There is no one on the planet who hasn’t been afraid at one time or another. We have all experienced it, but there are some who are overwhelmed with fear that something bad will happen; fear to take the next step (whatever that may be); fear of the future in general. They live in the “what ifs”, or in anxious anticipation of what is
I suppose one of the hardest questions to answer is: “Why do I have to deal with so much adversity?!” Quite honestly, one of the best answers I’ve ever come across was written by C.S. Lewis in his book, Mere Christianity. Lewis likened God’s use of adversity to walking a dog. If the dog gets its leash wrapped around a pole and tries to
When we know of something good we can do, and we don’t do it, God says that is sin. It is the sin of omission. Sometimes we can become blind to the needs around us. We have all kinds of opportunities to represent God, but we are not willing to give up the things that give us pleasure, or the things that are part
Years ago, I heard an anointed missionary and personal friend speaking on the consequences of sin. He told a story about a pair of brothers he knew quite well. In his teenage years, the older brother went through a time of rebellion against his Christian upbringing. He went to a few parties, drank a little alcohol, tried a few drugs and quickly felt convicted of his behavior and
A little girl was standing in the middle of the block, not on the corner. A businessman saw her and told her that the school bus wouldn’t stop in the middle of the block. “You need to go to the corner where there is a bus stop,” he said. But the girl just replied, “I have lots of faith that the bus will pick
Carl Armerding wrote a funny story in Moody Monthly, about his experience at the zoo. “As I stood there,” he said, “an attendant entered the cage through a door on the opposite side. He had nothing in his hands but a broom. Carefully closing the door, he proceeded to sweep the floor of the cage.” He observed that the worker had no weapon to
My dog, Winston, is a loyal, fun, and bright companion. He sees me pray every night, and even waits beside me; but he does not have the capacity to pray. In the creation account in Genesis, we read how God created plants and animals after their own kind. But in the case of human beings, God did something different. He formed man in His
In the Greek Olympic games of old, a unique race was run. The winner was not the runner who finished first. It was the runner who finished with his torch still lit. There are times in our lives when we feel like we just can’t continue in the race. These are precisely the times when the enemy loves to assault us to the point
Have you ever noticed that when people are in love, they tend to forget everything else? Everything becomes secondary—cars, houses, money—nothing matters. It is all secondary to love. Then, when they fall out of love, as in a divorce, all of a sudden those things mean everything! They argue about all the little meaningless things they ever owned together. Each wants it all for
A farmer and his friend went duck hunting. Eventually, they got to talking about the things of God, as they always would. “You’re always talking about these battles you have with the devil,” the farmer’s friend said to him. “It’s so silly. I mean, I’m not even a Christian and I’ve never experienced anything like that.” “Yes my friend,” the wise farmer answered, “but
