The God who made the universe provides abundant how-to instructions in the Bible about doing right and avoiding wrong.

But, unlike the invisible secret police, God does not watch us to issue fines or arrest criminals. He watches like a parent watches children play, smiling as we learn and grow to be more like Him.

Our society is losing outgoing concern for others. It's all about me and what I can get. People tear down others to make themselves look better.

Many feel awkward around others and wish they had more friends. The Bible gives an amazingly simple secret for overcoming shyness and having more friends.

There are no cons to living God's way of life, only pros.

Although the thrill of the moment may seem attractive at the time, it's not worth the pain and suffering that may result.

To be successful personally and nationally, we need divine guidance.

Do we boast of our plans as though the future were entirely within our control? Or, more dangerously, do we simply delete God from the planning board of our life?

The coolness factor of hookah is simply a smokescreen for the dangers of this and every other type of smoking.

One source reports the news one way. Another presents a very different picture. How do we make sense of these confusing discrepancies?

There have always been subcultures running counter to whatever was the dominant culture. The late 1970s saw the eruption of the virulently angry punk rock scene, with spiked hair and screeching vocals.

When the culture is so clueless and corrupt, the call of countercultures is great. But there's a counterculture nearly everyone has overlooked.

What would it be like to get married in the American Midwest, then move halfway around the world to spend a year working in the Muslim Middle East? We asked Matthew and Mary Ann Bates, who did just that!

Common sense and practicality will outlive political movements and trendy packaging of any color, including "green."

Wherever they are, true Christians are also expected to act differently from the people around them.

It seems like strange advice, but come along and you'll see what I mean.

"Impossible!" you say? Even though it's often hard to do, it can be done, and it's well worth the effort. Here's how.

Does today's celebrity culture distract us from what's really important?

I can't get that song out of my head!" is a common complaint when a jingle from a commercial rattles around in our minds and we hum it endlessly. Why do those bits of music get stuck in our memory?