I read a story about a new young partner in a law firm. The senior partners had set extremely high standards and had coached him carefully. He did well in some minor trials but he lost his first big case. When the partners reviewed the trial, they pointed out his errors and suggested different strategies. Even with all their critique, he lost the next
A mother heard her daughter crying and ran in to see that her young son Henry had grabbed the girl’s hair and was pulling it. She removed the boy’s hand and told her daughter, “He doesn’t realize how much that hurt.” The mother left the room, and in a few minutes, she heard the little boy crying. When she walked into the room, the daughter said:
“For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he will cut off the shoots with pruning knives, and cut down and take away the spreading branches.” Isaiah 18:5 Just like the farmer tends to his crop to produce a harvest and the sculptor chisels away the stone to reveal the beauty of his art, God prunes
The New Testament records that when Jesus died, there was a great earthquake and the veil of the Temple was torn in two. The size of this gigantic veil is not recorded in the New Testament but we read from other sources that it was roughly 60 feet long and 30 feet wide with multiple woven layers the thickness of a man’s hand. It
But no one says, “Where is God my maker, who gives songs in the night.” Job 35:10 What is a song in the night? William Taylor, in the early 1800s, said if God is going to give you a song in the night, God must first make it night. If we never had any trouble, there would never be any “night” in our lives where
I must confess that I love dessert. I especially love bread pudding. So when dinner is over and my wife tells me to keep my fork, I sit in anticipation of the delight that’s about to come. In the Dutch section of Indiana, there was a man named Billy Brown. He was a godly man who always helped others and loved telling them how
Farmers and gardeners plant with great expectations. Abundant harvest is their vision as they sow the seeds for crops and vegetables, fruit or grains. But everyone who plants, even the most amateur gardener, soon discovers there are competitors for the soil’s nutrients called weeds. Weeds are ambitious, resilient, and relentless, and they will affect the harvest if not removed. Every farmer and gardener needs
According to legend, the monarch of a certain country died, leaving behind twin sons. The royal advisers had to decide which of the boys would become the next king. So they watched the infants when they were asleep. One twin slept with clenched fists, but the other slept with his fists open. A wise adviser said, “Let the twin with the open hand become
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. Psalm 138:7 Walk in the midst of trouble. God didn’t say that He would spare us from all trouble and that life would be easy after we were born again. To be in the midst of something means to be in the middle or center of it. Basically, right in the thick of
Growing up, one of my favorite Saturday activities was watching ABC Wide World of Sports. I can still remember the opening line: The thrill of victory or the agony of defeat! One of the greatest prophets of the Bible, Elijah, experienced his share of victories, but he also knew that sudden feeling of defeat. If you recall, Elijah was on Mount Carmel, the only
