Category: CHRISTIAN LIFE
If Many Die at Once: A Brockton Dialogue
A Brockton Dialogue The older, wiser Mr. Brockton: When scores of people lose their lives at one time, it isn’t alarming, but it is tragic. The younger disciple, James: How is it possible not to be alarmed if 5000 die in an earthquake or 10,000 in...
Should We Still be Devoted to the Public Reading of Scripture?
Is the Bible read much at your church’s meetings? Should it be? At the beginning of 1 Timothy 4, Paul says the false teachers in Ephesus were “devoting themselves to . . . teachings of demons” (v. 1). Later in the chapter, he charges Timothy: “Until...
My Gains Eaten Away
In Earnest Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea, the superstitious old man on his dilapidated skiff had no luck catching any big fish for a long time, but this day as he allowed the wind to carry him out much further than before, and after nearly...
The Cat, Witty
I’m lazily reading James Herriot’s tribute to cats called Cat Stories, illustrated by Lesley Holmes (the illustrations are as satisfying as the stories). Herriot has an attractive and thoughtful manner of relating his veterinarian stories, as some of you will know. Herriot’s book allows me to...
God’s Way, Not Ours: Kingdom Advance Out of Something Awful
The story of the death of the first martyr of the early church, Stephen, is both ugly and spectacular (see Acts 7:54-60). The ugliness of Stephen’s murderers is found in such phrases as these: “they were enraged” (v. 54); “they ground their teeth at him” (v....
Faint, but Pursuing
The name “Gideon” means “hewer” or “one who cuts down”. It carries with it connotations of strength, one who fells great trees, strikes down enemies, and topples mighty opponents. When the angel of the Lord once greeted a man named Gideon, he did so appropriately for...
Conscience
Conscience is the light God has placed within the soul of man to distinguish between right and wrong. It will be one of the things which will be the basis of God’s judgment at the last day (Romans 2:16). The Scriptures clearly teach us what the...
Embracing God’s Training
Every significant task on earth requires training. The homemaker, the accountant, the pastor, the CEO all must learn somewhere and somehow. To do life in the way God intends requires training, and God Himself, our Father, is the master trainer. IT’S HARD Ask anyone who has...
Contend for the Faith When Infiltrated by the Wicked
That small letter called Jude, which reads like a diatribe on the one hand, is a weighty and relevant appeal to the church. It should not be dismissed because of its diminutive size. Like Napoleon at 5’6,” it more than makes up for its mere 25...
Deserted by All My Friends: How Should I Respond?
Perhaps you’ve had this experience: Something was troubling you. It was consuming your life, weighing you down, distracting your attention. You decided to share this with your brothers and sisters in Christ. You needed their help. You longed for their prayers. Then the moment came—perhaps in...
