I was walking down the hall, minding my business, when some of the guys grabbed me and dragged me, cursing and struggling, into Major Brooks’…
I felt my heart pound as I opened the door to Dr. Brady’s suite. This better work, I told myself sternly. It’s my last hope….
I grew up in a communist country — Russia — when the KGB kept everything and everyone under tight supervision and a person’s faith in…
I never went to Hebrew school. Times were tough and my parents didn’t have the money to teach me the language used in our orthodox…
Today . . . a gift from God, the anticipation of tomorrow. Today . . . the birthplace of dreams, the resting place of memories….
Though I had always gone to church with my family, I was an agnostic. As a nuclear scientist, I prided myself on my knowledge and…
On the streets of town one day, Jesus was mobbed by people bumping, jostling, elbowing one another in an attempt to get close to this…
Dear God, I need help. I have no where else to turn. I’m in too far. It hurts too much. From out there, sin looked…
“To be forewarned is to be forearmed.” This wise admonition applies to cults. According to Dr. Margaret T. Singer in her book Cults in Our…
Apologetics Index (http://www.apologeticsindex.org) Berean Christian Ministries (http://www.frontiernet.net/~bcmmin/) Mormonism Research Ministry (http://www.mrm.org) Mormons In Transition (http://www.irr.org/mit) reFOCUS: Recovering Former Cultists’ Support Network (http://www.refocus.org) Truth-In-Love Ministries (http://www.truth-in-love.org)…
Take your pick . . . According to Cults in Our Midst, 3,000-5,000 cults exist in America, with 2 to 5 million involved at any…
Have you ever gotten lost? Have you ever felt abandoned in a strange place where you didn’t seem to know the language? Have you ever…
Lightning struck a tree outside the house as a dying Korean told me about Jesus Christ. Fear struck my heart: Where would I go if…
Two men leaned over a kitchen table one Saturday afternoon playing Scrabble. It was mid-December 1979 and, so the story goes, one of them wondered…
“Something is radically wrong with your baby’s head,” the doctor told my wife, Brenda, and me. “He has a rare problem called cranio-synostosis. The two…
In many ways, I am living proof that anyone can come to prison. I did not come from a broken home. I was not raised…
Looking over the wide variety of commands in a word processing program is always kind of fun. You ask yourself, Who in the world would…
A beautiful April day, 1998. Relieved to be done with work, my boyfriend and I were loosening up at a friend’s house. “Want a drink,…
I raised my children in the age of the “liberated woman.” Being a stay-at-home mommy in the early 80’s was considered a waste of female…
“Just as I am is pretty good.” “Take me or leave me.” “I’m not changing for you or for anybody.” Good self-esteem means self-acceptance, doesn’t…
Prison. Not a place you’d expect to feel truly free. Freedom from the pain of my past and from my life of crime did come…
“Is there really such a thing as an atheist?” some Christians have asked me. I can testify that there is, because I was an atheist…
The English teacher at my high school took a special interest in me. “Here’s a book you might enjoy reading, John,” he suggested. It was…
“Ugh!” I moaned as I studied my reflection in my bedroom mirror. Who is this girl staring back at me? I’d been raised in a…
When I was stationed in Alexandria, Virginia, I visited many of our nation’s most sacred historical landmarks. During one of my visits to Washington, D.C.,…
Twenty years ago I was a young man heading off to an Ivy League college. Like most people my age, I didn’t think of my…
Glancing toward the door of my prison cell, I noticed a book wedged between the bars. How did it get there? I wondered. It was…
“There’s been a burglary,” the police sergeant grunted. “About an hour ago, three men broke into a house near the Beltway, and they got away….
I nocked an arrow in my compound bow and shot Joey. Just before I released the arrow, he turned around in the doorway of my…
When I was a freshman in college, an atheist lived on my floor in the dorm. What a shame, I thought. Somebody ought to tell…
Two candles glowed in front of me, illuminating the fancy black-lacquered altar in our home. I grasped the rosary beads and twisted them mechanically into…
The wails of two small children greeted my ears as I entered the trailer house. Trained as a criminal investigator to observe quickly, I took…
“We’re going to take you to a psychiatrist,” my parents told me. “Maybe he can help you.” “But everyone will think I’m crazy,” I protested….
The first time I saw him, he wandered into the sales department where I worked as a secretary. Who is this cute guy? I wondered….
Everything in my life appeared perfect. My husband and I had been happily married for five years. We had a beautiful baby boy and many…
All of us are confronted with temptation. It is a “given” when part of a spiritually fallen world. The Devil is referred to in the…
The cult leader burst through the door of the small room where I was being held prisoner. “Are you ready to repent?” he shouted. “Are…
Our decisions determine our destinies — for earth and eternity. When Judas betrayed Jesus, he knew what he was doing; his choice was conscious and…
What had happened to my wife? I couldn’t understand Betty. She had completely changed. She seemed to have new values and a new purpose in…
“Who’s that guy?” asked Eddie, rolling his eyes with disdain. “And why is he shooting all by himself?” “That’s Greenwood,” said William. Eddie, a talented…
The U. S. Navy ship I was assigned to was on a six-month cruise. With time on our hands, we sailors often gathered in our…
The beginning of a new year is a good time to take inventory of my life. Can I improve who I am? Can I become…
You Can Know When I pray, even if I don’t feel as if God hears me, I know He does and will answer me (Jeremiah…
It is not always springtime in the heart, though at times we are led to believe this. Of course, we would longingly hope that spring…
Donald had seen his marriage disintegrate in a matter of months. His wife said she no longer loved him. Though Donald was a church-goer, this…
The Frenchman, Blaise Pascal, was a genius. He invented and sold the first calculating machine, a forerunner of the computer. He also planned the public…
“If you feel far away from God, guess who moved!” I read the one-liner in a magazine and chuckled. But later I questioned its wisdom….
How many times in life do you sit yourself down and say, “Nothing is happening. Maybe God forgot to punch in today.” Oh really?…
Dreams . . . the medal to be won, the road up ahead, the ideal of the young, and the passion of the aged. Dreams…
In the summer of 1994, I visited the safest place in the United States. I can honestly say I stood in the most protected room…
In October 2006 the Amish community in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, dealt with the fatal shooting of five young girls in a one-room schoolhouse. Many of…
I had 30 seconds to make a life-or-death decision. And I made the wrong choice. How can I describe how it feels to know you…
If moral turbulence could be measured on the Richter scale, then the “soulquake” currently taking place in our country would warrant a solid ten. Although…
I’m a grown-up PK. A preacher’s kid. You know, one of those kids who perform at church like an acrobat in a circus all…
Thirty years ago, l looked pretty good on the outside, if I say so myself. Unlike many who become Christians, leaving a life of worldly…
The October 20, 2001, issue of TV Guide reported that, mainly due to the September 11 terrorist attacks, “reality” television just might be on its…
Sweat cascaded from my armpits like a waterfall as I heard the director’s voice in my ear monitor. “Marissa, we’re still not getting a video…
I’ll call her Crystal. All you have to do is mention her name to any male member of the gym, and his eyes will roll….
We like to think the world today is vastly different from the world of 2,000 years ago, when Pontius Pilate publicly washed his hands of…
Old photographs of faces cloaked in somber dress, high collars, and stiff poses can estrange our modern eyes. When viewed closely, however, they usually reveal…
Life is full of questions. Some seek facts, others seek wisdom: What makes life worthwhile? How can I find fulfillment in life? Why do I…
Something like the sound of firecrackers peppered the hot June afternoon as our house stirred with waking toddlers and preschoolers. “It’s a little early for…
Quality of life. Is there anyone who doesn’t want to improve it, at least in some areas? What are the most common wishes and needs?…
I met him at work — a carefree summer job. I was a beginning employee, and he was a manager. He wasted no time getting…
“A cyclone packing winds of over 200 mph hit the southeastern coast of Bangladesh, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. According to the…
People in the business of manufacturing, selling, and installing burglar bars, deadbolts, and burglar alarms never wonder where the next job is coming from. They…
Have you ever observed a “Right Turn Mostly” sign? Of course not. When the traffic safety department determines that “Right Turn Only” is best for…
May — the month of dreams, the month of new beginnings for students across America — is now upon us. May is the time of…
“I am not ashamed of the gospel . . .” (Romans 1:16, NIV). Carrying the cross in a pleasure-centered world is not the prettiest picture….
Shirley MacLaine, Dancing in the Light, pp. 353-358. James W. Sire, Shirley MacLaine & the New Age Movement, pp. 3, 5. Josh McDowell and Don…
A well-known entertainer is lying on a table undergoing five hours of acupuncture. Gold needles have been inserted under her chin, just above her throat….
I set out as a young man to refute Christianity. I met some young Christians who challenged me to intellectually examine the evidence for their…
Don’t let anyone make excuses like these: “I’m too busy with politics.” “I’ve got this or that public duty to fulfill.” “I’m a skilled worker….
Internet, CD-ROMs, PowerPoint, e-mail. In our high-tech society, who needs a book with characters traveling by foot and drawing water from wells? Actually, we all…
Trapped! Like a mouse who sniffed the cheese once too often, I followed the bait into the snare. Bang! The trap sprang, and I was…
“Should I move the account to Merrill Lynch?” “Should I go out with the person I met through e-mail?” “Should I have stayed in bed…