After attending a production of “C. W. Lewis on Stage” this week, my husband and I both came away impressed by one particular phrase: “contented worldliness.” It comes from Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters, in which Screwtape, an experienced demon, is coaching his nephew on the finer points of tempting humans. In this passage, Screwtape discusses the …
A nasty virus like smallpox or ebola is never “safe,” even when it’s contained in a laboratory. A contained biohazard is safer, but it is never safe. No matter how many times a lab technician sees a sign like this one, she can never, ever grow lax in her protocols for suiting up, handling, and …
Have you ever had divinity? Mmm, mmm, good! As a kid, I thought that this yummy confection of egg whites, sugar, and nuts was actually from Heaven. I mean, who but God had the right to give it such a pretentious name? So I figured it must be His favorite candy, and I imagined Him …
Okay, maybe that’s a bit strong, but, really, what was Jonah thinking? He preaches to a doomed city, gets probably the best response any evangelist has ever received … and gets mad? I’m talking about Jonah 4, which is today’s chapter in the Revived By His Word reading plan. The commentary by Jim Ayer on …
Anyone who’s ever been around a toddler knows the meaning of the word “stubborn.” To a two-year-old, “No!” means “Try again later when mom’s not looking.” Although we don’t generally consider stubbornness to be a desirable quality, I have to wonder if it wasn’t one reason for Elijah’s effectiveness. He just kept on praying for …
What images pop into your head when you hear the term “Judgment Day”? Standing all alone before a great white throne, your knees knocking together? A wrathful God holding you over hell’s hungry flames? A gigantic balance that weighs your good deeds against your not-so-good deeds? Many of our ideas about the final judgment are …
I’ve never understood politicians. Why would anybody want a job where, no matter what you do, somebody’s sure to complain and call you names? Talk about a hostile work environment! Apparently running a country was just as tough in David’s time, and it sometimes got him down: “The enemy has pursued me, crushing me to …
Knowing God’s will is key to living a life that is both blessed and a blessing. But how do we know what His will is? Unlike the characters of The Race, we don’t have electronic devices that make His voice audible to us, so His leading isn’t always as easy to perceive as we’d like. …
In Psalm 4:5, David gives us some good advice: “Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord” (NIV). Among the blessings we’re to reap from this are great joy and peaceful sleep (verses 7 and 8). Sounds great, doesn’t it? In our hectic world, such blessings are priceless. Just one question: What are “right sacrifices”? …
This is perhaps the most universally accepted notion in our society. Male or female, young or old, rich or poor, believer or nonbeliever—everyone agrees: Life’s not fair. We learn the truth of it at a young age, probably when a sibling steals our lollipop and gets away with it. The Bible concurs: “There is something …