Fear is a tricky thing. In the biblical worldview it originated—of all places—in a garden named pleasure. It is the child of insecurity, the product of removing one's heart focus from the all-powerful, benevolent, pleasure-giving Creator God, and trying to lean on a broken branch. Not safe! Such a position...

The term migration, in the animal kingdom, refers to a phenomenon that portrays rhythmic cadence, routine, and structure. Whether of butterfly, bird, or fish, the intent of migration is typically to ansure healthy survival in response to changing climates, shifting environments, or threats. For much of the animal kingdom, migration...

The Seventh-day Adventist Church membership in Zambia has doubled in the past 10 years, growing from 500,000 members to more than a million. With a population of 15 million people, Zambia has the highest Adventist Church growth rate in Africa, and thousands are added to the church every year. What...

Today is International Women’s Day. As for me, I’m a “ladies man,” but not in the way you are familiar with the term. My happiest childhood memories are of one summer with my grandmother, Eleanor, fishing, trapping critters, hiking up the rock piles around Phoenix (called “mountains”), and getting thrown...

“Many whom God has qualified to do excellent work accomplish very little, because they attempt little. Thousands pass through life as if they had no definite object for which to live, no standard to reach. Such will obtain a reward proportionate to their works” (Ellen White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p....

Spinach is an extremely nutrient-packed vegetable. Its tender leaves and mild flavor have made it a versatile food. Interestingly, the cooler the temperatures and the more stress the spinach experiences while growing, the denser the vitamins and minerals it contains. Unfortunately, even though spinach is probably one of the most...

My 19-year-old daughter recently shared for our family worship some insights from a book she is reading for her university Bible class. When she finished, my mind went to the following scripture: "As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged...

What I Take from the Compost Bucket I’m one of those people who can eat whatever is on my plate even if it looks like it was scraped from the bottom of the compost bucket, and I’ll still enjoy it—as long as it tastes good. I figure it’s only going...

I have two theological confessions to make. The first is that I am madly in love with the gospel. Seriously, I am. As an Adventist, a father and a pastor, the gospel is my everything. Jesus-only is my motto, my passion and my standard. After battling with legalism and perfectionism...

His eyes were blue, like an October sky. His hair was the color of sand off the beach, the kind you put in a bottle and take home for memories. I won’t mention his name, but it rhymes with schmichael. When he and I talked, I literally felt something I’d...

As I drove into the country of Lesotho, I typed into my GPS the address of the Lesotho Conference headquarters and followed the directions into the central part of Maseru, the capital city of Lesotho. With the GPS it should not be too difficult to locate the building, I thought...

If we readily saw the microscopic organisms swimming in lake water the way Antonie van Leeuwenhoek did, we would probably never venture in again. If we could see what lives on our teeth as Leeuwenhoek observed, we might not be able to stomach a kiss in the light. Referred to...