Victory Through Tragedy

On this particularly difficult day in America, I’d like for us to take a moment and pray for those who were directly affected by the 9/11 terror attacks twelve years ago. Pray for their hearts, wounded and salted by this anniversary. Pray for their courage as they seek a nearly unreachable forgiveness. Pray for their

Always Wreckin’ It

Poor Ralph. He just wants to be one of the good guys for once. He’s tired of his big, clumsy fists, tired of always hurting people, tired of wrecking everything. Peter would have liked Ralph. Peter’s problem didn’t lie in his fists, but in his mouth. Always spouting off an irrational answer, making promises he

If I Were Noah

You know what the most fascinating thing about the true-life story of Noah’s ark is? It’s not that all the animals were able to co-exist on one vessel for a long period of time. It’s not that it took just a handful of people to build such a large ship all by themselves. It’s not

URGENT: Bring the Howells Back Together for Christmas

Our friend Adam Howell went to Africa a week ago to pick up their newly adopted one year old boy, Judah. Everything is in place as far as adoption paperwork is concerned (Judah is theirs!). Right now, they’re just waiting for their exit visa so they can come home and be with their family by

For Whom the “Bell” Tolls: My Thoughts on Velvet Elvis – Part 2

For the first part of this review, click here. “Is the Bible the best God can do?” asks Bell. Apparently not, because he doesn’t seem to be sure God even wrote the Bible to begin with. He wonders if Corinthians, for example, is written by Paul or God or God through Paul or Paul through God. I wonder, as he’s standing at the pulpit on Sunday mornings preaching through 1 Timothy what he does with chapter 3 verse 16 (“All Scripture is inspired by God…”), but there’s really no reason for him to preach out of the Bible anyway, according to him.  “The Bible is open-ended,” he says. “We cannot simply do what it says,” because it first must be interpreted. Meaning, “Someone has to

The Strength of Mercy

For those of you familiar with All God’s Children International, here is a book that documents its humble origins, written by Jan Beazely, one of the main instruments in getting this mission off the ground. It’s hard to step out in faith sometimes, but we’re left with no excuse after watching the Beazely family make

Cult #2: Mormonism

Mormonism is the fastest growing and most successful cult. Their church is called The Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints, or LDS for short. They claim to be Christians, that they believe in the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. But they employ semantics to nearly every Christian term. A history: Joseph Smith Jr.: