Stop At The Start
In the spring of 1894, the Baltimore Orioles came to Boston to play the Red Sox in what was expected to be a routine baseball game. But what happened was anything but routine. The Orioles' John McGraw got into a fight with Boston's third baseman. Within minutes all the players from both teams had joined in the brawl.
Mother's Laws
As I read Proverbs 6:20, which refers to "the law of your mother," I recall some of my mother's unique "laws" that have helped me many times.
'I Found Jesus'
Sundar Singh was an angry young man. After his mother died when he was 14 years old, he became a fierce opponent of Christianity in his northern India community. But then, in a dramatic conversion, he turned in faith to Jesus Christ. For the next 25 years he exerted a far-reaching, international influence.
Souls And Wallets
The book of Hebrews strikes a strange note for men and women living with the values of the 21st century. "Let your conduct be without covetousness," the writer urged, and "be content with such things as you have" (13:5). He wasn't saying that having money is a sin, but it can be a problem. Our world has bought into the myth that riches and contentment go together, that they're almost the same thing. Yet, many wealthy people who boast large bank accounts are not content. They always want more, and they live in dread that they will lose what they have.
Going Away
It was the most unusual "going-away party" ever. There stood Jesus, who had recently risen from the grave. And there stood His followers, listening to His teaching as they had on so many occasions. Jesus spoke about the coming of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49), and He told them that it would be their task to be His witnesses.
Where Is My Focus?
My mother, who was a single parent in Singapore, employed a nanny to take care of us children while she was at work. Only many years later did I realize how profoundly my nanny had influenced my thinking and behavior. She used to tell us, "If people treat you well, treat them better than they have treated you; but if they treat you badly, treat them worse than they have treated you!"
Is God Unfair?
A couple I knew some years ago questioned God's fairness after both of their school-aged children were killed in auto accidents within a period of 3 years. Like most parents, they had anticipated much happiness with their son and daughter. Their friends saw their own children graduate from high school, but these parents were deprived of that joy.
The Salt Lick
One spring I put a salt block in the bushes a few yards behind my mountain home. I was hoping to draw in a small herd of deer that grazed at a distance. Each morning I slowly opened the window shades, hoping to see deer gathered around the lick; each morning I was disappointed. I didn't think the herd would ever find the salt.
Do I Care?
Why would Richard Gilder install a fire department gong in his bedroom? As the Tenement House Commissioner in New York City, he wondered what was causing so many fires. But he did more than wonder—he showed genuine concern. Whenever a fire broke out in one of the tenement houses, the alarm sounded and Gilder would rush off to investigate.
