While the globe was fixated on Sunday's World Cup final in Moscow between France and Croatia, the world's largest annual sporting event is taking place more than 1,600 miles to the west.

Two weeks ago, the boys and their coach may have taken their freedom for granted. I doubt they will ever do so again.

"There's nothing more terrifying than hearing multiple people get shot while you're under your desk and then hear the gunman reload." This is how Phil Davis, a reporter at the Capital Gazette in Maryland, responded to Thursday's shooting in his newspaper building as it happened.

This is a moment for compassionate courage on the part of God's people. Consider two imperatives.

My wife and I are still talking about an ad we saw on television this week. Titled "Now and Then," it depicts a lesbian couple visiting Las Vegas. One says to the other, "Let's get married." The other says, "My parents would never forgive me."

Of all the demographics in society, children are especially cherished in God's word.

I don't remember the last time a biblical citation generated so many headlines.

The immigration crisis unfolding on the US-Mexico border continues to dominate the news. Nearly two thousand children have been separated from their parents since a "zero tolerance" policy was adopted for those entering the US illegally.

A group of psychologists asked 551 American Christians what they think God looks like. The test subjects were shown hundreds of randomly varying pairs of faces and asked which of the two looked more like "the face of God."

A transgender man recently gave birth to a baby in the UK. British law states that those who give birth to children can only be noted as mothers on official documents. The parent has complained of discrimination. As a result, the baby could become the first person born in England and Wales not to have a legal mother.

The much-anticipated summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un is dominating global headlines. The summit will be the first meeting between a sitting US president and a head of North Korea.

Today is my thirty-eighth wedding anniversary. I am to be congratulated. According to my friends, my wife is to be consoled.

Critics of Christianity might wonder what good our faith does in a world where a baptizing pastor can be killed by a crocodile.

I enrolled at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS) in the fall of 1980. Over the next nine years, I received two degrees from the seminary and taught philosophy of religion there.

Roseanne Barr continues to make news. After her racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett led ABC to cancel Barr's show, the reaction has been predictable.

On June 21, 2006, in the Nuristan Province of Afghanistan, Staff Sergeant Jared Monti's sixteen-man patrol came under fire. One of his men was wounded and fell over a ridge into what the soldiers described as a "death zone."

There is a critical shortage of foster parents in America today. As one example, the city of Philadelphia has issued an "urgent" plea for more foster homes.

Brooke Fiske was seventeen weeks pregnant. Her then-boyfriend and the father of their child, Dr. Sikander Imran, was pressuring her to get an abortion, but she refused.

Mark Dallas is truly a hero. However, real heroes don't generally see themselves that way. They say they were just doing their job or doing what anyone would do. The fact that they believe they're not heroes is one of the reasons they are.

This week, the Supreme Court struck down a federal law that prohibits sports gambling. The landmark decision gives states the right to legalize betting on sports.

History was made Monday when Israel observed its seventieth anniversary as a nation and the United States officially moved its embassy to Jerusalem. However, the day was historic from a very different perspective as well.

For sixteen years, North Korea has been ranked the "most oppressive place in the world for Christians." And yet, an estimated 36 percent of the population–around nine million people–are believers.

I remember fondly my years with the Boy Scouts. Overnight campouts with my father. Lessons in outdoor survival and the care of nature. Building camaraderie in an environment uniquely suited to develop boys into men.

This headline caught my eye: "I was born with no arms and thought I was a hopeless mistake–and then this happened . . ."

Most of us cannot imagine choosing to live near the world's most active volcano. We can shake our heads at the foolishness of such people. Or we can learn an important lesson from their intrepid courage.