John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” The Iraqi war weighs heavy on my heart. All those poor soldiers! The poor people of Bagdad! I rejoice though for the many who have accepted Jesus in their life...
Like any good, law-abiding citizen, I always do my best to follow the traffic laws. As a result, I haven't received a traffic ticket in -- let's say -- 15 years? And that last ticket was actually for an accident -- one that wasn't even my fault -- not for a...
"Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow." (Ps 51:7) My Sheltie is mad at me! She came in tonight stinking to high heaven. I have no idea what she had been rolling in, as it's all snow and ice outside right now, but...
It had been snowing all day and all night -- Blowing snow, that light, fine, powdery stuff that traveled where every breath of a air took it. There was probably a foot or so accumulated on the deck, burying the dog's chain -- and anything else that had...
"And from among the priests: The descendants of Hobaiah, Hakkoz and Barzillai . . . These searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean." (Ezra 2:61-63) So it was in the days of Ezra. The priests...
"What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins have deserved and have given us a remnant like this." (Ezra 9:13-14 -- emphasis mine) The setting is Jerusalem. The people of...
"The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan." (Joshua 5:12) So often, when I have read children's versions of the battle of Jericho, I have had...
Nowadays it seems that too many people are getting too familiar with God. They think of Him as their best friend, who He is, but they treat Him that way most of the time. They might come to Him saying, "Old buddy, old pal, You say in Your word that You will do thus...
Was there a time when you were a child and you wanted a cookie but your mother said you couldn't have one? Did you sneak around when she wasn't there and get one thinking that your mother would not know you got one? The psalmist wrote about someone like this: Psalm...
"Cursed before the LORD is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho: 'At the cost of his firstborn son will he lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest will he set up its gates.'" (Josh 6:26) After the fall of Jericho, Joshua, under the inspiration...