Every week I go out of my way to speak to teenagers just to see what's going on in their minds. Too often the answer is, "Nothin'." Public school students seem to have this glassy, disorganized, disoriented look about them. They're preoccupied with things that don't matter, especially image and conforming to peer pressure.

Last month we continued our series Against the Tide: Getting Beyond Ourselves by focusing on the subject of single-mindedness vs. double-mindedness. In the Greek, single-minded means only one life is being lived; whereas, double-minded means two lives are being lived.

The mysterious Red Planet is going to put on a show this month. It has been getting progressively closer to Earth each night and will continue to grow larger and brighter. By late August it will be about 191 million miles closer, and the reddish point of light will appear six times larger and shine some 85 times brighter than it normally does.

In our previous articles we reviewed some of the reasons Bible scholars have been anticipating a "Revived Roman Empire" as part of the prelude to the "Last Days."  Just as Daniel had predicted, the Babylonian Empire was ultimately conquered by the Persians; the Persians were, in turn, conquered by the Greeks; and, the Greeks were conquered by the Romans.

II Corinthians 10:5-6 gives us a very important directive. It tells us to "take every thought captive" and to deal with the thoughts that are not of faith. God knows that taking every thought captive is critical because our thoughts are the first to be triggered in the chain-reaction of our souls.

In last month's article we reviewed some of the reasons why Bible scholars have been anticipating a "Revived Roman Empire" as part of the prelude to the "Last Days."  Just as Daniel had predicted,1 the Babylonian Empire was ultimately conquered by the Persians; the Persians were, in turn, conquered by the Greeks; and, the Greeks were conquered by the Romans.  But who conquered the Romans?

The power of our choice - what does this really mean and why is it so important? God has given us the incredible gift of free choice - the free choice to either follow His will moment by moment or the free choice to follow what we think and feel. Just how important are these moment-by-moment choices?

The recently proposed "Road Map" peace plan has been met with both criticism and support. Despite hopes to the contrary, many doubt this latest effort will succeed where others have failed so many times before. How is this plan different from its predecessors? Is peace between Israelis and Palestinians possible?

As a pleasant surprise, I was an invited participant last month in the National Security Forum at the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. It was a fabulous experience that I will never forget.

For 19 centuries Bible scholars have been anticipating a "Revived Roman Empire."  Many wonder where this strange expectation comes from. Is this some kind of academic fantasy, or is there a real basis for this quaint perspective?

On June 6th (the 6th of Sivan on the Hebrew calendar) the Jews will celebrate Hag HaShavuot, the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost.  This comes from Leviticus 23:16, which points to "the morrow after the seventh sabbath" after the Feast of First Fruits (thus, 50 days-in Greek, pentecost.)

Over the last several months, we have been exploring the power of our choice; i.e., our willpower. As Christians, God has given us the free choice to either follow His will moment by moment or follow what we think and feel. Emotional choices, however, quench God's Spirit. Whereas faith choices (choices to follow Him regardless of how we feel) unleash all of His power to come to our aid.

At the time of this writing there remains much to do in "Operation: Iraqi Freedom," yet the past three weeks have certainly changed the entire strategic landscape of the Middle East.

Recent Hubble measurements suggest that the universe isn't as grainy as it should be. This may sound paradoxical, but it seems to challenge our basic notions about this reality we call our universe.

Is it possible to make choices to follow God when we don't feel like it, want to or think it will work? This has been the subject we have been exploring over the last few months - faith choices - and why they are so important.

Have you ever thought, "There must be a key to reaching the lost"? There is - but it's rusty through lack of use. The Bible does actually call it "the key," and its purpose is to bring us to Christ - to unlock the Door of the Savior (John 10:9). Yet much of the Church still doesn't even know that it exists.

How do we as Christians overcome the justified hurt feelings, the anger, the bitterness, the resentment, the fear, the unforgiveness, the insecurity, the guilt and the memories that consume us daily?

Many of us who have visited Israel regard the visit to the "Garden Tomb" as one of the major highlights of the trip. The British trust that manages the site always presents it as simply "representative"; however, we feel they are understating the actual facts.

The books of Samuel and Kings form a basic foundational study in the Old Testament. An understanding of this basic history is essential, not only to understanding the Old and New Testaments, but in gaining a valid perspective of eschatological issues as well.

Neanderthals, the prehistoric subspecies of humans known as Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, are believed to have been muscular, thicker-skulled, erect creatures similar in intelligence to anatomically modern humans (the subspecies Homo sapiens sapiens).