CONDUCT YOUR HOME SO CHILDREN WILL REMEMBER THAT Father and mother were kind to one another (Ephesians 4:32). Home was a happy place, governed by the law of love (Psalm 119:165). Each child was treated fairly and required to obey his or her parents (Ephesians 6:1–4). Sunday was a day of worship (Acts 20:7). The…
It is easy to get discouraged when things go wrong, but we must not lose heart. God is at work in the world, even in the midst of pain and trial. The next time your world is burning down, remember that it just may be a smoke signal to summon help. God has a positive…
God loves me. God delivers me. God sustains me. God listens to me. God prunes me? Yes. Jesus said, “Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit” (John 15:2Pruning is an important process in vineyards—some say it is the most important part of the entire operation. If a vinedresser…
At Jesus’ birth, politicians worried about being unseated by one born to be King (Matthew 2:1–16; John 18:37). As an adult, He was tempted with political power—all the kingdoms of the world (Luke 4:5–6). At the peak of His popularity, adoring people tried to forcibly crown Him king (John 6:15). At the end, Pilate judged…
Apple filed a trademark for the company’s now ubiquitous catchphrase, “There’s an app for that.” You can do some pretty amazing things with a cell phone these days. God’s Word was amazing long before iPhones. It is so complete and practical that one could say “there’s a verse for that” for any circumstance we face.…
“Sunday fellowship” has come to mean “bring your favorite dish and plan to stay for the potluck after services.” Five fellowships in a week, by that definition, might be a bit much. Still, God wants His children involved in no less than five fellowships every week. The New Testament uses “fellowship” (koinonia, found 17 times1)…
From the time children are born until they reach age 18, they are awake 118,260 hours allowing eight hours for sleep a night). Out of that 118,000 hours, approximately 15,000 hours are spent in public school, and—if they never missed a Sunday or Wednesday church class—in their lives, 1,872 hours are spent in Bible classes.…
Just before returning to heaven, Jesus pointed a nail-scarred hand at a world for which He had just died and told His followers to “go.” The message they were to take was the simple gospel. Gospel means “good news” and refers to sharing the fact that—because of His sacrifice on Calvary—all men can be saved…
Someone once said to Harry Truman’s mother, “Mrs. Truman, you must be very proud that a son of yours is in the White House.” She responded, “Well, yes, but I have another son who lives down the road—and I’m just as proud of him.” Ah, the wisdom of that mother! Thank God for mothers who…
In view of recent tragedies, one writer suggested that we all “boycott God.” She suggested that if we all stopped praying, attending church, and praising Him, that just might make Him stop killing so many people in these tragic disasters. God gets blamed for a lot of things He doesn’t do. CLICK TO TWEET When…