As God’s image bearer, Adam was given the mandate to execute God’s will upon the earth, to subdue and to have dominion over it. Through this delegated dominion, Adam’s objective was to fulfill God’s purposes on earth. That exercise of power was accomplished through close fellowship, communication and submission to God.

I challenge you to see your life in Christ as a beautiful and precious tapestry. Envision Jesus interwoven into the fabric from corner to corner. As you move through each day, your daily encounters and responsibilities require His love and His compassion. When He is included this way, God is glorified and you experience the abundant Life that Jesus came to give you.

No doubt you have noticed that these are difficult times. Lawlessness and outright foolishness seem to be in abundance. Although living in the “land of the free”, more and more citizens feel the clammy grip of tyranny from all levels of government. In this article I am not going to get into the tantalizing nuances of prophecy, nor take a stand on the timing of the Rapture. I am going to look at what Jesus told His Church and make some suggestions about how the faithful can live in difficult and perilous times, glorifying God, while awaiting His return. 

No matter the opposition. No matter public opinion. No matter the cost. As they were brave, so must you and I be brave. As they pressed on, so must we, in the ongoing struggle between good and evil.

Chris Bires, 41, was on his way to work. He walked this street in downtown Chicago every day, Monday thru Friday. It was routinely uneventful. Until that day.

When Chris spotted a man playing his saxophone on the street and the empty can next to him, he decided he’d do a good deed. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out all his coins and emptied them into the can. The bearded young saxophonist smiled at the clean-shaven executive and thanked him. When he got to work, Chris discovered that he was missing his wedding ring.

Mr. Eggers was 68 years old. He had been employed as a customer service representative with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage in Des Moines, Iowa for years. He did his job well. He was also a law-abiding man. So, one can only imagine his shock. Eggers was summarily fired. His offense? Back in 1963, when he was nineteen, Eggers had inserted a fake dime into a laundry machine.

Lorie Smith didn’t intend to be notable. She didn’t seek the limelight. Nor did she welcome controversy. She’s not a lawyer, a judge, or a politician. Lorie is an artist. She designs wedding websites.

Lorie’s the latest contestant in the ongoing struggle over the meaning, protections, and limits of the First Amendment. That’s right, she refused to design a wedding website for a gay couple.

The Declaration of Independence is the greatest, most passionate, and most beautiful expression of the spirit of individual liberty ever penned.

The absence of a father creates an aching void in the heart and life of a child that no government program can fill. In point of fact, it’s been well-documented over the years that many such programs, well-intended, have actually contributed to the pathologies and destructiveness that have hurt families.

The optimist believes we live in the best of all possible worlds—the pessimist fears this is true.

Stories…they shape our lives. They inspire, educate, motivate, and illustrate. They clarify and entertain. They enrich and sanctify our memories. Stories stay with us—often for a lifetime.

When it comes to our words, whether sent around the globe in nano-seconds or spoken at the family dinner table, let us as Christians resolve to show the love of Jesus Christ in everything we say.

You and I are engaged in a titanic spiritual warfare. The destructive forces unleashed upon the world—forces aimed at our children, our families, our freedom, and our values; our compassion, virtue, justice, and our very humanity—are not the fault of misguided politicians of either party. They are the designs and agenda of the evil one.

The little boy stared nervously at his Sunday School teacher. He was trying to remember the verse. He thought for sure he knew it.

“A lie is an abomination to the Lord.” He grinned with satisfaction. “And a very present help in time of trouble.”

We smile at a child’s mangled memory. We smile too because the boy’s rendition is often the case. Lying one’s way out of trouble is a time-honored and quite dishonorable resort for many who are caught doing something wrong.

“So he passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side.”

The disciples did not understand the scriptures and did not expect the resurrection, and yet we have the hope of the resurrection.

The resurrection gives purpose and value to our labor. All our efforts to alleviate suffering, show compassion, advance justice, combat corruption, educate for virtue, and create opportunity are never in vain. Never. Why? Because Jesus Christ has risen. He lives and reigns, and in due time he will make the world over.

As Aaron, Moses’ brother, placed his hands on the goat’s head he had confessed “over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. . . The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the desert” (Leviticus 16: 21-22).

This goat would carry the sins of the people to a lonely and forbidding place.

It seems that being a woman isn’t what it used to be. Nor being a man.

Seeds, though tiny, were central to the outcome of the entire gardening enterprise. I’d watch Dad as he’d take a seed or two, carefully opening the moist, cool, cultivated soil—cultivation was essential—and inserting the seed into the soft dirt and gently covering it up. Then pressing it down.

Seeds contain the mysteries—and the success or failure—of growth, the outcome of the harvest, and the enjoyment of the bounty. They had to be planted in the right manner in the right soil.