Buried at the end of the book of Colossians (while the credits are rolling), Paul calls out some greetings to a number of friends and fellow workers. Although there are a number of men whose names we might not be familiar with, this section strikes...

A lamb may be rejected by his ewe mother for any number of reasons. Sometimes, she senses that the lamb has some kind of birth defect. Maybe they are a twin and she can only serve one new lamb. Or maybe they are rejected because she can’t feed them...

There is a very cool story told in Bruce Larson’s book, The One and Only You (retold in Swindoll’s book, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart). It seems that a family in Alabama planned a very special summer vacation visiting the West Coast. Unfortunately,...

When I first moved to Europe the summer before my senior year of high school, I thought that bread only came in the white, sliced variety. But within just a few short months, I came to understand that bread comes in all shapes, sizes, colors and...

Our Bible urges us to memorize God’s Word. We are told to hide it in our hearts (Ps. 119:11), to make it our delight by meditating on it day and night (Ps. 1:2) and to make sure His words do not depart from our mouths (Joshua 1:8). So how do we do...

At my age, I hear quite a few conversations about how people can’t wait to retire and stop working. It’s as if they had read Bob Black’s essay in 1985 entitled “The Abolition of Work” where he argued that work is the source of nearly all the misery...

I have spent most of my adult life enjoying the rhythm of life that circles around a school calendar. You know, two weeks off at Christmas, a week off at Easter and a relaxed pace during the summer. Each year, as summer draws to a close, I begin to...

It is that time of year when parents are sending their older kids off to college. Bags are packed, boxes labeled and room decorations are purchased. Soon it’s time for that sweet note from mom or dad to be tucked away so they can read it after they...

With the Olympics in Japan this summer, we have all had our attention drawn to that ancient island nation. Known for its beauty and utilitarian society, it also well known for its various art forms. I heard about one recently. It is called...

For me, there ae two kinds of vacation trips. There is a resting trip (think nice hotel or cruise with room service and yummy food). And there is a learning trip (think about visiting a new country, exploring the culture, visiting museums and...

Not too long ago, I finished teaching a series out of the Book of James. I called it “James to the Twelve.” It was the first time I had ever taught that book of the Bible and boy was it convicting. James, the half-brother of Jesus did not pull any...

John Burroughs was an American naturalist and a nature essayist who wrote in the later part of the 19th century. At one point, he commented on the hawk. He observed that when the hawk was attacked by crows or kingbirds, the hawk does not retaliate....