Since the sixth century BC reign of Croesus of Lydia, refined gold has served as a monetary store of value. Today, many central banks, including the European Central Bank, the Swiss National Bank, the German Bundesbank, the Bank of France, the Bank of Italy, the Dutch National Bank, the Bank of Japan, the Reserve Bank of India, the People’s Bank...

　　A Picture of Love 　　By: Anne Peterson 　　Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. - 1 Corinthians 13:4 　　Mike and I were at the store, picking up a couple of items. I grabbed my shampoo, when I suddenly heard a man’s voice yelling. His words were harsh and demeaning, calling...

　　BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY:You must make it according to all that I show you  —  the pattern of the tabernacle as well as the pattern of all its furnishings. - Exodus 25:9 　　The God of Details 　　By Katie Westenberg 　　Cracking open the book of Exodus feels like a throwback for me. So many dramatic stories from this book were...

　　Weekend, September 28, 2024 　　What the Cross Shows Us 　　“God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:17 NLT) 　　The last thing God wants is for anyone to go to Hell. That is why Jesus spoke of it in detail. That is why He warned us about it....

　　“It ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive.” 　　Bruce Springsteen is a force of nature. 　　You may not like his music, his politics may annoy you, but there is no denying the charisma, exuberance, and raw power Bruce Springsteen brings to the studio and the stage. That music consists of 21 studio albums, 23 live albums, and 66 music...

　　There are good reasons for students to learn about the madmen of history. The vices of such men contrast sharply with the heroes whose virtues we hope our citizens and statesmen might emulate; they serve as reminders of the cruelties that a flawed human nature can produce; and they can serve as warnings for where politics can occasionally descend should...

　　Weekly Overview: 　　Throughout Scripture we see countless examples of God meeting with man and countless lives being transformed as the result. These examples are in Scripture to stir our faith and fill us with a desire to meet with our Creator. When we read about the life of David, we should be filled with a longing to live as he...

　　A quarter-century ago, most Westerners assumed that communism was all but dead. A few stragglers (notably China) still clung to the label, but these were seen as the final foot-draggers, already in the process of shedding their repressive ways. Free and democratic societies were the new norm. The prevailing sentiment of the day was expressed very memorably in Joshua Muravchiks...

　　Don’t Even Say It 　　By Jennifer Waddle 　　“The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel,“does violence to the one he should protect,”says the Lord Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful. - Malachi 2:16 　　The way we speak to our spouses matters. It’s not only what we say, but...

　　In an essay recently published in The Free Press, the political commentator Martin Gurri made a nicely arch response to the fashionable hand-wringing about supposed threats to “our democracy.” 　　I come with good news. We can’t lose our democracy because we never had one. Our system is called “representative government.” It enjoys brief spasms of democratic involvement—elections, trials by jury—but...

　　BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY:Then Moses said to the Lord,“O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” So the Lord said to him,“Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not...

　　Weekend, September 21, 2024 　　In Our Own Image 　　Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. (Romans 1:21 NLT) 　　There is something wrong in our lives when we need an...