The vibrant frescoes Michelangelo painted on the ceiling of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel depict humanity’s need for salvation portrayed in nine scenes from Genesis, ending with the last judgment. Michelangelo’s crowning achievement serves as a reminder that we are created in the image of God, and to be in a relationship with God as we…
He knows where He’s leading us
One might ask, why am I here? We don’t remember our own birth and we don’t know when we will die, so we try to stave off the anxiety of our mortality. In the laze of light at the end of day, sometimes I remember. The sated moments are never accolades, but rather moments of…
How Should We Respond to the Refugee Crisis?
We live in a time of an unprecedented global exodus as people flee from violence and unspeakable atrocities in places like Myanmar, Syria, El Salvador, Iraq, and South Sudan. More than 65 million people have been displaced globally. It’s staggering and complex. Twenty-five million of those are refugees and asylum-seekers, which is the highest number…
What is Truth?
After Solzhenitsyn was stripped of his Soviet citizenship in the seventies, he wrote a parting letter, “Live Not by Lies”, to the intelligentsia admonishing them not to participate in or support a lie. He wrote, “In our country, the daily lie is not the whim of corrupt nature, but a mode of existence, a condition…
Crossing the Divide
Violence and pain erupted and sent shock waves out across the United States last week revealing racial tensions that, if left unaddressed, will not go away. As someone who ministers cross-culturally, I seek to know and understand people in another part of the world by honoring them, respecting their history and dreams, and seeking to…
Driven to a Fault
A friend once related the story of a guy who was “let out of his cage” every now and then to get a specific job done. No one could do this job quite like he could, but in the aftermath, others had to clean up the human fallout. I’m glad to say this was not…
Leader, Is Your Soul Healthy?
“Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.” 3 John 1:2 As a leader, you rarely get a hiatus. At times you are hounded, pounded, and dumbfounded, so you must make a daily choice to be astounded by God’s goodness and grace. You…
The Cry for Relationship in Our Cities
As I got off the subway in Manhattan, I passed a guy who was walking up the stairs while reading Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. It’s based on the premise that mankind’s primary pursuit is not pleasure, but meaning. Fair enough. In New York City, you can multiply both pursuits by the millions….
Love, Marriage, & Wise Words from Tim Keller
I thought about what may be the least romantic love quote from a movie. See if you agree. It’s when Princess Leia said “I love you” to Han Solo, then Han Solo replied, “I know”. The momentum builds, and then falls flat. Robert Frost captured that early rush of emotion when he wrote, “Love…
Myra Watkins 