Money Talks
As I was driving home from the office, I saw a minivan proudly displaying a bumper sticker that read: “Money Talks: Mine Says Goodbye.” I think a lot of people can relate to that sentiment.
God Intrudes
During this Christmas season, it’s good to keep a firm grip on the reality of Easter. While the two events are celebrated at different times and in very different ways, they are both integral parts of God’s initiative in His grand plan of salvation.
Does God Forget?
God longs to forgive sinners! But in the minds of many people, this thought seems too good to be true. Countless sermons have been preached to convince guilt-ridden individuals that it is true. Many of these sermons emphasize that God not only forgives the sinner but also forgets the sin. I’ve often said it myself, never doubting its soundness.
Praying Sheep
Two children dressed as sheep in the Christmas play at Kaw Prairie Community Church in De Soto, Missouri, had a special part. Whenever Murphy, the main character in the play, encountered a problem, the sheep (Maria and Luke) came on stage to offer a reminder of what he needed to do. One carried the sign: “Just.” The other carried the sign: “Pray.”
The Maker Of Mountains
The Bible uses vivid imagery to express the brevity of our life on earth. Job said that his days were “swifter than a runner” and “they pass by like swift ships” (Job 9:25-26).
A Knightly Soldier
Before he enlisted in the Union Army to fight during the US Civil War, Joshua Chamberlain was a quiet and unassuming college professor. In the crucible of military combat he distinguished himself for his heroism in holding the line on Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg. He was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Waiting For God
Author Henri Nouwen has observed that the first pages of Luke’s gospel are filled with people who were waiting: Zacharias and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, Simeon and Anna were all waiting for the fulfillment of a promise from God. But instead of passively waiting, they were actively looking to the Lord each day, what Nouwen calls being “present to the moment.”
God’s Work Of Art
Vincent Van Gogh bought a mirror and used his own likeness in many of his paintings. Rembrandt also used himself as a model, completing nearly 100 self-portraits. These artists had a good example, that of God Himself, who used His own likeness as the pattern for His crown jewel of creation (Gen. 1:27).
Righteousness Endures Forever
A good deal of our unhappiness as we grow older is caused by our pining for the “good old days”—those times when we enjoyed health, wealth, position, or power. But the things of this world don’t last. They are vacillating, changeable, capricious. In time, they may be taken away from us and replaced with poverty, isolation, weakness, and pain.
