An old farmer took his wife to a railway station for the first time. They looked at the engine that would power the train, and the old farmer shook his head. “It will never start,” he told his wife. The conductor started the engine, and the farmer told his wife, “It will never move.” After…
God wants you to have a future that is better than your past. Don’t take my word for it. Hear the words of brilliant politicians from both sides of the American political aisle. Republican Vice President Dan Quayle said, “The future will be better tomorrow.” And Democrat Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said, “Americans…
Read this passage, and try to pick out the key word. “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexual offenders, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of…
As the boat was sinking, the captain asked those on board, “Does anyone know how to pray?” One man stood and said, “Yes, Captain, I do!” “Good,” said the captain. “You better start now. Our boat is sinking. The rest of us will put on life-preservers. We are one short.” Addiction has sunk more boats…
On this date in history something interesting happened. On January 5, 1950, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer hit #1 on the Billboard Pop Charts. The song would sell over 8 million copies and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1985. What is so interesting about that? Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a Christmas…
John Mark Comer wrote, in Live No Lies, “Addiction is a kind of prolonged suicide by pleasure.” Let that sink in – prolonged suicide by pleasure. Another way to say it is that addiction will take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more…
A man bought a talking monkey from the pet shop. That night he took the monkey to a local bar and bet everyone $10 that his monkey could talk. But the monkey never spoke a word. When he got home, the monkey chattered up a storm. So the next day, the man took the monkey…
On August 27, 2020, Hurricane Laura hit Cameron, Louisiana, with winds of 150 mph. The storm left $19.1 billion in damages and took 81 lives. Yet, despite the catastrophic damage, a few things were left unscathed. A plastic trash can remained unmoved outside a local business. A single crepe myrtle tree stood proudly among the…
There’s just something about this day that calls for new beginnings. The psalmist proclaimed, “Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him” (Psalm 98:1). Did you catch the musical selection? A new song. I like old songs. I…
If you wake up to a new year tomorrow, it will only be for one reason. God isn’t through with you yet. Perhaps your recovery did not progress in 2021 as much as you had hoped. Perhaps you find yourself mired in chronic relapse. Perhaps you are feeling frustrated, manipulated, repudiated, stagnated, and agitated. All…