Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. The day was sunny, and the prospects bright. Itacyara and I were beginning a long-awaited, much-needed vacation in the company of very good friends. It was our first day in the beautiful Chapada das Mesas region…
The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson One would think that after reading Manchester’s Last Lion series, I would have had enough of Churchill for a while. But can one really have too much Churchill? The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson focuses the first year Churchill’s wartime government, which covers some of…
Usually these “Snapshots” posts are collections of random images culled from our Instagram account. Today will be different, however. Since we have so many beautiful pictures to share, I decided to post them directly to this page. Last week we were able to get away for a long-anticipated, much-needed, vacation. Officially, it was in celebration…
But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. If you by any chanced happen to have reached this point in your life without ever having watched the TV show Family Matters, an introduction to Steve Urkel is in order. Steve was a nerdy kid who was always…
One of my favorite missionary stories is from the early Middle Ages. It concerns a monk intent on converting nearby Germanic peoples. He discovered that these people venerated a certain large tree, called “Thor’s Oak”. One fine day our hero walked up to it and, in the sight of the entire village, proceed to chop…
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. James 1:13 While in Bible College, I spent a couple semesters as the president of the Student Missions Fellowship. Among my responsibilities was the scheduling of speakers for our…
This video is in Portuguese, and from 1996. Nevertheless, watching it will give you a good feel for the decadent majesty of the old Portuguese mansions of São Luís. I’m happy to report that since this video a good number of these ancient structures have been restored and are now in use by either private…
Here in Brazil, Father’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of August – not in June as in the US. So as we gradually worked back into having in-person services, plans were being made to celebrate the occasion at Ebenezer, and I was looking forward to some additional time with our church family around…
There’s a Saturday Night Live sketch that I saw in 2016 and have never forgotten. I remember commenting at the time to a friend of mine…words to the effect of “if Americans get a hold on what that sketch really means, it will change the political landscape of this country.” I have no idea if…
Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. If you were to visit my office, you would see several essentially worthless pieces of paper prominently displayed. As I am typing this, I can…