Regular and effective Bible reading is a challenge for many Christians, even some who are active in ministry. There are many reasons for this, some of which are probably excuses and others may be more valid. What is clear is that neither shame nor making excuses for ourselves will actually get us reading. We need…
Throughout history, every civilization has wrestled with two fundamental questions: What is ultimate reality? and What is the place of the individual within the community? The way a people answers these questions shapes its laws, art, economics, education, and destiny. When we place civilizations along two axes: biblical vs. non-biblical (rooted in transcendent moral order…
For the last 2 plus years I have been in a men’s Bible study led by a good friend of mine. Last year was a very special year since he was away and I was challenged to continue the group and our study of Romans. Meeting once a week, we were able to cover chapters…
Many of the observations in Ecclesiastes are related to work. We might even say that Solomon is investigating the significance of our work on earth. This is highlighted by the repeated phrase “under the sun”. If you want more on this topic and an interesting overview of the book, read this article. We often wonder if…
As we look more closely at Ecclesiastes, we will examine a few themes which Solomon explores. These themes also relate to our current context as we attempt to make sense of time, life, death, purpose, meaninglessness, hope, despair and the value and functions of wisdom. If you want a bit more insight into the wisdom…
Right now I’m struggling a bit with what to spend on Christmas gifts this year. It is often interesting to hear how much people are spending, what they are buying, what they are not buying and ultimately their level of satisfaction with what they bought or received during the Christmas season. We can attribute many…
It is interesting to see the conclusions people draw these days from the news or from their own experiences and then, claiming to understand the motives of others, make broad generalizations and theories about society, culture and even history. This may be partially due to the immediate access most people have to the news and…
“Meditate on it day and night” (Psalm 1) – this is a reference to continual thinking, processing and discussion over a lifetime as you dig deeper into the symbolism and ambiguities of Scripture in light of the bigger picture of life. This means that any one part of Scripture, taken as a single entity, can…
I few posts back I wrote about “Real Value in Christian education” and mentioned several aspects of a Christ-centered education that provide unique and powerful connections between life and learning. We can now look more closely at the first of these connections: First, it would be helpful to have a clear understanding of what is…
Introduction When we discuss faith and science together, we might encounter seemingly incompatible concepts and perspectives, but this should not be the case! Instead of having to decide between faith and science, we need to come to the discussion with a clear understanding of how they support each other. This approach demands that we know…
Every few weeks I happen upon an interesting article and then waste a few minutes looking through the comments to see what people have to say about the content. Sometimes this is slightly enlightening but it often just reinforces my belief that people have a long way to go in their ability to understand truth…
Let’s look together at “The Kingdom of God”. This is a concept explored much in Scripture but we still don’t have a handle on what it means in our daily life. Jesus says, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” I admit that…
