Jesus gave twin parables to teach the same lesson: salvation is worth giving up everything to possess. The first is of a man who stumbles upon hidden treasure in a field. He gladly and quickly sells his property to purchase that field (Matthew 13:44). The second is of a jewel merchant searching for high-quality pearls.…

Newspaper headlines read: “FDIC Must Rescue Major Banks;” “Embezzlement and Fraud;” “Insurance Companies File for Bankruptcy;” “Stock Market Takes a Tumble.” One wonders, “Is there financial security today? Where can I put my money and not have to worry about it?” Did you know that Jesus is in the banking business? (Matthew 6:19–21). He is…

Dr. Williamson, a Canadian geologist, had been slipping along a rain-soaked road that led through Tanzania’s backcountry when suddenly his Land Rover sunk to its axles in the mud.  Pulling out a shovel, Williamson began digging his four-wheel drive out. After some time, he uncovered an interesting-looking pink stone. Being a geologist and naturally curious…

At a state fair, a disrespectful, cursing, cigarette-puffing boy led a champion hog into the show grounds to win first place. That animal was everything you could want in a hog. He had enjoyed good care.  The irony of it was that the hog and the boy belonged to the same man. That man was…

A water bearer in India had two large pots, one hung on each end of a pole that he carried across his neck. One pot was cracked; the other delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house. The cracked pot arrived only half…

It is important to build a good reputation; it is more important to maintain it. A good reputation takes time to build, but it can be destroyed in just a minute. In a day of social media, this is especially easy to do. To avoid destroying our reputation on FaceBook/social media, we must make sure…

Life has internal stings as well-broken hearts, crushed ambitions, crashed dreams. These usually smart for much longer than the kind nurses inflict. Do you ever wonder, “Why me, Lord? I’m a Christian. I walk the straight and narrow way. I try to avoid trouble and sin. But now I’ve been ‘stung.’ Why me?” There are…

Salvation has been found in many unlikely places. Men’s hearts have been warmed by God’s love in Antarctica and their bodies baptized in deserts. Christ has been confessed in Muslim countries, risking persecution, and in Communist nations where God had been declared dead. Missionaries have found a single receptive soul among the teeming millions in…

Faith is the foundation upon which all the virtues are laid. It is the center from which the diameter of the Christian life is measured. It is the buoy from which the depths of life are plumbed. It is the starting block from which the Christian race is launched. It is the dock from which…

Standing Knee-Deep in a River (Dying of Thirst) is a classic Kathy Mattea song, first made popular in 1992 and still often replayed on YouTube. It is a moving song of a person thinking back over all the friends with whom she had lost touch, the sweethearts who went separate ways, and other lonely people she passed each day, who could be friends…