300-399 words

A Mother’s Love

[328 words] There was a widow who was trying to raise twin sons on her own. When the boys turned 18 and graduated from high school, they thought they could do whatever they wanted. So they stopped going to church and started going out at night to some very unsavory places. Their mother kept begging…

Happy Mother’s Day!

[312 words] In the passage on “the worthy woman,” it is noted, “Her children rise up and bless her” (Proverbs 31:28a). The King James Verson expresses the thought this way: “Her children arise up, and call her blessed.” Mothers are special. In a Peanuts comic strip, Charlie Brown said, “Everyone needs someone to love them,…

Sincerely Wrong

[313 words] “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s…

If We Would Just Communicate

[356 words] One of the chief sources of problems and difficulties that we will most regularly deal with in our lives, comes from communication, the lack thereof, or the misunderstanding thereof. Marriages fail because husbands and wives stop communicating. If they do communicate, they do so in the wrong way or they misunderstand each other…

God Is Fighting For Us!

[321 words] “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses…

Sending Messages Through Worship

[360 words] Long before e-mail and long before texts, people were sending messages. Solomon sent a message to Hiram, asking him to provide lumber for the building of the temple (1 Kings 5). Hiram answered with his own message, “I will do all you desire concerning the cedar and cypress logs” (1 Kings 5:8). John…

The Beauty and Power of Hope

[306 words] Viktor E. Frankl is one of those rare and special individuals who survived Hitler’s concentration camps. He went on to become a well-respected psychiatrist in his time after the war. Frankl dedicated his life’s work to exploring and sharing the necessity and influence of meaning and hope. Frankl observed that the people who…

Grasping Hope

[346 words] Charles Spurgeon, a well-known denominational preacher of 19th century, related in one of his sermons the story of a sailor who fell overboard amid a great storm and the thrilling rescue that followed. As soon as the cry, “Man overboard!” was sounded the crew flew into action determined to save their shipmate from…

Can I Borrow Your Rope?

[392 words] A farmer came and asked his neighbor if he could borrow his rope. The neighbor said, “No, I can’t let you borrow it.” “Why not,” he replied. “Because I’m using it to tie up my milk.” “But you can’t tie up milk with a rope.” “I know, but when you don’t want to…

Will a Man Rob God?

[373 words] I once heard a comedian confess that in his childhood, he and a friend would wrap double-stick tape around their fingers before the collection plate was passed on Sundays. They would make it look like they were placing something in the plate, when they were actually taking coins out. Any right-thinking person can…

What is Christ Worth to You? 

[367 words] Is He worth studying the Word for? Are you willing to give up your free time and put your effort into studying God’s Word? “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15, KJV). Is He worth forsaking…

Casting Pearls Before Swine

[393 words] “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you” (Matthew 7:6). Jesus made this statement in His great Sermon on the Mount. But what does this verse mean? Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus…

I Want To Go To Heaven

[336 words] “Every athlete exercises self-control…They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one…” (1 Corinthians 9:25) John “Pepper” Martin played for the St. Louis Cardinals and was the star of the 1931 World Series. Following one of those games, Pepper was interviewed by a newsman. The first question he was…

Keep Your Heart With All Diligence

[369 words] “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).  You have probably heard the saying concerning computers, “Input equals output.” Or, the more popular term, “Garbage in, garbage out.” That does not apply to just computers, but also to human beings. If what we feed…

Mothers: The Heart of the Family

[359 words] Nations rise and fall, empires prosper or crumble and men are stirred to great accomplishment s or driven to shameful failure often because of the influence of a wife or mother. The wise poet has properly said, “The hand that rocks the cradle, is the hand that rules the world.” For most women,…

There Is Room At The Cross

[386 words] “The cross upon which Jesus died is a shelter in which we can hide; and its grace so free is sufficient for me, and deep is its fountain, as wide as the sea.” These words written by Ira F. Stanphill in his song, “Room at the Cross” should give a great sense of…

Needed: Personal Evangelism

[392 words] How wonderful it is to be needed! One of the joys of marriage. One of the joys of parenthood. One of the joys of Christianity. There are physical needs, and there are spiritual needs. Everyone has a need for something or someone. True of kings and true of hermits. True of Christ, the…

The Cumulative Weight of Bees?

[335 words] We often fail to consider the gradual, cumulative effect of sin in our lives. Keep reading. In Saint Louis in 1984, a woman noticed a few bees buzzing around the attic of her home. Since there were only a few, she thought, she made no effort to deal with them. Over the summer,…

Good Sense vs. Lacking Sense

[393 words] With a name like “common sense,” one would think that everybody has it. That does not seem to be the case though. Someone with common sense would surely think they need to tie down trash bags in the back of their truck filled with junk if they are going to exceed 50 mile…

Let Your love Light Shine

[339 words] One of the most famous light houses in America is Minot’s Ledge Light House off shore from Scituate, Massachusetts. It is not known for its age or beauty. Though it has a rich, interesting history, it is perhaps best known for its light flashing, in nautical code, “1-4-3.” The flashing lantern was installed…

Get in the Wheelbarrow!

[370 words] There was a tightrope walker, who did incredible aerial feats. All over Paris, he would do tightrope acts at tremendously scary heights. Then he had succeeding acts: he would do it blindfolded, then he would go across the tightrope, blindfolded, pushing a wheelbarrow. An American promoter read about this in the papers and…

Will You Deny Him?

[370 words] Peter looked boldly into the eyes of the Lord and said without hesitation, “though all men shall be offended because of you, yet will I never be offended.” To which Jesus replied, “assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” But unwaveringly, Peter…

Who Are We?

[396 words] Many seem to be confused as to what it means to be a member of the church of Christ. The following observations will be helpful in clearing their minds. • We are a band of imperfect followers of Jesus. We have been saved, not because of our goodness or merit, but by the…

Life With A Purpose

[357 words] Our life upon this earth is of few days and full of trouble. Some days are the best of times; some days are the worst of times. There are moments that look like the spring of hope; others look like the winter of despair. Through it all we need to live a life…

Don’t Tell Bryce Weiler It’s Impossible

[337 words] Inspiring stories of people who succeed against all odds come to our attention all the time, but the case of Bryce Weiler is a little different. The 30-year-old from Claremont, Illinois, is a huge sports fan, and has worked his way up the ladder to be a radio commentator. So far he has…

Dedicated

[355 words] I have an affinity for big trucks of all kinds. My daddy was a truck driver most of his life, picking up “canned milk” in the 1950’s to delivering feed to farmers in the 1960’s and 1970’s, then back to picking up milk in a tandem tank truck in the late 1970’s. As…

Four Parts of Ephesians 2:16

[300 words] Paul wrote, “and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity” (Ephesians 2:16). There are four parts to this verse that answer four questions: Who, What, Where, How? The “Who” is Jesus. None less than the Christ, the Messiah, the Prince…

Some Thoughts on Jesus Coming to the Earth

[365 words] I found an interesting quote in my files recently. I don’t know who to attribute it to, but it is really thought provoking. The quote is this: “Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, and Jesus for only 3. Yet the influence of Christ’s 3-year ministry infinitely transcends the…

What is Christ Worth to You? 

[367 words] Is He worth studying the Word for? Are you willing to give up your free time and put your effort into studying God’s Word? “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15, KJV). Is He worth forsaking…

Say it With My Life

[338 words] Out of the things that Jesus taught during His ministry, there is one that has a supreme importance. It can be summed up in only four words: “Say it with my life.” Jesus said: “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”(Luke 6:46). He is teaching…

Are You Missing Ingredients?

[373 words] Recently we had a lot of bananas get really ripe, so I started to make a big batch of banana muffins. I took them out of the oven, gave them a taste, and realized right away that something was wrong. I had forgotten to add the butter. I had put the amount of…

The Lord’s Supper: Save It From COVID-19

[340 words] One of the most disruptive things to me about COVID-19 has been the Lord’s Supper. For more than forty years, I’ve had a structured meditation for the Lord’s Supper. There are reflections while I’m eating the bread and another series of thoughts for the fruit of the vine.  During the year, we’ve visited…

The Good Word

[385 words] We are to hear and obey the word of God! The Master said, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Luke 11:28). We are often admonished from the pulpit and in Bible class to study and apply the Bible daily. This is good advice for the Bible is…

Don’t Forget to Light the Fire

[317 words] In one of Jack London’s short stories, he writes about a fellow who was a newcomer to the Alaska gold rush. As he outfits to go out to “stake his claim and strike it rich,” a seasoned veteran gives him some advice. “It’s winter, so whenever you pause from hiking, be sure to…

Handling the Pressure

[363 words] For ages, people have wondered what was on the ocean floor. On August 15, 1934, Otis Barton and William Beebe came closer than ever before. On that day, they descended to a depth of 3,028 feet into the dark ocean, a record that remained unbroken for 15 years. The way they achieved this…

The Road of Resolution

[348 words] It is this time of year many like to make New Year’s Resolutions. A resolution is defined as, “a firm decision to do or not to do something.” It is good to make godly resolutions or firm decisions. Maybe the following can help you to keep on the right road with God throughout…

The Important Question: Who Is Jesus?

[332 words] The Bible shows us two sides of the most important person in history. The Lord is like us “in every respect” (Hebrews 2:17). There is no shortage of biblical evidence concerning Christ’s humanity. He experienced physical reactions, such as hunger (Matthew 4:2), thirst (John 19:28), and weariness (John 4:6). He wept (John 11:35),…

Are You Starving?

[345 words] Are you starving? This is probably a funny question to ask, especially since we just celebrated Thanksgiving and most of us probably ate more than we needed to. For most of us the holiday season includes good food and more desserts than you can shake a stick at. I know I enjoy all…

Masks

[383 words] Do you wear a mask? I can remember being so excited one year at Halloween. I found a mask on clearance. It was a full head mask with light up eyes and a voice changer built in. That thing was so hot, and my breath condensed on the inside, but man, I can…

Not a Joking Matter

[367 words] There was once a farmer who was going broke farming, so he quit and started selling hammers. He would buy hammers for $3 apiece and sell them for $2 each. He was selling a lot of hammers and seemed happier than before. A friend soon reminded him that for every hammer he sold…
+ More