When God Feels Pain
A men's group was discussing the reasons for living a morally pure life. One man argued that it was fear that kept him in line. Another insisted it was love. But a third man suggested that it was a love-motivated fear. Yes, he did fear the shame, the disgrace, and the punishment he might endure for wrongdoing, but worst of all was the fear of making his wife suffer. "I'd rather be beaten to death," he exclaimed, "than to see the hurt in the eyes of the woman I love."
Jail From The Inside Out
From the outside, all jails look bad. But from the inside, some prisons rate better than others.
Revelation And Response
I tried to tell Felix about my faith. He was polite, but he said he would rather not discuss religion. His goal in life was to be a decent person and to find as much enjoyment as he could. He had concluded that death ends everything. He said he was happy with his beliefs.
It's Hard To Be Holy
Holiness is hard work. That's one of the messages Haggai the prophet gave to the exiles returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.
Insects And Their Witness
The more than 1.5 million kinds of insects display a diversity that points to the wisdom of an infinite Creator. The common honey bee organizes a little city inside its hive. It builds 10,000 cells for honey, 12,000 for the larvae, and a special chamber for the queen mother.
Walk Your Talk
A humorous greeting card showed a grotesquely thin cow wandering in a barren desert. The skinny cow was meant to illustrate "where nonfat milk comes from." The logic of the cartoon, of course, is entirely unscientific. Nonfat milk is not produced by nonfat cows!
Eyes On The King
John Henry Jowett, the great English preacher, liked to tell about the time he attended the coronation of Edward VII. Westminster Abbey was filled with royalty. Jowett said, "Much bowing and respect was shown as nobility of high rank entered the cathedral." When the king arrived, however, a hush came over the audience. Every eye was on him, and no longer did the dignitaries of lower status receive the gaze and interest of the people. All the subjects fixed their attention on their royal leader.
Unlikely Heroes
The Lord makes heroes out of very unlikely people. One such person is Angie Garber. She was born with a severe facial deformity. The surgery to correct her appearance left her deaf in one ear.
Getting What We Want
A certain airline pilot had a peculiar habit. Whenever he took off from his hometown of Minneapolis, he would ask the copilot to take the controls. Then he would stare intently out the window for a few moments.
