Life Words
Words of encouragement can be "life words," bringing new motivation to our lives. Mark Twain said that he could live for a whole month on one good compliment.
Secret Security
Feeling secure is a high priority in this unsafe, volatile world. A private investigation agency in Florida promises to "work diligently to restore the sense of security and safety that you and your family deserve."
Two Bethlehems
The birth of Jesus Christ was unlike any other. Mary's was an "other world" conception. The angel told her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you" (Luke 1:35). The child conceived in her was from outside our world. And it had to be so, because the boy born to Mary was Immanuel, "God with us" (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23).
"But God . . ."
What if Joseph had succumbed to the advances of Potiphar's wife? (Genesis 39). Imagine how he could have justified his sin. "But God, You don't want me to be unhappy, and you know how lonely it is here. Besides, I think I really love her."
Confronted By The Cross
World-famous Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was sent to a Siberian prison because he criticized communism. Languishing there under intolerable conditions year after year, he decided to end his life. But suicide, he firmly believed, would be against God's will. He thought it would be better for a guard to shoot him.
The Big News
In December 1903, after many attempts, the Wright brothers were successful in getting their "flying machine" off the ground. Thrilled, they telegraphed this message to their sister Katherine: "We have actually flown 120 feet. Will be home for Christmas."
Door Of Humility
Over the centuries, the entrance to Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity has twice been made smaller. The purpose in the last case was to keep marauders from entering the basilica on horseback. It's now referred to as the "Door of Humility," because visitors must bend down to enter.
Use Your Weapons
Above all, [take] the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. -Ephesians 6:16
Forgotten In The Gifts
In Western culture, the Christmas season is a time for a revelry of gift-giving. A world-famous department store annually issues a catalog of gifts of value beyond extravagance. One of them was a $10 million zeppelin-a 230-foot-long, 50-foot-wide airship capable of flying for 24 hours without refueling.
