When I attended graduate school for English, there were many occasions when my fellow students openly ridiculed the name of Christ. To my great detriment, I stayed silent. I was quite vocal about my belief in Christ at church and with my friends, but I was terrified of what might happen to my reputation if the people at my school found out I believed in Jesus. … Most of them were just ignorant ...

I read a story in the L. A. Times a long time ago. A guy goes to the house where he grew up and knocks on the door. Because he hadn't been there for 20 years, he finds himself getting sentimental. He asks the owners if he can walk through the house, and they let him. While in the attic, he finds an old jacket of his. He puts it on, reaches into the pocket, and pulls out a stub. It's a receipt from ...

On January 12, 2002, the [Tampa Bay Buccaneers] had suffered a crushing 31-9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the playoffs. Two days later, [head coach Tony] Dungy was fired.…He was now the former head coach of an NFL team.

"At that time in my life, it was hard to remember God's promise from Romans 8:28," Dungy says, "that all things work together for good to those who love Him. But I also ...

Pastor Clark Cothern tells this story to illustrate how God speaks to us through his Word:

A self-appointed New Age guru glided into our church wearing an outfit that rivaled Merlin the Magician's best duds. It was 10:55 a.m. and I was changing for a baptism, when a couple of deacons popped their heads in and said, "Pastor, I think we have a situation."

After explaining who had just entered the sanctuary, ...

Evan Almighty is the story of freshman congressman Evan Baxter, whose main campaign slogan was "change the world." When he asks for God's help to achieve his goal, God responds in an unusual way—he commands Evan to build an ark in order to rescue a multitude of wild animals.

As Evan accepts the reality of God's request and reluctantly begins to obey, he faces mounting ridicule from his coworkers, ...

Marilee Jones, dean of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), recently resigned after admitting the résumé she submitted 28 years ago for an entry level position in the admissions department was filled with lies. As far as the school knew, Ms. Jones had attended and graduated Albany Medical College, Union College, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute—three well-respected ...

Syndicated New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, a keen observer of world trends, devoted a recent column to the idea that technology has made everyone a potential paparazzo.

Friedman explains that anyone we encounter could have a cell phone with a camera that could record our actions. If we're rude or misbehave, we could end up on the offended party's blog or MySpace website for the whole world ...

The patience of Alexander Kuzmin, mayor of Megion in western Russia, has worn thin. In September 2007, Kuzmin published a list of 27 excuses he will no longer tolerate. Civil servants who use such excuses as "I don't know," "It's lunchtime," or "I was on sick leave at the time," will lose their jobs. Other banned excuses include "I can't," "It's impossible," or "It's not my job."

The reason for Kuzmin's ...

In their fascinating book, Freakonomics, economists Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner point out that one of the first acts of parental power comes in the naming of a child. Many believe the name carries great significance. The case of the Lane brothers may argue differently.

Back in 1958, a baby boy was born into the Lane family. Robert—the father—chose to name the boy Winner. How could ...

So you think you've had a bad day? It may take former NBA star and current Phoenix TV commentator Edward Arnett Johnson a long time to get over the worst day of his life. Johnson, 6' 8" tall and 47 years old, has a history of strong character and community service, working with children and giving motivational speeches after his NBA career ended.

But another former NBA star—6 '2," 51-year-old ...