How can we live a life that will help destroy the image that being a follower of Jesus is an evil thing, especially when the institutional church has often failed, sinned and abused people?
LIVING LIKE A ROCK STAR
Over the past few weeks, we have been reminded again of the incredible tensions that seem to be continually boiling over in the Middle East, and at the center of the tension is a city called Jerusalem. It’s ironic that the city itself speaks of peace, for that is what ‘shalom’ means. Yet this city …
WHEN I GROW UP, I WANT TO BE…
Victor Frankl endured a Nazi concentration camp in the Second World War. In his book Man’s Search for Meaning, he writes about a fellow prisoner who had lost hope. This man shared a dream in which a voice told him that he could wish for something and it would be answered. He related to Frankl, …
A LIVING HOPE: IN TROUBLING TIMES
Author, Ann Kiemel, in her book, ‘It’s Incredible,’ tells the story of Mary, a fictitious name to protect her identity regarding the power of forgiveness in a person’s life. “Mary understands when people ask her about forgiveness. She first married when she was seventeen years old. It seemed so perfect, so right…but while she was …
SINGING HER PRAISE: THE QUALITIES OF A WISE LIFE
In the book of Ruth, we have the amazing story of one young woman’s devotion to the God of Israel and her mother-in-law, Naomi. Ruth leaves her homeland, forsaking family, and the gods of the Moabites to follow Naomi back to the land of Israel. The way she serves Naomi, her mother-in-law, and forsaking all …
THE COSMIC STRUGGLE: HOPE IN DISTRESSING TIMES
In ‘Rumors Of Another World, Philip Yancey tells of ‘a short story by the Spanish writer Carmen Corde. Corde tells of a young woman who gives birth to a blind son. ‘I do not want my child to know that he is blind!’ she informs family and neighbors, forbidding anyone to use telltale words such …
LIFE SPRINGS FORTH: FROM DESPAIR TO HOPE!
Covid has changed the way we live. It has focused our attention on limitations, restrictions, and the reality of our mortality. Every day we hear of people whose lives have been taken by Covid. It has been a defining moment in the life of our planet, and for some its impact will alter their earthly …
WHO’S TO BLAME: A QUESTION OF JUSTICE?
If destroying the greatest good is an expression of the greatest evil, then what happened on ‘Good Friday,’ is the ultimate expression of evil. The question begs to be asked, who is responsible for this evil? In other words, who is to blame? When we look at the crucifixion of Jesus the question naturally arises …
PEACE REJECTED: THE PAINFUL JOURNEY TO WHOLENESS
A longing for peace and a struggle for freedom is the history of human existence. To think that we can attain both peace and freedom apart from God by attaining self-autonomy will not produce the goal of either peace or freedom. Dietrich Bonhoeffer in ‘Cost of Discipleship,’ related that “The demand for absolute liberty brings …
THE CRITICAL ROLE MORALITY HAS IN LEADERSHIP
We are living in a day where how one lives is not considered critical in their ability to be an effective leader. However, that has not always been the thinking in the past, and certainly not in the thinking of the wisdom literature. A person’s moral life has a huge impact on how they will …