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Two Crashes Just two days after a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines jet collided near Washington, D.C., a small plane crashed in Philadelphia. What do we know about the Philadelphia crash? On Friday night, a medical transport plane carrying a six-year-old patient, the child’s...

How do I say “no” to sin? Quick Answer: How do I say “no” to sin? We believers say “no” to sin by recognizing sinful thoughts do not come from us and that sin has no power over us (Romans 6:11-12). When sinful thoughts or temptations come our way, we can make the conscious decision to count...

Who Is A “Good Person?” New Years Day I was window shopping in a large suburban mall. I saw a new store. I’ve never seen it before. “The Be A Good Person Store.” Think about it for a moment. The store (and its web site) sells tee shirts, sweatshirts and other clothes that all display...

Do true Christians still sin? Quick Answer: Do true Christians still sin? Some wrongly claim that Christians no longer commit sins. However, Scripture is clear that Christians can and do still sin. Our confidence should not be in the illusion of sinless performance but in the forgiveness and...

4 Way a Wife Can Unintentionally Break Her Husband’s Heart If a man thinks nothing he does is ever good enough for his wife, it will crush his spirit. I’m going to make a confession to you that many men will try to deny, but it’s the truth. Here it is…we men get our feelings hurt a lot more...

Dwelling and Watchwords: Choosing a Verse to Guide Your Path Before we look at the disciplines of Dwelling in the Word and Watchwords, let me tell you a peculiar story. In 1989, a man from Philadelphia was browsing a local flea market when he came across a vintage painting of a dark and gloomy...

Want Impact? [ 1 min read ★ ] If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed—Luke 17:6 We want our lives to matter. We want these few days we spend here to mean something. We want some sort of impact. Well, brother, if we really want impact, we’ve got to allow the amplifying...

The Comfort and Friendship of Jesus in Our Grief Over the four-plus years my beloved wife Nanci faced cancer, there were many good reports and many bad ones. We rode a roller coaster of emotions throughout her three surgeries, three rounds of radiation, and three rounds of chemo. I vividly...

Grace After Grace: How Much Grace Is That? Jesus embodies all the grace God has for you and me. John the Beloved says in the Gospel of John, “Jesus represents the fullness of the Father’s grace and truth.” Jesus is not only a truth teller but a grace giver. Most of us struggle to give grace...

Love That Bears Fruit Love That Bears Fruit I believe we all want our love to bear fruit. A Little Context for Love 1 John 4:7-21 says, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love...

Squinting Through the Fog [ 1 min read ★ ] If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God . . . and it will be given him—James 1:5 God knows what’s right in every circumstance. We do not. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Proverbs...

How Do I Overcome the Legacy of Divorce? Do you ever wonder if you’ll get out from under the shadow of your parents’ divorce? Do you worry about repeating the patterns of the past? The challenge of creating and maintaining a healthy, long-lasting relationship is where your parents fell...

Speak Responsibly [ 1 min read ★ ] Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love—1 Corinthians 16:13-14 Whether it’s two of us or twelve of us or more, when we gather in Christian community, we’re to speak truth to one...

Windstorms and Wildfires: Finding Christ Among Devastation As I sit down in the local library to write this post, I can see the ocean extending beyond the tree tops and red tiled roofs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Following the curve of the coast, I can see beach towns, most notably a...

What Are Treasures in Heaven? A reader on my Facebook page asked this question about the nature of treasures in Heaven: “What does that even mean to ‘store your treasures in heaven’? What treasures are we storing up?!” The Greek word translated “treasures” or “riches” in Matthew 6 normally...

Finding Sacred Pause: 5 Apps that Build Spiritual Discipline Despite the promises of technology and gadgets to simplify our lives, the demands on our time and responsibilities haven’t lessened. Most of us recognize the importance of following Jesus’ example, who “frequently withdrew to the...

Marriage Killer: The Cares of This World In the parable of the sower, Jesus discusses how the Word of God hits some people’s hearts. Some people bear fruit for God as a result. But others do not bear fruit because they exhibit “thorny soil”—soil that is choked out by the cares of this world...

5 Secrets to a Happy Second Marriage While many couples see remarriage as an opportunity to start fresh start and a new chance at happiness, the statistics reveal a different story with the divorce rate for second marriages being 60-67% compared to about 50% for first marriages. Why is this...

Wake-up Call [ 1 min read ★ ] . . . faith apart from works is dead—James 2:26 Imagine yourself, for a moment, standing before our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. Imagine feeling, at first, a bit apprehensive. Imagine lifting your eyes to his. Imagine his face, when you meet his...

“Even If”: Finding Faith in 2025 Hopefully, 2024 was an excellent year for you. For me, last year was spent walking through valleys. Whether this new year is good or bad, I hope to encourage you to find a particular type of faith in 2025. My challenge (for myself and you) is to live an “even...