February 2018, Vol. 37, No. 2

I Know What Love Is…

[371 words] You may have seen the recent commercial by the Ad Council that tells us love has no limits. It shows people behind an x-ray screen embracing only showing their skeletal outlines. The people emerge from the behind to reveal they are a same sex couple, to a cheering crowd. The scene is redone…

Broken Toilets and Broken Souls

[254 words] It’s not an extremely rare occasion for a passenger jet to have to return to the airport due to a mechanical issue. However, when a Norwegian jet bound for Germany reversed course in late January of this year due to malfunctioning toilets, it was a backtrack filled with irony. The plane, you see,…

Why Are You Afraid?

[130 words] When Jesus and the disciples were caught in a storm on Galilee, they woke Him up, and He calmed the storm. He then said to them; “Why are you afraid? How is it that you have no faith?” (Mark 4:40). The word for fear here is “deilos” – dread; timid; fearful, or cowardice…

Faith Check

[387 words] It is always good for a person to do regular checkups on themselves and their lives. We know the importance of this physically, mentally, and even financially. But too often we neglect to do this spiritually – and this is the most important area of all. In Micah’s day, there were questions of…

Your Next Home

[298 words] Financial experts tell us our homes are our largest asset. An average house in 1973 was 1,660 sq. ft., while in 2015 an average house was 2,687 sq. ft. Numerically, families continue to decrease in size compared to previous decades. Our homes are very important due to values, not needs. We are blessed…

During the Valleys of Your Faith

[291 words] The Christian life is all about peaks and valleys. When we are feeling good about our relationship with God and Jesus and something happens to re-enforce those spiritual feelings, we call that time “peak times” or “mountain top experiences.” When things don’t go right and we wonder if God is really listening to…

Enabling Bad Behavior is as Sinful as the Behavior

[324 words] You’ve probably watched a few programs on TV. or heard of them where families make interventions for a loved one who has an addiction problem. Years of coddling a child, friend, or loved one who has an addiction, only adds to the problem. It seems that the sooner a person hits rock‐bottom the…

Second Fiddle

[257 words] It’s been said that the hardest instrument to learn to play is second fiddle! It is a difficult role. John the baptizer seemed to play it well. He denied the references to him being the Christ by saying he was not worthy to even untie Christ’s sandals (John 1:27). Instead of claiming to…

Creation and the Bible Declare His Greatness and Love

[338 words] Read Psalm 19. Perhaps at some time in your life you stopped to admire a sunset – all the wonderful colors glossing into a farewell for the day; Venus begins shining brightly in the evening sky, almost calling to the other lesser lights. Or perhaps there was a time when you stood at…

Go Into All the World and Live a Good, Moral Life?

[293 words] Why is it that some Christians seem to believe that their only responsibility in reaching the lost is to live a pure lifestyle before them? Will alien sinners become Christians by simply observing that Christians refrain from things like profanity, fornication, and drugs? Will simply being kind to others convert the lost? Certainly,…

God Wants to Tell You Something

[284 words] Saul arrived in the prophet’s city hoping to get information from Samuel. What he got was something he did not expect. Saul’s father had sent him to find some missing donkeys. The future king of Israel and his servant looked but could not find the animals. Saul’s servant thought they should go to…

What the World Needs

[73 words] A little more kindnessand a little less greed;A little more givingand a little less need;A little more smileand a little less frown;A little less kickinga man when he’s down;A little more “we”and a little less “I”;A little more laughsand a little less cry;A little more flowerson the pathway of life;And fewer on gravesat…

Where Did God Go?

[122 words] Take a look around where you’re sitting and find five things that have blue in them. (Go ahead and do it). With a “blue” mindset, you’ll find that blue jumps out at you: a blue book on the table, a blue pillow on the couch, blue in the painting on the wall, and…

Let Me Tell You About My Friend

[341 words] I have a good friend. He doesn’t drink alcohol, thus has never been involved in any alcohol-related crimes or embarrassments. He doesn’t destroy his mind through the use of illicit drugs. I’ve never once heard my friend gossip or tell a single lie. He never wastes his time in night clubs, casinos, or…

Ten Thoughts to Start the Day from Psalms 116 and 118

[158 words] 1. This is the day the Lord hath made: we will rejoice and be glad in it.2. I will praise thee; for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.3. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear; what can man do unto me?4. The Lord is my strength and…

On the Lighter Side (February 2018)

[194 words] Dream ValentineOne morning Emma woke up with a start. Her husband Jim asked what was the matter, she told him, “I just had a dream that you gave me a pearl necklace for Valentine’s day. What do you think it means?”“You’ll know tonight,” Jim said.That evening, Jim home with a small package and…