... she thinks she is always right. One day she gets upset with Charley Brown. She is ranting and raving and shaking her fist at poor ol’ Charley Brown. Finally, Charley Brown says, “Look, Lucy, if you and I as relatively small children, ... the gracious hand of God, so ingratitude is not a pretty picture. With the help of God, we need to lay aside – closed-mindedness, arrogant pride, ingratitude – these are three pieces of baggage we need to lose. We do not need them in our lives. But the only way we can ...
... would have had us do because we were too afraid to act? Was there a time when sin reared its ugly head—whether pride or lust or envy or anger—and derailed our walk with and ministry for God? Such occasions can create profound, long-term regrets ... on his weaker opponent. Terry complies, though he regrets it for the rest of his life. He later bemoans what might have been had Charley not convinced him to throw the fight. He tells his brother of his regrets and his resentments for what he had convinced him to ...
We have all seen them. As we drive down the road, there as plain as day. I am not sure who the source is, but they are certainly there—those signs from God on the highway. You know, the pitch black background with a white message from God. I saw one just the other day that read: “We need to talk” -God I got to thinking about those signs and asked myself: Wouldn’t it be nice if God really spoke to us this way? Wouldn’t it be nice if we were ever confused about something, all we would have to do is look at a ...
Today I continue our series “Pop Verses.” We are taking a closer look at some of the most popular Bible verses. We are finding out why they are so popular and how they apply to our lives. Quite often our favorite verses are just that – they’re verses. They’re not read in context. This can lead to a misunderstanding about the meaning of the verse. I believe this series is going to give us a lot of food for thought about these popular verses. Today our focus is another verse from the prophet Jeremiah. You ...
There is an old story about a mother of eight who walked into her house after visiting with a neighbor and found her five youngest children huddled together in the middle of the living room. On closer examination, she discovered that her children were gathered around a family of skunks. Utterly shocked, she screamed, “Run, children, run!” Responding to their mother’s command, each child grabbed a skunk and ran.[1] This story is a poignant parable of our sinful nature. Like giddy children huddled together ...
Moses saw that look in their eyes. He saw that glimmer of hope on their faces. For when those words dripped like honey from his mouth, the people of God dreamed about what it was going to be like. At first glance, they really do not seem to be very exciting words, but for those who had been toiling in the wilderness, these words were like living water to a parched soul: “When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it ...
Woody Allen once quipped, “If there is a God, he is the ultimate under-achiever.” This statement is a stinging indictment, especially for those who have high expectations of God. Some may even find it offensive. It is unthinkable that God would want to do less than the very best for the world. However, these deflating words are not too distant from the attitude of Abraham at the beginning of Genesis 15. Abraham has waited expectantly for the child that God has promised him and anticipated the joy of a son ...
A.A. Milne, the creator of Winnie the Pooh, wrote a simple, yet telling poem in his work, Now We Are Six: When I was One, I had just begun. When I was Two, I was nearly new. When I was Three, I was hardly Me. When I was Four, I was not much more. When I was Five, I was just alive. But now I am Six, I’m as clever as ever. So I think I’ll be six now forever and ever.[1] This is a cute poem, but beneath its adorable rhyme lies a very sensitive issue for all of us: resistance to change. The truth is that most ...
Have you have heard the expression, “Something got lost in the translation?” On the Internet there are programs which will translate an English document into several different languages. All you do is type in a phrase or a word and the program translates it into French, Spanish, German, or whatever language you desire. Sound helpful? It is, especially if you are learning a foreign language. But how do you know if these programs create an accurate translation? A linguist had the same question and decided to ...
As we remember the terror of 9/11, we long for an answer to it. As we see lives blown apart by natural disasters, our hearts cry out with it. As the economy worsens and banks fail and businesses fold and more and more people lose their jobs, our souls seek satisfaction to this enigma. It is the age-old question that haunts us: “I wonder why bad things happen to good people?” This is a burning question for anyone who has experienced the horrors of life. Churches are flooded with people asking this question ...
I don’t know anyone who likes to wait. Whether it is waiting in line, waiting on a package to be delivered, or waiting for a prayer to be answered, waiting is not something we usually enjoy. What we sometimes forget is that there is a great deal of wisdom in waiting. This is why Advent is so important. Advent is a good time to learn about waiting because this season is all about waiting well. For the next few weeks we sit on the edge of our seats waiting for God to come to us in Christ and transform our ...
Yard sales are interesting to me. I don’t frequent them very often, but I am always fascinated by the fact that “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” Someone can’t wait to get rid of old tapes and records — doesn’t want them cluttering up the house anymore. Along comes a complete stranger and he just can’t believe anyone would want to sell them. He buys them for a steal and drives home with a big smile thinking he just committed robbery. He brings the records home, clutters up his own house ...
Sha Jahan was the emperor of India during the 1600s. When he lost his wife he was devastated. In fact, his grief was so great that he decided to build a grand temple that would serve as her tomb. Her coffin was placed in the center of a large piece of land and a big temple was built around it. The emperor was determined to build a magnificent resting place for his wife. However, as the weeks turned into months the emperor’s grief was overshadowed by his passion for the project. He was obsessed with the ...
I get a kick out of bumper stickers. Whenever I see an interesting one I always take a glance at the person who is driving the car. I want to get a glimpse of the person who would drive around with a crazy bumper sticker. I’m sure I am not the only one who has ever done that! Here are a few bumper stickers that I have seen or heard about over the years that always make me laugh: What If The Hokey Pokey Is What It’s All About? Driver Carries No Cash — He’s Married! I’m Retired — Go Around Me! Normal People ...
When I was in college, I went to a friend’s house for a pool party. I remember it being pretty tame by college standards. The parents were home! However, the dad of the house had a great personality. We told jokes, laughed and carried on. Later in the evening, we were sitting by the pool and the father asked me what my major was. I told him it was religion. He laughed and said, “Yeah, right.” I said, “No, I’m serious. It is religion.” He asked, “Why religion?” I told him I planned on being a preacher. He ...
Harvard University once revoked their acceptance of ten incoming students because of inappropriate content they had posted on Facebook. A description of the Harvard College Class official Facebook group states, “Harvard College reserves the right to withdraw an offer of admission ... if an admitted student engages in behavior that brings into question his or her honesty, maturity, or moral character.” A recent study showed that over 40% of colleges and universities look at the Facebook pages and other ...