“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) All around the world, children are flocking to malls and shopping centers to sit on Santa’s lap and tell him what they want for Christmas. The truth is the real story of Santa Claus has gotten lost in the commercialization of Christmas, a testament of sorts largely to the genius retailers who wanted to be sure that moms and dads didn’t forget them at Christmas either. The irony behind all this truth is the story of St. […]

“You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.” (Luke 1:31) The gospel rests on three giant pillars: Jesus’ virgin birth, his atoning death, and his bodily resurrection. The Easter season celebrates Jesus’ death and resurrection. Christmas focuses solely on the virgin birth. I remember my doubt about it as an unbeliever. I thought it defied one of the most basic laws of nature. So did Blaise Pascal. Pascal was a French scientist who lived in the […]

“Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them…” (Matthew 5:1-2) Most Christians don’t realize that the Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount actually lasted for several days. That’s because many of us only associate the Beatitudes with the Sermon of the Mount. The truth is Jesus spent the better part of a week encouraging and instructing believers about other equally important issues like witnessing, obedience, prophecy, anger, lust, divorce, integrity, retaliation, […]

“And hearing they may hear and not understand.” (Mark 4:12) Several weeks ago, my wife and I were visiting friends in Georgia and heard a humorous story about a misunderstanding their seven-year old daughter had. She attends a private Christian school operated by their church, but has a close friend that attends public school. When she was five, her mother was taking her to another town and they passed by a Publix Supermarket. “Mom,” she asked. “Is that the Publix School that he attends?” We laughed when her […]