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Mark Marikos
Writer
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Oct 3, 2025
About
Mark has been a Christ-Follower since February of 1975. He holds a B.Sc and M.Sc. in Geology and Geophysics from the University of Missouri-Rolla, and did further graduate work in the geosciences at UCLA and University of Arizona. He works in Facilities Management at the University of Arizona.
Mark’s writing career spans the spectrum from scientific journals to advertising copy. He edited a small Christian newspaper, authored an educational website on the chemistry and uses of the chemical elements, and writes for Casas Magazine. He has been a member of Casas since 1994, where he teaches an Adult Bible Fellowship.
Mark’s passion is to equip Christ-Followers to integrate faith and intellect into an “intentionally-biblical world-view”.
He enjoys digital photography (and “photoshopping”), writing, walking, mineral collecting, and being with people, especially his daughter, Christina (born 1998). Mary, his wife of 15 years, is now cheering us on, from the bleachers in heaven, as we run this race.
Posts (20)
Sep 10, 2023 ∙ 12 min
Do We Really Have Free Will?
The Question of Free Will Why would a perfect God create us with free-will? Surely He would have known we would turn our wills against Him. Wouldn’t it have been easier to make us to be obedient and unquestioning? And in Genesis 1:31, how could God say (about the creation of man) that it was not just “good” like he said on the other five days of creation, but “very good”, knowing how that free-will would manifest itself throughout history? When my wife and I were expecting our daughter, we...
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Apr 21, 2023 ∙ 12 min
The Question of Free Will
Why would a perfect God create us with free-will? Surely He would have known we would turn our wills against Him. Wouldn’t it have been easier to make us to be obedient and unquestioning? And in Genesis 1:31 , how could God say (about the creation of man) that it was not just “good” like he said on the other five days of creation, but “very good”, knowing how that free-will would manifest itself throughout history? When my wife and I were expecting our daughter, we actually prayed that...
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May 16, 2021 ∙ 3 min
Do You Have Grace and Gratitude?
Grace can be defined as an undeserved gift, that which is given, not because of any attribute of the receiver, rather out of the pure joy of the giver. It is an invitation into deeper relationship with the giver. Gratitude is the response, where-in the receiver enters into the joy of the giver, receiving the unmerited gift with the same joy in which it was given. Gratitude is the choice to accept the invitation into deeper relationship. Both grace and gratitude are expressions of love -...
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Nov 9, 2020 ∙ 5 min
In the Interest of Bitterness
Anyone who has taken the time to calculate a loan repayment schedule understands the implications of interest, and how interest paid on long-term loans will often exceed the amount of principal paid before the loan is paid off. In fact, if the interest rate is too high, or the term too long, the amount of interest paid can be several times the principal paid over the life of the loan, especially in the case of compounded interest. This same phenomenon has an interesting spiritual...
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Oct 9, 2019 ∙ 1 min
Seven Habits of Highly Effective Christians
Sow a thought, and you reap an act; Sow an act, and you reap a habit; Sow a habit, and you reap a character; Sow a character, and you reap a destiny!
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May 11, 2015 ∙ 5 min
Islam, Wicca, Judaism, Buddhism, and Christianity
In John 8:44, Jesus speaks of Satan as “a liar and the father of lies.” Deception is his preferred tool as he attempts to rob God of His glory. Like any other vandal, he seeks to mar all that might reflect the glory of God, and make it unattractive to those searching for truth and relationship. However, he is clever enough to package his lies in appealing ways. Just as he did in the garden, he puts just enough “truth” in the lie to make it plausible. Then he repeats the age-old question,...
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Apr 2, 2011 ∙ 4 min
The Encouraging Word of God
Listening to James MacDonald’s radio program “Walk in the Word” tonight, I was encouraged by something he said. In his message he spoke of how the Bible is attacked and maligned with such vengeance on college campuses and elsewhere. We seldom see such attacks against the Book of Mormon, or the Quran, or any other spiritual literature – just the Bible. He said the reason we don’t see such attacks against the others is that they just don’t reflect true realities like the Bible does. It...
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Dec 27, 2010 ∙ 3 min
Faithfulness Worthy of Faith
A few years ago, I learned a lesson about the faithfulness of God, a lesson that I will probably never forget. I would like to be able to tell you it was due to something earth-shakingly significant, but it was actually quite mundane. That was the beauty of it. I had a clock radio that I used to get up to every morning. At one point, the alarm function ceased working, but it wasn’t really a problem because I would generally wake up in time to get to work by 9:30, and I worked flex-time. ...
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Nov 8, 2010 ∙ 4 min
Dealing with Disappointment
" We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you." Psalm 33:20-22. Randy Carlson, President of Family Life Radio and host of the “Intentional Living” radio program states the following life equation: “Expectations minus reality equals disappointment.” His point is that when my expectations are unrealistic, I set myself up for disappointment. If I...
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