The Tune of Self-Interest

Adam didn’t assist Eve. She really wasn’t concerned about him either. Both got busy and whipped up a self-made cover-up. And (can you believe it?) they attempted to hide from the Lord God. Of course, you can believe it! To this day it’s humankind’s favorite game . . . even though we lose every time we play it.

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The Origin of Self

To do that with “self,” we must go back, way back, to that ancient scene pictured for us in the second and third chapters of Genesis: the garden of Eden. What a super spot! Beautiful beyond description, a perfect, pollution-free atmosphere, luxurious foliage, fragrant flowers, crystal-clear water—that garden would make Tahiti look like a pigsty by comparison.

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The Other Side of Letting Go

It was the ultimate test of faith. God told Abraham to sacrifice his son. “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much . . . and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” (Genesis 22:1–2) God’s words pound against our ears like […]

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Does God Hate?

Hate is a powerful word. We are taught from childhood to avoid hatred at all costs and to obey the command of Christ to love everyone, including our enemies. So it’s shocking to read the words that Paul quoted from Malachi, who declared that God loved Jacob but hated Esau (Malachi 1:2–3). How can a […]

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What God Wants from You

The New Year is only one month old, and already the pressures of life have returned. Sixty-hour workweeks. Razor-thin balances in the chequebook every month. Children and/or grandchildren who call for unending, boundless bursts of energy. Sound familiar? As we peer into the pages of the Bible, tucked away toward the end of the Old […]

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Sanctity of Life

Just how widespread is the practice of abortion? Are we making much ado about nothing, or do we have a full-scale issue deserving of our immediate attention? To begin with, let’s understand that medical authorities determine a person to be “alive” if there is either a detectable heartbeat or brain-wave activity. With that in mind, […]

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“Believe”: Sometimes Found in Stars over the Porch

My close friend just found out her son was sexually assaulted. In the last 10 years, her son has been diagnosed with the following: intellectual disability; developmental disorders; severe Tourette’s syndrome; learning, behavior, and life skill disorders; and the accompanying challenges related to anxiety and emotions. Believing in God’s goodness was tough for her. Adding […]

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Marriage Is God’s Invention

Chapter 2 of Genesis is a story. If we are careful to examine the symbols and how the inspired author writes the story, we’ll discover that marriage is God’s invention. He intended this lifelong, exclusive union between a man and a woman to become the foundation upon which a family is built. This first of […]

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Innovative Planning

Read Genesis 47:1-26. Joseph had an innovative plan, something that had never been done before. “In order for the land to produce, we must spread out over this land,” he said. Prior to this they had been settled in only a few well-populated regions. Those places represented their homes, their work, their farms, and their […]

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