My grandson is only three but he is convinced that he will be a great ice hockey player even though he has never even tried on a pair of skates. And when he gets that chance I have no doubt that he will quickly lose his balance and fall down (unless someone holds his hands).

How do we defend our faith in Jesus with people who seem smarter than us, more eloquent, or simply angry? Not that long ago I studied with some of the brightest minds at Oxford University. Truth be told, I sometimes felt pretty inadequate alongside their brilliant intellects.

When people are acting destructively, it is sometimes imperative we acknowledge their behavior by calling a spade a spade. However, we live in an ever-increasing contentious, politically correct culture which vacillates between feeling nervous about offending someone to out-and-out name calling.

Pressure can be debilitating. It can cause us to shrink back, diminish our convictions, or shy away from difficult people. And yet, as followers of Jesus, we should expect it, especially from those who appear to disagree with us.

As Jude’s letter concludes, he continues to remind us to stay aware of people who will try …

There’s nothing like the rush of adrenaline when experiencing something firsthand, for the first time. So many emotions emerge!  Ones like excitement, awe, ecstasy, and joy. I love going to live sporting events, especially associated with American football. I will never forget the first time I saw …

At first the psalms may bring to mind gentle brooks and rolling meadows, beautiful poetry extolling God’s magnificence and care. Some of them, however, are anything but. A number seethe with anger. There are bad people out there, doing horrendous, evil things and the psalmist is fed up.

The world has its own proverb: Nice guys finish last.

Let’s face it, we’ve all seen mean-spirited and/or deceptive people make it to the top. We’ve all seen nice guys (or gals) finishing last. That’s where the proverb came from.