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Experience God’s wisdom through books

My favorite space at home is a tiny office that should have been a walk-in closet. One wall houses my personal library that I think of as my friends and teachers. Years ago, my English professor Steve Blue caught my attention when he explained how writers have been conversing with one another through the ages. Looking at my shelves, I have invited the majority of my collection on the topic of Christianity. I am in a couple book groups, so there is another shelf of novels, both read and to-be read, but my priority remains on Christian authors, revisited when time allows. A ...

Christians were known by how they acted, not what they said

Dutchman, Peter Minuit, first purchased Manhattan from the Native Americans, calling his settlement New Amsterdam. In 1664, however, the British Navy showed up and the Dutch surrendered without firing a shot. New Amsterdam became New York, and 7000 Dutchman became the subjects of the British Monarch. The Dutch and British lived together on Manhattan, but they weren’t united. The British despised and mocked the Dutch, and the Dutch felt no warmth for the British. Several of the derogatory comments exchanged more than 300 years ago remain in our vocabulary today, including “Dutch ...

Real battle for the future more subtle than politics

America heard it in 2016. It was said again in 2020. As the 2024 election draws near, it will be repeated: “This election will decide the future of America. This is a battle for our nation.” While “elections have consequences,” those statements oversimplify. Since its inception, the United States has survived the constant swinging of the political pendulum between conservative and liberal. Even when one party has controlled both Congress and the White House, the minority has never ceased to have a role in shaping American life and culture. Politicians overestimate their own ...

Spend precious time getting closer to God

When the mature Christian intends to be closer in their relationship with Christ, we face two realities: (1) we do not have an infinite amount of time in this physical world to get closer, and (2) everything of this world comes between God and us. Everything takes time. Even thinking takes time. If we are in Christ, we are moving and living in the most pressing amount of speed, because Christ is the most dynamic person who ever walked on earth, and we want to follow Him. When he says, Follow Me (Matthew 8:22), He is not merely saying be kind and nice to others. He invites us to a ...

Church can offer freedom from guilt, fellowship and love

According to Pew Research, 38% of Ohioans attend church each week, which beats the 34% of Pennsylvania residents who claim to attend weekly. It isn’t as high, though, as the 46% of West Virginians who claim weekly church attendance. Some, however, may exaggerate their attendance. While those numbers claim weekly church attendance, actual records of church attendance reveal that only 20%-25% of Christians are in church each week, meaning that at least 3 out of 4 believers are somewhere else! The downward trend in church attendance began in the sixties and seventies, surged upward ...

Prayer wins battles; what are you fighting?

Jesus and his disciples have visited Olive Press Park, known in Aramaic as “Gethsemane,” in the past. Tonight, though, their mood is somber and tense. In the Passover they just celebrated, Jesus again predicted his approaching death and added important details: One of the disciples would betray him. Peter would deny 3 times that he even knew Jesus. All of the disciples would abandon Jesus. So, Jesus came to Olive Press Park this time to pray for strength: The strength to face death. The power to face it alone. The presence of God as he fought this battle in which the future of ...