Can You Forgive?
Fifty-six years after the end of the Civil War in America, a minister, George Swann, told this true story from slave days. "A middle age slave had risen by his worth into great esteem with his master. One day, being in the slave market with this master, he noticed an old gray haired slave trembling with fear and weakness. He had not many more years for this world. The worthy slave begged his master to buy this old man. Partly our of curiosity he did. The younger slave took th
Is it Important to Keep Your Vows?
Today, if you go to the bank to borrow money, you must sign a large number of documents in order to protect the institution from being exposed if you don't pay them back. There was a time not long ago when all this wasn't as necessary. People kept their word! In those days, honor meant a lot to folks. One's word was his bond. But now, that kind of "word Keeping" moral is almost forgotten. Something bad is happening in our time. Our Lord admonished us to keep our word, just as
For He's a Jolly Good Fellow!
Do you remember the old song by the title above? It is interesting that we say he is a "good" fellow. When called "good" Jesus asked the rich young ruler, "Why do you call me good? There is but one good, and that is God," ( Luke 18:19). Yet each of us like to think of ourselves as not being bad, but comparatively good. Notice, I said comparatively. Compared to Christ, none of us would be called good, but compared to a mass murderer, any common person would be known as good. E
Why Do We Suffer?
(Job 2:10b), "Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?" Many people think that believing in God protects them from trouble, so when calamity comes, they question God's goodness and justice. But the message of Job is that you should not give up on God because he allows you to have bad experiences. Faith in God does not guarantee personal prosperity, and lack of faith does not guarantee troubles in life. It this were so, people would believe in God simply to get rich. God
A Fascinating Psalm
The Bible is absolutely full of important information we need to know as believers! One of the most interesting, at least to me, is the 139th Psalm! I could go on and on about the blessings this Psalm contains, but I would be doing you a disservice if I did anything other than encourage you to discover the answer to many mysteries by reading it yourself! Here it is! Psalm 139 For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. 1 You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
2
How Much of Your Life Is Your Own?
I could have said, "How much of your life does God own? Or perhaps; how much of your life have you surrendered to the devil? The fact is; there is only 100% of your life available! What percentage of your life does each of the three I mentioned control. I feel sure we would like to proclaim that Jesus owns 100% of everything we are! But, in truth, we know that wouldn't be accurate. In fact though Jesus has a prior claim on all of the lives of his saints, we still don't recogn
The Art of Adaptability
How hard it is to go backward! In my teen days, roller skating was actually popular! I was never good at skating but I did relish the feeling of freedom it engendered. But one thing I was loathe to do- skate backward! I don't remember even trying. I had enough problems maintaining my balance going forward! But as life goes along we usually experience at least some form of success. That leads to a certain satisfaction. When we have attained this level, it is really hard to "go
Is Unkindness a Loss?
I am reading a book written by George Swann. This work was written in 1921. Wow, thing have changed! The author speaks of being kind to your milkman, your washer woman, and your ice man. It's been a while! But to the point. Swann pointed out that some people are unkind to others for no real reason at all. Some folk seem to need to feel "superior" to others, so they "joke" about the other guys clothing, or his old car. Many times these "jokes" are wrapped in funny jargon, but
Will You Receive the Gift of Eternal Life?
In order to receive the gift of life, one must believe the gift exists! Once there was an airplane in the process of going down. The crew gave everyone a parachute with quick instructions on how to use it. But there was a man who didn't trust the parachute to open, so he went down with the plane though he was wearing a perfectly good chute that would have saved his life! People have been misled by the world so long, they don't know what to believe. Once I was on a backstreet
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