A Child Like Peter

Do you have a child who seems to hear you only when he wants to? He doesn't hear you the first time you ask him to please bring his math book home so you can help him. Nor does he seem to hear you the second time you mention it. You have to tell him three times.

When Things Get Worse

A woman was experiencing several complications from a serious illness. "As a nurse," she said, "I know what to expect. Things will only get worse." After listing the problems that would come as her disease progressed, she expressed her confidence that the Lord would be with her all the way. Then she quipped, "I just wish it wouldn't take Him so long to take me to heaven."

The Best-Laid Plans

We may think about the future and plan our lives as carefully as possible, but God has the final word. He is the One who turns our dreams into reality—or who turns our lives in a sharply different direction.

Cover-up

After bearing the burden of a guilty conscience for more than four decades, an elderly man decided he couldn't go on any longer without confessing his crime.

Feelings Of Inadequacy

"I can't." With those words, we often dismiss our responsibility to do something God wants us to do.

Thankful For Government?

Most of us would agree with Paul about the need to pray for political leaders (1 Tim. 2:1). But many people have a hard time accepting Paul's instruction to give thanks to God for government (v.2). Because of all the wrong they see in national and local politics, government seems more of a curse than a blessing. They wonder what they are supposed to be thankful for.

We Reap What We Sow

Many of us are deeply troubled by the injustices we see in life. Unscrupulous, dishonest, God-denying people are often the ones who prosper the most. But you can be sure of this: "God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" (Gal. 6:7). This principle is illustrated in The Gray and Adams Commentary.

Reasons Why I Never Wash

People who don't attend church often give some rather interesting reasons for not doing so. To show the weaknesses of those excuses, someone has compiled a humorous list called "Ten Reasons Why I Never Wash."

1. I was forced to wash as a child.
2. People who wash are hypocrites—they think they're cleaner than others.
3. There are so many kinds of soap, I could never decide which was right.
4. I used to wash, but it got boring.
5. I wash only on Christmas or Easter.
6. None of my friends wash.
7. I'll start washing when I'm older.
8. I really don't have time.
9. The bathroom isn't warm enough.
10. People who make soap are only after your money.

What's The Incarnation?

The incarnation. It's one of those big doctrinal terms that may puzzle us. What does it mean? Let's take a few moments to think about it.