Dr Paul Allen

In Matthew 7:24–27, Jesus tells us about someone’s house:  “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”  Jesus goes on to say that when the rains, winds, and floods came, the house survived. I’ve often wondered what style of house Jesus is describing in this passage. In all likelihood, the ancient people who heard Jesus teaching that day would have thought of their mud and clay homes. Perhaps you think of your childhood home or the house you live in now. Everyone’s house is different .  Even ancient mud and clay homes differed from one another. They had different sizes, different decorations, and different locations. But in Jesus’ metaphor, the house is meant to point to one’s life. This house is something we’re always building as we become who we are. What’s more, our lives are different from one another. Therefore, every life represented as a house in this passage will look different. We Christians ...

Image via Wikipedia "For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure." ( Job 28:24-25 )   It was only discovered by scientists in modern times that the air actually has weight. This passage in Job, however, written thirty-five or more centuries ago, indicated that the two great terrestrial fluids of air and water forming earth's atmosphere and hydrosphere are both "weighed" by God 's careful "measure" to provide the right worldwide balance of forces for life on earth.   Another remarkable "weighing" act of God is noted in  Job 37:16 . "Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds , the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge?"  Clouds are composed of liquid drops of water, not water vapor, and water is heavier than air , so how are they "balanced" in the sky? "For he maketh small the drops of water...

Image via Wikipedia The American military spent countless billions of dollars to do all kinds of stuff—much of it quite good—in an effort to win over the Afghan people , but in the end, there’s little positive to show for it.  While Kay Storr was in North Africa researching her book  Harvest of Hope , she visited an ancient Berber village to see their new modern well.  A representative of the European organization that headed up the project spoke of the many, many months it took to get the villagers onboard.  Workers visited each family —sitting with them, meeting everyone from the grandpa to the baby, talking about the crops and hopes for the children’s future.  The workers brought toothbrushes and toothpaste and taught the children to brush their teeth,  Something they could do with abandon once they had plenty of water . After she admired the new well, and each feature was demonstrated to her by the swarm of children who followed her everywhere, th...