Many fiction readers have a grid for deciding which novels to read (or avoid). Here are seven benchmarks I’ve found helpful. 1. I read whatever a family member recommends. Most recently that included a novel by the winner of a Nobel Prize for Literature. It featured 238 pages of contemplation, solitary activity, minimal dialogue, and […]
The Spirit.
Those of us who follow Jesus Christ today do so by faith as we learn about Him from the Bible. It might have been easier to follow Jesus in His actual presence, but I don’t think so. Nothing about the disciples suggests they had any advantage over us. Nor did any of the people who […]
God is not like that.
We frequent a hard-to-find restaurant because the food is good and their portions are generous. Especially their soft-serve ice cream . . . except for one time. A new employee hadn’t reset the temperature after refilling the machine, and the ice cream was all mush. We smiled, laughed with them at the runny ice cream, […]
While there is yet time.
When you strike a match to light thirty candles, you focus on the match, not the candles. Matches burn quickly and fingers feel pain. When you’re on vacation for a week, Monday is relaxed, Thursday is purposeful, and Saturday is too late — you’re packing for home. If you’re given six weeks to live, every […]
What would Jesus say if He sat down next to me?*
“I’m nothing like Jesus,” Larry asserted. “I’m not even close to being like Him.” “You’re closer than you think, Larry. I can see Jesus in your life! You think about Him, you act on your convictions, you talk about Him to your friends and neighbors, and you demonstrated Him to me when I was just […]
