Now it came about when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself."  (1 Sam 18:1 NASB)

Aristotle defined friendship as one soul in two bodies.  You would think that he was describing Jonathan and David.  The Bible teaches that, although each soul is distinct and precious, it is possible to have our souls knit together in the loving bonds of friendship.

Jonathan and David were best of friends.  The benefits of their friendship were that

1. It was based on a covenant of love and trust. 
2. They committed themselves to the Lord for each other. (1 Sam 20:42) 
3. They were better off spiritually and morally together than they were apart. They had the benefit of mutual encouragement and accountability which provided a deterrent to sin. 
4. They ...

Leading not only involves LOVING and EXAMPLING. Leading involves ASKING. Ask others to join the journey, to take the next step, to stretch their stride, to raise the bar, take the next hurdle, take the next hill, and realize the next goal. Do not be afraid to ask people to help you solve a problem. We need to ask others to consider new possibilities and dream great dreams. Leaders help others realize their goals. Leaders develop teams and promote teamwork. Jesus invited others to join Him- "Come and see". "Come, follow me."  He asked them to do things they had never done before.

We have not because we ask not. We do not have because we do not ask God (James 4:2). Loving leaders know how to ASK God for big things and little things. Jesus promises that if we "ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, knock and keep on knocking" your persistent faith will be rewarded (Matt 7:7; Hebre ...

It has been said that ours is a generation of managers. What we need today is leaders. Managers manage things. Leaders lead people. Managers coordinate projects, priorities, schedules, plans and budgets. Leaders motivate people to take purposeful action. They inspire people to journey together towards a worthy goal.

What can we do to effectively lead people? Let me furnish a list in the form of an acrostic: L-E-A-D.

Leading begins by LOVING. Jesus demonstrated the loving leadership of a Good Shepherd. Rather than one who sees His role as to perform a duty for hire (a hireling), He is willing to sacrifice for the sheep (John 10). The Shepherd Psalm speaks of the Lord caring for the well-being of His people. David writes, "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake." ...

To ensure that we are personally optimized for making the most important and foundational connection of our lives, 'THE Connection of All Connections', we must start with a basic diagnostic question: "What must you DO to put yourself in a right relationship with God?"

The answer: "It's too late." It's already been DONE. What is needed to be put into a right relationship with God has already been done for us. The connection is available to us as a free gift. There are no dial-up charges, connection fees or hidden maintenance costs. It was paid for by another.

The bad news is that there is nothing you can do personally to put yourself in a right relationship with God. You can not earn it, deserve it or be able to come up with the price to pay for it.

You could be as wealthy as Bill Gates or as compassionate as a Mother Teresa but it still would be insufficient to make a lasting and true connection wi ...

"As unreliable as a faulty (deceitful) bow." (Psalm 78:57 NIV). "They turn, but not upward, They are like a deceitful bow." (Hosea 7:16 NASB).

A deceitful bow is one whose arrows cannot keep a straight trajectory. To the dismay of the archer, the bow sends the arrow towards a destination other than the one targeted. Although the arrow is properly aimed, it goes astray when launched because the firing instrument malfunctions. Its own natural inclinations get in the way of the archer's intentions and cause the arrow to go off course.

What causes an instrument such as a bow to become unreliable, faulty or deceitful? If a bow string is continually pulled taut and never loosened, the bow becomes an untrustworthy instrument. The bow looses its accurate resilience. With the constant tension and pull, it looses its spring, no longer able to return to its original relaxed position.

Reflections on the Millennial Turn-Over

"'I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty." (Haggai 2:7 NIV).

It is ironic that the One whose prophetic title is "the desired of all nations", is currently treated by the nations as an undesirable. In the name of political correctness, His name is awkwardly skirted, as if it were an embarrassment, rather than representative of the very power and wisdom of God. Like Herod of old, our leaders are uncomfortable with the thought of "another king". In our lists of those to be admired as top influencers, He is overlooked by today's idol making media moguls. Like Jesse's youngest son, David, the shepherd divinely desired as king, He is passed ov ...

Somehow the dedicated 'self-life' is convinced that it can play the part of the Christian, despite all evidence to the contrary. It continually auditions for the role, insisting that it is capable of virtue, self-sacrifice and 'ever so humble' heroics. The official notification fails to register that the part has already been duly cast to Christ Himself. He is the only One fit for fulfilling its demands. The role of the Christian requires a divine performance in the spirit of the believer. The Christian life is not to be acted. It is to be lived. Only that which is derived from the Out-living of the In-dwelling Christ is fit to be called Christian.

It is for this purpose that God joined Himself to the human nature in the incarnation: that our natures might, through faith in the reconciling work of Christ, become partakers of His divine nature, thus salvaging the human-nature that was originally created in His image and likeness.

A gift has added significance when there is a story behind it. I received such a gift this Christmas. It was actually created in my presence during the previous months without me realizing it. On Christmas Eve the gift was personally delivered in a box that was wrapped in such a way that when you took the cover off, the handsome gift paper stayed intact. Ingenious! You could easily restore the gift to the original wrapped box so that it looked as if it had never been opened. If you so desired, you could relive and retell the gift-discovery experience as often as you liked.

This particular gift-giver encouraged me to open this specially wrapped package in their presence. When I saw the hand-crafted gift inside, so many episodes from the previous months suddenly made sense. An explanation was given as to how and why the gift was created. A written version was also attached. Of course, I was so delighted by my friend's creativity and thoughtfulness and the unu ...

The person of Jesus Christ is indispensable to Christianity. Christianity is Christ. While others have given the world philosophies and religion, Jesus came to give the world Himself. Other teachers have taught their developed philosophies and disciplines. Jesus gave us a life-system that only works with Himself as the central governing force of it.

The person of Jesus Christ is indispensable to our own lives. The core of Christ's teaching has to do with the fact that He has come to meet our most fundamental need. In this the teaching of Christ is eternally relevant. No matter what our racial, cultural or religious background may be, Jesus claims to be the only one who can meet our need for illumination, redemption and government.

Jesus' teaching ministry appears to be arranged around these themes. There are three major periods in His teaching ministry, with some degree of overlap. Although these roles are perfectly blended in Christ, ea ...

There are some who would say that Christianity is based upon a 'mythological' Christ. Yet the written accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John regarding the person and works of Jesus of Nazareth bear no resemblance to legend or myth. Instead they have the distinctive attributes one would expect of 'realistic history'.

1. The gospels bear no resemblance to legends in literary style. C.S. Lewis, Oxford Professor and literary historian writes, "As a literary historian, I am perfectly convinced that whatever else the gospels are, they are not legends. I have read a great deal of legend and I am quite clear that they are not the same sort of thing. They are not artistic enough to be legends. From an imaginative point of view they are clumsy; they don't work up to things properly. Most of the life of Jesus is totally unknown to us, as is the life of anyone who lived at that time, and no people building up a legend would allow that to be so.& ...

As popular news magazines give their polite nod to Christianity’s entrance into its third millennium and chronicles its spread throughout the world at the end of its twentieth century, (an ironic phenomena, considering the bold predictions of its demise by such writers as Voltaire, H.G.Wells, and Frederich Nietzsche) it is remarkable how reporters fail to recognize the driving force that causes it to flourish. What propels Christianity is something more than the moral example and teaching of its founder, as powerful as these may be. It is Christ Himself who makes Christianity work.

Unlike other religions and philosophies, Christianity depends upon the life of its founder for its continuance. One can be Muslim and not be very much concerned with, much less dependent upon the life of Mohammed. One can be a Zoroastrian and not be very much concerned with the person and work of Zoroaster. In fact, little is known about his life. One can be a Platonist and not b ...

"I saw three ships come sailing in," are the opening words of a traditional English Christmas Carol. A later verse discloses the writer's ignorance of Mid-Eastern geography when the holy family is pictured sailing into Bethlehem as if it were a seaport, "on Christmas Day in the morning." Perhaps the carol was authored by a maritimer wanting as significant a tie-in to the sacred story as the local shepherd!

I would like to take the liberty to use the image of three 'ships' not as a vehicle transporting the 'holy family', though my device may also prove applicable to that institution, but as one that defines the essentials of 'holy matrimony'. The three 'ships' that describe what marriage is in the sight of God are 1. A 'STEWARD' SHIP; 2. A 'PARTNER' SHIP and 3. A 'WOR'SHIP:

1. STEWARDSHIP. Marriage is something God has entrusted to the human race. For those who receive it, ...

"In your anger do not sin : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." (Ephesians 4:26-27 NIV).

To feel anger is no more a sin than it is to feel pain. Anger is merely an emotional response to a perceived injustice. Anger is also disguised as feeling hurt, cheated or frustrated. The danger with anger, however, is that it more often leads to destructive behavior than righteous actions. Anger commonly prompts VERBAL ABUSE (threatening, bullying, name calling); EMOTIONAL ABUSE (attempting to assert power over another by withholding love and communication, inspiring fear or guilt) or outright VIOLENCE.

When anger is not properly dealt with, it is stored in a mental reservoir of resentment. There it easily seethes into bitterness and erupts as rage. The devil can reinforce negative feelings and use the angry ...

A missionary couple had been working in the Middle East when they noticed that a dove had settled under the eaves of their simple home. Because the dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit in Scripture, they were pleased to have the gentle bird dwelling among them.

When Jesus was baptized by John at the river Jordan, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in a bodily shape like a dove. A voice came from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:16, Luke 3:22, Mark 1:10). Perhaps they could take it as a seal of God's approval, a sign of the Spirit's blessing, or at least as a reminder of His presence.

They noticed, however, that whenever they slammed the door, shouted or had an argument, the sensitive dove would fly away. They soon realized that either the dove would have to adjust to them or they to the dove. It was clear that the only way they could be assured of the dove abiding w ...

One evening during a particularly demanding season in my life, I stood on the church steps feeling fully expended. As I contemplated the immediate future I was overwhelmed with a sense of my own insufficiency. I did not see how I could go on doing what I was doing. "The grace has left me." I confessed.

I got in the car and drove home. Later that night I went outdoors for a prayer-walk and continued to pour my complaint out before the Lord. I had the immediate awareness of His loving rebuke: "The grace has not left you. You leave the grace when you stop fellowshipping with Me in the present moment."

The words turned me from projecting myself into the future to realizing afresh the source of my sufficiency. As John Newton wrote, "It's grace that brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home." When we stop fellowshipping with the Lord in the present moment and move out independently to ...

The phrase 'falling in love' can be misleading, as if the experience of love were merely accidental. Somehow you tripped, stumbled and were overcome by an abstract force. Real love involves a conscious choice. Often 'falling in love' is a trick that our hormones and imaginations play on us. People fall in love not with another person but with their 'idea' of who that other person is and what their relationship will be like in the future. There is an element of reality distortion as they imagine riding off into the sunset with their 'perfect catch'.

I prefer the phrase 'rising in love'. This implies that you have a vision to grow in a love that is intentional, unconditional, long-lasting and real. Far from being a passive victim to your imagination or feeling, you are committed to being proactive in taking your love-life to new heights. You have a vision to transcend lesser loves and experience the love of God.

Even if our first acquainta ...

Think of relationships that have worked in your life. Think of those that haven't. What have you learned from these experiences?

There is an enduring quality to what we call 'covenant relationships'; relationships where there is a mutual understanding and commitment to making God's love credible to another, be it a spouse, a friend, family member, colleague or stranger.

Marriage is the binding together of two lives with the understanding that each is committed to the other for the purpose of mirroring and ministering the love of Christ. Two separate beings become bound together as one new community of oneness.

From God's point of view, each relationship exists as its own separate living entity. We are responsible for tending that relationship even as we would a newborn child. Relationships need nurture, care, feeding and, at times, doctoring.

Think of a the friendships that existed between Jonathan ...

Jesus Christ, was to some, a difficult person. A perfect person, but difficult nonetheless. When the wedding celebration Jesus attended at Cana was in danger of becoming a social disaster, His mother gave him a nudge: "They have no wine" . (The male interpretation of this statement from the ancient 'Womanese' language means: "Do something about it.") Jesus responded: "Woman, what do I have to do with you?" ( "What have you and I in common?" or "Why do you involve me?" John 2:4). His mother might have found this response to be 'difficult'. Jesus' brothers thought him difficult when he refused to go up to Jerusalem with them for the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:1-9). Mary and Martha thought Jesus difficult when He did not come to their home in Bethany when their brother, and His close personal friend, Lazarus, was on his deathbed (John 11). Jesus had an i ...

"Early in the morning, as he (Jesus) was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, 'May you never bear fruit again!' Immediately the tree withered." (Matthew 21:19).

The fig tree was originally created, like all things, for God's glory. It was designed to provide the blessing of food and shade to humankind. In Israel, the fig leaves are quite sizable and the fruit delicious. The fig tree is a national symbol of peace and prosperity. "During Solomon's lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, each man under his own vine and fig tree." (1Kings 4:25). For each person to have a healthy fig tree and vine, is one of the promises of life in the kingdom of God; (Micah 4:4; Zechariah 3:10).

But this p ...

This morning I write from Israel after a time of meditation in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The thick gnarled trunks of this ancient grove of olive trees resemble rugged hands firmly clasped together with finger-like branches curving loosely upwards as if to mirror those of supplicants throughout the centuries who have postured themselves in prayer beneath their welcoming shade.

It is not difficult to imagine why this garden spot was a customary place of prayer for Jesus. At the foot of the Mount of Olives, it provides a peaceful refuge for reflection outside the walls of Jerusalem. I'm told that some of these trees are more than 2400 years old. They were bearing fruit when Jesus communed with His father. They stand as witnesses, even as the olive trees in the visions of Zechariah and the Apostle John (Zechariah 4:3; Revelation 11:4) not only to the olives pressed here, but those seeking to press into the will of God through intercession.&l ...

When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. (Acts 18:5 NIV).

Effective team work allows each team player to utilize their strengths towards the achievement of the common objective.

The Apostle Paul had an influence that went further than he could have ever imagined. His encounter with the resurrected Christ and his dramatic turn from being the feared persecutor of the church to its great defender further substantiates the life-changing power of the gospel. Paul wrote thirteen out of a total of twenty-seven New Testament books. His missionary zeal is recorded by his co-worker and physician, Luke, in the Book of Acts. Despite hardships that included being scourged, whipped, shipwrecked, imprisoned, beaten and left for dead, and despite his struggle with his own physical health, he was able to complete at least three missionary journeys in which ...

"..Justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter." These words describe the perils of a society that leaves its moral moorings, denies the existence of Truth as an absolute, and sets sail only to drown in the sea of relativism (Isaiah 59:14).

Truth has stumbled in the streets. It did not fall on its own accord. Truth only stumbles when those who purport to be its friends, deliberately obstruct its path and refuse to uphold it.

The philosophers of the Enlightenment enthroned 'reason' over 'revelation' and predicted the universal demise of religion. Eventually all would subscribe to their hypothesis and no longer seek after God. We need only to rely upon reason, and trust that there is a scientific answer for everything. There is no need to ascribe life's wonderful mysteries to the Divine.

There are 366 admonitions to "fear not" in the Bible. You might say there is one for every day of the year, with an extra one thrown in for leap year.

The admonition to "Be not afraid" would not be so prevalent if fear were not so common. Many pretend they are not afraid yet have adopted behaviors that are controlled by fears. They fear failure, fear poverty, fear the disapproval or rejection of others. We fear unpleasant circumstances. Some fear intimacy. Others fear their enemies. Many are slaves during their whole lifetime to the fear of death (Hebrews 2:15).

Jesus often reminds his followers that they have a tendency to lose perspective. Our faith can be pre- empted by fear.

He also warns us not to fear the wrong things. If we have a healthy fear of God all other fears will disappear.

We should have a healthy sense of imminent danger. But how often the eternal dangers of our ...

A life without conflict would be a life where there is little growth. A life without struggle would lead to a life of mediocrity. Life without challenges in our personal relationships would be a life without the development of the important aspects of love known as the fruit of the Spirit. These qualities of character are not developed in isolation. They are perfected in the rough and tumble of our ongoing struggles in human relationships. It is here that we grow in humility, forbearance, patience, wisdom, meekness, loyalty, self- control, forgiveness and the practice of preferring others.

"Is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don't try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete." (James 1:2-4 TLB)

An article appearing in the August 17th 1999 edition of The New York Times featured the results of a study from Duke University indicating that active involvement in a community of faith may be as big a factor in increasing longevity as refraining from smoking cigarettes. Dr. Harold Koenig reports that "Persons attending religious services once a week or more were physically and mentally healthier, had larger support networks and more confidants, and lived healthier lifestyles."

This was the fourth major study in the last two years to find a relationship between religious attendance and longevity. It comes as no surprise to those who have tasted the benefits of being spiritually exercised in worship and consistent redemptive relationships of love, trust, encouragement and mutual accountability.

"Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone."

It has been said that motivation is what gets you started and habit is what keeps you going. Habitual actions, or customary practices, can either promote or undermine our progress towards reaching our lifetime goals.

The life of Jesus of Nazareth puts our thoughts about human life in proper perspective. Jesus stands as the paragon of what is best about humanity. His example and influence are without equal. His life and teaching revealed the truth about both humanity and deity. Jesus said that He was 'the Truth' (John 14:6). He is the truth about God and the truth about man. Missionary statesman E. Stanley Jones wrote, "Call him a man and you must change your ideas of what man is. Call him God and you must change your ideas of what God is."

Call Him a man and you must change your ideas about what our priorities and practices in life should be.

Jesus lived with a single purpose: to be in communion with and bri ...

In this issue:

• An Update on "T.G.I.M."
• The Walden Woods Ministry Center Project
• September productions of "Ruth" in Concord and Groton
• NLDC delegation goes to Israel
• 

The largest timber framed building in the USA is a 31,000 square foot church in Powell Ohio. It was constructed under the supervision of the Amish master barn-builder Josie Miller and was the 500th barn-like structure built by Josie and his crew. The joints of each beam were cut by hand.

As Josie and his sons looked over the designs for the new building and explained the construction process to the workers they would refer to the beams as 'fellows' and 'guys'. They'd say things like: "This guy belongs over here where he will join with this fellow and let's take this guy and place him here so he can be a support to this fellow here."

In a sense this is what the Triune Godhead does as He looks over the construction process of the church. The Father says to the Son and the Holy Spirit, "Let's take this guy and put him in relationship with this fellow here. Let's bring this fellow in contact with this guy over here so he can b ...

I've been told that there was a problem with the early designs of ejection seats for military aircraft. When pilots needed to ditch their crippled planes in mid-air, they would eject from the cockpit while still remaining comfortably strapped in their seats. Many rode their falling armchairs to their peril, never breaking away to pull the ripcord and activate their parachute. Pilots preferred the comfort of riding the chair to their deaths than taking the necessary risk to break away into a freefall position and parachute safely to the ground. Later designs force the pilot out of their seats.

Sometimes we need to be forced out of our comfortable seats to take the necessary risks that prove to be life-saving for ourselves and others.

Although the Lord Jesus Christ commissioned his disciples to make disciples of all kinds of people in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8), the new commu ...

"Do not call anything impure that God has made clean." (Acts 10:15 NIV).

Our standards of whether or not something is pure and acceptable are not always the same as God's.

It is a subtle temptation to measure a person's spirituality by their outward conformity to a certain code of behavior. For example, the Apostle Peter took pride in the fact that he had never eaten anything considered ceremonially unclean (Acts 10:14). He avoided defiling himself by communing with non-Jews (Galatians 2:12). His own sense of religious piety kept him from obedience to Christ's Lordship (Acts 10:13-14). His self-righteousness blinded him to his own sins of spiritual pride and cultural prejudice. He held on to his own religious standards as if they were God's. He was deceived into thinking that the ground for a right standing with God depended upon his conformity to cer ...

Not long after his conversion, Augustine was walking down the streets of Milan when a prostitute with whom he once had intimate acquaintance beckoned him: "Augustine! It is I!" He slowed down and with the newfound assurance of Christ's Spirit living in his heart, turned to her and replied: "Yes, but it is no longer I!"

The Apostle Paul put it this way: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20). Christ gave himself not just to furnish the full payment for our sins but to live in us by the enabling power of the Spirit. This is our only hope for living righteously. This is part of the New Testament promise. "And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my judgments, and do them."

If you look up 'caterpillar' in an encyclopedia or dictionary, you will find it defined in terms of its future as a butterfly: "A caterpillar is the wormlike, often brightly colored, hairy or spiny larva of a butterfly or moth."

Prior to its metamorphosis into a butterfly, the caterpillar's visual perception may be so limited that it is unlikely that it can recognize the existence of the colorful winged butterfly in flight, much less make the connection with that it has anything to do with its personal future.

Perhaps in the "Encyclopedia of Heaven" the 'human being' is defined as "the pre-transfiguration larvae of children of God in their prepupal terrestrial state."

Like the caterpillar, human beings tend to measure everything on the basis of their 'worm's eye' view and what they can touch, feel and reason with their own understanding. They can be blinded by their daily preoccupations. ...

When it comes to speaking about our final departure we are often lost for words. We are heavily influenced by our culture which either denies or fears the reality of the 'D' word.

Woody Allen says, "I'm not afraid of death. I just don't want to be there when it happens."

Men who delighted in their earthly riches, such as Louis XIV or William Randolph Hearst, forbade the mention of the word 'death' in their presence.

The young do not want to think about death because it seems too far off. The elderly do not want to think about death because it is too close at hand. They think that they might delay it if they don't think about it. But it is only in coming to grips with the significance of death that we are truly prepared to live.

• Death is a CERTAINTY. Unlike religions that deny or try to escape the reality of death, the Judeo-Christian revelation fa ...

Why is it that happiness eludes some people? It very well could be that they are clueless as to what it means to be 'blessed'.

The Book of Psalms gives us seven specific ways to be blessed. The word 'blessed' ('esher' in the Hebrew) is derived from a word meaning 'to be level, right, happy and make progress'. 'To be blessed' is to be spiritually prosperous and happy as a result of a right relationship with God and others. A relationship flourishes when you are in loving 'on the level' communication with someone - eye to eye and heart to heart.

What are some of the contributing factors to a blessed life?

1. Cultivate the Lost Art of Biblical Meditation. A person who delights in the Word of God and develops the art of consistent meditation becomes adept at rejecting ungodly counsel, cooperating with God's redemptive purposes and as a result of becoming receptive to God's thoughts, grows strong in the gr ...

The voice of Darrell Scott, the father of two victims of the tragic Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, rises above the cacophony of commentary about the increase of violence in our nation. He courageously directs us to the spiritual nature of a problem that calls for a spiritual solution.

TESTIMONY OF DARRELL SCOTT FATHER OF TWO VICTIMS OF THE COLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTINGS LITTLETON, COLORADO BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIME HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES THURSDAY, MAY 27, 1999 2:00 P.M. 2141 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING

Since the dawn of creation there has been both good and evil in the heart of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher and the other 11 children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.

The firs ...

A recent study published in a popular business magazine revealed that the three qualities that distinguished 'champion' Chief Executive Officers from the many who fumble in leadership were: Integrity, maturity and energy. (Fortune Magazine, June 21 Issue, 1999)

What comes to your mind when you hear these words? Integrity. Maturity. Energy.

'Integrity' comes from the word 'integer' which means 'complete', or 'sound'; It is the state of being 'a whole', in contrast to 'a fraction'. To be a person of integrity means that the numerator of your 'walk' is equal to your denominator of your 'talk'. 'To have integrity' implies that your behavior will be solidly in line with your values; your commitment to your moral and ethical principles is not fractional. Though not perfect, a person of integrity has a track record of being DEPENDABLE. There is a history of adherence to 'doing the right thing'. ONE'S PRACTICE IS IN LINE WITH ONE'S PRINCIPLES.&l ...

"For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance (a place of rich fulfillment)." (Psalms 66:10-12).

God wants us to be prosperous in the truest sense (See Jeremiah 29:11). But the way to prosperity is often fraught with difficulty. When we hear God-given promises for prosperity we are not always aware of the processes He may use to bring this about.

A personal trainer serves the interests of those who resolve to become physically fit by holding them accountable to their goal. The trainer will be careful to increase our daily regimen of exercise and weight resistance. If we do not take on greater weight, new muscle will not grow. So it is that the Lord often brings us to a place of ...

How would you like to be known as a "Dispeller of Shame"? There is one character in the Bible who bore the name, "Dispeller of Shame". His personal story gives us insight as to how shame, the emotional consequence of one's true guilt and one's fall from a good standing, can be forever dispelled.

Jonathan, the son of King Saul, had a son who was lame in both feet. His name was Mephibosheth (literally 'Dispeller of shame'). According to the Bible, Mephibosheth was five years old when the news of the death of his grandfather Saul and father Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, fearing that the child would also be killed. But as she hurried to leave, Mephibosheth fell from her arms and became crippled. (2Samuel 4:4)

Mephibosheth grew up with the shameful stigma of his family's failure. He was the grandson of King Saul whose right to rule was forfeited through his disobedience to God. Although orig ...

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9 NIV).

In Jay Tolson's thought-provoking article* of May 10, 1999 published in US News and World Report, he observes that our nation's vast 'explanation' industry is failing to come to grips with incidents of horrific violence, such as the recent Littleton shootings, because it has lost a vocabulary that is adequate to the 'enormity of evil'. We are left with 'threadbare theories' that blame our genes and social conditions and portray evil-doers as an alien breed of 'monsters', people who are not like us.

We have been brainwashed into believing that evil is merely a condition of ignorance that can be eliminated by adequate counseling, or that it is the result of poverty which can be eliminated through establishing stable and equitable economic conditions.< ...

"Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations." (Proverbs 27:23-24 NIV).

In his book, "Leadership is an Art", Max Depree confesses that one of the most challenging jobs of a leader is "the interception of entropy". Things that have worked well in the past, may not be working well today. Things that are working well today, may not be working at all tomorrow. As illustrated by the second law of thermodynamics, things wind down. Everything has a tendency to deteriorate.

Personal relationships bear the signs of entropy. We greet a colleague with a cordial 'how are you?' and no longer really care to know the answer. We become increasingly familiar with the people around us and less appreciative of their intrinsic value ...

The masked gunman confronted the Christian teenager in the high school library where he found her studying her Bible. He raised his gun to her head and asked, "Do you believe in God?" The shy seventeen year old took a breath that she knew might be her last and then spoke up in a voice loud enough to be heard by her classmates who were taking cover under nearby desks and tables, "Yes, I believe in God."

"Why?" the gunman responded mockingly. Before Cassie Bernall had time to answer he pulled the trigger and killed her.

Although there have been more martyrs for the Christian faith in the twentieth century than all previous centuries of church history combined, we rarely witness such bold confessions of faith in the United States. We do not happen to live in a place where present government policy is to hunt down and destroy people on the basis of their ethnicity or creed. But ugly prejudices and terrorist plot ...

Winds of spiritual deception can quickly blow us off course. When we least suspect it we can find ourselves down dead-end tributaries, in perilous waters or marooned on some island of isolation. As John Bunyan reminds us in his "Pilgrim's Progress" it is easy to turn off the correct path to the Celestial City because we are tempted by a promised shortcut through an attractive "Bypass Meadow".

Not all visions are created equal. If our personally 'envisioned future' does not line up with that which we know to be prescribed by our Maker, we are on a course headed for disillusionment. It would serve us well to enter into voluntary disillusionment by choosing to rid ourselves as soon as possible from as much as can be discerned as 'illusory'.

How can we discern? Consult a trustworthy map and check your coordinates. Our goal must not fall short of God's pleasure. Our destination must remain uncompromised. The word 'career' ...

It was meant to be a criticism. The apostle Paul said "Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual...Are you not acting like mere men?" (1Corinthians 3:1,3).

The humanist celebrates the virtues, values and capacities of the human being as if they were 'the ultimate'. Paul argues that such vision is short-sighted. Left to itself the human race is bound to a course of self-destruction. Envying, strife and divisions sabotage its progress on every front. Governed by self-interest we aspire to be giants and prove ourselves to be moral and spiritual midgets.

For spiritually regenerated human beings to behave as merely human is a step back in the story of human development. Woe unto us if we live only on life's surface, confined to the dictates of the spirit of the age. Woe unto us if we become overly comfortable with materialism, too much at home with daily routines and the mere functions of the various personal ...

In Lewis Carroll's childhood classic "Alice in Wonderland", when Alice comes to a crossroads and does not know which road to take, she turns to the Cheshire cat for advice.  The cat asks, "Where are you going?" Alice replies, "I don't know." The cat responds, "Well if you don't know where you are going, any road will do very nicely."

How is your sense of direction in life? Do you know where y