Many of us act as if repentance is a matter of the will. [But] we can't "will" ourselves into change. We can't "will" ourselves into feeling contrition or remorse. Repentance isn't doing something about our sin; rather it means admitting that we can't do anything about our sin. We cannot woo ourselves into anything but the most external form of repentance.

All our effort, striving, and willpower have ...

Talk about an embarrassing moment in front of lots of people. At the Inauguration Ceremony for new President Barack Obama on January 20, 2009, Supreme Court chief justice John Roberts stood wearing his black robe on the high podium in front of the Capital before over a million people in the Washington Mall and multiplied millions on television. Facing him stood Barack and Michelle Obama. Obama placed ...

Leaders, especially those who are elected through a democratic process, usually reflect the spiritual and moral character of a nation. Those who obtain power through deception often come from cultures built on lies. The same holds true for materialistic or violent leaders.

Other times, God puts people in power to carry out his judgment. God referred to the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar as "my deputy" ...

Most of us spend the first six days of each week sowing wild oats, then we go to church on Sunday and pray for a crop failure.

—Fred Allen, U.S. comedian (1894–1956)

In their book Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner explain how a simple change to U. S. tax rules in 1987 exposed the depth of the public's willingness to deceive for financial gain:

In the 1980s, an I.R.S. research officer in Washington named John Szilagyi had seen enough random audits to know that some taxpayers were incorrectly claiming dependants for the sake of exemption. Sometimes ...

Haddon Robinson writes about something the apostle Paul could certainly identify with, namely, the tendency of the law to put ideas in our heads:

The law can prompt us to sin. I am told that several years ago a high-rise hotel was built in Galveston, Texas, overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, they sank pilings into the gulf and built the structure out over the water. When the hotel was about ...

Once upon a time, the annual celebration of Thanksgiving was also an occasion for sober reflection….

Our nation, and its pursuit of liberty and justice for all, has always had enemies, more today than ever. But in earlier times, our nation's leaders recognized that the most dangerous enemy came from within—not traitors, anarchists, or terrorists, but the very people and government committed ...

When I was about ten years old, my dad, a medical doctor, received a special gift from one of his patients: a beautiful globe with shiny sequins. The globe spun around on its base and played one of my dad's favorite songs. My dad proudly demonstrated how it worked: grab it by the base, slowly wind it counter-clockwise, and then release it, letting it spin clockwise while playing beautiful music. He ...

Global warming seems to be on everyone's mind. Scientists are running tests in their laboratories. Political candidates are dreaming up their own "green" policies for upcoming elections. The heavyweights of Hollywood are filming public service announcements and organizing benefit concerts. Now even you can do your part in fighting the good fight. Have you heard about the "carbon footprints" we all ...

In Spanish, it's called el camino de la muerte, which translated into English means "road of death." In 1995, the Inter-American Development Bank called it the "world's most dangerous road."

Found in Bolivia, this dirt and rock route stretches 38 to 43 miles, depending on the source, and descends from La Paz (at 12,000 feet) down to the beautiful rain forest town of Coroico at the edge of the basin ...