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Lent and Why We Still Meet God in the Wilderness It’s Lent: Let’s Go to the Wilderness Budget cuts in the US government have resulted in more folks paying attention to the National Parks recently. While arguments over which branches of government are more or less vital or efficient, my own...

“Power Without Empathy Is A Sin” Can someone have too much empathy? No. Only misdirected empathy. In this photo a group of people on the Ithaca Commons participated in a protest. Only the Weak Will Fail “Only the weak will fail.” (Donald Trump) “Power Without Empathy Is A Sin” (Noah Harley...

Making Decisions Involves The Head And The Heart Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 There is a connection between what we really...

What Difference Does That Little Bit Of “Extra” Make? Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men. Colossians 3:23 Good, better, best; never let it rest till your good is better and your better is best. Anonymous What difference does that little bit of “extra”...

Three Temptations, and Three Triumphs Today’s blog is a slightly expanded reprint of a post I did at this site a couple of years ago. The post seems so suitable for the Lenten season. In 2023, I published the book He Will Save You from the Deadly Pestilence: The Many Lives of Psalm 91. Many...

The Proverbs 31 Wife vs. My Wrinkled Reality Wanted- A Good Wife I’m up before dawn, I’m cooking and negotiating to buy a field/image courtesy of PexelWanted- A Good Wife The Bible presents a noble vision of a wife—a woman of virtue, strength, and wisdom. Proverbs 31 describes her as...

How the Heck Do We Know? [ 1 min read ★ ] . . . show me a sign that it is you who speak with me—Judges 6:17 "That was God . . ." "I felt God nudging me . . ." "I got the sense that God wants me to . . ." We...

How to Spot Misinformation Before It Destroys Lives According to a United Nations report titled Tackling Terrorists’ Exploitation of Youth, young people are a critical target for recruitment. | Image rendered in Meta AI and post-processed for Patheos. Saving Our Democracy: 5 Things You Can Do...

Learning from Amos: Faithfulness Amid Nationalism and Chaos Amos stands out among the Twelve Prophets as an unexpected and powerful voice of God’s presence and judgment in a time of great nationalism, confusion, and conflict. Identified as a sheep farmer from an agriculturally significant...

Falling in Love Can be Easy but Staying in Love is Real Work Bailey, 36, and Kevin, 40, sat on my couch for their couples counseling session and shared their disappointment about their bickering and falling out of love. Bailey put it like this, “Kevin works long hours and when we do see each...

Heard God Through Others? [ 1 min read ★ ] The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me; his word is on my tongue—2 Samuel 23:2 God speaks through his people. He empowers us as agents to carry his messages—as Ananias did...

Selfless Sacrifice and Mary Slessor’s Crazy Amazing Faith There are some people in history whose lives make us stop in our tracks. Their stories challenge our comfort, stretch our faith, and inspire us to live bolder for Jesus. One such person is Mary Slessor, a woman whose fierce devotion...

The Day I Realized I Didn’t Love God For part of my childhood, I didn’t love God. However, I spent many hours at St. Andrews Church in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, where my dad was organist-choirmaster (more about him here). Much of that time was in the historic sanctuary, built in 1857, as...

Grabbing Some Solitude [ 1 min read ★ ] . . . he would withdraw to desolate places and pray—Luke 5:16 Why are we men so bad at solitude? Our king did it quite well. As a man, Jesus knew his limitations. He understood his need to connect with his father—to his guidance and...

The Fight for Freedom and Harriet Tubman Some people live such bold, audacious lives that their stories still echo through history, calling us to something greater. Harriet Tubman was one of those people. Born into slavery, she became one of the most daring conductors of the Underground...

Can You Handle the Truth? [ 1 min read ★ ] . . . woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up—Ecclesiastes 4:10 Support and encouragement are crucial for friendship, of course. But by themselves, they aren’t enough—not even close. True friendship...

From Gettysburg to Galatia: The Weight of Powerful Endings Boasting in the Cross: Paul’s Final Words to the Galatians Some of the most powerful words in history are not long-winded speeches, but short, unforgettable statements that leave a lasting impact. Take, for example, Abraham Lincoln’s...

Millions Resort to Filthy Ponds for Drinking Water WILLS POINT, TX — Millions across Africa and Asia brace for the annual drought season that could result in catastrophic loss of life in coming months as millions turn to filthy, disease-ridden ponds as a last resort to find drinking water.A...

Emotional States: How to Identify and Deal With Them Effectively in a Marriage Think about it: when you’re in a good mood, you might cut your partner some slack. It’s easy to show generosity when they make a mistake, even granting them forgiveness more readily. Let’s face it, our moods greatly...

Animal Encounters Offer a Foretaste of Life on the New Earth Jim Abernethy, a well-known diver and underwater photographer, works primarily with sharks. Years ago in the Bahamas, Jim encountered a large tiger shark he named Emma. Unlike most tiger sharks, Emma was friendly and curious...