From inside the belly of a great fish, “Jonah prayed to the Lord” (Jonah 2:1). Wouldn’t you? As he “cried out to the Lord” (2:2), Jonah realized, “I have been cast out of Your sight” (2:4). Why? What could have happened to lead Jonah out of God’s sight? Back up into the first chapter. When God commanded Jonah to “go to Nineveh” (1:2), “Jonah arose to flee…

If you had seen Jesus multiply five loaves and two fish to feed over 5,000 people, what would you do? Would you tell others about it? If you had seen Jesus heal a man born blind, what would you do? Would you tell others about it? If you had seen Jesus raise someone from the dead, what would you do? Would you tell others about it? I dare…

One of the most memorable scenes in cinema is the wedding of Prince Humperdinck and Buttercup in “The Princess Bride.” “Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeva today!” As chaos and a battle begin to ensue outside the palace during the ceremony, the Prince orders “The Impressive Clergyman” to “Skip to the end!” Hmm. Skip to the end. Mawage (a.k.a. marriage) can be tough. There is a…

Sometimes we think about the topic of “peer pressure,” and we may categorize that as a problem limited to young people. Such a mis-categorization has led some adult Christians to believe that it cannot impact them. Wrong! Follow a Christian into the workplace and the business world. Is there any “peer pressure” there? How many Christians use a little foul language at work because “it’s what…

How often have you been driving down the road and someone is in your way—maybe another car driving very slowly, maybe some road workers, maybe a cyclist or pedestrian. Have you ever thought (or even said), “Hey, you! Get out of the way!” You know, life is like that. Sometimes we can be driving down the road of life, and things or people get in…

It is interesting to hear what some people think about the church sometimes. So many folks look at the church like some kind of human organization, which they think they can “take it or leave it” (which usually means they’re going to “leave it”). Sometimes they will make comments like, “I’ve got my relationship with Jesus. I don’t have to be part of the church!” Is…

Have you ever reached the “end of your patience” with someone—maybe with your children or a sibling or a coworker? You had been extending patience for a long time, but you reach your end and just cannot extend any more? What happens when you reach the “end of your patience”? Do you know how much patience God is extending to us? SO MUCH! The Bible plainly…

It may seem strange (and even counterproductive) to us that after certain miracles Jesus told the individuals to keep the news to themselves and to “tell no one” (Matt. 8:4; 9:30; 12:15-16). Why would Jesus command such? Didn’t He want everyone to know about Him?  Think about what did happen when “everyone” found out about Him. On the one hand, those who legitimately were trying…