FIRST-PERSON: What’s important
EULESS, Texas (BP)--I love Thanksgiving because of the time my family spends together, especially as we head for the mad rush of the holiday season this year. But it's quite different for my wife and me this year. My family is scattered all over the country and the world, and I'm not sure who will be coming or where we will be going for Thanksgiving dinner.
FIRST-PERSON: ‘Jesus loves the little children’
EULESS, Texas (BP)--When I think about children, I am reminded of their curiosity and their inquisitive nature. And children are naturally curious about Jesus and God. One man compiled children's questions about God in a book titled, "Dear Pastor." Listen to some of the questions that Bill Adler recounts children asking:
FIRST-PERSON: Are you there, God?
EULESS, Texas (BP)--Many times, we are led to believe that God is good to us because we are good. But here is a truth we must embrace: God is good to us because God is good.
FIRST-PERSON: Happiness: entertainment, money or faith?
EULESS, Texas (BP)--We are in a special time in our nation. Americans have united together under the Stars and Stripes and sought to find happiness in the grand old flag. Old-fashioned patriotism is very much in vogue.
FIRST-PERSON: The power of blessing
EULESS, Texas (BP)--From one of the great patriarchs in the Scriptures, Jacob, we can discover how to positively impact our children. An instance in Jacob's life provides a snapshot of Jacob's godly love for his kids. Through this snapshot, we will observe how we can love our kids.
FIRST-PERSON: Hope for carrying on
EULESS, Texas (BP)--Our world right now stands at the brink of war. What will the uncertainties of life bring? Can we be confident in the future?
FIRST-PERSON: Against all odds
EULESS, Texas (BP)--Some of the most profound and beautiful pieces of literature arise from tragedy, difficulty and national crisis. One such crisis in the history of the world occurred in the 18th century in France. Of course, we are talking about the French Revolution.
FIRST-PERSON: A sign of hope
EULESS, Texas (BP)--In 1997 an article appeared in the journal published by the American Heart Association. It pointed to the negative physical consequences of hopelessness. The article essentially said that those who had experienced extreme feelings of despair had a 20-percent greater increase in arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) over a four-year period. Other studies also have connected hopelessness with heart disease, heart attacks and death.
FIRST-PERSON: Winning the values war
EULESS, Texas (BP)--Seemingly every week, catalogs from academic and theological book publishers come across my desk from around the world. One of the things I have noticed about these catalogs is the wide scope and diversity represented in them. I've observed, for example, books that tout accounts of homosexuality in the Scriptures or books that celebrate homoerotic theology. I can't help but shake my head at the way that these perspectives twist the truths of God's Word to invent skewed perspectives.
FIRST-PERSON: Tolerance vs. truth
EULESS, Texas (BP)--All people live by values. And values change in societies. In America today, a cultural war rages over opposing values.
