Author: David Fortune

A 2020 study from Premier Christian News in the UK found that Christians are less likely to pray than those from other faiths. Just 38 percent of Christians polled said that they regularly prayed. Among other faiths, 52 percent reported that they prayed on a regular basis. I was surprised to see the low level of engagement for something considered so central to our practices. Ask any random group of Christians about their spiritual life and the majority will tell … Continue reading “The Challenge of Prayer”

Education is always a hot topic. Take the debate over whether children in 2021 need to learn cursive writing. For many people, this is an essential part of learning and expressing yourself. But in the 21st century, there are other ways to write things down. Kids today learn to type with a keyboard on a tablet or phone before they know the whole alphabet.  My personal inclination is that cursive writing may be extinct by the end of the century. … Continue reading “Reading for faith”

The University of Basel was founded in 1460 with approval from the Pope. It originally offered studies in four areas – arts, medicine, law, and theology. The emergence of universities, like most education in the Western world, came from the church. There was a growing thirst for knowledge. Knowledge of God and his creation. Areas of study in today’s humanities can be traced back to the early studies in theology. They were rooted in the study of God. Today, enrollment … Continue reading “Pig Kidneys & Wisdom”

There are troubling days when we search for answers and God seems to be silent. We pray and we call on him, but the heavens are still. Sometimes we get the impression from preachers and other Christians that there is a simple formula for getting answers to prayer. We have come to believe that we shouldn’t have to struggle for solutions or wait for our miracle. But life doesn’t always operate that way, and that can be unsettling. Peter Greig … Continue reading “When God is Silent”

Every morning two men, both psychiatrists, rode the same elevator in their office building at the same time. One of them would get off on the 5th floor and the other on the 9th. Everyone morning as the first psychiatrist was about to get off the elevator, he would turn and spit at the second psychiatrist. This man would then pull out a handkerchief and wipe off his face. This was in the days when there was an elevator operator … Continue reading “The Attitude of the Mind”

When I was a kid, growing up in church, there were a bunch of silly riddles we told each other. At the time, we thought they were hilarious but really, they are just bad puns. How many do you know? (Answers below) Which biblical character grew up without parents? How does Moses make his coffee every morning? Before Boaz became married, what kind of guy was he? Where in the Bible is the first mention of a tennis match? Who … Continue reading “Bad Riddles. Good Questions.”

Sometimes, we make it sound too easy to become a follower of Christ. In one sense, it is easy. We just come to him as we are because Christ will never turn anyone away who comes to him in repentance and humility.

We can’t handle all the information that comes our way each and every day. What we can and should do, is deal with what we have today. But we shouldn’t get too far ahead of ourselves, there is no peace found in that.

I read a story last week about a man who tried to save money by fixing his refrigerator himself. After Googling the problem, reading a bit online