I‘d be remiss if I didn’t start out with a confession; like many, I had no clue that there was such a thing as sex trafficking. Sure I’ve heard biblical stories of men working for the right to marry their wives, I’ve read history books of our nation’s poor choices in enslaving African Americans, and I’ve […]
How To Use Your Change To Change The Lives of Others
Helping impoverished children around the globe have a future
Compassion International is a nonprofit organization who is an advocate for children’s needs, spiritually, economically, socially and physically. The organization began assisting orphans that were victims of the Korean War with food, shelter, education, Christian training and health care in 1952. At the time founder Rev. Everett Swanson was moved to help 35 children orphaned […]
CLOTHED IN CULTURE OR CHARACTER?
The meaning of modern day modesty
An old-fashioned word for a seemingly old-fashioned virtue, the word “modesty” doesn’t have much caché in American culture. Even in religious or Christian circles, the term sometimes smacks of school marms and Puritans, rigid dress codes and killjoys. In the most extreme cases, it conjures up images of Taliban-like sexism and the overzealous (and often […]
Redeeming Tragedy
Finding God Amidst Disaster
Jesus orchestrates beauty from what we designate ugly. From what we label broken he crafts something flawless. Jesus restores lives we see as lost. God’s ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. We may not always understand why God allows tragedy to happen, but we trust he uses all things for […]
DON’T FORGET ABOUT GOD
How to learn to include Christ in Acts of Service
The list included the songs “You Are Good” by Brian Johnson, “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever” by Delirious?, “Blessed Be the Lord God Almighty” by Bob Fitts and “Where You Go, I’ll Go” by Brian and Jenn Johnson. It was a Sunday morning in the early autumn. I had spent the morning on […]
Consuming Communion
Why do the bread and the wine matter?
My mouth watered as I watched scraps of bread and tiny juice cups pass by me in church. Such kid-friendly fare—I didn’t understand why I wasn’t allowed to eat the mid-service snack. “Communion should be taken very seriously,” my mom said. I was six. I took my snacks very seriously. I also prayed before my […]
FOREVER FORGIVENESS
Biblical guidance on loving those who've hurt you
“Forgive and forget” (Common proverb). “To err is human, to forgive, divine” (Alexander Pope). None of these clichés help the healing when someone is hurting at the hands of another. However, part of our Christian walk is changing our heart and letting go of the hurt that we feel. In this, we have the Holy […]
CONSTANT GRATITUDE
Living a life of thanksgiving
Lorrie Noel found out she had a brain tumor in August 2011. After more testing, she learned it was cancerous. Though the cancer had nestled into an inoperable place in her brain, stretching its deadly tendrils from this safe haven, Lorrie had inexplicable joy. Seasoned doctors wondered at her undaunted smiles, and nurses, hardened by […]
Does Your Form Determine Your Function?
Digging in to what the Bible says about society, culture and gender roles.
When one brings up the topic of gender roles, it is often in the context of academia, as required reading for an introductory course in Psychology or Sociology in college. It may also come up in general conversation, if one is not afraid of encountering strong opinions that may be offensive to sensibilities regardless where […]
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE BLESSED?
A dictionary of Christian jargon for the ordinary person
What does it mean to be “blessed?” What is a blessing? What does it mean when someone utters the phrase “God bless you?” Somehow this religious word has entered into our culture and is now found on the lips of pop stars when they talk about how they won a Grammy. Even for a seemingly […]