Who Is To Blame?
Judah was willing to assume the responsibility for bringing his brother Benjamin back from Egypt (Genesis 43:9). If anything happened to him, Judah would take the blame. This is one of the rarest traits in human nature, for we usually seek to put the blame on someone else.
Hypocrites
A hypocrite is a pretender. He is a person who does not act his real self but disguises himself to be another. God hates hypocrisy but loves sinners. In all the records of the Gospels, Jesus spoke to sinners with sympathy, kindness, and forgiveness. But to the hypocritical religious leaders, He used the strongest possible language of condemnation. He called them blind guides, whitewashed tombs, and vipers (Matthew 23:24,27,33).
Remember!
The disciples remembered—and then they believed. After the death of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection, they recalled and finally understood Jesus' words, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19).
Like Him
God is not interested in just saving us from hell and taking us to heaven. He wants to conform us "to the image of His Son" (Romans 8:29). Someone has said that the Father was so pleased with His Son that He has determined to fill all of heaven with others just like Him.
Dewdrops
It was a summer morning, and the first rays of sun were falling across my garden. The prior evening the leaves on the tender corn were drooping from intense heat and lack of rain. But in the morning the spikes were straight and fresh, and each leaf was adorned with sparkling drops of dew. During the night, the cooling air caused moisture to condense into dewdrops, refreshing the wilted vegetation.
Unsung Heroes
The Bible contains many incidents of helpfulness by people whose names are not given. In 1 Samuel 30 we read that David's soldiers found a young man who had been left behind by a retreating enemy army. The Egyptian slave is not named, but he provided key information that helped David to rescue his family.
Get Up And Start Over
Are you feeling "down" today? Are you discouraged because of your experience yesterday? In an unguarded moment, did you stumble and fall by yielding to sin?
Win By Losing
Have you ever played dominoes? In my boyhood days it was a favorite indoor pastime. Some time ago while visiting a family, I saw a young boy and his grandfather playing the game. A flood of memories surged over me as I remembered my own boyhood days.
Are You Good At Forgiving?
Is it possible to measure a Christian's spiritual maturity? Certainly we cannot judge it by the length or even the content of one's prayers. Too much public praying is done for its effect on the "listeners" instead of the "Listener." Even the generosity of one's giving is not an infallible test of spirituality, for it too may be for personal recognition or easing of a guilty conscience.
