When homes were in areas where springs were scarce and summers tended to be long and dry, cisterns were commonly used in Bible times to collect rain water and store water for a family’s use.  But, cisterns did not last forever (eventually drying out and breaking), and instead of being used for water storage, broken cisterns were sometimes used as make-shift prison…

In Acts 7, Stephen was not afraid to tell the Jews exactly what they needed to hear, even if they didn’t want to hear it.  The Jews, who “were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke” (Acts 6:10), had “set up false witnesses” against him (6:13).  Does that remind you of Jesus?  That’s not the only…

Have you ever made a mistake (a genuine mistake) that cost you dearly?  Perhaps, although you were trying to be careful, you entered a number incorrectly on your taxes and you got audited.  Perhaps, without thinking, you rolled through a stop sign, without coming to a complete stop, and got slapped with a fine.  Perhaps you inadvertently clicked on the wrong item…

While staring at a 10-inch long black, red and yellow ringed snake, I was trying to remember that little poem.  “Black on yellow, silly fellow?  Yellow on black, take a step back?  Yellow on red, you’re dead?”  I knew there was some little rhyme, but I could not confidently remember in which order to put the colors or what rhyming-combinations went together. …

A young adult male was waiting on customers at the bookstore café.  A group of young, attractive females came in and, one by one, ordered some pastries and drinks.  He gave each one of them his undivided attention, cheerfully greeting them, pleasantly joking with them, apparently flirting with them.  Walking in later and waiting at the back of the line were two…

The 1980s gave us some pop songs that helped to shape the way of thinking for an entire generation.  To justify infidelity in marriage, the “Human League” hit the charts in 1986 with, “I’m only human, of flesh and blood I’m made.  Human, born to make mistakes.”  Of course, they were only following “The King of Pop,” Michael Jackson, who released his…

The old adage says, “Actions speak louder than words.”  A more recent rendition of that says, “Your actions speak so loud that I can’t hear a word you’re saying.”  We usually think about this in relationship to things that we DO—actions in which we actually engage and are seen by others when we are engaging.  But, what about our “inactivity”?  While our…

The much-awaited return of football season is here.  Now, for those who so choose, games can fill your entire weekend.  What kind of fan are you?  Are you a die-hard fan, who knows your team’s schedule by heart and speaks about them as “we” and “us”?  Are you up on the player’s stats and the opposing player’s strengths?  Or, are you a…