Suppose the pastor of a large church divided up his flock into two groups, and instead of the normal “whatever they do” routine practiced on Sunday morning, he announced, “Half of you represent blessings, and the other half curses. Now, I’m going to read a list of...
The number one problem when it comes to family living isn't our failure to communicate, as important as that may be. Nor is it what takes place behind the bedroom door, or keeping our in-laws from becoming outlaws. The greatest, single problem facing families today is...
Tension itself is not necessarily a bad thing. Remember, the violin attains beauty in tone because of the tension of the strings as the bow gently glides across them; but too much tension will only snap the string. Stress. There are basically three responses to the...
A Japanese businessman was invited by his American host to attend church with him, and he quickly agreed. At the end of the message, which was delivered by the Methodist clergyman Ralph Sockman, his host asked him what he thought of the message. In his discreet,...
Charles Spurgeon once wrote, "You may think that it is easy to define faith, and so it is, but it is easier still to confuse people with your definition." Martin Luther defined faith as "a lively, reckless confidence in God." The Quaker scholar J. Elton Trueblood...
Should you ever have the opportunity to visit ancient Corinth, there is an out-of-the-way, seldom-seen-by-tourists place that makes what Paul wrote to the Corinthians more meaningful. Remember Paul's comments that those who run in a race should run in such a way as to...
How do you combat frustration? Or must you learn to live with it, like dandelions in the grass, dandruff in your hair, and wrinkles on your face? No! There are some things you can do to eliminate frustration and make your life less complicated. You can fight back....
Noticing that the hair on the top of my head was somewhat thin, an acquaintance contributed the dubious bit of wisdom that it is now a proven fact that if you eat six bananas a day, you will have a full head of black hair. “Ah, come on,” I countered. “Nobody but a...
The earliest record of the fabled Roman legion tells us that it consisted of about 1,000 men, organized in groups of about 100 who fought in a phalanx formation. It's a fact: the Roman fighting forces were superior to anything else that existed in ancient days. The...
Any tragedy—great or small—forces us to acknowledge our humanity, and often that realization leaves us depressed or immobilized. But through difficulty or disaster, many turn to God; others turn on Him, blaming Him for the difficulty, accusing Him of failing to stop...