“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait til the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts.” (I Corinthians 4:5) Several years ago, a former pastor of mine lamented from the pulpit that prayer was losing its appeal among Christians. It’s a sad commentary, but I agree with him. In fact, my own Christian experience has convinced me that a lot of us don’t take full advantage of the power and privilege of prayer. Stop […]

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) I had a friend telephone me a few years back. She had a close relative whom she thought had contracted a terminal illness. She was deeply concerned about his future and asked me, “Will a Catholic go to heaven?” As first blush I was caught a little off guard by her question because I am not that familiar with what Catholics believe. […]

“Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.” (2 Timothy 2:16) I was in church recently when an old friend of mine came to visit. It was the strangest thing. My wife and I were just talking about him. He was out of work and we felt so sorry for him. As I watched him take his seat, I couldn’t help but wonder how he was handling his crisis. I not only heard about his misfortune, but I also had the […]

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23) I have a coworker whom I see almost every day. He often comments about my column and asked me recently to deal with a spiritual question that has bothered him for many years. “One Saturday,” he said, “I want you to tell me why God had to resort to such extreme measures to save us. I mean if he really is so […]