By Jeff Ginn Harvard is the oldest and, arguably, the most prestigious university in America. Not surprisingly, the competition for admission is stiff. Only about 5% of those who apply are actually accepted. Listen to these academic credentials for incoming freshmen: The average ACT score is 35 (36 is the highest score possible) The average SAT score is 1512 (1600 is the highest score possible) The average GPA is 4.04 To get into Harvard, you have to be nearly perfect academically. Truth is, it is hard to get into Harvard. Let me pivot and ask you: “Is it hard to get into heaven?” Let me offer an answer: No, it is not hard; it is impossible--based on your own qualifications (and mark those final words well). Listen to Jesus give the admission guidelines for heaven: “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). Were that standard not sufficiently high, he adds: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). What Jesus is saying is that you don’t have to be nearly perfect; you have to be perfect. Gulp. Perhaps you’ve been tempted to take solace in the hope that God might grade us … [Read more...]

By Waylon Bailey In America, this is Memorial Day weekend, and today is Memorial Day–a day of giving thanks and remembering those who gave their lives in defense of our freedom. You probably know that Memorial Day began sometime in the aftermath of the American War Between the States. Both in the north and the south, there were days to place flowers at graves and to remember. Our Civil War claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history and by the late 1860’s Americans in towns of both the north and the south started having springtime remembrances of those soldiers whose bodies lay in “almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land.” Memorial Day became a federal holiday in 1971. We certainly need to remember, and we need to give thanks. According to how young you are, it may be hard for you to imagine that 400,000 Americans died in WWII. Many of the veterans of that struggle for the freedom of the world are still living alongside those who have fought in Korea, Vietnam, and every conflict since. Families and communities have paid a high price for our freedom and our way of life. Let us give thanks for all those who served and for those who paid the ultimate price. I can’t think of sacrifice … [Read more...]