Jesus loved to tell stories. And people loved to listen to them. With his stories, Jesus encouraged people to think, to question and to deliberate—to enjoy the journey of their own personal spiritual discovery (Matthew 13:11-15). In the Bible, the gospel writers, Matthew, Mark and Luke recorded...
Not long ago, I watched a documentary about The New Yorker magazine reviewer and satirist Dorothy Parker. Though highly popular, she seemed to be an unhappy person who became more of an alcoholic and reclusive over the years. A fellow author explains it like this: "I don't think Dorothy had anyon...
Imagine stopping by my house to hand me a box wrapped in festive paper and topped with an enormous red bow on my birthday. "For you!" you announce with a big smile. "Happy birthday!" "I can't take it," I say. You're surprised. "Why not?" "I just can't," I say. "I don't deserve it." "What do yo...
It was—there's no nicer way to put it—an ugly day. Temperatures below zero, a gusty north wind pounding my windshield. I was driving from Lincoln, Nebraska, to Jamestown, North Dakota, following a black van. The bitter wind tugged on the car, and the van ahead kicked up little blizzards as it hit...
Jesus walked up to a small table in the synagogue in Nazareth, opened a scroll, and began to read: "'The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, he has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the...
Dead people are supposed to stay dead—that's a fact of life. So when the Bible records the story of a wise man named Jesus traveling through Palestine 2,000 years ago, all seems well and good—until you come to the ending. Not only is Jesus killed, but then Scripture alleges that He rose from th...