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Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes, or powerful, or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose those who are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important, so that no one can ever boast in the presence of God. – 1 Corinthians 1:26-29

A wise man was walking through…  ( Click for more )

"Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'” - Matthew 6:9-13

The young couple was struggling as they tried to take care of their jobs, their home and their baby. So many important and necessary lessons had either not been taught or not been learned through their high school years and now they felt as though…  ( Click for more )

I once thought all these (self-righteous works) were so very important, but now I consider them worthless (KJV reads dung) because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ. - Philippians 3:7-8

Generally, dung beetles don’t get a lot of respect. They usually don’t get noticed by anyone not playing around in a cow pad. However, in tropical climes they can be extremely numerous and busy workers.…  ( Click for more )

There seems to be a loss of connection between what student nurses are taught and what they need when they work in hospital wards. They find it difficult to bring together and make sensible their theory (school of nursing) and their practice (hospital ward). This gap between theory and practice is not a situation confined to social work and nursing. The same problem besets those who work in…  ( Click for more )

We can spend our time in prayer and preaching and teaching the word. Acts 6:4

This decision by the apostles came at a time when the Holy Spirit was bringing thousands to the church daily. This growth brought with it very real logistical problems. Don’t you think they had babies crying during the services? Where would they get all the bread and wine for a communion service for five thousand people? Every day there were new widows and orphans to be taken under wing due to the persecutions. A million logistical and bureaucratic needs – all legitimate –…  ( Click for more )

“This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you to understand or perform. It is not up in heaven, so distant that you must ask, ‘Who will go to heaven and bring it down so we can hear and obey it?’ It is not beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear and obey it?’ The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it. – Deuteronomy 30:11-14

Sometimes people come to me complaining about their struggle with sin. They talk…  ( Click for more )

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. – Romans 12:15

When you are with those who are grieving, do not judge and do not give them orders. Don’t tell how they should feel. Don’t try to tell them how they should deal with things. If they want to invest money in a larger coffin that you think is necessary, let them. If they want to paint a life-size picture of their loved one – let them! Socially acceptable grief does not exist. Grieving is how individual humans with unique gifts, talents, temperaments, psychological makeup and backgrounds…  ( Click for more )

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. – Romans 12:15

According to Paul, part of God’s will for your life is that you learn empathy. We are to rejoice with others when good things come their way. But we are also to grieve alongside them when the dark times come. Notice that Paul didn’t say we are to comfort them? That’s because comforting them would be in large part impossible.

There is no easy way to help. There are no clear-cut, three-step answers. There is no pill that can be taken, nor wonderful counsel that can be given…  ( Click for more )

The prayer of the upright is His delight. – Proverbs 15:8

What if your loved ones only communicated with you in prescribed, rote, memorized fashion? What if they never deviated from certain written phrases? No matter how eloquent the phrases, wouldn’t you be disappointed? If my children only addressed me when they wanted something and did it in a very formal, ritualized fashion (in old English) it would drive me crazy! “Our Father, who art in the living room, how handsome thou art today,” they might say. “Thy fatherhood be established, thy will…  ( Click for more )

There once was an old man who wore overalls and a straw hat. He smiled a lot and his smile matched his hat – old, crinkly and well worn. He never yelled at kids who played in his yard. His house sat on ten acres, and his life-goal was to make it a forest. He had some interesting theories concerning trees. He came from the “No pain, no gain” school of horticulture. He never watered his new trees. He said that watering…  ( Click for more )

Forgiveness is first granted, then felt. Christians frequently raise the objection that if you act forgiving without really feeling it, you are guilty of hypocrisy. But we find in Luke 17 that feelings are not a necessary ingredient of obedience.

Jesus began with a warning in verse 3: “Be careful of yourselves.” The warning was necessary; there are many ways to err about forgiveness. The warning is pertinent to many Christians who are caught up in the…  ( Click for more )

There once was an old Japanese monk who lived simply and tried to follow his orders’ rules as best he could. He had an acolyte that followed him everywhere, trying to absorb the old man’s wisdom so that he too could one day become a monk.

One day, they were traveling to a distant city. As they approached a river, they discovered that the little footbridge had been washed away in a storm. The river could be forded, but there was no to cross and stay dry. Standing on the bank of the river…  ( Click for more )

If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you’re going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: ‘He started something he couldn’t finish. – Luke 14:29

A couple years ago, I was involved in a big construction job that involved a lot of remodeling. Consequently, there was a lot of dirt. The construction equipment tracked inordinate amounts of mud on the formerly pristine streets of this upper class neighborhood and so it was decided that we would borrow hoses from the fire department, attach them…  ( Click for more )

What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? – Deuteronomy 4:7

God tells us in Amos chapter 5 “I hate, I reject your festivals. Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; and I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like…  ( Click for more )

The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God." - Luke 1:35-37

God took an ordinary, every day girl and gave her life such a shake that the whole world has been reeling from the results ever since. She was no different from you and I. She did not…  ( Click for more )

Discipline your children while there is hope. If you don’t, you will ruin their lives. - Proverbs 19:18

Let me ask you a question: What kind of a parent are you?

“Peter Pans” try to be mistaken for their teen’s older sibling. They know the name of the lead drummer of the latest rock band and can actually recite the words of heavy metal songs. They watch MTV and share clothes with their teens.

“Good old boys” try to get along with their kids by sharing beer with their underage friends and lending them a car for their date alone…  ( Click for more )

It is better to be patient than powerful; it is better to have self-control than to conquer a city. – Proverbs 16:32

Many years ago, a French company decided it was going to mine the desert. It brought in its machines, pushed aside the huge dunes building in their place an airstrip and a building complex. They hooked up huge diesel-powered generators and began digging.

But the Sahara has been around a while and is unimpressed by our civilization. After all, it has seen many human empires come and go. Like a dragon sleeping on its hoard, it jealously guards millions…  ( Click for more )

Men are notorious for not reading instructions. They don’t want to read the map or ask directions. We laugh and many sitcoms have used this premise as the basis for a comic situation. “How foolish of him to be so arrogant as to think he can go it alone!” we think. What is it that makes us feel this way?

We learn as children that to learn something, we must ask someone older, wiser than ourselves. Ideally, this lesson…  ( Click for more )

There is a village on the Gold Coast of West Africa, called ‘Achimota’. It lies seven miles from the infamous Christianborg castle where slaves were held for the slave ships. Across a wooded hill above the village runs a path trod by thousands of slaves headed for a life of misery. This hill was the last chance of escape before they reached the dungeons from which they would be shipped across the Atlantic. Sometimes slaves would manage to escape the chains and would be cared for by villagers.…  ( Click for more )

Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

A small fish caught in a net said to the fisherman, “I am too little to be a good meal. Even if you boil me or roast me – I won’t be enough to truly satisfy your hunger for long. Let me go and keep growing. I promise to return to you two years from now. You will find me in this same spot, large and seven times as fat. If you wait till then to eat me, it will be like a great feast in your house, and…  ( Click for more )

The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. – Psalm 18:2

A Christian warrior was separated from his unit during the course of intense fighting. In the smoke and haze of battle, he had lost touch with his comrades. Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock and quickly crawled into one. Although safe for the moment, he realized that the enemy soldiers…  ( Click for more )

“If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me.” Jeremiah 29:13

How many times have you tried to pray only to find yourself thinking of something else instead? How many times have you caught yourself asleep when you intended to meditate? We are so easily distracted. We are like babies whose eyes follow whatever is moving without true understanding. A fly buzzes and we are distracted from our conversation with the Sovereign God. A drip from a faucet can ruin our meditation.

God promises that in the great game of hide and seek He will be…  ( Click for more )

“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.” - Luke 10:36-37

God began with a man named Abram. The Lord told him to leave his homeland and to follow Him to a promised land. If Abram did, the Lord promised, “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:3). The world pretty much…  ( Click for more )

Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.” - Jeremiah 31:3

They say hind sight Isaiah 20/20. We look back on our lives and see God at work. Those situations that we thought would be the end of us turned out to be our finest hour. Those people that we mistakenly thought were our best friends or the loves of our lives, ended up being jerks. We were heartbroken when we lost them and shook our little fists at God and cried “Why, God? Why are you doing this to me?”…  ( Click for more )