“Living in a country torn apart by a revolution gives you a different perspective on the lessons you learn in history class,” says Lizzie, the main protagonist in Karen Alkofer’s first novel, The Party Line. It’s a young adult novel with an insightful twist. In addition to providing an interesting story, this book also gives the reader a different perspective than the lessons you learn in history class.
A Christian in Nazi Germany had a lot to say to American Christians today.
Deitrich Bonhoeffer, who ended up being killed by the Nazis before World War II was over, spoke about the politics of Jesus.
“And the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a loud command…” – 1 Thessalonians 4:16
Advent is what we call the season when we are reminded that we are waiting for the Savior. In the Old Testament, the people of Israel were waiting for a Messiah, the anointed one from God who would come to save them. That Messiah was Jesus, and He came quietly and very few noticed.
Well, the big day has passed, and we have had another presidential election in the USA. How do you feel about the results?
What does it actually mean to be a Christian in America? I have traveled across a lot of the country and talked to a lot of church-people about their faith. What I’ve discovered is interesting.
“I’m a Christian who is against social justice,” is what one Christian basically said in a discussion I once heard about Christians’ role in social justice. To be honest, the comment made me sad. It made me sad because I know that there are a number of church-people out there who would agree with this statement even though it is in direct opposition to the teachings of the Christ they seek to follow.
When Jesus’ disciples, the men who travelled together with him for three years to learn under his tutelage, asked him to teach them how to pray, he gave them a very interesting model prayer. It’s one that has been prayed by many throughout the centuries, though I fear that many pray the words without really grasping what they mean.
I was reading over people's statuses on Facebook lately and was amazed at how much hate and bitterness I saw. I read statements by conservatives expressing their disdain of liberals, statements by liberals expressing their disapproval of conservatives, statements by independents claiming the moral ground over both parties, Christians talking down on non-Christians, non-Christians talking down on Christians, and the list goes on...
Studies have shown that our prevailing emotions have the power to have a direct effect upon the physical condition of our heart. One of the ways this happens is through what doctors call our “heart rate variability.” Emotions such as appreciation, joy, and love create a spectrum on the heart rate variability EKG tracing. These attitudes or emotions help a person to enter into a healthy state called “entrainment” in which our nervous systems are fully balanced. This allows our body to have the right balance of stimulation and relaxation and contributes to better health.
Father's Day is a hard day for many people. It's a day set aside to honor fathers, but the reality is that many of us don't feel like honoring our fathers. Why? Because many of us have not been given a very good image of fatherhood. For many, the term “father” refers to a man who abandoned us when we were small. For others, it brings to mind an angry man who beat us or a perverse one who abused us.
