Hard times are part of the human condition. They come in various forms, degrees, and life stages to both the innocent and the guilty. Some struggles originate from false beliefs, misguided choices, or selfish behaviors, and others seem arbitrary. But none of our troubles surprise God. In John 16:33 Jesus warned his followers, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have...
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.James 1:2–4 Joy is a state of mind, not merely a feeling. Joy is peaceful confidence in knowing God’s good and perfect will is being carried out as the result...
On April 7, news outlets reported mounting evidence that tiny subatomic particles called muons seem to be disobeying the known laws of physics. Muons are akin to electrons but heavier and radioactive and, well, wobbly. When shot through a magnetic field at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) in Batavia, Illinois, the muons did not behave as had been predicted. The muon’s aberrant...
Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. Ruth 4:13 Yes, the story of Ruth is a love story. But not the way you might think. The plot begins with the loving commitment between Naomi and Ruth. It continues through the loving commitment between Ruth and Boaz. But the real beginning—and the true end—is in God’s love for his...
Turn to any portion of Proverbs and you will be confronted with a fork in the road: Will you take the pathway of wisdom or the pathway of folly? Though Proverbs addresses dozens of topics, its thirty-one chapters actually present every reader with only two routes through life: the wise way or the foolish way. The Pathway of Wisdom What is the biblical concept of wisdom? A wise person knows how...
