Daily stresses test patience. I’m driving to work. Don’t have even one minute to spare. But an accident somewhere ahead has slowed traffic to a crawl. Or I’m taking my child to school, and this morning she’ll actually have time to walk into the building instead of sprinting to beat the bell. Then, halfway there,…
Paul told the Corinthians that “love never ends; as for prophecy, it will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.” (1 Cor. 13:8). What are “tongues”? The only narrative in the Bible describing tongues in detail was written by Luke: “And they were all filled with the…
Jesus compares teaching the gospel to planting a crop in the field. A farmer sows his seed. Some he scatters along the path, and it’s trampled underfoot. Some seed falls on the rock, where, lacking moisture, the plant withers before it can mature. Some falls among thorns and is choked by them. But some seed…
Sarah is infertile. So she exercises a right stipulated in her marriage covenant. She gives her slave girl to her husband. Ishmael, the child born to Abraham and Hagar, legally belongs to Sarah. But Sarah doesn’t want him. Giving Hagar to Abraham hasn’t worked out so well. (Failing to follow God’s plan for marriage never…
The concluding chapters of Judges describe the tragic events that nearly destroyed a tribe in Israel. A Levite living in the hill country of Ephraim married a concubine from Bethlehem. After a time the woman deserted her husband and returned to her father. Four months later the Levite came after her, encouraging her to come…
Two angels come to Sodom one evening. Angels are messengers. They speak for God. These two appear as men. Lot recognizes them as strangers and urges them to accept his hospitality. He brings them into his house and entertains them with a feast. The men of Sodom, all sexual perverts, surround Lot’s house at bedtime.…
In 2012, Alabama and LSU played the BCS championship game. The Crimson Tide rolled to a 21-0 victory over the Tigers. On ESPN the next morning, a sports analyst made an interesting observation. He said that the college football season left him feeling somewhat dissatisfied. After all, Alabama and LSU had already played each other…
One hot afternoon three “men” appear to Abraham near Hebron. He graciously entertains them, at first not realizing that his guests are the Lord and two angels. When they leave, Abraham accompanies them for a time. Any good Eastern host would extend the same courtesy. As they walk together, the Lord says, “Shall I hide…
Lisa has a painful childhood. Her alcoholic mother is angry, sarcastic, withdrawn, and sometimes physically abusive. As Lisa moves into the teen years, the embarrassment of having a drunken mother becomes excruciating. After marrying and giving birth to a daughter of her own, Lisa makes a promise to herself: “I will never, never be like…
In Islam a man can marry four wives. I am against polygamy myself. There’s no way that a man can be one with four women. I’m sorry to say this, but I see people calling themselves Christians who live together but aren’t sacredly married. What are your thoughts on this? Great point. A Muslim man…