I’m not sure at what age I first heard about the parable of the Pharisee and the publican (tax collector), as related in Luke 18:9-14. But since I grew up in church, I am confident it was decades ago. Yet in recent times, a devotional reading included this so familiar passage, and I found myself…
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Twenty million people are living on the brink of starvation in east Africa, largely because of the crisis created by civil war in South Sudan. Many are packed into overcrowded refugee camps in Uganda; the largest has approximately 275,000 residents. I must admit, until I received an assignment recently to write a story about the…
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There has been a lot of concern about hurricanes lately, but I see another storm brewing that will likely last for years: public anger over the massive Equifax data breach. As one commentator I heard put it, exposing sensitive data for 143 million people means all the adults in the nation. It’s bad enough that…
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A recent discussion at a small group got so heated one member got up and stormed out. I see that as a microcosm of similar exchanges that will likely—if they haven’t already—spread across the nation. Namely, what to do about drug addicts who repeatedly overdose and are rescued by emergency medical teams that administer naloxone…
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A few years from now, I’m sure someone, somewhere, will release a study showing that coffee is bad for you. However, given my personal java journey, I could only cheer when I read the news recently in Time magazine about the strong case for its health benefits. The story cited recent studies showing regular coffee…
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It’s the stuff of science fiction movies that aired when TV reception was limited to a few channels and most often in black and white: “The Robots Are Coming for Your Job.” Yet that was the headline on the cover story of the July-August issue of Christianity Today, which included the ominous prediction that robots…
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As a member of a professional editors group, I regularly receive inquiries from would-be authors about editing their book for publication. Many aren’t ready for editing, let alone getting their words typeset and between the covers of a book—whether in printed or electronic format. Too many newcomers think their job is done once they have…
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My father served in World War II, interrupting his studies at the University of Minnesota for three years of Army duty. On a hillside in Italy, he took a bullet in the leg that put him out of action. When he returned to Chicago for further treatment, the hospital removed the stitches too early. That…
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President Donald Trump visited our town last week for a rally. I had only seen a president in person once before, going to Denver’s old Stapleton Airport to see Ronald Reagan during his second term. (In copies of photos I sent to friends, I joked that the small speck in several pictures was indeed the…
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It’s been years since I got a Little League trophy. And being the below-average player I was, the only reason I got it is that at our season-ending team dinner, the coach gave a trophy to everyone. He even threw in some complimentary words about my contributions, which—to be honest—were scant. It was not a…
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