Had dinner last night with some friends I hadn’t seen in 34 years. How can you not see people for 34 years and be friends? First, and foremost, we share the same hope in Christ. That makes us friends forever. Second, we share a common concern for this nation. By the time we had finished catching up on the last 34 years, we settled on the topic of the future of the country. I have to say we were pretty… Read more »
I post on the subject of education quite often; that’s to be expected from someone in my profession. I share the concerns voiced about the Common Core initiative and have read many of the critiques with respect to the specifics of Common Core. I agree with most of what I have read. Yet there are political conservatives who support this approach because they are enamored with the promise of enforcing a basic education for all, particularly when they perceive, quite… Read more »
Normally, on weekends, I draw from C. S. Lewis and Charles Finney for some thoughtful quotes. I’m not home this weekend, and therefore don’t have my usual sources to use. However, I have a habit of collecting quotes from all sorts of people who have offered wise and sound insights. One of those is A. W. Tozer, a Christian and Missionary Alliance pastor whose books have encouraged many and have guided them into a closer relationship with the Lord. Let… Read more »
Life sometimes needs a pause button. I’ve been in Williamsburg, Virginia, since Wednesday. My main reason for being here is to show students some of the most significant sites related to the history of the nation, a task that’s hardly a task for me—it’s a joy to do so. Yet I’ve had some free time just to stroll and not feel rushed about anything. On Thursday afternoon, I walked from the Visitors’ Center to the home of John D. Rockefeller… Read more »
Later this week, I’ll begin showing students around some of Virginia’s best historic sites. I’ll be staying in Williamsburg, one of my favorite places on the planet. The historic colonial area always attracts me. We’ll also tour Jamestown’s original site, the re-created Jamestown settlement, Yorktown, Monticello (Jefferson’s home), Mt. Vernon (Washington’s home), and sites in Richmond (Virginia capitol, John Marshall’s house, St. John’s church, where Patrick Henry delivered his “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” oration). That’s just the… Read more »
Everywhere Charles Finney preached, conversions followed. God worked in a great way through the message he brought, which, of course, was nothing less than the genuine gospel. In Finney’s autobiography, after an account of one of the revivals that occurred, he summarized just exactly what he taught in these words: The doctrines I preached in promoting that revival were those that I have preached everywhere. The total moral, voluntary depravity of unregenerate man; the necessity of a radical change of… Read more »
I love how C. S. Lewis compares Jesus to other religious leaders in history. In an essay called “What Are We to Make of Jesus Christ?” Lewis lays out the claim Jesus made that He was indeed God, as opposed to simply a great moral teacher: On the one side clear, definite moral teaching. On the other, claims which, if not true, are those of a megalomaniac, compared with whom Hitler was the most sane and humble of men. There… Read more »