“He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.” (John 8:44-45) What image comes to mind when you think of the devil? For me, I conjure up the picture that I had from childhood of a dark red, two-legged man with a goatee on his chin […]

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1) For the last couple of months, I’ve been running some of my favorite columns that I had previously written for this newspaper. It has not been because I needed a vacation. I have been very sick. In February of this year, I succumbed to the reality that I could not control my weight without some help. Over the last 10 years, I had ballooned to 320 pounds and felt as if I had no […]

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3) Several years ago, I listened to an interview with evangelist Michael Youseff. Youseff recounted a conversation with former Attorney General John Ashcroft when he represented the State of Missouri in the United States Senate. Ashcroft is unashamedly Christian. In fact, he held devotions in his Senate office every morning to a growing number of Christians who have been so encouraged by his […]

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25) When I was in my early twenties, my then wife and I would routinely travel to Charlotte to spend the weekend with her sister. She was married to a doctor who saw no earthly reason why he should go to church on Sunday morning. He could get all the church he needed from his living room […]