To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Stuart Briscoe and his wife Jill, who are natives of England, came to America some years ago to help launch a new congregation in the Midwest. They had been in the States only a short while when they made their first trip to Chicago to attend a conference. Briscoe’s car was low on fuel, but he was… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here If God really exists, why is the world such a mess? It’s easy to document that on any given day people all over the planet awaken to wars, famines, and corruption. Why doesn’t God, with one sweep of his hand, wipe the slate clean? No wonder “the problem of pain” is the number one… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here In 1997, two days before her first birthday, Alexandra “Alex” Scott was diagnosed with a childhood cancer called neuroblastoma. At first Alex made good progress in overcoming her disease. By age two she had learned to stand and walk with leg braces. But just before her fourth birthday, doctors learned that her tumors were growing… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Each day this month we’re looking closely at one of the 1:1 verses of the Bible – exploring what we can learn from chapter one / verse one of various Old and New Testament books. Job 1:1 “In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Tim Hansel loved to push his body to the limits. He went to Stanford University on a football scholarship in the 1960’s. After earning two degrees, he turned down an opportunity to join the coaching staff. His heart was set on more extreme challenges. Hansel felt most alive in the wilderness – especially… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here The old-fashioned keyhole in a Victorian door has proven to be a wonderful plot device for novels. Behind a closed door – whether that door leads to a drawing room, den, or bedroom – some kind of conversation is in progress. On this side of the door there’s a secret agent…. Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Religious pat answers simply won’t do. The questions are edgy and demanding: Where was God when the waters of the Guadalupe River were rising more than 30 feet in a span of 90 minutes early last Friday morning? If God is really there, how can he bear the loss of more… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here “Let me play devil’s advocate for a few minutes.” Most of us have heard that before. Someone makes a point or proposes a plan. It definitely has merit, and listeners nod their heads in agreement. Then one person decides to push back – not necessarily because they disagree with what they’ve… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Invictus is one of history’s most enduring expressions of self-reliance. It came from the pen of William Ernest Henley (1849-1903), a highly regarded poet and literary critic during Britain’s Victorian Era. From the age of 12, Henley had battled tuberculosis in the bone of his left leg. At age 20 it had… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here There is no more exasperating and wrenching human reality than suffering. It’s safe to say that “the problem of pain” has historically been the number one obstacle to trusting God. Theologian John Stott put it this way: “The fact of suffering undoubtedly constitutes the single greatest challenge to the Christian faith, and… Read more »
