My 19-year-old daughter recently shared for our family worship some insights from a book she is reading for her university Bible class. When she finished, my mind went to the following scripture: "As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged...

What I Take from the Compost Bucket I’m one of those people who can eat whatever is on my plate even if it looks like it was scraped from the bottom of the compost bucket, and I’ll still enjoy it—as long as it tastes good. I figure it’s only going...

I have two theological confessions to make. The first is that I am madly in love with the gospel. Seriously, I am. As an Adventist, a father and a pastor, the gospel is my everything. Jesus-only is my motto, my passion and my standard. After battling with legalism and perfectionism...

His eyes were blue, like an October sky. His hair was the color of sand off the beach, the kind you put in a bottle and take home for memories. I won’t mention his name, but it rhymes with schmichael. When he and I talked, I literally felt something I’d...

As I drove into the country of Lesotho, I typed into my GPS the address of the Lesotho Conference headquarters and followed the directions into the central part of Maseru, the capital city of Lesotho. With the GPS it should not be too difficult to locate the building, I thought...

If we readily saw the microscopic organisms swimming in lake water the way Antonie van Leeuwenhoek did, we would probably never venture in again. If we could see what lives on our teeth as Leeuwenhoek observed, we might not be able to stomach a kiss in the light. Referred to...

“War broke out in heaven…” (Revelation 12:7). Satan launched his revolt against God not with bullets and bombs but with subtly spun lies. The Greek word for “war” in the above text is polemos, from which we get words like polemic and politics. Polemos is the idea of arguing against...

“Who of you respect authority?” questioned the professor to those of us sitting in her classroom. I immediately raised my hand. Awkwardly, I realized that mine was the only hand raised. I was surprised but unshaken in my response. I respect authority. It’s how my mama raised me. A good...

Have you ever heard of drafting? Sure you have, but perhaps not the kind of drafting I’m thinking of. Drafting can refer to: Refining several preliminary versions of a piece of writing. Governmental enlistment of young men for mandatory military service. A brilliant aerodynamic technique that significantly improves one’s athletic...

Do you have a New Years resolution? I have a track record of failed resolutions. In 2013, I vowed to learn Spanish. In 2014, I promised to stop interrupting people. 2017 has arrived, and I’m embarrassed to say that no hablo español, and I do still interrupt in English. But...

Hey, you. Yeah, the person staring at the screen. I’d like to invite you to think about your feet. They’ve done a lot for you, so take a few minutes to acknowledge your ten-toed reality.  How far have your feet travelled today? Have you ever gone anywhere without them? Do...

Have you ever had one of those Christmases where your entire pajama-clad family is gathered together, the tree is wrapped in lights that shine à la star of Bethlehem, and mugs are filled with hot chocolate and freckled with marshmallows? You know the kind of thing I’m talking about, where...