To him who is afflicted, kindness should be shown by his friend. —Job 6:14  Read: Luke 5:17-26 A college student named Kelly shattered her arm in the first volleyball game of the season. This meant she couldn’t work at her part-time job. Then her car stopped running. To top it all off, the young man she had been dating stopped […]

When desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. —James 1:15  Read: Genesis 3:1-6 Eve explained the rules to the tempter. She and Adam could eat the fruit of any tree in the Garden of Eden, except for the special one in the middle. Just touching it, she said, would bring […]

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church. – Ephesians 5:25 Early in their marriage, the well- known preacher W. E. Sangster (1900-1960) told his wife, “I can’t be a good husband and a good minister. I am going to be a good minister.” Sangster was in demand as a preacher and lecturer and was often away […]

Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men. – Colossians 3:23 Read: 2 Thessalonians 3:7-13 It’s one of life’s ironies that on Labor Day in the US and Canada, most of the workers get the day off. But that’s for good reason. What better way to reward a hard-working populace than to give the […]

As I was paging thru my bible this morning I came across a small clipping that I had cut out and saved some time in the past. It held meaning to me for several reasons – first is memories of when my grandmother died in 1946.  I remember watching so many relatives, aunts and uncles, and others of the family […]

I am the light of the world. – John 8:12 Jesus, an itinerant rabbi from the town of Nazareth, asserted that He was the light of the world. That was an incredible claim from a man in first-century Galilee, an obscure region in the Roman Empire. It could not boast of any impressive culture and had no famous philosophers, noted […]

These words which I command you today shall be in your heart. – Deuteronomy 6:6  When I was in high school, I had a driving instructor who gave me some sound advice. “You think by looking in the rearview mirror you know what is on your left side, but your vision is limited,” he said. “Always look over your shoulder […]

There is none upon earth that I desire besides You. – Psalm 73:25 Health experts tell us we should drink at least 64 ounces of water each day. It may reduce the risk of heart attack, give our skin a healthy glow, and help us lose weight. We should drink even more water during exercise or if we live in […]

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers. —1 Peter 3:12 Read: Psalm 34 As a teacher with many years of experience in high school and college classrooms, I have observed many kinds of students. One in particular is what I call the “just me and the teacher” student. This pupil […]

The Spirit of truth . . . dwells with you and will be in you. – John 14:17  The elderly woman in the nursing home didn’t speak to anyone or request anything. It seemed she merely existed, rocking in her creaky old chair. She didn’t have many visitors, so one young nurse would often go into her room on her […]

“If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.” (Prov 24:10) When I was teaching school and all through the years that I attended school I either gave tests or I took tests. We all did. We took these tests to see if we could pass to the next level. Those tests typically threw a lot of tough questions at us that […]

By: Erick Erickson Those of us who are in politics and of faith need to work harder at being blameless. Look, we’re all sinners. The biggest difference between most of you guys and me is that my sins have more than once wound up in newspapers and on television. But we all fall short. I think too many of us […]

Do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction. – Proverbs 3:11 Read: Hebrews 12:1-11 Many Christians have to be lovingly roughed up before they will grow up. Although the heavenly Father never allows His children to suffer needlessly, sometimes He lets them experience hard knocks so they’ll become mature believers. The need for “bad weather” to […]

Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace. – 2 Timothy 2:22  According to Greek mythology, sirens (sea nymphs) inhabited certain Mediterranean coastal areas. As ships passed by, the sirens sang such enchanting songs that the sailors, drawn by the music, would jump overboard and drown. Odysseus was on a ship that had to pass that way. Aware […]

They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water. —Jeremiah 2:13 Read: John 4:9-14 Picture yourself swinging a pick, digging from dawn to dusk, chiseling a cistern out of the hard, unyielding stone. You stay on the job, working through the biting cold of winter and the blazing heat of […]

In humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests.Philippians 2:3–4 My friend Jaime works for a huge international corporation. In his early days with the company, a man came by his desk, struck up a conversation, and asked Jaime what he did there. After telling the man about his work, Jaime asked the man his name. “My […]

Put on the new man which was created according to God. – Ephesians 4:24  When we moved into our home 5 years ago, we discovered that the former owner had left us six dining room chairs. They were covered with fabric of beautiful African art—tasteful zebra stripes. We appreciated the unexpected gifts and used them frequently when entertaining guests. When […]

  Reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. – 1 Timothy 4:7  Bible scholar William Barclay tells of his walks through the meadow with his bull terrier Rusty. Whenever his dog came to a shallow creek, he jumped in and started removing stones, one by one, dropping them haphazardly on the shore. This pointless activity would […]

Now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. —1 Corinthians 13:12  Read: Revelation 22:1-5  As I approached my 90th birthday, two emotions surged through my heart. One was certainty, the positive assurance of life to come. And why not? Jesus said, “Because I live, you will live also” (John 14:19). That assurance, however, is often accompanied […]

I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. – 2 Peter 1:12  How can people who experienced the same event have radically different recollections of what happened? An Associated Press article summarized the results of dozens of studies on human memory: “Far from being an indelible […]