Category: Life Issues
Homophobia: A Christ-like Response to an Anti-Christian Label
“Homophobia” is a word that our culture once defined as “the fear of homosexuals.” It was probably coined in the early years of the AIDS crisis when many people were afraid that the disease could be transmitted through hugging or hand-shaking. But applied as it is...
I Never Made a Sacrifice : Hudson Taylor, Missionary to China
James and Amelia Taylor loved their children and, like all doting parents, they enjoyed giving them little treats on occasion. But once in a while, when Amelia brought a dessert to the table for her family, James would say, “Who will see if they can do...
A 12 Point Cure for Complaining
Complaining is unbecoming of the true Christian and yet we are proficient at it. The cure is found in these verses. In Christ we are never hopeless or forsaken. Every trial has meaning. Meditate on this cure in order to change both your language and your...
When a Child Dies: Responses From Church History
What follows are the honest and courageous words of four well-known Christians from the past regarding the loss of a child—a much more common occurrence in previous centuries, but still a reality today. Ann Judson (missionary Adoniram Judson’s first wife), after the death of their second...
Comfort for Christian Parents of Unconverted Children
All Christian parents wish that God would show us something to do that would secure our child’s salvation, and then “we’ll do it with all our might” because we love our child so much. Yet, God has not made salvation the effect of somebody else’s faith;...
Back to School for the Glory of God
When I was in school, summer vacation always went too fast. Somehow three months off felt like only three weeks, and suddenly I found myself standing in the school supplies aisle at Wal-Mart anticipating the beginning of another year. As I reflect back on my schooling,...
Shadows of Hell: Fear and Emptiness Before Death
This poignant note came to a faithful friend of mine who is suffering from life-threatening cancer. It concerns a woman in the nursing home who has been a “good church-goer only.” The note reads: It is sad beyond words to watch mom’s health failing and see...
Suffering Evangelism
If you had tuberculosis, what would you do? Doug Nichols is the Founder and International Director Emeritus of Action International Ministries. While serving as a missionary in India in 1967, he contracted tuberculosis. He was treated in a sanatorium in India, and while there he tried...
Understanding Love
The world does not understand the love of God in Jesus Christ. But the world loves to talk about love. It is often used with reference to trivial things like, “I love that car!” “I love football!” or “I love those shoes!” Phrases like these are...
Can This Marriage Be Saved?
Kevin had been abused by a babysitter as a child. The first years of marriage were difficult ones. Things were just not working out. Kevin and Christiana separated for nine months while they considered divorce. But somehow they managed to reconcile. On the surface, the marriage...
