“You can't teach an old dog new tricks.”

“He's old and stuck in his ways.”

“She's never going to change.”

There is an ingrained, all-too-often-proved-true, prejudice that when we get older we can't, or won't, change any more. This is despite some great examples in the Bible — like Abraham, Sarah, Moses, and Caleb and that's just the first six books — and some great passages of Scripture that challenge us to keep on changing to become more like Jesus:

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16).
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate [or reflect] the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).

Two of my favorite people in the Bible are old in years, but fresh and new..

“O Holy Night,” one of the most beautiful Christmas carols worshipping the birth of Jesus Christ, was written by an atheist.
Not just an atheist, but an avowed atheist and vocal anti-cleric.

In 1843 a local parish church in Roquemaure, France, completed renovating its organ. To celebrate this joyous event that coincided with Christmas, the parish priest asked Placide Cappeau (1808-1877), a wine merchant, poet, and native of Roquemaure, to write a Christmas poem for the celebration. Cappeau agree..

During the Christmas season, friends and family are one of the blessings we celebrate. But, looking at our actual life choices, many of us do not always see friends and family as sources of strength along life’s journey.

A New York Times special report that was published online on October 18, 2015 described the life and death of a retired mover named George Bell. There was nothing distinctive about Bell and he died alone of heart disease in his apartment at age 72, without any family being aware of his existence. The article concluded that Bell’s solitary existence, life, and death are becoming all too commonplace among the 50,000 or so deceased persons in New York City each year. For Gerard Sweeney, a private lawyer who does public administrative work and handles cases like Bell’s, “You can die in such anonymity in New York. We’ve had instances of people dead for months. No one finds them, no one misses them.”

The statistics suggest that Bell’s life of solitude is increasingly frequen..

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19 TNIV).

But his mother treasured all these things in her heart (Luke 2:51).

We are fascinated by stories of hidden treasure. Many of the blockbuster movies over the last several decades have revolved around this theme — the Indiana Jones movies, The Mummy movies, and more recently the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy and the National Treasure series.

As kids, we were fascinated with finding old things with drawers, ..

In the Bible, the following story is told only in the gospel of Matthew. It is powerful. It is unique. It is also as puzzling as it is captivating. If we let it, this story is not only beautiful but also as relevant today as the morning news.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod he..

Give thanks in all circumstances…

How?

My daughter is in Afghanistan.
I am fighting diabetes.
I have no job.
My son is doing drugs.
My child has died.
My marriage is falling apart.
I'm depressed.
My bank account is overdrawn.
I'm tired of being sick and tired.
Circumstances affect each of us differently. It is easier to say, “give thanks in all circumstances” than to actually do it. Especially, if the person saying it has never gone through troubled times.
In this case, the one saying it knew what he was talking about exactly. Paul, an Apostle of Jesus, had his moments in the suffering department.
Flogged 5 times with the Jews 39 lashes…
Beaten by Roman rods 3 times…
Betrayed by those who pretended to be friends…
Pummeled with rocks…
Many sleepless nights and missed meals…
Paul said, “And that's the half of it, when you throw in the daily pressures and anxieties of all the churches” (1 Corinthians 11:28 MSG).
No doubt, circumstances can make life difficult ..

“I think, therefore I am.”

René Descartes penned this popular line in his 1637 treatise, Discourse on the Method, and it’s a good summary of the book itself. Heralding the importance of scientific discoveries and the necessity of doubting one’s own view of the world, Descartes’s work is often considered the first domino to fall in what is now called the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment, with its explosion of scientific discoveries and philosophical arguments, had one task:..

What's the big deal about baby Jesus and his birth?

Ah… glad you asked. I want to answer that question in two parts. The first is to center things biblically. The second and the more touching part is the story itself.

The Advent, the coming of Jesus Christ to our world, means everything for those of us who believe. The accounts in Matthew and Luke about Jesus' conception, birth, and welcome are more than quaint tales from long ago and far away. The birth of Jesus is the coming of God..

It seems like everyone makes a best books list around this time, so adding my list probably isn’t going to shatter anybody’s world. In any event, there are a few reasons why I’ve compiled this list. First, I love reading and I love to share what I’m reading. Second, I’m also always encouraged by others’ thoughts and their lists often help me pick out a few last books for my Christmas wish list. Third, I get a lot of books from publishers, and while I don’t feel compelled t..