Two kinds of happiness
Have you ever wondered whether God wants you to be happy? A popular concept found in many Christian books says that “God has good things in store for you. God wants you t... »
Editor’s Introduction
Ambassadors
There’s a story, possibly apocryphal, about an American woman whose son was appointed Minister to the Court of Saint James’s, the term for an ambassador to the United Kin... »
Kids and parents: A journey
When browsing a previous issue of Activated, I came across the following quote by Dr. Bob Pedrick: “In the parable that Jesus told about the prodigal son,[[See Luke 15:11... »
Kindness without limits
In the last few years, there have been no shortages of global crises. On the one hand, the illness, conflict, and suffering we see on the news can breed fear and paint a... »
Three shocking days
When we think of the days between the Passion and Easter, most of the time we’re thinking about Jesus’ disciples who had very suddenly lost their teacher, best friend, an... »
An acquired taste
Every December 31st, millions of people with the best intentions in the world make resolutions to change something about themselves over the coming year. If you were one... »
Looking to tomorrow
Through this journey called life, we experience good, bad, ups, and downs, and often we haven’t got a clue what’s ahead. We make the best choices we can and try to live c... »
Jesus and the cobbler
One of my favorite Christmas stories is about an elderly cobbler who dreamed one Christmas Eve that Jesus would visit him the next day.[[This version was adapted and shor... »
Light vs. dark
According to an allegory that can be found in various places on the internet, there was once a dark cave deep in the earth that had never seen light and couldn’t imagine... »
An adventure with God
Most of us have a number of different roles or titles by which we’re known—parent, child, student, coworker, teammate, spouse, friend, for example. Each of them sheds som... »
Being kind
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been thinking a lot about the state of the world lately. The last few years have been anything but easy for most people, and intros to pr... »
The new you
The Bible is full of stories about new beginnings and starting anew. God knows that living in a fallen world isn’t easy, and He understands that we will go astray and lon... »