I thought I had heard it all on the CB radio until the other day when an argument ensued after a preacher/trucker began proclaiming his message of salvation on Channel 19 – the CB channel used by truckers to get traffic and "Smokey" reports.

"Prosperity preachers" proclaim that God wants you to have material wealth and happiness—right now. While positive thinking has its merits, does God promise prosperity, health, and happiness for you in this life? In the years ahead, this question, and the strength of your relationship with God and Jesus Christ, will become more profound than you may realize.

For those who understand that there is more to sustained financial recovery than the recent stock-market run-up, there are serious concerns about western nations' economic futures.  What do these worries have to do with Yukio Hatoyama and his "revolutionary" election victory to become Prime Minister of Japan?  And what does the Bible say about the eastern nations' rise and the western nations' demise at the time of the end?

It was the trip of a lifetime. Here we were, touring Scotland after spending some time in Ireland and England. Along the way, with our host, we made a stop that was not on our itinerary—Lockerbie, Scotland. As my wife and I perused the items in the small museum last year, it was a poignant reminder of the tragic downing of Pan American Airlines Flight 103 on December 21, 1988. The horror of the bombing sunk in as we saw the pictures of the victims and the devastation that occurred in the neighborhoods where the plane had plummeted to the ground. What had been a newspaper story and television coverage years before became very real to us as we viewed the pictorial evidence.

Did life as we know it today evolve? Was there a starting point from which the world began? The Bible says in Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning." In v. 11 we see that plant life was created. In v. 20 we see that fish, sea creatures and birds were created. In v. 24 other living creatures made their appearance at God's command. And then, the ultimate creation – man – made in the image of God, was created.