RECONCILIATION As we sat waiting for the traffic light's permission to proceed, my son once again asked when I would fix the training wheels on his bicycle. I turned to look at him, saying I would fix them when we got home. Then I added, "But they will be different than what you are used to." With that…

Pushing the Goat over the Cliff The background of redemption goes all the way back to ancient Israel as the nation observed the Day of Atonement, the most solemn day of the year, in which the high priest would offer atonement for the people’s sins for another year. According to Leviticus 16:8–26, the…

A mother’s decision to forgive the boy, who murdered her only son, has had a bigger impact than she could have imagined. In 1993, a 16-year-old killed Mary Johnson’s son Laramiun during an argument at a party. Mary wanted justice and said the killer, Oshea Israel, deserved to be caged because he was…

WORTH Do you like watching the Antique's Road Show? On those shows, an expert on antiques looks at a person's prize possession and places a monetary value upon it. The value varies based upon its condition, uniqueness or who owned it. But ultimately, value is determined by the amount someone is willing…

The events of December 7, 1941 changed the world forever. That day also marked the beginning of a change for one of the men who attacked Pearl Harbor. Mitsuo Fuchida was hand selected by Admiral Yamamoto to lead the Japanese attack, and took great pride in the devastation his forces inflicted. Fuchida…

“Charles Finney was preaching in a great revival in Detroit. After the service one night a man said, ‘I want you to go home with me, Mr. Finney.’ Some who knew the man said to Finney, do not go.’ But he went. When they came to the man’s house, the man walked in last, locked the door and pulled a revolver…

Christ sacrificed His earthly life for your eternal salvation. There once was a story about a little boy who built a sailboat. He had it all fixed up, tarred and painted. He took it to the lake and pushed it in hoping it would sail. Sure enough a wisp of breeze filled the little sail and it billowed…

God's Autograph in the Sky Have you ever watched children build a "castle" out of Lego blocks? They don't develop architectural drawings or do structural analysis, instead, they just start sticking blocks together. On rare occasions, they cooperate, usually the play time ends when one child gets frustrated…

man pardoned by then-Gov. Edwin Edwards after serving six years of a life sentence for his role in the 1973 killing of a Baton Rouge drugstore owner said Thursday he will appeal a state judge’s refusal to erase the murder conviction from his record. Forest Hammond said he first will file a motion asking…

One of the great heroes in African-American history is a woman named Harriet Tubman, a slave in Maryland who escaped to Philadelphia over the famous “Underground Railroad” and then became one of its most successful conductors in the years leading up to the Civil War. Mrs. Tubman became known as “Moses”…

A South Florida church provides “instant salvation” for busy motorists by offering a drive-thru prayer service. If you need a quick prayer, you drive up to the window and a clergy member will pray for you, and then you are back on the road. Out of the 24-hour day (1440 minutes), are we so busy in our…

Danny Duchene had been in prison for twenty years serving a double life sentence when he first read Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life. The book changed Duchene’s life and led to the beginning of a “Purpose Driven Church” group in the prison, and the introduction of the Celebrate Recovery program,…

It was almost 1:00 in the morning when the phone rang. Dr. Leo Winters, the highly acclaimed Chicago surgeon, was abruptly awakened. There had been an accident and his skill hands were needed for immediate surgery. The quickest route happened to be through a rather tough area, but with time being a critical…

In Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, Eric Metaxas writes, “The authority of a servant leader, as opposed to the authoritarianism of the mis-leader, came from God and was a leadership of serving those below oneself.” —Jim L. Wilson Metaxas, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, 269. Mark 10:42–45…

In his autobiography, Pat Summerall the former player and broadcaster tells of becoming a born again Christian during his treatment for alcoholism at the Betty Ford rehab clinic. The message of the Gospel is changed lives in the grace God gives in Jesus Christ. --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell World,…

Do You Want a Donut? There was a boy by the name of Steve who was attending Seminary in Utah. In Utah, Seminary classes are held as optional release-time curriculum. Brother Christianson taught Seminary at this particular school. He had an open-door policy and would take in any student that had been…

A Canadian family woke up to find a bag containing a digital camera, an X-box, along with a note, and $50 cash on their porch. The items had been stolen from them the previous day while the family was out walking their dog. The note was from the thief apologizing and seeking the family’s forgiveness.…

For 100 days in 1994 Rwanda was a killing field. Saveri Nemeye was one of the aggressors. With a machete he brutally killed Rosaria Bankundiye’s husband and their four children. Released from prison in 2004, Saveri went to Rosaria and begged for forgiveness. Rosaria considered his request and then granted…

Sin may seem like a small pothole to you, but it creates a vast canyon between you and God. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell once said, “We have to start thinking of America as a family. We have to stop screeching at each other, stop hurting each other, and instead start caring for, sacrificing…

In the movie The Mission, Robert DeNiro's character, Mendoza, a kidnapper and slave trader of the indigenous people of South America, repents from his ways and turns to God. Mendoza repeatedly carries a load of armor tied to his body while climbing up a cliff as a form of penance for killing his brother…

If your house were on fire, you would rejoice to hear that the fire engines were coming down the street. You would feel an absolute certainty that they were coming to you, because your house was in a blaze if no one’s else might be. If there were appointed today a commissioner for the relief of such…

Russell Moore and his wife adopted two sons from Russia and when the legal process was finally over and they went to pick them up from the orphanage the transition proved to be harder than they had expected. Their new sons had never been outside. They had never even ridden in a car. As they pulled away…

I saw the other day a remarkable picture, which I shall use as an illustration of the way of salvation by faith in Jesus. An offender had committed a crime for which he must die, but it was in the olden time when churches were considered to be sanctuaries in which criminals might hide themselves and…

Diane De Han watched an Oregon court sentence the man who killed her son to prison, and was prepared to hate him or seek revenge. Instead, when she saw the 21-year-old man in court with no one to support him, and heard his confession, her heart went out to him. Within two weeks, De Han wrote the man…