Gripped By Greed
Advertisers constantly appeal to consumer greed, trying to convince us that we need certain products.
Enough For Today
Life can be monotonous. The road that lies before us seems to stretch mile after mile across a flat, barren desert with no oasis in sight. How then are we to handle wearisome responsibilities when there's no foreseeable relief from our burdens?
Pleasures In Heaven
The renowned 19th-century English preacher C. H. Spurgeon told this story about King Cyrus, the man who conquered Babylon and freed the Jews from captivity: A visitor who was admiring Cyrus' gardens said it gave him much pleasure. "Ah," said Cyrus, "but you have not so much pleasure in this garden as I have, for I have planted every tree in it myself."
Quote Misquote
In the opening chapter of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain presents an interesting conversation that reflects human nature. Tom tries to persuade his friend Huck to join him in his plans to form a band of robbers and to take captives much like pirates used to do. Huck asks Tom what pirates do with the captives they take, and Tom answers, "Ransom them." "Ransom? What's that?" asks Huck. "I don't know. But that's what they do. I seen it in books; and so of course that's what we got to do," explains Tom. "Do you want to go doing different from what's in the books, and get things all muddled up?"
Our Night Watchman
My husband and I were commit ted to having a "people ministry." We longed to bring Christ's good news to needy people and to be good news through our day-to-day involvement with them. The snag was that I was "working the nightshift" as well by carrying people's burdens to bed with me. My restless nights often immobilized me during the day.
Because Of Love
The other day I came home from work to find a plate of peanut butter snack bars on the kitchen counter. Accompanying the delectables was a note from my 12-year-old daughter Melissa to her grandparents. "Dear Grandma and Grandpa, I made these for you. Love, Melissa."
Good Fear
The prophet Jeremiah warned the Israelites that those who live wickedly and refuse to repent will one day experience God's wrath. This truth is restated throughout the Bible. God uses fear as a means of bringing people to salvation and encouraging obedience. Fear has certainly been a major factor in my life.
Tiny Evils, Big Fall
It started as a seedling on the slopes of the Colorado Rockies some 500 years ago. For centuries it had stood tall, enduring violent winds, lightning strikes, blizzards, even avalanches. Now, however, the once-towering tree is just a mound of decaying wood.
The Only Way
A man I used to work with described his religious beliefs this way: "God and I have our own thing going. I get up on Sunday morning and enjoy the day in my own way. A pot of good coffee, the Sunday paper, a walk around my yard—it's my way of knowing that everything's right with me and my Maker."
