Authored by Mara Hodler

It was a typical morning in our home. We were all rushing to get ready for the day—kids getting ready for school, breakfast to be made, spaces to be tidied, and me trying to get dinner in the crockpot, makeup on, yada, yada, yada. My youngest was trying to get herself a glass of milk and not quite mastering it.

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Authored by Mara Hodler

Sometimes when I see something awful in the world, like a terrible act of hatred or violence—something that is the direct result of sin and evil—I think to myself, I wish Eve wouldn’t have eaten the fruit. I wish Adam and Eve never brought sin into the world. I wish we did not live in a broken, fallen world.

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Authored by Scott MacGregor

One of the most well-known-but-strange stories in the Bible is the one related in the book of Jonah. Nearly everyone, it seems, knows about Jonah and the whale. It’s a Sunday school favorite. But it’s also one of those perplexing tales that makes one wonder, “Why, God, why?” Let’s look at a little background.

A Look at Bitterness, Part Two

Authored by Tina Kapp

In my previous podcast, “Are You Well Preserved or Pickled?”, I talked about holding grudges against those who have wronged us. But something else that can also be difficult to weather, and

Authored by Jewel Roque

Under Mosaic Law, the children of Israel were required to perform a number of sacrifices. Depending on the occasion, the time of year, or the sin committed, there were different specific sacrifices required. The amount of wealth one had and one’s place in society also affected the type or amount of sacrifice

Authored by Jewel Roque

Imagine, if you will, the most powerful man in a country. He is the king. He has some major resources. His rule stretches far and wide. And he is evil.

In fact, so evil, it is said that he “did even more open evil before

Authored by Mara Hodler (a guest contribution)

One of the Bible characters that I admire the most is Prince Jonathan. I think he’s an amazing example of honor and integrity. Think about it: He had been destined to be the next king of Israel, but David essentially took his birthright when he was anointed by Samuel the prophet as the next king of Israel.

Authored by Peter van Gorder (a guest contribution)

“Then he spoke many things to them in parables … and without a parable he did not speak to them.”1

From this we can conclude that parables were one of Jesus’ favorite teaching tools. Parables comprised one-third of His words recorded in the New Testament. He understood that a

Authored by Maria van Rheenen (a guest contribution)

I had been thoroughly enjoying my first true solo adventure: visiting Europe after a lifetime (cough, 24 years) in South America. I had been volunteering full-time since I was 17. At that time it included organizing youth volunteer training seminars, managing a mission center, and homeschooling the

Authored by Dan Roselle

In 2011, my wife and I visited Barcelona, Spain. We took a walking tour of some of the many narrow side streets that branch out from Las Ramblas, which is a main shopping street and tourist area of the city. While strolling, window shopping, and watching the locals around us, I noticed a tall, casually-dressed man stop in front of a small market stand. He pulled

Authored by Dan Roselle

“I hate him!” I thought to myself. I had just gotten off the phone with a longtime acquaintance and it had not gone well. After all I’ve done for him and how I’ve helped him, how could he treat me like this? In my mind, he was in the wrong and my strong feelings were justified.

Authored by T.M.

In 2007, the Netherlands instituted a two-hundred-year plan for adapting to and preparing for climate change.1 With two-thirds of the Dutch population living below sea level, changes in climate can have a drastic and tragic effect on this nation—hence the extreme caution. The plan, from my understanding, consists of 20 billion dollars being put toward the research and construction

Authored by Scott MacGregor (a guest contribution)

We have recently seen a prediction of “the Day of Judgment is upon us” come and go. As you may have heard, Harold Camping, a Christian radio broadcaster, had predicted that Jesus would return on May 21st, 2011, at 6:00PM.

He arrived at that date through a calculation involving various number values given in the Bible. The product of his

Authored by Marie Story

A good friend of mine decided to take up tennis. She bought all the gear, scheduled her first lesson, and headed off to the tennis courts.

When she got there, though, she was immediately aware that there were other people around. There were kids in the