By Jim Mettenbrink
Although God has planted a sense of His presence in the spirit of each person, man in his rebellious selfishness wants to deny that so he can be his own god, i.e., do what he wants to do without impunity – no accountability to anyone – let alone to stand before God. This the #1 weakness in each of us.
By Neal Pollard
What would you add?
By Donnie Bates
“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also on Me” (John 14:1). I really do not know of a more encouraging verse than this one. Jesus Himself tells us to not let our hearts be troubled. About…what? What is the context?
Jesus was preparing His disciples for His departure; His return to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, to rule over His eternal kingdom. But look at it from the apostles’ perspective. It is a terrifying feeling to know that a comfortable time or relationship is changing or ending. We know when a loved one who is faithful to God dies, we will see him/her again if we ourselves live a faithful life. Still we don’t like that separation. When a young couple has their first child and prepares to leave the hospital, there can be a feeling of panic that comes with the realization that there is no little button at the side of the bed at home that will bring a nurse when you press it.
By Donnie Bates
Several years ago, I wrote the following story. It is a fictional account of the Good Fight that all Christians are fighting. It was originally written to call attention to the fact that all of us are in a fight. It is the story of one old soldier, doing his very best to remain faithful to his King, fight the Good Fight and help as many of his fellow soldiers as possible.
By Tom Wacaster
Roy “Wrong Way” Riegels played center on the 1928 University of California football team, The Golden Bears, which had 6-1-2 record at the close of the 1928 regular season. On January 1, 1929, the Golden Bears faced the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, USA. Midway through the second quarter, Riegels, who played center on both offensive and defensive lines and who was then playing in a role similar to that of the modern defensive nose guard or nose tackle, picked up a fumble by Tech’s Jack “Stumpy” Thomason. Just 30 yards away from the Yellow Jackets’ end zone, Riegels was somehow turned around and ran 69 yards in the wrong direction. The following describes what transpired from Riegels’ perspective:
by Cory Waddell
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23 (ESV)
Several years ago, I saw a man walking down the street with a big wooden cross on his shoulder, positioned in the way we often see depicted in movies of Jesus on the road to his crucifixion. No doubt the man’s goal was to make a point about faithfulness to Christ by literally “taking up his cross.” Perhaps he desired to inspire people through his sacrificial gesture of publicly bearing this load of a religious symbol through the streets of the city. It inspired me, but not in the way he may have anticipated.
By Brad Harrub
Dear friend, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you smile. Oh, I see you “smiling” in social media posts, but there is a distinct difference in your smile today, versus 2-3 years ago. You’ve lost that spark that used to light up your entire face. There is a bitterness and hardness in your posts that makes me sad. It seems that you have gone off to college and have been “enlightened” by professors who want you to have a more open mind, and in the process, you have turned your back on almost everything you were taught when you were younger. And that “enlightenment” has brought with it a dark cloud that hovers over you.
By Dan Jenkins
The story is told of a young child who foolishly had climbed on top of the house. It was a metal roof, years ago called a tin roof, and each piece was held in place by several nails readily visible. The boy slipped and was sliding down the roof and knew he would be injured when he fell. He remembered the Bible class he had attended just days before where prayer had been discussed. So, as he was sliding, he prayed, “God help me.” Those words had scarcely been uttered and then were followed by these, “That’s all right, God, I do not need Your help; my pants caught on one of the nails and stopped me.”
What’s in Your Refrigerator?
Maybe you have a phrase at your house like we do which describes one of those chores that no one looks forward to, but that is periodically necessary: “clean out the refrigerator”. At the Phillips house, it means going through all the stuff that is in the fridge, and getting rid of the too-old-to-eat leftovers, expired milk and near empty salad dressing bottles. Maybe there’s even a jar or two of pickle juice with three or four lonely pickle slices lounging in them, that no one seems to ever want to eat. Anyway, you get the picture. It’s a task that usually doesn’t get done often enough, easily put off, until finally somebody gets grossed out and decides enough is enough, and takes action.
By Dan Jenkins
“By this shall all men know that you are my disciples because you love one another” (John 13:35). Love is seen in the way we react to each other as we meet and then as we later leave. The love of the father for the prodigal son was visibly seen as he rushed toward him. What did the father do to the barefooted son in ragged clothes who had been among the swine? He embraced him and kissed him. Contrast this with how the older brother reacted.