Every avalanche begins with a single snowflake…a bit of crystalized water vapor so light that it takes a small eternity to reach the earth. It falls in absolute silence and makes no sound whatever when it lands. Conditions must be perfect for this lone snowflake to be formed and to remain in a frozen state. By itself, it is of no consequence and cannot long exist. It may take many storms, many short, windswept days and long, freezing nights for such flecks of ice,…
The Christian faith is unique in the way that it permits its deity to be portrayed. No tales told of other gods are anything like the picture painted of Christianity’s central figure, Jesus Christ. To say that this portrait is very strange and oddly unflattering is to engage in understatement of the worst kind. Moreover, Christians—and even Christ, himself—have a most peculiar way of enticing others to embrace the faith as their own. To illustrate the point, here is a selective synopsis of Christ’s résumé. Although…
The following is my personal, first-hand account of how Jesus Christ healed me in answer to prayer. The prayer that He powerfully answered in real time was not the first nor the only prayer offered to Him for my healing over a period of 18 months or so. This account is based on a contemporaneous entry in my prayer journal dated two days after the event. It has been lightly edited for readability. IMPORTANT NOTE: I am keenly aware of the sensitivity around…
For thousands of years, most human beings in most times and places the world over have taken for granted the existence of a creator, of good and evil, of death and judgment and an afterlife of endless bliss or eternal consequences. But in the past hundred years or so, a movement has emerged that denies all of this. It is a radical paradigm shift, historically unprecedented in scope, growth rate and societal impact. It is notable for its total disregard for the accumulated wisdom…
Forgive me, Jesus, but I just can’t look. As I read the gospel accounts of the last hours of your mortal life, I still can’t bring myself to “watch” some moments—those telling of the cruelest atrocities inflicted on your person and of the foulest indignities heaped upon your head. I dare not linger there. I must cut the scene short and hurry on. I cannot bear to witness the full panoply of agonies that You endured…for the sins of others, for the sake of others. I cannot even…
If you were to be asked whether ‘we all worship the same god’ (though this god may be known by different names), would you answer, “yes?” If so, why? Some people do not believe in God and so, do not worship at all. Some worship many deities, and others only one. Those who believe in one god ascribe very different descriptions, attributes and characteristics to the supreme being. Some hold that there is a force or power of some kind…
The word, “gospel” has long been part of everyday speech, as in “the gospel truth.” The idea behind this expression was, gospel = truth. It was based on the dependability of God’s word as given to us in the Bible. The reasoning is simple. God promised to send a savior to free us from death and hell by paying, on our behalf, the penalty that we deserve. God did that. He sent His own Son, Jesus, to be the sacrificial…
Why did God sacrifice His own Son, His only Son, Jesus, by sending Him to earth to die…for sinners? God’s word supplies the answer: He was compelled to do so by love. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). No external force can make God do anything. It was His own love for humanity that compelled Him…