A pastor. A physical therapist. A builder. An investment banker. Since its inception, ARISE has attracted diverse groups of people, and this year’s class was no different. Diversity is one of ARISE’s greatest strengths, but also presents one of our greatest challenges. How so? Well, not only are the students...

The word obstinate has a bad rap. The dictionary definition is: Refusing to give up or let go; persevering obstinately Refusing to give up or let go. Persevering. Insistently repetitive or continuous. Some of us are obstinate all the time. All of us are obstinate some of the time. It’s possible to be obstinate in a good way....

“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change,” said Albert Einstein. Others of comparable IQ have defined intelligence similarly, as the ability to adapt to change. I find this an interesting way of looking at something we try so hard to measure, whether by exams, IQ tests, or career....

“Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21). Apparently, God sees in us an inclination to veer off course to the right or to the left....

I was heart-converted in November 2008 after 36 years growing up “in the church.” With this heart-conversion came a deep longing to share Christ, yet I felt powerless and tongue-tied when it came to speaking up among my peers in the corporate world. While I believed the teaching I heard,...

The resurrection of Jesus was not an arbitrary act of God. Rather, it was the definitive conquest of other-centered love over the death-dealing principle of self-centeredness inherent in all sin. According to Paul, “the law of the Spirit of life” and “the law of sin and death” waged their decisive...

When I first came to Christ I knew very little about the Bible. I said a simple sinner’s prayer, experienced God’s boundless forgiveness and fell madly in love with Jesus. When I was confronted with the Bible evidence for the seventh-day Sabbath, Jesus’ words, “if you love Me, keep My...

Mary Hunt worked for the Department of Agriculture’s Northern Regional Research Laboratory (NRRL) in Peoria, Illinois in the early 1940s. She had been assigned the task of grocery shopping for the lab with a shopping list that probably surprised the businesses she frequented. She scoured markets and shops looking for...

It's a loaded question, one that probes my very existence. Jesus faced it (John 8:24-25, 28). When I face it, I usually answer with the name from my earthly family. But we each have an identity from a larger family that draws its identity from the Father "of whom the...

It takes all kinds, or so the saying goes. While the it in this statement has the potential of referring to options too numerous to count, according to Katharine Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers, the all kinds is limited to 16. Katharine and Isabel organized specific traits into...

In 2014 God blessed Light Bearers Ministry in a number of ways, one of which was the ability to send out an extra container of literature above our budgeted 11. Each container is filled with millions of tracts that make a huge impact in the world field. Here is a...

“I hate evangelism!” my friend Edward said as he wrinkled his nose in disgust. “No you don’t,” I said. “You just don’t know what it is yet.” To be honest, I used to think I hated evangelism. To be extra honest, I have a personal preference for the word ministry,...