My Pizza Has Eyes 04/21/2010
We were at a prayer meeting at the end of a dark rural road in an area of Haiti known as the Plateau Centrale-- the poorest part of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The church we had come to visit had no facility of its own, so the congregation met in a room provided by the local medical center-- about a mile beyond the "middle of nowhere." The name of the tiny town was La Victoire (The Victory).
The medical center had a generator, so the small room was dimly lit by a single low-wattage bulb hanging by a bare wire from the ceiling. A slight breeze would blow intermittently through the open windows, bringing momentary relief from the heat and causing the light to sway gently, casting alternating light and shadows on the sweaty faces of those who had come to worship. The room was packed with as many people as it could hold. The doorways were crammed with faces-- people stood four deep in the hallway outside.
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The Glory of Easter 03/19/2010
Many people wonder what makes Christianity so different from other religions. They ask, "Aren't they all basically the same--just variations on a theme?" Well, no, they are not all the same. Christianity is unique among all the world's religions and during this season, we celebrate the reason why: the resurrection! The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the single most important event of mankind!
The resurrection means that all of the promises that Christ gave us when He was here on earth are true, and He conquered death itself to prove it to us. The resurrection means that we, too, will be resurrected when He returns to claim His own from this world.
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The Pearl Necklace 02/23/2010
Jim stared at the pearl necklace on the dresser in one of the most decisive moments of his young life. It was 2 o'clock in the morning, and the unfamiliar room was pitch dark, except for a single shaft of brilliant moonlight shining through a partially curtained window next to the dresser. The pearls shimmered as if they were filled with neon, beckoning him to come closer.
"How did it come to this," he wondered. "How on earth did I get here?"
As he continued to stare at the pearls, his mind played back over the events that had landed him in this predicament. Just a few moments ago, he was safely with his friends on the ground below, not in this house, not in this bedroom, and not with those pearls right in front of him.
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Purveyors of God's Wisdom 01/27/2010
A young boy walks past his father on the way to the bathroom. When the father sees where his son is headed, he immediately jumps up from his couch to help him. The observer quickly realizes that the young boy is of "potty-training" age and is learning to use the family's "facilities". Being a good "dad", the father heads to the bathroom with his son to assist and encourage him in his newfound endeavor. But the careful observer detects something wrong with this familiar parent-child scene. There is a look of total innocence on the father's face rather than on the son's, and a look of "knowing" on the son's face rather than on the father's. The child is up to something, and the father is "none the wiser". The father is surprised when he reaches the door at the exact same time his son slams it in his face and locks the door from the inside.
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Before you write a check... 01/18/2010
Disasters, such as the one we saw last week in Haiti, often bring out the best and the worst in people. Like you, my heart was wrenched by the news of the devastating earthquake. Like you, I despaired at the graphic images of suffering on television and on the Internet news sites. Like you, I felt an immediate and deep desire to do something-- anything that would help alleviate their pain. Like you, I even now feel frustrated because there seems to be so little I can do.
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