The argument was intense. A man was suffering and he didn’t know why. His friends thought they understood what God was doing. They tried to tell him what was really happening. But they said more than they knew. They had some good insight about God, but were wrong in the way they used it to […]
If for no other reasons than the trouble in which we find ourselves, and the hopes that have been inspired by the grueling, successful campaign of Barack Obama, this is a momentous day for the United States and for the world. The opinions that have swirled around our president-elect remind me of something in the […]
Born in 1947, I grew up during the years of the civil rights movement. But looking back I was insulated and isolated from the struggle of those whose lives were bound up with the cause so eloquently and courageously expressed by Martin Luther King. Over the last few days, I’ve been deeply moved to see […]
When you get a chance I wish you’d watch this brief YouTube clip called “Smart Dog” and then see if it helps to illustrate the following perspective on the Bible. And if you’re wondering whether the dog’s “intelligence” is faked, here’s an in the studio before a live audience angle that is more convincing. Seems […]
Some events help us reflect on the bigger story of our lives. The heroic actions of ”Sully”, a veteran pilot who safely landed 155 passengers of an Airbus A320 on the frigid waters of the Hudson River… after being brought down by a flock of birds… is one of those events. The rescue of US Airways […]
Just read something I find hard to believe. Found it in a short article by Liz Szabo writing for USA Today. She says that, according to a report released online in The New England Journal of Medicine, “Eight hospitals reduced the number of deaths from surgery by more than 40% by using a checklist that […]
On one occasion, Jesus reminded his listeners that “a house divided will not stand” (Mark 3:25). In another setting, he said, “Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, […]
With words we bless and curse, agree and disagree, expose truth, or hide it. With words we also label, name-call, and characterize in ways that can make it difficult to separate facts from perceived guilt by association. (Caught a picture of this fellow on Jerusalem’s Ben Yehuda street. Was in costume for the Jewish feast […]
As the US turns over control of the Green Zone to Iraqi authorities, and as another powerful earthquake shakes Indonesia, the eyes of the world have shifted once again to a small strip of land on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. Around the world, in London, Paris, and New York, shouting crowds have taken […]
A new church in our neighborhood has a sign out front that I think has such a good message for the New Year. It says, “Let’s Learn to be Different Together.” After seeing the sign for the first time, I later drove past it again to make sure that I could remember exactly what it […]
