I’m Not Making This Up
Let’s say you were shopping for a religion. Wouldn’t you want to serve a higher being who was powerful and could do great things? Wouldn’t you want a religion that provided great after-death benefits? Wouldn’t you want the key leader of this religion to be absolutely trustworthy and able to forgive your sins?
The Price of Freedom
When I talked to young men shortly before D-day during World War II, I observed that they were scared. None of them wanted to die. However, the vast majority expressed their conviction that the cause for which they were fighting was right and worthy of the risk.
The Widow’s Comfort
A Christian knew he should visit a woman whose husband had recently died. He dreaded the idea because she had been despondent, yet he decided to go. He knew it was right “to visit orphans and widows in their affliction” (James 1:27).
It’s Your Choice
As Joshua was nearing the end of his life, he gathered the children of Israel together at Shechem. And there, from the lips of a man who was close to death, came an appeal that throughout the centuries has moved the hearts of many. Joshua said, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” (Josh. 24:15).
Made To Soar
When I visit the zoo, I skip the eagles’ cage. I can’t stand the pain of seeing those majestic birds sit there on their perches day after day, their burnished brown wings draped over them like an ill-fitting old coat. They were created for the heights, to dance among the clouds, not to be prisoners in a cage. Those birds were made to fly.
What We Don’t Need
In the fifth century, a man named Arsenius determined to live a holy life. So he abandoned the comforts of Egyptian society to follow an austere lifestyle in the desert. Yet whenever he visited the great city of Alexandria, he spent time wandering through its bazaars. Asked why, he explained that his heart rejoiced at the sight of all the things he didn’t need.
Mixed Signals
Our society sends mixed signals. I got a letter from my credit card company, saying, “Mr. Egner, you are one of our most valued customers. We would like to raise your buying power by $3,000.” The next day, because I was late in sending a payment of $36.96, I got another letter from the same company. It made me feel like a terrible person. It seemed to be saying that if I didn’t pay up immediately, they would take action against me.
His Unfailing Love
When Gillian learned one Saturday morning that her daughter had been killed, she was plunged into despair. For 18 months she pleaded with God for help in her grief. “I’ve been told that God is love. Why won’t He show me His love?” she wrote.
Our Way and God’s Way
I vividly remember a man saying to me, “Herb, I’ll go to church and give. But I’m not going to get too involved. I’m going to concentrate on my career.” Another man admitted, “I know I shouldn’t have gotten a divorce, but I think I’m entitled to some happiness.” Both of these men were really saying, “I don’t care what God says. I’m going to do things my way.”
The New Harvest
I was visiting a friend in a Midwest farming community during harvest season. Huge combines churned through his fields, depositing soybeans into waiting wagons. My friend leaped onto one of the wagons to check out his “firstfruits.” What he saw was encouraging. Despite the worst corn crop in 40 years, the soybeans gave him reason to thank God for a good harvest.
Forbidden Fruit
In Galveston, Texas, a hotel on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico put this notice in each room:
It’s Always Needed
It may seem like an ancient relic today, but not too many years ago people in all kinds of trades and vocations found a slide rule to be indispensable. This ingenious instrument was used to make complex mathematic computations quickly.
The Pathetic Pelican
Pelicans, with their huge beaks, are strange-looking birds. But I saw one that was especially weird. Its beak was crisscrossed, as if someone had pulled the upper and lower parts in opposite directions. He was a pathetic sight!
Don’t Get Greedy
Philip Parham tells the story of a rich industrialist who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat. “Why aren’t you out there fishing?” he asked.
When Someone Is Gone
It was one of those rare times at our house when there was only one child around. Stevie’s older sisters were off at camps and on mission trips, so it was a good time for a father-son airport outing.
Good and Bad Laughter
Doctors and psychologists tell us that laughter is good for us. This is undoubtedly true, because the Bible says that “a merry heart does good, like medicine” (Prov. 17:22).
Why Go to Church?
William Willimon, chaplain at Duke University, was invited to preach in an inner-city church. The service, with its long preliminaries, lasted 21?2 hours. When it was finally over, Willimon was exhausted and asked the pastor, “Why do these people stay in church so long?”
Speak and Do
In ancient Greek dramas, a person behind a curtain spoke the lines while the performer on stage acted out the role. We might refer to the speaker behind the scenes as one who didn’t “practice what he preached.”
Bricklayers and Violinists
A concert violinist had a brother who was a bricklayer. One day a woman began talking to the bricklayer about how wonderful it was for him to be in the same family as the noted musician. But then, not wanting to insult the bricklayer, she added, “Of course, we don’t all have the same talents, and even in the same family some just seem to have more ability than others.”
Ascension Day
Four supernatural events have kept humanity from self-destructing. Like beacons of light across a storm-tossed sea, these miracles have shown the way of salvation to a world in despair. We celebrate them on Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, and Ascension Day.
The Antidote for Anxiety
Our world is filled with fear. Even in fairly stable and secure countries, people are afraid. According to a USA Today article, “We panic over pesticides and cellular phones, ozone holes and mercury fillings.”
No Contest
A family friend was deserted by her husband and left to care for her small children alone. I wonder how she’ll make it.
Thought Control
When a preacher visited a young couple, the wife said to him, “We’re new Christians, and although I’m saved I’ve lived a worldly life— swearing, partying, and all those things. The past keeps coming back to haunt me. It’s destroying my peace of mind.”
Mother’s Law
As I read Proverbs 6:20, which refers to “the law of your mother,” I recall some of my mother’s unique “laws” that have helped me many times.
The Measure of Our Worth
A friend of mine who attended a class reunion vows he’ll never go to another. He says he felt terribly worthless and unsuccessful. Some former classmates were doctors, lawyers, or dentists. Others owned thriving businesses. A few held high offices in large corporations. Almost everybody talked about brilliant and athletic grandchildren.
On Purpose
When a cowboy applied for an insurance policy, the agent asked, “Have you ever had any accidents?” After a moment’s reflection, the applicant responded, “Nope, but a bronc did kick in two of my ribs last summer, and a couple of years ago a rattlesnake bit me on the ankle.”
Boxing or Wrestling?
The president of International Concerts of Prayer, David Bryant, told of arriving in a major city to help conduct a time of prayer. As he entered the building where the meeting was to take place, he noticed that the huge hall was being shared by another event. In one room was the prayer meeting; in the other room there was going to be a boxing match.
Shipwreck
In the early part of this century, an American ship was wrecked off the Scilly Isles near the coast of England. The sea had been calm and the weather clear, but the vessel was caught in a treacherous current that slowly lured it off its course. Before the captain and the crew realized what had happened, the ship had crashed into the rocks.
Standing Firm
As believers in Jesus Christ, we are engaged in spiritual warfare with unseen wicked forces. To overcome our enemy in the power of the Holy Spirit, we must remain resolute in our confidence in God and determine never to accept defeat.
What Does He Want?
After 17 years of being a parent, I think I know what I value most about my children: our relationship.
Meeting Jesus
Do you believe in God? When George Gallup and his associates put that question to a cross section of Americans, the vast majority responded yes. When asked what they thought about God, 84% saw Him as a heavenly Father who can be reached by prayer, 5% viewed Him as an idea but not as a being, 5% said they didn’t believe in Him, 2% said He is an impersonal creator, and 4% said they didn’t know.
