“His last words were . . .” People’s last words pique our interest because they’re sometimes profound or grateful or sad or inspiring or ironic. People’s last words—after living out their life on earth and before departing forever—almost always cause us to pause and think both about life in general and about our own life. Even if the words aren’t particularly profound, the fact that they’re a person’s final utterances makes them worth hearing. An Oklahoma death row inmate, convicted of two murders, was recently executed. He acknowledged that he was drugged out when they happened and doesn’t remember doing them. Formerly a…
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When Alexi Navalny died in a Russian penal colony, Russia’s greatest hope for regaining its once-budding democracy died with him. He could have been one of the world’s great leaders, and he was sometimes paralleled to Nelson Mandela in South Africa. But instead, Putin got rid of the greatest threat to his mafia-style dictatorship by letting Navalny gradually die in prison. Though a long-time anti-corruption activist and democratic leader in Russia, early in his imprisonment, Navalny became a follower of Christ. And he quoted Jesus’ words from the Gospel of Matthew in his courtroom rebukes of Putin. This man uncovered Putin’s…
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Everyone has a unique take on spiritual growth because we’re all different in some way, so we all gravitate toward one preference or another. Yet I keep coming back to seven key areas. If you have an additional eighth one, that’s great. These seven areas are universally important to anyone who seeks to grow in spirit and character. And they must all be intentional. This sevenfold path is not something to achieve. We don’t get there. We never “arrive.” This is a path we go on. These are attitudes. They are commitments. They are practices. This sevenfold path is one…
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For most of my life, I’ve been oriented and reminded about having goals. Goals are good.But they just sit there ahead of you.Which is why I often failed to reach them. I got bogged down in between where I was and where I wanted to go. I learned that more important than the goal itself is the process. I have discovered that you are not separated from your vision and goals by time. You’re separated by action. acts within the whole process–most acts are small–must be intentional and consistent. this is true in every single area of life. And it’s…
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I hesitated to post this month on the Israel-Gaza War because it would have been extremely long, and I don’t want to get political. But I concluded that I would be remiss if I did not at least post a biblical perspective that doesn’t get in the news. I’m limiting myself to that here, though there’s so much more to say from different perspectives. If you’d like the full four-pages of uncommon perspectives, you may email me, and I’ll send it. Israel was among the earliest nation states that is still a nation state today. The land called Israel /…
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