When my two brothers and I were growing up, our family struggled to get by on my father’s income (even though he worked long and arduous hours for that income). My mother would cook a big roast for Sunday lunch. From that good meal, we would have hot roast beef sandwiches on Sunday night, hash […]

A survey by a national institute found that 70 percent of people in the United States often dream about doing something different for a living. Books, consultants, and employment

The story is told of three baseball umpires who were discussing their philosophies of officiating at the plate. The first umpire firmly stated, “Some are balls and some are strikes, but I call ‘em like I see

The national media reported in January 2004, that Olivia Goldsmith, author of the popular book, The First Wives Club (which became a film starring Goldie Hawn and Bette Midler), died from complications resulting from cosmetic surgery.

In this very “busy” world we live in, we are prone to neglect the most important part of life, and that is our spiritual life. This material world offers us much in the way of fulfilling

A querist asks, “Can you please give us a scriptural interpretation of Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 and the application for us living in the 21st century?”

The following poem by an unknown author regarding our relationships is worth our consideration:

Living the life of slave in the Roman Empire was not an easy thing. For the most part, slaves were regarded as being on equal level with animals with few, if any rights. Some slaves had good masters and challenging work, but most were given menial tasks to perform. They worked long hours with little […]

Honesty must be woven into the fabric of our character if we are to have an effective influence for Christ. Even the secular world recognizes the importance of integrity (1 Peter 2:12).

Most people have heard of the Roman Emperor Nero (54-68 A.D.) throwing Christians to the lions, but Nero isn’t the only emperor who was involved in persecuting early Christians.

Holding up the hands of others is a principle that is found in both the Old and New Testaments (Exodus 17:8-13; Hebrews 12:12-13; cf. Job 4:3-4; Isaiah 35:3). It not only provides encouragement for those who need it, but great reward for the ones who offer their assistance as

We are often frustrated because we desire two mutually exclusive things: (1) evil pleasures and (2) a pure conscience; (1) idleness and (2) success; (1) a selfish life and (2) a reputation for generosity.

Have we ever thought about the fact that we breathe approximately 12 to 18 times per minute (see #44), and those breaths are automatically executed without us even having to think about them? Just think, if we have reached the plateau of 60 years of age (using the 18 times per minute figure), we have […]

Yesterday’s Nudge in The Fellowship Room was, “Share a recent question you have asked God.”

From time to time, I receive email from Christian friends that contain poignant stories and biblical applications. The following is such a story:

Our Lord considers every one of us as being extremely important to Him, for in Matthew 10:30, He states, “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” In other words, not only does the Lord know the total of “how many” hairs we have, but he knows them to the extent that He […]

If you think you are beaten, you are; If you think you dare not, you don’t. If you’d like to win, but think you can’t It’s almost a cinch you won’t.

When Jesus spoke, He not only did so in positive terms but also conveyed truth using negative expressions: “So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:33). And similarly He said: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself….” (Matthew 16:24). Self-denial is […]

While rummaging around in our garage, I found all the awards that our son had achieved during his years as a boy scout, including his Eagle Scout badge. There they were in a box — about to be thrown out. I immediately thought of the blood, sweat, and tears that had gone into gaining those […]

The Bible lists several kinds of fools. Hopefully, none of us fit into any category of the fools listed in a negative sense. However, as Christians, have we ever thought of ourselves as being a “fool“? Paul and the rest of the apostles thought of themselves as being “fools