The Fear Of Falling
Have you ever dreamed that you were falling out of bed or from some great height, and you awoke in fright? I remember that as a boy I would often be awakened by such a terrifying feeling.
The Best Eraser
What is memory? What is this faculty that enables us to recall past feelings, sights, sounds, and experiences? By what process are events recorded, stored, and preserved in our brain to be brought back again and again? Much is still mystery.
Why? Why? Oh, Why?
Why must I suffer disappointment, sorrow, and tribulation? What have I done that God should send me trials? Is He displeased with me? These questions are constantly asked by God's dear children.
In Conference
The president of a large company wanted to talk to the factory’s manager about an urgent matter. But the manager’s secretary said, "He cannot be disturbed. He’s in conference—as he is every day at this time."
Strange Places
Walking past my barn one day, I heard a frantic chirping inside, and upon investigation I found a bluejay beating its wings against the glass pane of the window. Had it not cried and squawked, I would not have heard it. But its plaintive note prompted me to open the door wide and the jay flew out to liberty.
Two Gardens
Two gardens are mentioned prominently in the Bible: the garden of Eden and the garden of Gethsemane. God placed the first man, Adam, in the garden of Eden; Jesus went into Gethsemane to restore what the first man had lost.
The Glorious Sunset
It is wonderful to be young, with clear sight, acute hearing, elastic step, pulses drumming to the march of exhilarating health. But old age has glories that youth cannot know. It is a blessed old age indeed if it ends brightly at evening time.
Death Cannot Divide Us
Although writers and philosophers have done their best to marshal weighty arguments in favor of life after death, they have not succeeded in bringing comfort to aching, anxious, questioning hearts.
Grumblers
Mrs. Grumpty complained bitterly because her friends seemed to avoid her, and she just couldn't understand why. If only she could have heard a recording of her own voice, she would have known the reason for her unpopularity. She always talked about her complaints, weaknesses, aches and pains, and insisted on relating in wearying detail her stay in the hospital.
Sad Or Glad?
The first Resurrection Day began with gloom and despair for the disciples of our Lord. Three days earlier, their Master had been crucified and buried. We can imagine them huddled together behind closed doors as "they mourned and wept" (Mark 16:10).
The Butterfly
Outside my study window a beautiful monarch butterfly rested on a flower blossom. It fanned its wings slowly with exquisite grace. That stately monarch was once a repulsive green worm, feeding on milkweed leaves. Then it built a coffin for itself and hung from a twig. In time it emerged, transformed into a beautiful creature—that butterfly outside my study window.
Bicycle Riders
I remember the first time I tried to ride a bicycle. I thought I would never learn!
Two Dead Sparrows
I was cruising along on the highway at about 60 miles an hour when up ahead I saw two sparrows in a fierce battle at the side of the road. With feathers flying, they attacked each other with great fury.
Don't Get Stung!
About 25 feet up in the maple tree behind my house hung a gray, cone-shaped object about 10 inches long. I decided to get closer to find out what it was.
Are You A Worrywart?
Worry is sin. It is caused by lack of faith, a failure to believe God's Word. Yet it is a sin that many Christians find hard to overcome.
Living Or Just Alive?
What matters is not how long you live, but how well you live. Some people live for 85 years and do very little. Others live only a relatively few years, but they fill that time with service to God and others, and their influence lives on.
Finger-Pointing
You can't point your finger at someone without pointing at yourself. Try it right now. Extend your index finger and thumb in a pointing position away from you, and then notice in which direction the other three fingers are pointing. They point directly back at you.
Great Preachers
The greatest sermons I have ever heard were not preached from pulpits but from sickbeds. The deepest truths of God's Word have often been taught by those humble souls who have gone through the seminary of affliction.
Who Is To Blame?
Judah was willing to assume the responsibility for bringing his brother Benjamin back from Egypt (Genesis 43:9). If anything happened to him, Judah would take the blame. This is one of the rarest traits in human nature, for we usually seek to put the blame on someone else.
Hypocrites
A hypocrite is a pretender. He is a person who does not act his real self but disguises himself to be another. God hates hypocrisy but loves sinners. In all the records of the Gospels, Jesus spoke to sinners with sympathy, kindness, and forgiveness. But to the hypocritical religious leaders, He used the strongest possible language of condemnation. He called them blind guides, whitewashed tombs, and vipers (Matthew 23:24,27,33).
Remember!
The disciples remembered—and then they believed. After the death of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection, they recalled and finally understood Jesus' words, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19).
Like Him
God is not interested in just saving us from hell and taking us to heaven. He wants to conform us "to the image of His Son" (Romans 8:29). Someone has said that the Father was so pleased with His Son that He has determined to fill all of heaven with others just like Him.
Dewdrops
It was a summer morning, and the first rays of sun were falling across my garden. The prior evening the leaves on the tender corn were drooping from intense heat and lack of rain. But in the morning the spikes were straight and fresh, and each leaf was adorned with sparkling drops of dew. During the night, the cooling air caused moisture to condense into dewdrops, refreshing the wilted vegetation.
Unsung Heroes
The Bible contains many incidents of helpfulness by people whose names are not given. In 1 Samuel 30 we read that David's soldiers found a young man who had been left behind by a retreating enemy army. The Egyptian slave is not named, but he provided key information that helped David to rescue his family.
Get Up And Start Over
Are you feeling "down" today? Are you discouraged because of your experience yesterday? In an unguarded moment, did you stumble and fall by yielding to sin?
Win By Losing
Have you ever played dominoes? In my boyhood days it was a favorite indoor pastime. Some time ago while visiting a family, I saw a young boy and his grandfather playing the game. A flood of memories surged over me as I remembered my own boyhood days.
Are You Good At Forgiving?
Is it possible to measure a Christian's spiritual maturity? Certainly we cannot judge it by the length or even the content of one's prayers. Too much public praying is done for its effect on the "listeners" instead of the "Listener." Even the generosity of one's giving is not an infallible test of spirituality, for it too may be for personal recognition or easing of a guilty conscience.
Choose!
All of us have times when we'd like to be completely free to do whatever we want. We long to break out of our restricting circumstances. But total freedom or complete independence is never an option for us. The Bible declares that we are servants by nature, even though we might not realize it.
Are You Ready?
I love to fish. One summer a good friend invited me to go with him to Canada, where a guide would take us to a special place where there were supposed to be plenty of "big ones."
Stumbling Christians
A sheep and a pig will react differently in a mudhole. A sheep that falls into the mud will not be happy there. He will struggle and cry until he gets out.
Logs And Dust
Jesus sometimes used humor to drive home a truth. Think of the serious point in His humorous description in our Bible reading today. He accused the religious leaders of being like a man with a great big beam in his eye offering to remove a tiny speck from his brother's eye (Mt. 7:1-6). How ludicrous!
The Tree Frog
One summer as my wife and I sat on our porch, we were serenaded by a tree frog who had taken up residence in the dense vine climbing a nearby tree. We finally located him, but not until after a painstaking search, because his coloring blended in perfectly with the vine leaves. As we watched him, we remembered a little chameleon we had seen during a visit to Florida. Like the frog, it took on the color of its surroundings.
The Lord Is Risen Indeed!
"Surprise! Jesus is alive!" The two travelers from Emmaus, who had just entertained the risen Savior in their home, were greeted by the disciples with the news that the Lord was no longer in the tomb (Lk. 24:29-34).
To Be Continued
Do you like continued stories? Let's say you're reading a magazine article or watching a television program for half an hour, and you come to the place where the hero plunges into the water to rescue his drowning sweetheart. Then you're left hanging in the air with the words: "To be continued." How disappointing!
How Thankful Are We?
My mother was a thankful woman who, although she was sick for most of her married life, never ceased to praise the Lord. My father, a shoemaker who never earned more than $12 a week, was a singing Christian.
How To Catch A Rat
My grandson's chicken coop was invaded by rats. Attracted by the feed, they had moved in. He asked for my help and we set out a couple of traps. After a week, though, we had not caught a single one. Then a farmer friend offered some advice. "No rat," he said, "will touch an exposed trap. You must disguise it with food. Fill a pan with meal and place the trap in it. Cover it well with meal so it is completely hidden." It worked! The next morning we had a big fat rat.
Do You Talk To Yourself?
Sitting in my car at the curb, waiting for my wife to finish shopping, I passed the time by watching the people walking by. I noticed one man in particular because he was deeply engrossed in talking to himself. What he said I don't know, but it surely was a serious discussion. He reminded me of a man who, when asked why he always talked to himself, replied, "I have two reasons: First, I like to hear a smart man talk. And second, I like to talk to a smart man!"
Don't Be Discouraged
"Why are you throwing away those nice potatoes, Grandpa?" asked my young grandson. I was planting potatoes in my garden, and he thought it was a waste to bury them. So I had an opportunity to explain to him that only as we give the seed away can we receive the harvest.
Earthquake Power
Have you ever been through an earthquake? Several years ago a mild quake awoke me with the swaying and trembling of the house. It was not severe and did not greatly disturb me. I am told that a really severe earthquake is a fearful experience. Much of the fear, however, may depend on the view one takes of the phenomenon.
The Star In The Window
During World War II it was the custom in the United States for a family who had a son serving in the military to place a star in the front window of their home. But a gold star indicated that the son had died in support of his country's cause.
How Do You Hear?
A young boy asked his father to solve a riddle. He said, "There were three frogs sitting on a log. One frog decided to jump off. How many were left?" The dad replied, "Two, of course." "You're wrong!" gleefully exclaimed the boy. "There were three frogs left. The one frog only decided to jump off, but he didn't jump!"
'Were You There?'
What you do with the Bible depends on what you do with the first sentence of Genesis. The Bible opens with a simple statement, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1). If you believe that, you can believe everything else that follows. If you reject that statement, you will also deny every other cardinal truth in the Scriptures.
Two Rivers
The Brule River, which is on the border between Michigan and Wisconsin, flows for miles with clear, sparkling water. It is inhabited by an abundant population of speckled, rainbow, and brown trout. At one point the Iron River, muddy and thick with sediment of ore and clay, merges with the Brule.
Do You Talk Too Much?
We all talk too much! What heartaches are caused, homes broken up, friends estranged, wars incited by some hasty, angry word! Much of the conflict in the world is caused by a combination of a narrow mind and a wide mouth. You will seldom get in trouble by listening, and most of us can learn more from what others say than what we have to say.
Killing Time
A friend of mine was sitting on a park bench with his hands folded, staring into the distance. When I asked what he was doing, he replied, "Oh, just killing time."
Are You Doing Your Part?
I was driving on a seldom-traveled road. Suddenly, my car slowed down, sputtered a moment, and with a final gasp, died. There I was, with only a screwdriver and a pair of pliers, miles away from a mechanic. And what I know about car engines you can put in your eye.
Deep Roots
In my orchard are two pear trees. Last summer was extremely dry, yet one of the trees was unaffected and remained green and yielded luscious pears. The other tree did not do so well. Its leaves turned yellow, the fruit shriveled, and the leaves and the fruit both dropped to the ground. The tree seemed to be dead.
Are You A Preacher?
When challenged to speak to others about Christ, some believers excuse their silence by saying, "Well, I am not a preacher." But every follower of Jesus is (or at least should be) a preacher. We don't need a pulpit. It can be done in friendly conversation, by handing out a tract or portion of Scripture, by writing a letter, or by singing a song.
Can You Take Criticism?
How good are you at making enemies? No, I didn't ask how good you are at making friends. That's easy. Just be a good Joe, an easy spender, a tolerant sort of fellow who never offends anybody.
Older— Not Old
This article is for folks old enough to be retired. But if you consider yourself young, keep on reading anyway, for you're headed for the "golden years."
