Chickens Waiting

“One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, ‘Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one’s own self! —can’t be my disciple…’” (Luke 14:25-26, MSG).

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God Listens

“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:13-14, NIV).

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Scientific Evidence Versus Ideology

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The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) positions itself as a leader in scientific knowledge; however, this commitment seem to falter when it comes to care for transgender patients. Is it because ACOG’s focus is not on scientific evidence but primarily on ideology?

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Protecting the Vulnerable After the 2024 Election

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A frequent quip during an election year is that elections matter, and 2024 was no exception. Now that the 2024 election is over, I want to explore how this election will likely impact our efforts here at CMDA to protect the vulnerable.

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Durres

“Then Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is his name?” what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM…’” (Exodus 3:13-14, ESV).

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Bookend Stories

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor heigh, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39, ESV).

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Fetal Care Versus Fatal Cure

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“Prenatal care has become the biggest barrier to postnatal life.” This lament by a dear friend who is a neonatologist points to the fact that it is often our attitude toward “the least of these” that determines their outcomes, and it is especially true for those diagnosed in the womb with developmental anomalies.

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Praying for Magic

“…the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake…” (Exodus 7:11-12, NIV).

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Ruminations on Behavior

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The environment we live in influences our behavior, and this includes the people we spend time with, the things we read or watch, our social media engagement and our leisure activities.

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On the Side: November 2024

The burden of a friend’s pain is heavy. I’m with you. But Paul’s letter to Philippi reminds us that God is faithful in carrying them until the day of Christ. Maybe you’re the friend with the burden. We’re with you!

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Stopping the Train

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“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4:7, NIV).

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100 Percent Truth: Women’s Health Matters

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Over the last year or more, pro-life healthcare professionals have taken to various media platforms to speak truth and dismantle lies surrounding emergency medical care that will, in fact, be provided to women experiencing pregnancy complications.

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Indispensable Me

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“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4:7, NIV).

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“Gender-affirming Healthcare” for Adults: Is It Helpful?

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With transgender interventions on minors, aka “gender-affirming healthcare” (formerly transgender-affirming therapy), falling and failing under scrutiny in about half the U.S. states and numerous nations, it was predictable that proponents of gender transition ideology would double down on claiming it is proven to help adults with gender dysphoria/transgender identification.

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Empty Cradles, Empty Nurseries

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As if reading from the same script, both the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal ran feature-length articles recently on the plummeting birth rates of the advanced Euro-American and East Asian nations. This phenomenon has been known for some time and continues to grow. Why is it a problem? What are the causes? What are the solutions?

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Empty Vessels

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“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message” (Acts 10:44, NIV).

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Stand Against Deception

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The case involves a 41-year-old patient by the name of Amber Thurman who went to North Carolina to get a surgical abortion. She was late to her appointment, probably secondary to traffic, and so she was given the first dose of Mifepristone and told to go home and take the second pill of Misoprostol when she got home.

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Loving God

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son…” (1 John 4:10, NIV).

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On the Side: October 2024

The burden of a friend’s pain is heavy. I’m with you. But Paul’s letter to Philippi reminds us that God is faithful in carrying them until the day of Christ. Maybe you’re the friend with the burden. We’re with you!

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Family

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name” (Ephesians 3:14-15, NIV).

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A Tribute to My Brother, Now Gone

Three months of thoughtful reflection later, I’m now utterly convinced of the brevity of life. Life is fragile and precious. People deserve my time. Every minute counts.

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The Pain of Second Chances

“The Lord said to me, ‘Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress…’” (Hosea 3:1, NIV).

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ACOG Reveals Their True Priorities

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If the electorate is not transparently educated about the devastation these amendments will bring, we can almost be assured the trickery used by abortion proponents will result in permanent loss. Repealing constitutional amendments is extremely difficult, so we must pray and do everything we can to oppose the amendments.

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Friction

When we struggle, a painful friction changes us, and the change provides new opportunities for His glory.

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On the Side: September 2024

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nd so it happened that one week before move-in day for my baby, I saw a dog that seemed to need me. I looked at my husband and said I think I will fill out this application. My dog-loving hubby told me to go right ahead.

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The Real You Inside

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“I am too ashamed and disgraced, my God, to lift up my face to you, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens” (Ezra 9:6, NIV).

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Turning a Blind Eye to the Lack of Statistics

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A recent article published in The New England Journal of Medicine titled “Rape, Homicide, and Abortion Bans – The Abandonment of People Subjected to Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence” is another example that abortion advocates have a single focus: to allow abortion on demand throughout pregnancy.

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Naturally Sticky

On the last day of our Spring Canyon vacation with most of our children and all our grandchildren, after the adult time of worship and spiritual message, my son and his wife went to collect their two children from the children’s program.

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The Power and Permanence of State Amendments

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The pro-abortion forces in our country now recognize an effective path forward to remove all abortion restrictions around the country. It requires spending tens of millions of dollars, but it’s well worth it since that money will be earned back from all the abortions that will be allowed once state amendments are passed.

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Forevermore

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My wife and I chose to use our vacation money this year to invite our kids and grandkids to a Christian ranch in Colorado. Today we were gathered in a worship service at Spring Canyon Ranch, where the hook of Mount Princeton is rising in the distance

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At the Table or On the Menu

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On June 18, 2024, Miles Meline highlighted a recent study published in The American Journal of Bioethics called, “Bioethicists Today: Results of the Views in Bioethics Survey,” which confirmed Smith’s, and in general our, worst suspicions.

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A Question of Place

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I have been managing his prostate cancer for 10 years. During that time, his wife left him and all his children moved elsewhere. He loves the Lord deeply. His sister wants him to come live with her in Texas. His daughter wants him to come and live with her in Alabama.

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On the Side: August 2024

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I had delayed answering for too long, because she was rephrasing the question yet again. “Where do you go when you want to find the truth?”

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A Call to Engage in Contemporary Culture

We are living under common grace. As Colson states it, “God’s power sustains creation holding back sin and evil because of the fall and that would otherwise overwhelm his creation like a great flood.” We can be incredibly thankful for that common grace, but what is our role? What is our responsibility in holding back evil?

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Clean Evangelism

Last Sunday I looked to the choir loft of my local church and spotted a man whose father I knew when I served in Nigeria as a medical missionary. Today, I found my diary and located my account of his father:

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Circus in Town

My faith, that hope grounded in certainty, was not imagined by a heartfelt desire. It was fully grounded on the character, capacity and commitment of my father.

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See You Later

“‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57, ESV).

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Lies, Love and Civil Discourse

Today, recognizing the numerous forms of lying to which we are tempted, our communication is to be characterized by veracity, courage and love. Especially in our highly polarized society, when we see the stakes of political decisions as being so high, it is tempting to fudge the truth to win an argument, or avoid speaking the truth, in order to keep the peace and avoid painful confrontation.

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Steadfast

“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves…” (Ephesians 4:14, NIV).

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The Big Gamble

“…I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day” (2 Timothy 1:12, NIV).

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On the Side: July 2024

My physician hubby and I just celebrated 33 years married. 33 years. 25 of those I have been married to a physician. (The first eight he was an aerospace engineer but don’t get me started on the bliss of having a NASA engineer as a husband and the flex schedule that meant he had a three-day weekend twice a month!)

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The Anxious Generation

Are skyrocketing rates of mental illness among the young caused by smartphones? A growing chorus of mental health professionals and research psychologists say “absolutely yes.” What does the evidence show, what can we do about it and why are religious conservatives largely being spared?

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Praying for Dogs

I prayed for a dog today. I’m not a dog-lover; I’m a dog-liker, but I prayed for Hershey today. A young man who had fallen on hard times called me today, a friend I had not heard from in years, but I had prayed for him regularly.

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Business-model Seeking

If I become a private practice doctor, I might win four people to Christ in my life; but, as a missionary doctor, I could win 400? If I am a preacher, I would win 800? Should we not do for God that which brings the best outcomes? It’s certainly honorable to try. Such thinking works for Microsoft; does it work for Christ?

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Suffering and Facing Death

No fewer than 20 states introduced assisted suicide bills so far in 2024, and polling suggests the majority of Americans are sympathetic to the cause. According to the stats, this must mean a number of supporters would at least call themselves Christians, which strikes me as a sad development considering the rich tradition of Christian thought regarding how we should live in our final days.

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On the Side: June 2024

“…let us lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross…”
Hebrews 12:1-2

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Faithful

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25, ESV).

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Mission in the Mess

“…Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14, NET).

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Seasoned

“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” (Colossians 4:6, NIV).

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Grabbing For Jesus

“As for other matters, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored…” (2 Thessalonians 3:1, NASB).

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On the Side: May 2024

The best title of all to have, I think, is the title of “Redeemed.” No matter what other titles we may have, no matter how noble or glorious they are, compared to Redeemed, they all seem to shrink in importance.

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Excellence

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” (Colossians 3:23, NIV).

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God’s Sandwich

One of my favorite patients is a part-time pastor. At the beginning of his visit this week, he shared a frustrating story from the day before. “I was standing in the line at Subway, telling the woman how to fix my sandwich.

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Unavailable

I stepped into the fellows’ room to share a bit of wisdom: “You guys are not yet practicing medicine but will get there soon enough. Let me tell you how to build your practice.

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8 Principles of Sound Christian Thinking

Beliefs have consequences. All other things being equal, false beliefs have worse consequences. Pick any issue on which people are divided. COVID treatments? Sexuality? Evolution? It doesn’t matter what.

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Pentecost

He was cancer free but suffering from complications of therapy. “This ain’t nothing,” he declared. “In the 80s I was shooting up drugs every day. I would find myself watching my hand inject the drugs and tell it to stop, but it wouldn’t. I even tried to commit suicide. I took an extra-large dose of the drug and injected it.

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Hope-Hopping

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure…” (Hebrews 6:19, NIV).

We reviewed his CT in our multidisciplinary conference after treating his cancer with radioembolization.

I brought him good news: “Right now, I’m optimistic. There’s no evidence of cancer on your scan.”

He replied, “Optimist nothing, Doc. God said, ‘It is finished,’ and that’s all I need. That’s where my hope lies.”

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Responding to ACOG…Again

On February 27, 2024, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) released a “Consensus Statement on Threats to Reproductive and Maternal Health Care.” ACOG and 12 other organizations act as though they are speaking on behalf of all OB/Gyns to further their agenda that abortion is healthcare. I would like to respond, because they do not speak on my behalf.

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Hanging By a Thread

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17, NIV).

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Why You Need Church

A 2023 report by Pew Research Center reported that 13 percent of Americans reported attending in-person worship services in the summer of 2020. I was not one of them. Until we had a vaccine, I did not want people gathering in groups.

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Gracefully Broken

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:17, ESV).

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LGBTQIA+ and the Political Divide

To many, the Sexual Revolution evokes nothing more than memories of the summer of love, the emergence of contraception and the “freedom” for sexual expression. However, after years of warnings by Christian cultural commentators, the Sexual Revolution has overtaken the mainstream.

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The Nudge

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NIV).

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Bulvarism and Bias: Responding to Flawed Scholarship

In early 2023, I read the article “Gender bias in postgraduate year one pharmacy letters of recommendation” published by in the Journal of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy. The analysis contained methodological flaws, and it presented conclusions that were not derived from the evidence presented.

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Fickle Faith

He is one of our few remaining World War II heroes at 97—a retired pastor, still alert, able to walk with a cane, writing great stories about his life and sharing wisdom that only comes with experience.

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The Status of Frozen Children

Anyone paying close attention to current events has likely heard about the Alabama Supreme Court decision declaring that frozen embryos created through IVF are legally children under the state’s constitution. The legal case arose when a person unauthorized by an IVF clinic destroyed frozen embryos from three Alabama couples who later filed a lawsuit against the clinic.

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ACOG Doesn’t Speak on My Behalf

In this statement, ACOG is calling for “the ability of every patient to access abortion when they need it…,” while further claiming that “abortion is an essential part of comprehensive healthcare.” As a practicing OB/Gyn, I again cannot stand by and let this organization speak on my behalf.

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I Need to Do Better

He is one of our few remaining World War II heroes at 97—a retired pastor, still alert, able to walk with a cane, writing great stories about his life and sharing wisdom that only comes with experience.

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On the Side: March 2024

I hear Wade talk about his interviews for residency sometimes. I hear him describe flying to a centralized location in the Southeast and renting a car. I hear him describe traveling from program to program to hit as many schools with one flight as possible.

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Sophisticated Lies Endanger Everyone—Black, Brown, White and Other

Language can be cloak and dagger—particularly when that “old serpent” is speaking who is none other than Satan. He is the father of lies, as noted in John 8:44. He is the original liar. Adam and Eve experienced Satan’s craftiness firsthand when he asked Eve in Genesis 3:1, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” and then went on to lie and say to her in Genesis 3:4, “You will not certainly die” (NIV).

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The Squeeze

Is the juice worth the squeeze? This is a reasonable question to ask about following Christ, and Jesus encouraged His followers to do so.

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Eutychus

The battle between faith and science is a battle in people’s minds, not between two great opposing forces. In my discussion with her, she shared her faith in God and the spiritual. “I’ve seen spiritual healing,” she said. I then tried my best to lay out for her my understanding of the integration of faith and science in healing.

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Multiplication

I received this message from a young Albanian physician I had not seen for many years: “Hello, brother. As I am reading your book (which I borrowed from my brother’s wife). I cannot help but thank you for your mission in Albania. In March 2016, I came to the Lord in one of the conferences in Durres. That led to my mom, her mom, my brother, my cousin, my father, my other cousin coming to Christ!” As I learned more, it became clear I had not been the one who led her to Christ, but I had been present as part of the team. What amazes me about her story is the beautiful way God works if we just show up.

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Painful Redirections

There are times we want things badly: good things, even Godly things, that God has not chosen for us. The tearing away of those dreams is painful but not evil if we leave God in charge.

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The Case for Conscience

The United States has long been a beacon of freedom in the world, and it has held the hope of a better life even before it was an independent nation. We see this exhibited in history when the Pilgrims left Europe in 1620 to come to the New World.

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How Then Should We Live?

What does the Bible say about the body in light of today’s gender confusion? How then do you think we should live? While not new, a form of a gnostic dualism is ascendent in our world today. Our postmodern culture has rallied behind a two-tiered view of the human being, promoting the mind or consciousness at the expense of the body.

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The Ethical Healthcare Professional

No one would choose to be treated by an unethical healthcare professional. So, how do we as established healthcare professionals go about teaching the next generation of caregivers how to behave ethically, and what are some of the most important areas we should focus on in education?

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Broken Legs and Grenades

We can’t always hide from the huge cruelty of life. It’s always there, mixed in with the great wonder and joy of life—a brokenness seeping up up from the soil of our fallen world.

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On the Side: February 2024

We all need advice, and from time to time we may even look for it. The question is, where should we seek it? The Internet? The Bible? Our pastor? A friend? A family member? Where can a Christian find godly advice?

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An Invitation to Sign the IFTCC International Declaration on Therapeutic and Pastoral Choice

The International Foundation for Therapeutic and Counselling Choice (IFTCC) and their global community of member mental health and medical professionals have authored “An International Declaration on ‘Conversion Therapy’ and Therapeutic Choice,” proposing that “Signatories of this International Declaration call upon our governments, local authorities, human rights, media and religious organisations, to recognise that the right to self-determination is an established principle of international law, and therefore must include the right to shape and develop one’s own sexual identity, feelings and associated behaviours, and to receive support to do so.”

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Beautiful Mornings

We can’t always hide from the huge cruelty of life. It’s always there, mixed in with the great wonder and joy of life—a brokenness seeping up up from the soil of our fallen world.

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900 Professors?

I am responding to the January 2024 article in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology entitled, “A statement on abortion by 900 professors of obstetrics and gynecology after the reversal of Roe v. Wade.”

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Enlightening the View

Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in June 2022, the acrimony within the abortion debate has increased exponentially, accompanied by a marked increase in the amount of misinformation contained in the debate.

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The Core of Things

The Core of Things | Weekly Devotions by Al Weir, MD | “She was a medical student and a new Christian. She came with a small group of Christian students from Macedonia to our Albanian student evangelism conference. Small in stature, smart and soft-spoken, she rarely spoke up in our small discussion group of mixed Muslim, orthodox, atheist and agnostic students.”

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