The Book Alive
Author: Jim Elliff

The husband had fallen asleep as the wife finished reading her Bible in bed. Suddenly she threw her hand on to the chest of the sleeping spouse screaming out, "There's a man in this book!"

The Church of the Shrunken Heads
Author: Jim Elliff

I could walk to the museum when I was a boy in Kansas City. Of all the wonders I saw there, the shrunken head was the most alluring. I could envision how it was made to shrink. It was inset in the wall, blackened, menacing, exotic, jaw-dropping, and . . . fake.

It was years later that scientists discovered that 80% of the shrunken heads displayed around the country were not human heads, but those of monkeys or sloths, or the mere handicraft of an enterprising native made from goatskin.

The Cross or Loss
Author: Jim Elliff

The cross is the character of Christianity.

As the self-appointed spokesman for Jesus' handpicked coterie, Peter says the right thing at the right time: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." But Peter cannot leave good enough alone. As Jesus goes on to explain for the first time that He will go to Jerusalem, suffer, die, and be raised again, Peter rebukes Him for such an outlandish notion. "Never! Not you! God forbid it, Lord!"

The Difference Between Moths and Cockroaches (The Anatomy and Importance of Desire)
Author: Daryl Wingerd

What is it that you want the most? What are you irresistibly drawn to? What do you prefer over everything else? These are not inconsequential questions. The answers reveal who (or what) you really are.

The Dog That Yelped
Author: Fred Zaspel

Most boys of my generation did it. It was frowned upon then too, even if not as much as today. But, I confess, we did it. These days, dogs are confined to the yard. But when we were young the dogs ran the neighborhoods of suburban Peoria, IL. We knew every neighbor's dog by name, and we knew which ones to pet and which ones to avoid. Every now and then the neighborhood's "mean" dogs would run together in packs. And sometimes a pack of dogs would seem threatening, at least to a young boy. And that's when we were likely to throw the rock. We were bound to hit one of them.

The Fellowship Factor
Author: Daryl Wingerd

Living for Christ Better by Loving Him Together

Christians who hold each other accountable by regularly asking each other to confess sins they have committed are restraining each other from sinning. The knowledge that someone is going to ask you to tell the truth about your behavior provides a significant deterrent. This kind of "tell the truth" accountability is one important aspect of fellowship, but resisting temptation solely to avoid shame or disapproval from others is not a uniquely Christian motive. No one enjoys confessing their failures, and anyone—Christian or otherwise—can be motivated to avoid certain actions through accountability with other likeminded people.

The Garage Method
Author: Jim Elliff

Worry destroys a lot in us. It mitigates against living faith, the only way we have to please God. It is a sin, plain and simple.

The God Who Rescues the Godly
Author: Daryl Wingerd

Do you ever feel surrounded, outnumbered, overwhelmed by the ungodliness of our culture? Do you ever find yourself complaining about how difficult it is to consistently pursue holiness in the midst of such corruption? If you were completely honest with yourself, would you admit that you have even subconsciously used the moral darkness of the culture you live in as an excuse for sloppiness in your own life? 

The Good a Bible Might Do
Author: Steve Burchett

The Good Result of a Bad Word: The Value of Fellowship Between Women
Author: Susan Verstraete

Then one day, while I was working on a project with one of the other young mothers, she said a word not to be repeated in polite society. It was a bad one.

I was never more grateful in my life.