Earlier this week I had the privilege of listening to my professor describe her experience working in the underground church in China.  It’s illegal to be a missionary in China, as it is to be a born-again, evangelistic Christian.  Because of that, missionaries have to go over as some other job and work with the church in secret. Her work was mainly in their Bible schools.  These schools are illegal and have to be kept hidden otherwise they’ll … Read More

“Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the … Read More

It seems like every day there is more bad news.  It’s easy to start to feel overwhelmed and worried.  We start to wonder: How do I respond? What do I do?  Am I doing enough?  Is everything going down the tubes?  Why is everything so crazy? These are natural questions in trying times.  Typically, what we’re looking for is “the answer.”  If we get “the answer” we can alleviate our stress and feel better about everything.  Unfortunately, “the answer” we come up with … Read More

It’s almost Christmas, so naturally I was thinking about The Matrix. (It’ll make sense; I promise.) In the 1999 blockbuster, Neo (Keanu Reeves) discovers that he is living in a computer-generated simulation of the real world. His body is trapped in a creepy pink pod along with billions of other humans while his mind lives inside the simulation.  This virtual world—the Matrix—was created by sentient computers as a way of turning humans into batteries.  The Matrix is a prison … Read More

Last night I was having my weekly class on the Gospels.  My professor taught about the Good Samaritan and told a story of a time he was hanging out with Heidi Baker in Mozambique.   Heidi dropped him off at a particular spot to pray and then went to do some errands.  While he was there praying, a boy came up and tried to sell him a coconut.  He was somewhat annoyed and, after many denials, finally got the … Read More