UNUSED 15 [121 words] Take a piece of wax, a piece of meat, some sand, some clay, and some wood shavings, put them on the fire and see how they react. Each of them is being acted upon by the same agent, yet the wax melts, the meat fries, the sand dries up, the clay...
UNUSED 9 [176 words] I and several members of our congregation have had heart issues or other serious physical problems in the last couple of years. Asaph the prophet noticed this about himself when he was inspired to write Psalm 73. In it he declares: “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is...
UNUSED 3 [168 words] “Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for my soul” (Psa. 66:16). If you think about it, there is good advice in that verse on telling others about the good news of Jesus Christ. To be honest, very few people we encounter...
UNUSED 25 [191 words] Christian parents do their best to keep their children on the Lord’s path. It’s a fairly challenging task when the kids are at home, but even more so when they are away at school, subjected daily to the influence of the world. We live in a society that claims to inspire...
UNUSED 17 [108 words] • Look down it at somebody (the sin of pride). • Stick it into someone else’s business (the sin of meddling). • Pick it (the sin of self-destructive behavior). • Get it out of joint (the sin of anger). • Cut it off to spite your face (the sin of bitterness). • Pay through it (the sin...
UNUSED 7 [141 words] “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation.” When the law of God is loved, it...
UNUSED 9 [119 words] Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, and Jesus for only 3-1/2 years. Yet the influence of Christ’s ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of teaching from these great philosophers. Jesus painted no pictures; yet some of the finest of Raphael, Michelangelo,...
UNUSED 8 [116 words] Teacher: I see you missed the first day of school. Pupil: Yes, but I didn’t miss it much. Kid: I think we need a new teacher. Mom: Why is that? Kid: Our teacher doesn’t know anything, she keeps asking us for the answers. Mom: What did you learn today? Kid: Not...
UNUSED 0 [157 words] A neurologist at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan has done research that reveals the great capacity of growing human brains to absorb information. He discovered that by age 2, the infant’s cortex is operating at adult levels. At age 4, that child’s brain is twice as active as the adult brain and...
UNUSED 1 [121 words] Dr. Vance Havner has aptly described the present generation of Christians thus: “We are a generation of proud, fussy little Christians, experts but not examples. We know too much, or we think we do. We have heard all the preachers and read all the books. It is hard these days to be converted...
UNUSED 0 [141 words] Since only a religion of the heart has value, let us see what the Bible includes as part of heart religion. According to the Holy Scriptures heart religion is: Heart-felt. With the heart man loves (Matthew 22:37) and desires (Romans 10:1). Good feelings by themselves are not an indication that one...
UNUSED 0 [140 words] Love is essential for one to be a Christian. So if we are to be a “good” (faithful) Christian then we must love Jesus. Jesus said that loving God with all our hearts is more important than any other commandment (Matthew 22:37-38). Yes, it’s even more important than faith (1 Cor....
UNUSED 0 [130 words] This list may surprise many people, especially those who believe we are saved only by faith. The Bible specifically states that there are 21 parts to our salvation from sin. Here is the list, along with the passages that prove the statements. (These are in no particular order.) 1. God (1...
UNUSED 0 [179 words] I must have been sick on the day they taught phonics in school. If I don’t recognize a word by sight, I can find some amazing ways to mispronounce it. I cringe when I have to use certain words because no matter how much I practice, I’m not sure how it...
UNUSED 1 [187 words] Talking to the Creator is beyond human comprehension. We’re lifted up when we humble ourselves before him (James 4:10), because our sins can close the ears of God (Luke 18:9-14; Isaiah 59:1-2). Prayer requires preparation because approaching God isn’t a casual affair. The solemnity and reverence in the Father’s throne room...
UNUSED 2 [127 words] Dear Lord, I do not ask that thou shouldst give Me some high work of thine, Some noble calling or some wondrous task. Give me a little hand to hold in mine; Give me a little child to point the way over the strange, sweet path that leads to thee; Give...
UNUSED 1 [183 words] There are so many ways we can find ourselves vulnerable to Satan’s schemes. He is like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And he does not starve. There is always someone. There are always Christians who are having the off-days–and Satan knows how to make a bad day much...
UNUSED 2 [105 words] Read Exodus 14:9-31 and 1 Corinthians 10:1-4. Now, when did Egypt lose their power over Israel? Before or after Israel was baptized into Moses? When did Israel find their freedom from bondage? Before or after they were baptized into Moses? How did Israel end up receiving their God-given freedom from slavery?...
UNUSED 0 [176 words] The Bible has much to say in regard to anger and the life of the disciple of Jesus Christ (cf. Eph. 4:26, 31; Prov. 14:17; 15:18; James 1:19-20; Gal. 5:20; Titus 1:7; 1 Tim. 3:2-3; et. al.). And yet, with all of the Biblical evidence and information, most of us seem...
UNUSED 8 [166 words] On August 16, 2015, near San Diego’s Brown Airfield, two airplanes crashed in mid-air. The two planes — a Cessna 172M, piloted by Michael Copeland, crashed head-long into a Sabreliner, piloted by Jeffrey Percy. The pilots and the others on the planes were all killed. Five people lost their lives that...
UNUSED 12 [142 words] “How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD.” Some folks have been known to lament that there is little enjoyment in a life lived under the restrictions of biblical morality and teaching. The most enjoyable life, we’re told, is in a life without...
UNUSED 6 [110 words] “Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in your ways.” So much of what we choose to look at day after day is worthless when viewed from eternity’s perspective. When all has been said and done and we stand before the judgment bar of Christ, how...
UNUSED 5 [163 words] “I can’t.” “I won’t.” “I don’t.” These are the words that keep people from reaching their potential. There’s no telling how different this world would be if people throughout the ages would not have lived up to their fullest potential. Consider this: What if…Michelangelo said, “I don’t do ceilings.” David said,...
UNUSED 5 [191 words] Forgiveness There was a man standing before a judge in California for shooting a Condor. This a protected bird and people who kill them must pay the consequences. The man pleaded with the judge by saying, “I just arrived in this state and I have never seen a bird that large...
UNUSED 18 [156 words] There are some things you can’t buy on eBay! Some things even Amazon doesn’t stock. One of the proverbs says, “A good name is more desirable than great riches and respect is better than silver or gold.” When is the last time you thought about your honor? There was a time...
UNUSED 7 [124 words] It’s hard to believe, but there was a time other than today when higher education abounded yet so many remained ignorant of the simple principles of life – to be brutally honest, many such times have existed throughout history. Such a time even existed during the days of Jeremiah the prophet....
UNUSED 15 [155 words] Ever had one of those “what if l’d” moments? We can fantasize on those “what if’s” if we want to, but the time wasted on those fantasies could have been used more wisely so we won’t need to “what if” about that wasted fantasy time later. I would imagine all of...
UNUSED 9 [107 words] There is an old saying that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. How true it is. And how true also is the saying when it is applied to the Lord’s church. The church is just as strong as its Weakest members. It’s as Well attended as the...
UNUSED 1 [146 words] This peculiar proverbial statement is something the Bible also implicitly teaches. It informs us that the Devil is our enemy. “Your adversary the Devil” (1 Peter 5:8). It tells us the enemy of the Devil is the Lord. “For the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over...
UNUSED 3 [135 words] We fall into sin because there is a void in our life. We look for anything to fill it, and since nothing ever fills that void for long, it doesn’t take long before we’re back at it again. What about a love from the One… …who died for us (John 3:16)?...
UNUSED 23 [172 words] One day a visitor leaned on the fence around the farm while he watched an old farmer plowing with a mule. After a while the visitor said, “I don’t like to tell people how to run their business, but you could save yourself a lot of work by saying ‘Gee’ and...
UNUSED 19 [174 words] “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Christ was and I must be: Humble (Phil 2:3-11; James 4:6) Forgiving (Luke 23:24;...
UNUSED 16 [110 words] When a loser makes a mistake, he says, “It wasn’t my fault.” When a winner makes a mistake, he says, “I was wrong.” A loser says, “I’m not as bad as a lot of other people.” A winner says, “I’m not as good as I ought to be.” A loser says,...
UNUSED 5 [197 words] Many years ago it was not uncommon for individuals to close letters and correspondence with “very humbly yours,” or “Your humble servant,” or some other such phrasing which emphasized the humility of the writer. In today’s world, however, such wording is scarcely seen. Humility has become an unpopular virtue with most...
UNUSED 8 [190 words] There are times when we find those around us suffering. When a friend gets the call no one ever wants to get, the diagnosis comes back worse than expected, when tragedy strikes those around us. It can be a very helpless feeling to try and provide comfort to those is the...
UNUSED 10 [182 words] How much value do you place on tears? That question may seem odd, but it is something you should think about! Some tears may fall insincerely, but other tears come when words fail to express an emotion we cannot control. God places a high value on our tears. He knows that...
UNUSED 3[152 words] Getting into sin is a little like getting into a swimming pool. When you first get into a pool, it feels cold and uncomfortable. However, after just a few minutes, you get used to the water temperature and it doesn’t feel uncomfortable anymore. In fact, if you stay in the pool for...
UNUSED 4 [188 words] In Africa it is said that there is a certain fruit called the “taste berry.” This berry supposedly can affect one’s taste for several hours. Not only is the berry itself sweet, it makes other things seem sweeter when eaten. What a wonderful fruit this must be if it really exists...
UNUSED 2 [191 words] Man loves to travel. The journeys of man have taken him from pole to pole, and from ocean’s bottom to the top of the skies…and beyond! Wherever man goes (and for whatever the reason) man cannot escape what he is. Our character sticks closer than a shadow. Spiritually, man is a...
UNUSED 1[116 words] Lord, it’s not the dirt and clutter in plain sight that nags at me. It’s the hidden dirt, you know, behind the refrigerator, in the closets, under the beds–dirt that no one sees or knows about but me. It’s the same way with my life, God, as it’s those hidden sins that...
