“Then they gathered around him and asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’” (Acts 1:6). This was man’s attempt to control the Savior. They wanted things to happen on their terms and in their timing. That’s not unusual. The disciples were probably suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder…
Most of us have the gift of worry. Let’s talk about it. A lot of us worry about what is coming the next day. Jesus advised against that. He said, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow” (Matthew 6:34). And Charles M. Schulz (Peanuts) said, “Stop worrying about the world ending today. It’s already tomorrow in…
What is the meaning of life? Tolstoy said, “The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity.” There is a Chinese saying that goes, “If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you…
There are three things that put our sobriety at great risk: Every day, we make a decision to do one of two things. We either run from danger or toward danger. The Bible says it like this: “Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed” (James 1:14).…
“The water receded” (Genesis 8:1). With those three words, God brought an end to the epic story of the great flood. From the oceans to the skies, the Creator was screaming one word across the globe. Hope. Know this. When your boat takes on water, the water will recede. When your debt consumes you, the…
According to folklore, leprechauns found abandoned gold and buried it so no one could find it; it can only be recovered at the end of a rainbow, where the rainbow touches the earth. God created the rainbow as a sign of his grace. Life is full of challenges, storms, and floods, often as consequences of…
The captain of the Titanic was warned that there might be icebergs. President Lincoln was warned to not go out in public. Karl Wallenda was told to use a net. The builders of the Hindenburg were warned that filling it with hydrogen might blow up in their faces. Record producer Dick Rowe was warned to…
Noah was a late bloomer. He married at the age of 498 and lived to 950. He built the first ship to prepare for the first flood the world had ever known. A man of patience, it took Noah 120 years to complete the ark. At 440 feet in length, the boat was 1.5 times…
An interesting study was conducted, which revealed the degree to which most of us overestimate our own abilities. Participants were given a series of words to spell. After the test, each person was asked how many words they thought they had spelled correctly. Several participants said they thought they had gotten 100 percent of the…
For centuries, theologians have debated the importance of two competing forces – God’s sovereignty and man’s free will. Most of us fall on one side of that or the other. This isn’t the space to debate reformed theology (although I’m happy to have that discussion another time). But I think we can all agree on…