The recent controversy between the U.S. and China over the emergency landing of an American surveillance plane on the island of Hainan has highlighted the strained relations between the two giants in recent years.

U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham announced recently that the country's energy problems were having a negative effect upon the U.S. economy. "This nation's last three recessions have all been tied to rising energy prices - and there is strong evidence the latest crisis is already having a negative effect," Abraham said.

Once we ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, regardless of how many mistakes, failures, or errors we make, God's love for us is unconditional and never-ending. There are no strings attached. He will never leave us.

The announcement of the completion of human genome mapping has brought some interesting - if not amusing and contradictory - responses from the scientific community about what the map tells us. These differences reveal the growing chasm in the scientific community over the subject of origins and the "end of science."

In the late 19th century, Charles B. Huleatt, an Egyptologist, acquired three small fragments of papyrus that were unearthed in Upper Egypt and subsequently bequeathed them to his Alma Mater, Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1901.

This month we celebrate Easter. Whoops! Why do we label our most holy holiday with its pagan obfuscation? It is at this time that we celebrate the very Gospel itself: "...how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; that He was buried; and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures."

The Second Epistle of John is among the most neglected books of the New Testament. It, like his third epistle, is simply a short personal letter from the Apostle. There is little doubt that the Apostle John was the author, but there are a number of conjectures as to whom it was written: someone called "the Elect Lady."

Last month we began a series of articles on the dark night of the spirit - what it is, how it differs from the dark night of the soul and what we must do to get through it.

Have you ever wished you could win a lottery? Or inherit a great fortune? We all have indulged in fantasies of one kind or another. And yet, we have already won an inheritance that is beyond our comprehension! An inheritance that transcends any quantitative measurement.

The famed foiling of the wicked plot of Haman to blot out the Jews is, of course, one of the more dramatic narratives in the Bible. In addition to the many twists in the plot, there are also some surprises hidden behind the text itself. It is significant that the name of the book itself, Esther, means "something hidden"!

This tiny four-chapter romance has been venerated in college classes for its elegance as literature, but it also reveals a craftsmanship of prophetic anticipation unrivaled anywhere in Scripture.

When we suffer unjustly at the hands of others, it's hard to forgive. God's Love (Agape) is the only thing that will enable you to unconditionally forgive and forget what was done to you. You can't do this naturally. Your negative thoughts and emotions won't go away on their own.

Over the last several months we have been exploring the dark night of the soul, and how God wants us to surrender everything in our lives that is unholy or unrighteous - anything that we put first other than Christ.

Job was a wealthy person, and an inventory of his holdings is provided at the beginning of the book:

Presidential Election 2000 was unique in a number of ways: it was the closest presidential election in America's history; it was more than a month after the election before a winner was determined; and, the outcome rested in the hands of the judiciary rather than just those of the voters - all firsts.

The election of Ariel Sharon as prime minister of Israel has left everyone involved in Middle Eastern politics wondering what the future will bring - many fear that his very election will precipitate a war. It is no wonder that people are not sure what to expect;  Sharon himself is a man who projects conflicting images.

In our series of articles on the current Biotech Revolution, certainly the most controversial area is that of "cloning," the common vernacular for nuclear transplant techniques. The British Parliament has recently approved laws to allow research using stem cells from human embryos to develop new medical treatments, overruling opposition from those who said it was a step toward human cloning.

Our goal as Christians should be to become Christ-like - to be instruments of God's Love. The Bible says we are ambassadors of Jesus Christ and that God personally makes His appeal to the world through us. The only way we can ever properly represent Jesus Christ to the world is to let His character show through our attitudes and actions.

While there continue to be many serious hurdles yet to be overcome, after over 60 years of research on animals such as sea urchins, frogs and mice, the cloning of commercially relevant mammals finally seems feasible.

Selah does connect the end of one strophe with the beginning of the next; and, in four cases it connects the end of one Psalm with the beginning of the next, thus uniting the two Psalms (Ps 3 with 4; 9 with 10; 24 with 25; and 46 with 47).