I was pretty mad at God. I am sure there are many who have suffered more financial difficulties and just as many who never have. However, my own family’s money problems were enough to leave a bitter taste in my mouth toward God. My mom and dad always wanted to have a nice house and financial freedom to compare with their friends and family. They bought an old farm house with the accompanying barn and... read more.

Growing up as a kid I hated to go to bed. My brother and I would argue, complain, and whine to our parents hoping to stay up a few more minutes or watch one more TV program. I am not sure we were even consciously aware of why we did this, until later in our youth when one of us had to go to bed before the other. At this point the complaining and whining... read more.

Growing up in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country, Lancaster County, the general philosophy of life was often, “Work is never wrong.” A friend of mine once joked about the insanity of the German work ethic, “I caught my grandparents sweeping the forest floor one weekend, for Pete’s sake!” More recently, a friend from church commented, “Young men need work. It keeps them out of trouble.” I also agree that work is good, in fact... read more.

Through high school I was basically a weakling. I barely tipped the scales at 140 pounds when I entered college and so I determined to do something about what I considered to be a problem. I began to lift weights and eat masses of carbs and protein with a goal to gain a muscular physical body. Though I continue to advocate exercise, I regret my excesses and wish I had instead applied this same energy... read more.

Today we apply high school learning. In the ninth grade Mrs. M was my English teacher. She was the most frightening teacher a student could imagine. We have all met perfectionist types who demand absolute attention as well as unquestioning obedience. In a man this is militant. In a woman this was Mrs. M. I just looked at her picture again in my yearbook and chills still hit my bones. My fright was compounded because... read more.

Great benefit is to be had by personal study of God's Word. Recently I learned of a Christian who claimed that he no longer needed to read or turn to the Bible on a regular basis. He claimed that because of his maturity as a Christian and previous Bible knowledge that all his thoughts and actions were now automatically based on the truth every moment. God protect our brother and ourselves from this thinking! We... read more.

Paul’s letters to Timothy demonstrate the height of passion and purpose in Christian discipleship. Unfortunately we often pit things like love and truth, people and project, form and function, mercy and discipline, or worship and work against each other in our thoughts. This is unfortunate because God has designed beauty and strength to be both intimate and hard-working companions. Paul demonstrates both these ideals in his relationship to his young protege, Timothy. Paul reveals the... read more.

I was raised in a dear Mennonite fellowship and the women wore a cloth covering over their hair. The church understood 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 to teach that a woman's head must be covered with a cloth to symbolize her submission to man. Tragically this teaching and other issues became a source of division, sweet fellowship was divided, and each believed as they individually chose. Why bother to raise this subject again? God has introduced me... read more.

Jesus Christ’s relationship with us has been identified by many titles within Scripture. Jesus calls himself a prophet in Mark 6:4. The writer of Hebrews identifies Jesus as our permanent priest , who offered His own blood for us, in Hebrews 7:18-28. Jesus was also revealed to be our king in John 18:33-37. In Luke 17:5-10 Jesus compares himself to a master while we are his slaves. In John 15:13-15, in Jesus’ final hours with... read more.