in high school, Deshawn Watson prayed about his football...

James Madison lived to the advanced age of 85 and helped birth our nation. He became known as the “Father of the Constitution” which was adopted when he was a young 36.  He led the drafting of the Bill of Rights, and served as our fourth President. To promote the...

The young fancy themselves wise, unable to reason with their feeble minds; the old fancy themselves feeble, unminding the season that finds them wise. Growing old isn’t for the faint of heart. Ok, that’s cliché. Tennyson said it better in “Ulysses.” “Death closes all;...

Samuel Morse was a portrait painter in 1825. He was away from home working in New York City when he received a message that his wife was sick. The next day another message said she had died. He immediately rushed home only to learn that she had already been buried....

“The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” (Prov. 16:9). We describe an unusual event as “providential,” usually to express good fortune encountered, or disaster averted. Our town recently laid a hero to rest. In WWII, every man in his platoon...

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “There is properly no history; only biography.” I won’t pretend to understand the mind of that transcendentalist, but I agree if he means the present is informed by the past, and the past cannot be understood apart from people. Today’s...

Have you heard the term “jeremiad”? It’s an eponymous reference to the prophet Jeremiah, describing a complaint against the state of things and a prediction of imminent downfall. We recently heard, “The world is going to end in 12 years if we don’t address climate...

The debonair Jonathan Goldsmith appeared in Dos Equis beer ads from 2006 – 2016. The actor portrayed quite unusual accomplishments, then ended the video in the presence of beautiful young women. “Stay thirsty, my friends,” was his sign-off. He was “The Most...

If you’re like me, more of life is in the past than the future. Fortunately it takes longer to arrive at that halfway mark than it did 100 years ago when the average life span was around 50. Today, if you retire at 65, you could have 20 to 30 years ahead of you. The...

I recently met a couple who hiked the Camino de Santiago (the Way of Saint James). From the popular starting point, it is a 600 mile trek across France and Spain. Pilgrims (hikers) make their way toward the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The 2010 movie, “The...

Our town has the advantage over the big cities. We can see the stars. The ones in the sky, not on the red carpet. The human fascination with the night sky says something about us. Scientists say the observable universe is 93 billion light years in diameter. In that...

Dr. Rosalind Picard tells her story in a recent edition of “Christianity Today” magazine. She is founder and director of the Affective Computing Research Group at MIT. Her writing is usually published in scientific journals, on topics such as artificial intelligence,...

In a rare vote of unity, the Georgia Senate unanimously approved SB 83 about public high schools teaching elective Bible courses. It is a revision of a 2006 law, and clarifies that the courses can include the actual text of the Bible. This is broader than just the...

Wow, I wish I could have been in the Supreme Court on Feb. 27, 2019! Justice Elena Kagan declared the good news in plain language. On that auspicious day, the Court heard oral arguments about the WWI Memorial in Bladensburg, MD. The American Legion erected the...

Gunter Bechly’s views evolved, as they say. And it cost him. If you like science and a true story with conflict and drama, do a web search on this distinguished professor. In 1999, Bechly received a Ph.D. in paleontology and became curator of insect fossils at the...

Robert Frost enjoyed strolls with fellow poet Edward Thomas. He reflected on a walk in a wood with two different but equal paths. “I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by,...

Theologian Karl Barth was a rebel. In the early 20th C., he rejected the popular new idea that the historical Jesus does not matter to Christians. Just prior to WWII, his rebellion took a dangerous turn. As a leader of Germany’s confessing church, he wrote a...

Nelson Mandela said, “Courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it.” I like a mathematical comparison: The demand for courage is directly proportional to the potential for danger. In either case, everyday dangers of various degrees and their resulting...

If the events of the last week or two are any indication, the Super Bowl is all that matters to some fans and players.  Clint Gresham played six seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, appearing in two Super Bowls.  Winning one and losing one taught him something. In 2014,...

Growing up in the South in the 70’s, it was hard not to notice the catchy tune, “Sweet Home Alabama.” I just turned the radio on, without knowing what the lyrics meant. Some of those lyrics included, Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers, and they’ve been known to...

When I saw the name Ellen Fowler (d.1929), I wondered if we’re kin. She was an English novelist, combining romance and religion. I decided to take up her Fuel of Fire (1902) just from curiosity. Her character Rufus Webb is a man who had served as a missionary to...

John Lennox is a math professor (emeritus) at Oxford. If you were to hear him speak, you’d agree that he is affable, unassuming, and disarming. And smart. He holds seven academic degrees, including three doctorates. In his latest book, Can Science Explain Everything?...

Blasphemy has been in the news of late. It’s a harsh word we tend to avoid in everyday use. A more accessible synonym is “slander,” defined as false and malicious speech against someone. So if blasphemy is false words against God, its antonym could be doxology, true...

Taking stock of your life is so human. The changing of the calendar is a natural time to do it, especially when you have holiday time off to ponder how your relatives have changed since you last saw them. Or, as in the case of some of us, how our families have one...

I don’t like goodbyes. Well I’m not sorry to see some things go, but you know what I mean. Looking back on 2018, we said goodbye to some notable people. Sometimes when people pass it feels like a season coming to a close. Let’s remember some who died in 2018. Barbara...

Something happened in Bethlehem that solved an ancient mystery. The grand reveal began with an inglorious manger. The mystery matters because it was for you. Adam and Eve first heard of a mysterious person to come. From a 15th C. BC document, we learn that the seed of...