“Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you.  Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight” (2 Samuel 12:11,12).  How […]

What makes a real friend? There is a story told about the young artist Albrecht Durer. Both he and his brother wished to become artists.  However, coming from a family of 18 children, neither could afford the cost for the education. So they drew straws and agreed that the winner […]

The nasty “dumb blonde” joke is a type of joke that always raises a few eyebrows. For some reason, women with blonde hair are relentlessly mocked for their supposed lack of judgment or simplistic reasoning. There’s no doubt that many women with light-colored hair despise hearing the never-ending litany of […]

George Washington once said that it is better to offer no excuse than a bad one. He was right! Our world is filled with bad excuses. We hear them from church members missing church on Sunday, politicians explaining their flip-flopping, and kids trying to blame anyone to avoid a scolding. […]

One of the greatest mysteries of Scripture is that Jesus has within him two natures; he is true God and true man.  Yet that truth is the foundation stone on which the Christian faith is founded.  Without believing in the divine and human natures of Christ, saving faith is not […]

There’s an old proverb that says one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Unfortunately, it seems there may be some people in the Bible who have been judged before opening their books and searching through the pages and chapters to see the real people there. Take Thomas for example. […]

Someone once said that when we discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to find they are not in it. How many people today believe they are the center of everything? How many people today aren’t caught up in the sin of pride? Listed […]

In 1797 the German poet Goethe wrote a popular 14-stanza poem that eventually became known as The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.  Today it is better remembered as part of Disney’s extravaganza Fantasia. The poem is about an old sorcerer who leaves his cleaning chores to a novice apprentice. After tiring from fetching […]

“And why is it . . . I’m not afraid anymore?”  Some might remember those famous words spoken during the heart-wrenching crucifixion in the epic movie Ben-Hur.  This beautiful story written by Civil War General Lew Wallace depicts the life of Judah Ben-Hur, a young Hebrew man who endured many […]

What did Joseph, Moses, Naaman’s servant girl, and Daniel have in common? Each of them was torn from his or her family at a very young age and forced to live among unbelieving strangers. As a teen, Joseph was sold and lived as a slave among the heathen in Egypt. […]