Category: Life Issues
Waves of Doubt
Doubt is deafening. Like the commotion in a crowded hallway that makes your conversation impossible, or a roaring jet engine near your head, doubt has a way of blocking out everything else. As you listen to the pastor preaching, or read the Bible, doubt screams in...
Waiting for Unexpected Appointments
A band of swarthy men prod their sleepy camels out of slumber to face another interminable, boiling desert day. As traders from the land of Midian, Egypt’s bustling bazaars beckon. But unknown to them, they will keep an appointment they do not know they have. And...
Upheld in the Depths
Things are different at the lowest point on earth: swimming is floating, water brings death and salty mud becomes a cosmetic phenomenon. This is what it is like in the Dead Sea basin at about 1,400 feet below sea level. It looks beautiful, but it is—as...
The Ramp
“It is only when caught in the swift, sudden turn of death, that mortals realize the silent, subtle, ever-present perils of life” (Herman Melville, Moby Dick). It was a beautiful set up. At least it looked beautiful to the two little boys who had made the...
The Sufficiency of Daily Grace
Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34)Most of my trouble is tomorrow. I don’t have enough money tomorrow. I have to have a tough conversation tomorrow. I’ve got too much...
The Tamed Tongue
Your tongue may be the most dangerous weapon you possess. When unleashed (or unsheathed) without restraint, it can cut more deeply than a sword (Ps. 52:2; Ps. 57:4; Ps. 64:3; Prov. 12:18). But the tongue can also be used for encouragement and healing—for blessing rather than...
The Tongue and What It Tells Us
The tongue is perhaps your most powerful tool of influence. James tells us that it is “a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things” (James 3:5). It is like the tiny rudder that steers a great ship, or the small spark...
The Usefulness of Failure
Considering the failures of others can promote your success. For example, do you not tend to slow down when you see the flashing red and blue lights of a police officer issuing a speeding ticket? Would you not walk more carefully if someone walking ahead of...
The Value of Physical Fitness for the Christian
In any discussion about Christians and physical fitness, we should begin with Paul’s comparison in 1 Timothy 4:7-8—“On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds...
The Price, and Reward, of Faithfulness
Three young men were faced with the ultimate choice: deny God by worshiping a graven image, or be burned alive. This was the decree and threat from the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar recorded in Daniel 3, and it compelled the following response from Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego:...
