Sometimes people (that includes us, yes?) say things that they believe will show they are enlightened, a cut above most, and actually relevant to the world.  Unfortunately (or maybe it’s fortunately), if you listen closely to what these folks say (and listen long enough), their own words will expose them. This is why Solomon warned, “Do not be rash with your mouth…let…

It’s that time of year when folks make resolutions to begin on the first day of January. Statistics indicate that more than 80% of those resolutions don’t stick. (That number is actually lower than I expected.) The reason they don’t last is because they are attached to an arbitrary date and not a true decision and commitment to change. Think about that in relationship to Christianity.…

Why is it that those closest to us are often the ones who can hurt us, irritate us and upset us the most? Maybe because we spend more time with them, maybe because they know us best, maybe because we have higher expectations, maybe for no good reason at all. What can we do when those we are closest to annoy us? Perhaps ask a…

We pick and choose when we go to the movies, when we go out to eat, when we do most everything. Do we pick and choose when we will go to worship and when we won’t? Over the years, I have known of people who chose to not worship on a particular Sunday because a certain person was going to be preaching, a certain…

Insurance is an interesting thing! It is not something that you just automatically receive when you are born or buy a house or a car. There are steps you must take to qualify for it. After you have it, you must continue to maintain it and keep up on your premiums. The worst thing to hear is that your insurance policy has lapsed. This is not…

Sometimes you hear something so often that you tune it out. Such is often the case with announcements made at church services. This was evident on a Sunday morning when the announcement maker made the customary appeal to silence all cell phones for the worship service, and then ten minutes later an Amber Alert came out. The Amber Alert revealed who wasn’t paying attention during…

In the first chapter of the book of Job, Satan comes after Job to get him to denounce his faith and turn against the Lord. Even after the horrible events of that chapter, “Job did not sin” (1:21). The very first word of chapter 2 speaks volumes—“Again.” Satan was not done with Job. He came at him again in chapter two , but “in all this…

After a long, exhausting day of teaching and healing, “evening had come” and it was time to “cross over to the other side” of the sea (Mark 4:35). “Now when they had left the multitude, they took [Jesus] along in the boat as He was…And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He…