There is an interesting phrase in the Book of Genesis. Cain had just had his offering to God rejected on grounds that are not completely clear. But it was the downward spiral that followed that is of interest to us. God told Cain, “If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at…
A.W. Tozer wrote with his typical brilliance, in The Pursuit of God. “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must…
I hopped in my car at 4:15 a.m. to go pick up a friend to take him to the airport for an early flight. But before I left my driveway, this message flashed from the screen above the steering column: Low air pressure in back right tire. Only one tire was going flat. The other…
Richard Elliot was born on January 16, 1960. So was I. Richard Elliot was given a tenor saxophone as a young teenager. So was I. Richard Elliot played tenor sax for years. So did I. Richard Elliot was nominated for a Grammy Award for his excellent play of the tenor sax. I wasn’t. Richard Elliot…
A man was on his hands and knees under a street light late at night when another man passed by and asked what he was doing. The following discussion ensued. “I’m looking for my wallet,” the man said. “Are you sure you lost it here?” asked the passerby. “No, I lost it at the other…
There is a story in Genesis 16 about an Egyptian teenager named Hagar. She is brought in as a concubine for Abraham because he and Sarai had been struggling with infertility for more than ten years. Hagar successfully conceived a child for Abraham and Sarai. But Sarai mistreated Hagar. In the next scene, we find…
In his book, The World, The Flesh, and Father Smith, Bruce Marshall wrote, “The young man who rings the bell at the brothel is unconsciously looking for God.” Billy Graham said it like this: “There is a God-shaped emptiness in all our hearts that only God can fill.” The answer for the sex addict is…
A Sunday School helper was delivering a station wagon full of kids to their homes when a fire truck zoomed past them. Sitting in the front of the truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children immediately began to debate the role of that dog. “They use him to keep crowds back,” suggested one child. Another…
There is this ongoing debate among those who fancy themselves as both addiction specialists and theologians. The debate centers on one question – is addiction a sin? Let me answer that for you with two truths. Addiction is not a sin. Acting out is. Joyce Myer said, “No matter what has happened to you in…
A woman had been shopping and had bought a dress that she knew she couldn’t afford. “Why did you do it?” asked her husband. “I just couldn’t help it,” she replied. “The devil tempted me.” Her husband countered, “Why didn’t you say, ‘Get thee behind me, Satan’?” The wife answered, “I did. But he just…