Knowing Too Much
Gerrit and I were teenage friends when we attended Christian High School. One day he became unhappy with the large assignments, so he reminded his teacher that Ecclesiastes says, "He who increases knowledge increases sorrow" (1:18). Apparently our teacher wasn't impressed. The assignments stayed large and our sorrow increased.
Treadmill
In bad weather I get my exercise on a treadmill. But it's so boring! When the odometer says I've walked a mile, I've actually gone nowhere.
Waiting Game
We are sometimes slow to go to God for forgiveness. We carry our guilt around for days, weeks, or even longer before dealing with our sin. Why do we wait so long?
I'm Afraid Of God
Many times I have talked to people about our need to fear God. I've heard them respond something like this: "You're not really afraid of God, are you? I'd never believe in that kind of God."
Conscience & Consequence
Nearly every day we face questions of conscience. We must choose between doing what pleases God and what appeals to our own selfish desires.
Stay In The Sunshine!
In his book The Best Is Yet To Be, Henry Durbanville told the story of a little girl in London who won a prize at a flower show. Her entry was grown in an old cracked teapot and had been placed in the rear attic window of a rundown tenement house. When asked how she managed to raise such a lovely flower in such an unlikely environment, she said she moved it around so it would always be in the sunlight.
A Test Of Faith
When I was a boy, I disliked the story of Abraham going to Mount Moriah to sacrifice his son Isaac. Why would God tell Abraham to do such a thing? I was an only son, and I didn't want that happening to me! My parents assured me that God was testing Abraham's faith. And he passed that test. Even with the knife in his hand, Abraham believed God (Gen. 22:8-10). He had learned that the Lord could be trusted.
Don't Be A Fake
Every day, thousands of people travel from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, China, and head straight for Lo Wu Commercial City, a giant shopping mall that sells imitations of luxury items. In a New York Times article, Mark Landler says, "With five floors and 500,000 square feet of retail space, Lo Wu may be the world's capital of counterfeit goods."
Plodders For God
In the Bible, the life of faith is often described as a walk (Gen. 17:1; Ps. 84:11; Mic. 6:8; Rom. 8:1; Gal. 5:25). For most of us, our Christian pilgrimage involves plodding, a pace that sometimes feels unspiritual and unproductive. My dictionary defines plodding as "making one's way slowly and perseveringly."
