Joy in a World Gone Mad

This may have escaped your notice, but we live in world full of pain and suffering, turmoil and fear. Anxiety is the default mode for a lot of people. The rich, famous, and beautiful aren't sheltered from it by their wealth, so what hope to the rest of us have?

I want to tell you about a book that offers a compelling answer to that question. It's "a book about joy" written "to help you experience life to the fullest."

Election Reflections

We've all had a week to mope or exult over the election, but now we should stop and think about the big picture. It's important to put this in the proper perspective.

Let's Talk About Abortion

Recent studies show a decline in church attendance among young women. For centuries, women have tended to be more likely than men to attend church. What's changed?

The problem is apparently the ways traditional Christian teaching disagrees with the teaching of our culture. When we allow the schools, the media, and the internet to disciple our children, we shouldn't be surprised when their beliefs differ from ours. Now it's necessary to address their specific objections to the teachings of traditional Christianity, and no issue seems to be more important to them than abortion.

I'm putting this out after the election intentionally. While I want more voters to be pro-life, this isn't not about votes; it's about girls letting this issue draw them away from Jesus. I hope they will one day be fully pro-life, but in the meantime we want them in church hearing the gospel and learning to follow Jesus.

The Contrast of God

Some time back we looked at the story of Jonah and how it illustrates God's preference for showing mercy. The book of Nahum is sort of a sequel to Jonah, and like a lot of sequels, it's a darker, grittier tale. But it's not all dark, and both the dark and the light tell us something important about God.

Who may live on your holy hill?

The old saying goes "familiarity breeds contempt." In my experience, though, it's more likely to breed complacency: We tend to take the people we know best for granted. We don't even notice street signs on roads we regularly drive.

And we rarely notice anything new in our favorite Bible passages. So it's nice, if a little jarring, when one of them jumps up and grabs us with something we've never seen before.