Truth Triumphs

Joshua Harris is a wonderful author who has several provocative books, including I Kissed Dating Goodbye and Boy Meets Girl . He also penned a book entitled Stop Dating the Church . In this book, he argues that it is time for Christians to join and be fully committed to a strong local church. Do you know any church-daters? Perhaps you need to know the symptoms before you make a diagnosis. According to Harris, church-daters are me-centered . In other words, they choose churches which cater to their particular wants. Also, those who date the church tend to be independent . They really don't want to be heavily involved with the activities and ministries of the local assembly. Finally, people who date the church are highly critical about everything, easily finding fault with the leadership of the church. So, I ask again: Do you know any church-daters? Better yet, are you guilty of dating the church? Do you hop from church to church? Are you fully engaged in a local assembly? I

Just a little bit of sin can wreak havoc on an entire life and, consequently, upon many people. For example, the idea of the Hubble Space Telescope was devised, costing some $2.5 billion to bring to fruition. However, whenever this expensive telescope was launched into outer space, NASA learned that a particular lens was off by less than 1/1000th of an inch. However, until the astronauts repaired this minor mistake, the telescope wasn't any better than a regular, inexpensive telescope. Isn't sin similar to that? A small, seemingly minor deviation from godliness could render you ineffective in the kingdom of God. But, why exactly is sin such a popular phenomenon in the present-day church? I think the Broken Windows Theory sheds some light on the current situation. This theory states that as people walk by windows that remain broken, they will assume that no one is control and that breaking windows is a tolerable action in that community. A similar thing may be cause for th

In a recent blog post, I referred to a book entitled Contagious: Why Things Catch On, written by Jonah Berger, who is a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Today, I would like to offer a brief summary of the book and give his six reasons for why ideas, products, and behaviors catch on. But, before I introduce those six qualities, let me give a brief story that highlights the importance of reading and how one book can alter your life. Berger unashamedly admits that the inspiration for his career came from Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point. If you haven't read The Tipping Point , you need to find a copy. It's pure gold. The point of this short paragraph is to ask you, "What's the one book which will inspire you to make an impact on the world?" Never stop reading. The next book could be transformative. Without further ado, Berger centers his book on describing the STEPPS to contagious content. Social currency.  People have

Most people have fears. Some fears are justifiable; others appear ridiculous to everyone except the person who holds it. Not surprisingly, even famous people had tremendous and unusual phobias about life. The formidable Julius Caesar quacked under the sound of thunder. Samuel Johnson avoided entering a room with his left foot first. One night, a husband was lying in bed whenever his wife jarred him out of his deep sleep. “Burt, wake up! There is a burglar downstairs.” Burt, still groggy from this abrupt awakening, stumbled out of bed and promised to quiet the fear of his wife by confronting this alleged intruder. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, the fear that his wife possessed became a reality: The robber stood there with a gun pointed straight at the face of this now terrified husband. “Hold it right there, sir. Take me to the valuables in this home.” Because he didn’t want to die or endanger his beloved wife, Burt complied and allowed the thief to take what he wanted

Andy Andrews is a remarkable author. His books are inspiring and engaging, and he always succeeds in offering a fresh perspective of life, a skill I think he has proudly developed and shared through his writings. I have read The Traveler's Gift , How Do You Kill 11 Million People? and The Heart Mender .   The Little Things , his most recent masterpiece, is in my possession and at the top of my reading list. But the book of his that I have probably enjoyed the most was The Noticer . In this thoroughly captivating read, he conveys a fascinating story which illustrates the truth that, ultimately, the best is yet to come. Harrison Carpenter's death was not unusual, nothing strange occurred. However, the way in which he was buried intrigued the gazing onlookers, as his body was lowered into the ground. Everyone at the burial could easily see a curious object in his right hand: a dinner fork. Obviously, this wasn't a random occurrence, and onlookers desired to know why

Many years ago, a family with a troubled history decided to hire a professional biographer. They wanted to tell others about their beginning, what they had accomplished in the world, and how successful they had been. The biographer would carefully word the sketchy parts of the story so that everyone outside of the family thought the family was perfect. All was going well until the family expressed concerns about how the biographer would handle the family's black sheep, Uncle George. Uncle George had been executed in an electric chair for murdering someone. How on earth could a biographer make this tragedy sound tolerable? The professional biographer quickly responded to this worry of the troubled family: "No problem. I'll simply say that Uncle George occupied a chair of applied electronics at an important government institution. He was attached to his position by the strongest ties, and his death came as a real shock." This hilariously morbid account illustrates

I have recently been reading an extraordinary book by Jonah Berger entitled Contagious: Why Things Catch On . Throughout this thoroughly engaging read, Berger seeks to explain the qualities of ideas and behaviors that spread through cultures. He posits that "contagious content" possesses social currency, triggers, emotion, publicity, practical value, and stories. In his book, he includes some fascinating research that highlights the prevalence and peril of social comparisons. Several years ago, researchers conducted a study at Harvard University. Students were asked to make a basic decision: Would they rather take a job that pays $50,000 a year (Option A) or one that pays $100,000 a year (Option B)? The catch was that those who would be paid  $50,000 would receive twice as much as their counterparts, meaning that everyone else in the experiment would receive $25,000, while those who would be paid $100,000 would receive only half as much as their peers, meaning that everyone

One of the greatest military leaders of all time was Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821). Napoleon rose to political and military power during the French Revolution. He led the French people to many significant victories, and today, in military academies across the world, his tactics and strategy are studied and analyzed and imitated and followed. The story is told that during the time of Napoleon's reign in France, there was another man named Napoleon. However, this Napoleon lived an immoral, wicked life. He was completely unethical in his dealings with other people. He broke the laws of the land. He had no social or religious mores and defied the lifestyles of decent human beings. Quite appropriately, Napoleon, the political leader, desired to address this issue and invited the rebellious Napoleon to a meeting. After reprimanding him for his misconduct and spoiling the name of Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte gave the delinquent Napoleon two options: "You can either change your n

There is a humorous story told about a 104-year-old lady who was asked what was the greatest part of her life. After contemplating the question, thinking about how she could answer it, she hilariously replied, "No peer pressure." She did not have to worry about appeasing anyone who was her age- because there wasn't anyone who was her age. Peer pressure is synonymous with life itself. Seemingly, from the crib, people pressure others to conform to the status quo. This phenomenon is even present in the animal kingdom. For example, those who catch blue crabs in the Atlantic Ocean say that if you catch only one crab, you have to keep a lid on the bucket you are holding him in. However, if you catch more than one, you don't have to worry about a lid. Why? Because if a crab tries to escape, his friends will pull him down. They hold him back. Their thinking is, "If we can't escape, neither can you." Since peer pressure is inevitable, how can you combat it wh

I have just finished reading a book entitled Originals: How Non-conformists Move the World . In this thoroughly engaging and insightful read, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania professor Adam Grant identifies the surprising characteristics of people who actually change the world. Drawing on a wide variety of sources, Grant defends the notion of strategic procrastination, critiques the usefulness of a devil's advocate, and promotes the idea that originals aren't necessarily qualitatively better than their peers; they simply produce more ideas. Also, he investigates why some children chose to do the right thing: is it a result of their behavior or their character receiving attention? Psychologist Christoper Bryan performed a creative experiment to see how kids would respond when issued different commands. Children ranging from the ages of three to six were chosen to clean up toys around a play area. The researchers randomly gave the children different commands: S

I have been raised in a pastor's home. Perhaps, more importantly, I have been raised in the home of a pastor who also recognized the necessity of Christian education, and in concord with that recognition, he placed tremendous emphasis upon establishing a Christian school at the church he shepherds. I started at the school in kindergarten, attended there through my adolescent years, and graduated in 2014. Thus, in short, I believe that Christian schools are essential institutions and worthwhile ministries. What is the overall purpose of a Christian school? Harro Van Brummelen answers this question well, "The overall aim of Christian schools is to help students become citizens of the kingdom of God, responsive disciples of Jesus Christ." Christian school educators ought to place as their highest priority the salvation and subsequent spiritual development of their students. There are many reasons that can be presented to support the existence of a Christian school. Howev

The story is told about an effective teacher who taught in the Los Angeles-school area. One afternoon, he decided to take his students to a concert performed by a world-class cello player. After the inspiring concert, the world-class cello player invited the teacher and his students backstage to talk. Obviously, the students were immensely intimated by this man of such musical ability and universal renown. Eventually, however, one of the young students piped up and simply asked him, "Sir, how do you make music that sounds so beautiful?" The world-class cello player responded with great care and concern to this question, reached down, put his arm around the young boy, and replied, "Well, son, there are no shortcuts." I am not an extremely old person, but one thing that I have observed thus far on my short pilgrimage through life is that nothing in life comes easy. In other words, there are no shortcuts. Similarly, in the Christian experience, there are no shortcu

I have most recently been reading through a book written by Eric Metaxas entitled Seven Men: And the Secret of Their Greatness . Throughout this book, he provides short biographies of seven men who made a remarkable impact on the world. This list of men includes prominent men who are well-known by most people, such as George Washington, Jackie Robinson, and William Wilberforce. However, I was admittedly unfamiliar with one man on the list: Eric Liddell. Eric Liddell was born in 1902 in Tientsin, China, to James and Mary Liddell, who were then missionaries to China. The Liddells, desiring to give their children a formal education, sent them to their home country of Scotland. Here, young Eric took a tremendous interest in sports, excelling in rugby and cricket. He also engaged in another athletic activity: Running. Remarkably, this Scottish man possessed world-class speed. What Liddell is so respected for occurred at the 1924 Olympics in Paris. Because of his impressive speed, Liddel

An individual’s response to the person of Jesus Christ will determine his satisfaction with life and his eternal destiny. In his classic The Knowledge of the Holy , A. W. Tozer (2009) wrote convincingly that how a person views God is the most important aspect of his life. In other words, if someone sees God as infinitely holy, impeccably righteous, and immeasurably loving, he will live a better Christian life than a person who views God as weak, indifferent, and capricious. A similar line of reasoning applies to someone’s belief about Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God who assumed human flesh, died an atoning death, and rose a justifying resurrection. Thus, it is immensely vital for Christians to understand the correct teaching of Scripture about the person of Christ and be prepared to defend the truth against the various heresies spawned throughout the history of the church. A Couple Wrong Views of the Person of Christ Before understanding the orthodox view of the person of Ch

In their book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Other Die , Dan and Chip Heath discuss the problem, known to them, as the Curse of Knowledge. Essentially, the Curse of Knowledge refers to how, when a person knows something, he forgets what it is like to not know that something. In other words, suppose that you are an accountant. Speaking about the intricacies of the tax law without explaining yourself well prevents you from communicating effectively with your audience. In 1990, a graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in psychology at Stanford conducted a simple experiment which illustrates the reality of this principle. The game required two people: a tapper and a listener. The tapper was given a list of twenty-five popular songs, such as "The Star-Spangled Banner" or "Happy Birthday to You." The tapper then picked a song and "tapped" out the rhythm of the song by knocking on the table. The listener's responsibility was to correctly guess the son

Adults are unanimous in encouraging young people to reach their potential. Comments, such as "Be the best you, you can be" or "Strive to meet your potential," can be heard on a frequent basis. And there is nothing wrong with these statements. God desires all people everywhere to do what they do "heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men" (Colossians 3:23). Undoubtedly, God would not have bestowed us with certain abilities if he did not want us to achieve great accomplishments for him. God is completely different from us in this regard. God has no potential. Theologians use the term Pure Actuality to refer to this attribute of God. Essentially, Norman Geisler defines Pure Actuality as "that which is (existence) with no possibility to not exist or to be anything other than it is." In other words, God has no potential for change and no potential for nonexistence.  This theological principle is derived from the clear reading of Scripture. For

Every person who has ever lived on planet earth is unique in the truest sense of the word. Every individual has a distinguishing personality, odd quirks, and a different body type. Additionally, no two humans have the same fingerprints. Fingerprint experts have observed for many years that all people, including identical twins, have differentiable impressions on their fingers (Jain, 2002). Males, females, boys, and girls all possess differing fingerprints. Furthermore, because he was fully man, Jesus Christ had a unique fingerprint. However, not only was his actual fingerprint unique, but the writers of the Old Testament painted a distinct picture of the coming Messiah. In other words, they created a fingerprint that described in unparalleled definition the birth, life, and death of Jesus of Nazareth. Twenty-first century Christians should investigate the marvelous subject of the Messianic prophecies and rejoice in the wonder that Jesus fulfilled each of them. The Definition of Mess

In his book Halftime: Moving from Success to Significance , Bob Buford writes that it is in the power of every person to pen his own epitaph. No one can know with absolute certainty when death will call his name. Death, like taxes, is an inevitable event in the life of a person and, depending on your perspective of post-mortem occurrences, may or may not be your last moments of existence. Fortunately, however, because God has gifted every human with a free will, each person can live the life of his choosing, in accordance with his wishes, desires, diligence, and skills. Essentially, an epitaph is the short inscription written upon the tombstone of a deceased person. It expresses something about the one who lies in the grave, whether the person accomplished tremendous acts of benevolence or sacrificed his life for the betterment of others or abided by an unwavering life philosophy. Examples will suffice to illustrate the importance of a carefully chosen epitaph. For instance, Martin

Words cannot adequately express my passion for reading. I am probably fanatical about it. I read voraciously, I read widely, and I read daily. Reading separates the men from the boys and opens a person to a world of powerful ideas and possibilities. Reading inspires and motivates, informs and educates, instructs and amends. Because of my obsession with books, I read through a great number of them each year. I have read some books that ought not to ever have been written. However, I have also read books that have tweaked my perspective of the world, motivated me to exert more time and energy, and challenged me to be a better person. I encourage you to take my advice and purchase the following books. These are good books, worthy to be read by everyone interested in surpassing status quo. Grit (Angela Duckworth). A professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, Angela Duckworth argues that the secret to outstanding achievement is not the result of rare genius; rather, it

It seems oxymoronic to warn of the danger of success. Most people think that success is a noble aim, a worthy goal, with no possibility of peril. However, there is a subtle trap when a person succeeds at his station in life. Rick Warren, the senior pastor of Saddleback Church, admonished, "The greatest enemy of tomorrow’s success is today’s success." The reason is that once a person succeeds, it is extremely easy for him to become complacent. Complacency is a state of mind adopted by an individual who becomes smug about his achievements. He assumes that what he has accomplished, he has done through raw talent. Unfortunately, once a person adopts this mentality, he exhibits the quality of lethargy and exerts no additional energy to achieve anything else of significance. His work stagnates, and as a result of his apathy, other people, who are more diligent, will leave him in the dust. This attitude of complacency is unfortunate. Success never results, expect in rare cir

On Christianity Today's website, Ed Stetzer wrote a wonderful article entitled "3 Ways Technology Enables the Mission of the Church." He argues that, while technology certainly has unintended negative side effects, Christians must use it in ways to spread the gospel and fulfill the mission of the church. As the title of the article suggests, there are three manners in which the church can use technology to its advantage. First, technology enables communication. In a world that is characterized by busyness, it is difficult to have face-to-face conversations. Social media, such as twitter and facebook, permits churches to communicate effectively without the pastor visiting every household to inform them of a change in the schedule. Second, technology allows for community. While weekly physical gatherings are preferred to virtual meetings, group discussions through the means of technology enable people to achieve a sense of community without proximity. This perspective w

Most feel that the word theology has little practical consequence. Theology, in their mindset, is for monks who devote their entire lives to poring over ancient manuscripts; it's for professors with quirky behaviors and no life. However, our theology has a tremendous impact on our lives. What exactly does theology mean? Theology simply means the study of God. In essence, our theology is our view of God. Thus, if your perspective of God is that he answers prayer, you will be a person of prayer. If you think that God is such a God of love that he will allow you to live in sin, you will continually partake in the sins of the world. If you interpret God as one indifferent to the affairs of his precious creatures, you will adopt a fatalistic attitude toward the occurrences of world events. A. W. Tozer, a man whose pen has stirred generations of believers, wrote, "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. There is scarcely an er

I was smugly confident as I strolled in Dr. Alison Belzer's office with my first college paper in hand. "Dr. Belzer, can you please look at my paper?" I sincerely asked. Ten minutes later, and with much indelible red ink scarring my paper's surface, I emerged utterly humiliated. My pride was replaced with a realization that my writing ability needed drastic improvement. How did I respond? I chose to accept her criticisms by omitting any egregious grammatical error, rewording awkward sentences, and highlighting the key points of my paper more clearly. Not everyone would have done what I did. The reason is found in the mindset of an individual. Carol Dweck, a professor of psychology at Standford University and the author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success , argues that there are two basic mindsets people display: a growth mindset and a fixed mindset. A person with a growth mindset believes that no matter what kind of a person you are, you can always change, w

I am not going to say whether she is a boy or a girl, but I go to school with a certain young individual with long hair and feminine features who can empty an entire bus by simply taking her shoes off. The odor of her stinky feet is unexplainable and unprecedented. The smell, at times, is extremely unordinary, an odd combination that the local scientists say is more powerful than a nuclear bomb, more harmful than Ebola, and more powerful than a herd of buffalo. But that’s just the opinion of the science people. Right? We wholeheartedly agree with their diagnosis. As I pen these words in recollection of the horrific times our college has had to endure this difficult trial, I am comforted by the fact that God will reward those who remain faithful to him during the midst of overwhelming circumstances. Somehow, someway, we have survived these close encounters with death to tell the story. Who knows if we will be able to survive any more episodes? Only God. By his grace, we remain alive,

One of my pet peeves is the frivolous use of time by young people. Many young people squander the precious coin of time by playing useless video games, scrolling through social media, and watching outrageous videos on YouTube. They are adrift upon a sea with little ambition, tossed and driven by the changing waves and winds of society. The saddest part of this tragedy is not necessarily the wasting of time itself; it's that most are completely oblivious to their sin. The gods of this world have placed cataracts on the eyes of this generation's youth, resulting in the unnecessary misuse of time. Not only is a time-waster in error in my eyes, but the Bible also condemns those who indulge in selfish desires instead of using that time to build the kingdom of God. The apostle Paul, in his letters to the saints at Ephesus, admonished them, "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16). In other words, use every second,  take advantage of every moment an

There is a morbid story that illustrates the necessity of prioritizing. A man once attended a Super Bowl and was seated toward the top of the stadium, resulting in poor visibility. After the game began, he noticed an empty seat near the fifty-yard line. He decided to see if he could procure that seat for the remainder of this significant occasion. He approaches the eyed location and asks the man seated next to the empty seat if he could sit there. The man replied, "Actually, the seat belongs to me. I was supposed to come with my wife, but she died. This is the first Super Bowl we haven’t been to together since we got married in 1967." The other man responded, "That’s very sad. But still, couldn’t you find anyone else to take the seat- a relative or close friend?” To which the man admitted, "No, they’re all at the funeral.” Obviously, this is an exaggerated example of priorities, but the truth remains the same: We know that we should do the important

John Maxwell wrote a book entitled Today Matters . In this fascinating read, he argues that it is vitally important for people of all ages to decide to make the most of today. Instead of wasting precious time, choose to prioritize your time, becoming a better person and developing into a successful member of society. He writes, "The success of your life is determined by your daily agenda." I believe that this statement is incredibly true, but, unfortunately, the vast majority of people, especially young people, fail to abide by it. I know many young people who are going through life aimlessly, with little purpose and ambition. I am aware of several young people who advocate "wasting" time. This grievous squandering of the most precious of commodities (time) is unnecessary, ludicrous, contrary to the Bible, and suitable only for people who desire to not change the world. Leo Tolstoy averred, "Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changi

Every year, millions of Americans celebrate Easter. We all know Easter is the day we choose to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, a lot of people chose to do an Easter Egg Hunt on this day. How many of you have ever had an Easter Egg Hunt? Did you like it? Have you ever found the Golden Egg? The Golden Egg is the most important, the most precious prize. Whoever finds the Golden Egg get the biggest prize. In the Christian life, there is also a Golden Egg. The good news is, though, there is a Golden Egg for everyone. This Golden Egg, this tremendous treasure, is the gift of salvation. The story goes like this: The first two people on this earth, Adam and Eve, sinned. They rebelled against their Creator. How many of you have ever disobeyed your parents? What happens when you disobey? You get punished. Adam and Eve were also punished, but God punished not only them but also us- when we were born, we were born sinners. And this brings us to the difficult part ab

One day, a father desired to teach his daughter more about adversity. He took some carrots, some eggs, and some coffee beans. He boiled each of them. Obviously, the carrots became soft, the eggs became soft, and the coffee beans turned the water for the better. He then asked her, "Which are you? When you face adversity, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?" The same question can be asked to everyone. Adversity is a common experience known by all human beings. While the intensity varies for every person, adversity affects every individual, whether through the death of a loved one, the loss of a close friend, or the consequences of a broken heart. However, our attitude during this adversity may affect our outcome. So, which are you? When you encounter the inevitable troubles of life, are you like a carrot? Do you become soft and get run over by it? Are you like an egg: hard, insensitive, and untouchable? Friend, I encourage you to have the same

One of my favorite authors is Malcolm Gladwell. I have read his books Tipping Point and Outliers. It's difficult to describe the type of books he writes. Essentially, they are psychology told in a narrative format. Drawing upon a variety of sources, Gladwell succeeds in blending enlightenment and entertainment. Most recently, I have been reading another of his works, Blink . In this book, he strives to convey the importance of intuition, the power of a person's gut feelings. He tells the story of psychologist Nalini Ambady, who performed an experiment by giving students three ten-second audio-less videotapes of a professor to watch. The students were asked to judge the effectiveness of the professor. She cut the clips back to two seconds, and the students were consistent in rating the success of a teacher. Then she took those same quick evaluations of the professor and compared them with evaluations made by students who had been in the professor's class a whole semester.

In case you are unaware, elections are frequent occurrences in the United States of America. Every four years, we vote to either keep or replace our presidents. Every six years, we vote on our senators. We hold special elections to pass constitional amendments, to legalize marijuana, or to sanction homosexual marriage. Because of the frequency of these elections, change is inevitable, as leaders come and go based upon the will of the people. News Flash: This doesn't happen in relation to God. Never will there be a vote to impeach him. He is God, has been God, and will always be God. The benefits of this cannot be overstated. We will not have to wonder which God will show up every day. He doesn't have mood changes. Day in and day out, he is the same. God is immutable, meaning that he can't change. Perhaps the greatest benefit of God's still being God is that our betterment is in his best interest. He desires the salvation of every person and has prepared a provisio

Because I am oblivious to this world while I'm asleep, I cannot state with absolute certainty that I don't snore. I trust I don't. Snoring is an abomination in the ears of God. It deprives precious children of God of the necessary sleep for a happy, healthy existence. It forces a person to contemplate the meaning of life as he lies in bed plotting the demise of this evil snorer. In short, I hate snoring. Here are two reasons why snoring is a sin. The first reason snoring is a sin is that it provokes people to anger. The Bible instructs its readers to not be a stumbling block for another Christian. Every Christian can agree that snorers test their sanctification. Maybe this is God's way of drawing us nearer to him? I hardly think so. Snorers must repent of their wicked sins! The second reason is that most snorers are overweight. How do most people become fat citizens of the human race? They eat too much. Eating too much is known in biblical terminology as gluttony. T