Popular Opinion?
Hearing rave reviews from her circle of friends—all believers in Jesus—about a TV show they’d been watching, my friend decided to check it out. After just two episodes, however, she was taken aback by the program’s explicit sexual content. She chose to no longer watch the show due to her convictions, but wondered how to handle future discussions about it. Thinking through her concerns, she wondered why the show sustained drawing power for her friends.
Bible cyst
An acquaintance of mine recently went to have his doctor examine a cyst on the top of his wrist. The doctor told the man that it was a “Bible cyst.”
filthy garments
Can God use someone like me—a person with a bad past? This question was burning in the hearts of the returnees. The Israelites had come back from captivity—a result of their gross, persistent, and unrepentant sins. The Promised Land laid in ruin, the temple destroyed. They realized, We’ve messed up big time. Can the holy God use us to reestablish the proper way to worship Him?
take a stand
Home-field advantage is no myth. According to Tobias J. Moskowitz and L. Jon Wertheim, in their book “Scorecasting,” the home team wins more often than the visiting team. Why? The writers state: “Officials’ bias is the most significant contribution to home-field advantage.” The officials respond to the pressure from the fans because they don’t like to get booed. When the contests are close, the officials tend to make calls that favor the home team.
art of removal
Recently, my son had to have three wisdom teeth removed. The choppers needed to be extracted because of potential detrimental effects on the rest of the teeth. If the three offenders hadn’t been removed (God gave him just three wisdom teeth, not the normal four!), the repercussions could have included pain, infections, and an altered bite.
rescue required
What do you get when you cross a Frisbee with a life preserver? The answer is an invention called a ResQDisc. When a rescuer throws it to a drowning person, the light, durable cord inside uncoils, allowing the person to be pulled to safety. The device allows a rescuer to aid someone without jumping into the water himself.
the Spirit of truth
"May the force be with you.” Those familiar with the Star Wars film saga recognize this famous phrase, given out as a blessing to those embarking on a critical or dangerous mission. The force, as presented in the series, is an impersonal metaphysical characteristic that empowers individuals to undertake and complete their tasks.
“The Holy Spirit will be with you,”…
trapped
Last summer, 33 miners in Chile became trapped when the copper mine they were working in was rocked by a landslide. Entombed 700 meters (2,300 feet) below ground, the miners faced many weeks of mental and physical stress prior to their rescue. One man, however, experienced heightened anxiety when he learned that his wife and his mistress had met at…
simply profound
A Malaysian gangster was extorting money from a dental clinic. When the dentist gave him the cash “payment” he was forced to make, he also gave him a booklet. He said, “Read this. It’s good for you.” The gangster was angry with the dentist for giving him a religious booklet—a copy of Our Daily Bread (sister publication of Our Daily…
random strangers
I recently read an article about a site where Web chatters are exposed to random strangers from around the world. As the article states, “One minute you’re chatting via Webcam with a mom of two [in the US] and the next you’re staring at a stark-naked man in Bangkok.” One psychiatrist calls the site “a predator’s paradise.” Definitely not a…
