Jesus endured false accusations, beatings and the cross. With grace. Without malice or anger. For his enemies. For me. So here I am, saved by the suffering of Christ while I was still his enemy. What now?  What am I to do? It’s an understatement to say my life has changed.  Is changed. The old me falls away in the ongoing process of sanctification described by Paul, but at what point in the process am I ready to do something? If Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to reside in my heart the moment Read more [...]

No one likes to be falsely accused of anything.  There isn’t any one of us who wouldn’t put up a vigorous defense against the smallest charge. But what about the claim Christians believe in a fairy tale, in spite of the evidence against it?  A claim I once held as true. What’s your response to that accusation?  What's your defense?  Do you have an answer, or are you quiet?  Do you hide away and say to yourself you know it’s true because Jesus is in your heart, and that’s enough evidence Read more [...]

This is important to me, that’s why I continue to come back. The list of reasons why is long. I believe those reasons are part of something bigger than they are by themselves: my purpose.  And my purpose is bigger than I am by myself, because it's not all about me. Perhaps it’s not about me at all. Yet I “know” when I’m on track with my purpose, because it imbues me with an unearthly meaning and joy. It may not be about me, but it provides a satisfaction far beyond anything I do Read more [...]

The mind doesn't always know why the heart has joy. It comes out of its reverie, looks over and says to the heart "Why are you smiling? What is that song you are singing?" The heart replies, "Oh! I don't know, I wasn't thinking about it!  If I do, the joy fades, then runs away.” The mind looks down at his feet, wiggles his toes and says, "Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. I can't help myself. You are an enigma to me: unfathomable and fascinating! You have an elusive logic of your own." "That's Read more [...]

How do we separate chance from the specific, detailed plans of God? Chance or God's Plan? Don't the laws of probability tumble our lives like dice?  But if God wants what’s best for us, how could anything be left to chance?  Wouldn’t His plans involve every little detail of our lives?  Wouldn’t everything be set in place by His design, worked through our freewill anticipated by His omniscience? Honoring our freewill while working Ultimate Good through every choice we make? Life isn't Read more [...]

For most of my life the existence of evil was “proof” that the creator of space, time and matter didn't care about us. He either had no heart, or it was cold and reptilian. He was the ultimate “Dead-Beat Dad" abandoning us to fend for ourselves in a hostile universe. Since God wouldn't eliminate evil, it was up to me to stave off the evil of the world as best I could, for myself and my family. But after 46 years of going it alone I was driven to my knees in defeat. That was when I saw Read more [...]

We often think of philosophy as being a lofty subject studied by dreamy thinkers locked (from the inside) in a room the top floor of an obelisk, their feet far from the ground.  But philosophy is an integral part of everyone's life whether they know it or not.  The philosophy of the scientific method is the foundation of all the sciences, but the same philosophy is played out every day throughout the day in everyone's lives.  If not, we couldn't survive.  We are continually accessing data with Read more [...]

Moving forward through time is really all we have.  Face front; eyes forward.  Footsteps in the present to the future beyond. Many thoughts audition to guide those footsteps.  The common, worn and failed ideas of the past need not apply.  They are the silt, the sand and the mud to the prospector looking for gold. Why settle?  Because you’re in a hurry, and being at a standstill is no fun?  But going backward even less. So, don't blink when your resolve is tested!  Don't settle for fools Read more [...]

There has to be a personal God.  My heart tells me so.  My mind tells me so. But first it was my heart that knew. My mind had to catch up. My heart is thankful it did, because the heart that knows God is in trouble without support of the mind.  Yet the mind that knows God without support of the heart resides in a cadaver.  Although the role of each is entirely different, both are designed to compliment and strengthen the other. Before the "Age of Reason" the heart's faith was perhaps Read more [...]

58 percent of those who call themselves Christians don’t believe in the resurrection of Christ. They don’t believe He rose from the dead. As Paul puts it, the resurrection is the cornerstone of our worldview. If Christ didn’t rise from the dead we’re all still in our sins and Christians are the sorriest people on the planet. Why do we allow ourselves to be bamboozled by Satan’s deceptions? Why would we accept his explanations without thinking? Why do we sometimes indiscriminately soak-in Read more [...]