As the story goes, a little boy and his older sister were spending two weeks of the summer vacation at their grandparents’ country home. When the boy complained of having nothing to do, his grandpa bought him a slingshot. The child had a wonderful time with the new weapon, firing away at fence posts, trees,…

On a religious radio program aired several years ago, a woman described her father in the following way: “I know my father is saved. I know he’s going to heaven. He is a very arrogant person, though. My parents divorced when I was an infant, and he has had little to do with me since…

Some sins are tiny. They barely even register on Christian radar. Take gossip, for instance. Compared with big sins—adultery, stealing, cursing, violence—gossip is no big deal. The only little thing wrong with gossip is that it destroys friendship. The book of Proverbs says that “a whisperer separates close friends” (16:28) and that “he who repeats…

On the eve of the crucifixion, Jesus eats a meal with his disciples. Fixing a troubled gaze on these 12 close friends, the Lord says, “One of you will betray me” (John 13:21). Filled with anxiety, the disciples begin to ask themselves who could do such a thing. Following Peter’s signaled suggestion, John quietly asks,…

God gave our first parents freedom of choice. In the tropical paradise of Eden, they were permitted to decide for themselves whether to heed the divine warning concerning the forbidden tree. This freedom to choose between right and wrong has come down to all the children of Adam and Eve. Some choices, though, lie beyond…

The Old Testament depicts a seemingly endless enmity between the Israelites and the Philistines. For instance, the book of Judges tells of Shamgar, a man who delivers Israel by killing “six hundred of the Philistines with an oxgoad” (3:31). The far more familiar story of Samson’s struggle with the Philistines is recorded in the same…

Nehemiah, cupbearer to the Persian king Ar-ta-xerxes, received royal permission to take an extended leave and go to Jerusalem as its governor to rebuild the city’s broken walls. Nehemiah completed this project far more quickly than anyone thought possible. But Sanballat and Tobiah, enemies of the Jewish people, opposed the governor at every turn. One…