the success that follows
A member of my small congregation is now in his 9th decade. His zeal for God and for serving His purposes hasn’t diminished for more than 60 years. His body, however, is finally starting to slow down. This frustrates him, for he wants to be speaking to anyone and everyone about the love of Jesus. He wants to take part in evangelistic efforts, but he can rarely leave his house these days.
new
Happy New Year! It’s time again to ring in another fresh set of 365 days.
radical recovery
Attempting a quadruple toe loop, Olympic skater Jeremy Abbott swiveled into the air and fell. He careened into the rink’s wall and lay clutching his side. Amazingly, Jeremy then stood up and resumed skating. The rest of his routine included two extremely difficult, yet well-executed maneuvers. In the end, his perseverance after a serious mistake won the crowd’s heart.
no lazy river
One of our favorite family vacation sites is a beautiful beach community located in an adjoining state. We like to go there during the “off season” when few tourists are around. Though the ocean water is a little chilly, we enjoy swimming in an indoor pool. Also, there’s a lazy river that surrounds the pool and holds a special appeal for our kids. They’ve tried to swim against its current over the years, only to be carried in the opposite direction.
broken for tim?
While away from home on a lengthy work assignment, I attended a church quite different from my one back home. For instance, my adopted church observed communion (the Lord’s Supper) every time they met. Instead of the pastor or elders serving, ordinary members of the church shared responsibility for distributing the bread and wine.
the big “i”
I recently attended a meeting of leaders that could have become contentious and disastrous. It could have resulted in more fireworks than Chinese New Year! Thankfully, however, difficult issues were addressed with honesty and transparency. The big “I”—integrity—led individuals to speak words of truth, love, and forgiveness.
“who touched Me?”
It is said that the number one fear in life is public speaking, ranking higher than even the fear of death. As a comedian once observed, that means that at a funeral, people would rather be in the coffin than give the eulogy!
bridging the chasm
When a supervolcano erupts—and thankfully that’s extremely rare—it leaves behind a massive basin known as a caldera. But they are so huge we tend to overlook them completely. As geophysicist Bob Smith described the 45-mile wide Yellowstone caldera, “The size is so immense that people don’t appreciate it.”
you choose Q: will God forgive me if i keep on sinning?
Q: Does God continue to forgive if we keep on sinning in the same way again and again? I'm not able to overcome a specific temptation and find myself circling through forgiveness and sin again and again. Will God kill me as He did in Old Testament for sin? I am scared and worried. —Ebenezer
A: A Christian is forgiven of his sins,…
run
I was 7 years old when I was first exposed to pornography. Some kids had found it, and I naively agreed when they offered to show it to me. In today’s digital world, the stakes are much higher. More than a frozen picture in time, the power of video erodes what little innocence remains in our world.
the road more traveled
Ever heard of “swarm intelligence”? Ant colonies use it to establish the quickest paths between food and their nests. Scout ants leave a trail of pheromones (a chemical substance) as they make their way to edibles. More ants follow, causing the scent on the trails to become even stronger. Over time, the best routes become more popular and scented, while the less-efficient paths steadily decrease in both the number of ants traversing them and the pheromones left behind. “Swarm intelligence” allows ant colonies to consistently find the best paths to the nourishment they need.
September 8, 2014
What does it mean to have godly character, and how do you develop it?
powerful light
The “Walkie Talkie,” a 37-story London skyscraper, created some unique problems during its construction. At times, this concave structure reflected the sun’s rays with dangerous intensity. Television crews used a reflected sunbeam from the building to cook an egg! Residents opposite the building claimed damage to paint and carpet as a result of the intense reflections.
the seventh commandment
Adultery is defined as “voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a person who is not their spouse” (Oxford English Dictionary). So the seventh commandment applies only to those who commit the act, right?
