Our Daily Bread

Jehu, Israel’s colorful king during a time of rampant idolatry, was determined to rid his nation of Baal worship. This hideous form of paganism involved gross sensualism, moral degradation, and human sacrifice. Because Jehu successfully rooted out all Baal worship from the land, God told him that his descendants would occupy Israel’s throne for four generations (2 Ki. 10:30).

Jesus’ parable of the shepherd and the lost sheep has some pointed lessons for Christians about their responsibility to those who are lost.

If you were in a restaurant and the waiter accidentally undercharged you for your dinner, would you correct the error or pocket the difference?

The Learning Annex, a chain of adult-education schools, says that more than 200,000 people have completed its popular class on controlling household clutter. Who takes the course? People who keep empty mayonnaise jars, manuals for appliances they no longer have, broken buttons, out-of-date phone books, and keys to houses they lived in 20 years ago.

My garden got away from me last summer. A sudden 2-week trip to Russia, a tree I had to cut down, and numerous other responsibilities kept me away from the garden too long. It got pretty wild out there before I could give the beans and tomatoes and carrots some much-needed attention.

Since its first appearance in Lake St. Clair in 1988, the zebra mussel has become the scourge of the Great Lakes. If unchecked, some estimate that the mussels could spread to two-thirds of the nation’s waterways and cause $5 billion in damage by the end of the century.

Some people pray only in a crisis. Their “quick fix” mentality sees God mainly as a problem solver. When merciful solutions come, He is courteously thanked, then more or less forgotten until the next crisis.

What the evangelist said shocked many in his audience: “Heaven is my home, but I’m not homesick.” He wasn’t downplaying the anticipation we should have for heaven. He was reflecting the truth that our heavenly Father wants us to enjoy with gratitude the good things He has provided for us in this world. This old Jewish proverb reinforces the idea: “In the judgment, a man will be held accountable for every blessing he refused to enjoy.”

Missionary Doug Nichols and his Filipino co-worker Aries went to a Manila garbage dump, asking God how they might effectively reach the poor who scavenged there. Soon an old man approached and asked if they would guard his handful of cans while he hunted for more.

Seeing used to be believing, but not anymore. With today’s computer technology, anyone can easily change a photographic image.