To come of age—at least in our family—means earning the right to watch The Wizard of Oz. (Isn’t a certain degree of maturity required for facing those evil monkeys?) The film adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s novel is a classic story about the search for home. Dorothy and her dog… Read More

Most of us haven’t experienced extreme persecution for our faith, but we have felt abandoned by God. Where was God during the harrowing grief following the loss of a loved one? Where was God during the agony of joblessness, barrenness, or loneliness? Where was God in the dark throes of… Read More

Last week I took the train from Philadelphia to New York to see Last Days in the Desert, a new film written and directed by Rodrigo Garcia about Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. Garcia focuses on Jesus’ journey out of the desert toward Jerusalem, adding in an… Read More

Vladimir Putin. Osama bin Laden. Mother Teresa. Martin Luther King, Jr. Mahatma Gandhi. These names conjure up images in our minds of faces, reputations, famous words spoken, infamous acts done. These images blitz through our memories, chilling us, or inspiring and challenging our hearts—all within seconds of the mere mention… Read More

A number of times in my life, I have enthusiastically set out to read the whole Bible. Not just a couple Psalms with breakfast, not just a few motivational verses or Paul’s shorter letters. The whole Bible—start to finish, including everything in the middle. I wanted to be well-versed in… Read More

Many Bible readers get into a certain rhythm—reading 5-10 verses of the Bible text and asking certain questions to dig into the meaning. Perhaps they read an entry from a devotional booklet. This is a fine model for Bible study, no need to change it. Unless you need a… Read More