Monthly Archives: September 2014

Tuesday, Sept. 30 “If I accept you as you are, I will make you worse; however if I treat you as though you are what you are capable of becoming, I help you become that.”—Goethe. This is much like the … Continue reading →

Monday, Sept. 29 Ps. 23:6. “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” This is a fitting climax to Psalm 23. After describing in … Continue reading →

Sunday, Sept. 28 “One of the certainties of life is uncertainties.”—Rob Buhl. We all would say a hearty “Amen” to that. Most of us start a day with certain goals in mind. Some of those goals are routine—going to work, … Continue reading →

Saturday, Sept. 27 “He who loses wealth loses much; he who loses a friend loses more; but he who loses courage loses all.”—Cervantes. There’s a good deal of truth here. Courage is an interesting topic in the Bible. Joshua was … Continue reading →

Friday, Sept. 26 Ps. 23:4. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil . . . .” It’s interesting that David does not suggest that God will destroy evil here. In … Continue reading →

Thursday, Sept. 25 T his matter of meditation has become a focus for me in recent months. Some months back, I found myself unable to sleep. My mind seemed to want to keep going even though my body wanted to … Continue reading →

Wednesday, Sept. 24 “Too many Christians are like poor photography—overexposed and undeveloped.”—Howard Hendricks. We know a lot of truth based on the Bible but we don’t use it. If we are well versed in Biblical truth but don’t live by … Continue reading →

Tuesday, Sept. 23 “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.”—C.S. Lewis. I really like this. The problem is that my ego keeps getting in the way. I find it excruciatingly hard not to compare … Continue reading →

Monday, Sept. 22 “Common sense is not common.”—Will Rogers. There are a lot of things common to man, but sense is not one of them. “Sense” is a common word for “wisdom” and Proverbs, which has a lot to say … Continue reading →

Sunday, Sept. 21 “You won’t find a solution by saying there is no problem.”—William Rostler. I often find myself saying “No problem.” Which means that whatever the issue, it is so minor that I don’t need to worry about it. … Continue reading →

Saturday, Sept. 20. Howard Hendricks pointed out the significance of a short admonition that Paul addressed to Timothy. “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine . . .” 1 Tim. 4:16 (KJV). He pointed out that Paul told Timothy … Continue reading →

Friday, Sept. 19 No doubt you’ve heard a number of sermons on Psalm 23. It is probably one of the most beloved passages of Scripture. Yet, just like the rest of Scripture, there is never an end to learning more. … Continue reading →

Thursday, Sept. 18 “The best place to find helping hands is at the end of your own arms.”–Confucius. This makes me wonder if the politics of Confucius’ era was like ours. Do you suppose that there were people in his … Continue reading →

Wednesday, Sept. 17 “If you think you are too small to be significant, think of the mosquito.—Quoted in a recent sermon. I don’t really like this analogy. I can’t think of anything less useful than a mosquito. Probably the only … Continue reading →

Tuesday, Sept. 16 “Delay is not denial.” Tom Thieme. Most Christians accept the reality that God doesn’t always answer prayers in the way we expect or hope for. Neither do we understand why our requests are not immediately answered. Sometimes … Continue reading →

Monday, Sept. 15 No doubt there have been thousands of sermons preached about the lad who gave up five barley loaves and five small fish in the story of the feeding of the 5000. John 6:8-9. There is little detail … Continue reading →

Sunday, Sept. 14 “Don’t let the things you can’t do hinder you from the things you can do.”—John Wooden. Most of us are so busy with a plethora of duties and concerns that we get to bed at night wishing … Continue reading →

Saturday, Sept. 13 Marriages and politics have a lot in common. Some one said that the art of politics is compromise. To many, compromise is a negative word. It implies the sacrifice of a principle to expediency. But I think … Continue reading →

Friday, Sept. 12 One of the lasting memories of my wedding day was reading the letter from Elizabeth’s mother, Jean Graham. She was in Brazil and didn’t get to our wedding, but she wrote a heart felt letter that I’ve … Continue reading →

Thursday, Sept. 11 “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Ps. 119:11. There is a life changing message in these few words. First of all, the Psalmist recounts an action that he … Continue reading →

Wednesday, Sept. 10 While we may not have to lie to spare someone from death as the Dutch did in WW II, we do face situations that call for hard choices. Most of the ones we face in America have … Continue reading →

Tuesday, Sept. 9 “No man is justified in doing evil on grounds of expediency.”—Theodore Roosevelt. When I first read this statement, I thought it was not only a good one, but an absolute truth. After meditating on it awhile I … Continue reading →

Monday, Sept. 8 “Don’t talk about yourself, it will be done when you leave.”—Addison Mizmer. We can all catch the meaning of this terse statement. How many times have you wondered what was being said about you after leaving a … Continue reading →

Sunday, Sept. 7 “You will never stub your toe standing still.”—Charles F. Kettering, well known American inventor. The idea behind this statement is that something useful gets done if we are motivated to do things—despite the risks. We are so … Continue reading →

Saturday, Sept. 6 “A determined soul will do more with a rusty monkey wrench than a loafer will accomplish with all the tools in a machine shop.”—Rupert Hughes, American novelist. I suspect that Mr. Hughes was thinking in terms of … Continue reading →

Friday, Sept. 5 “We are born on death’s row.”—Tom Thieme. What a neat way to say that we are born with the sin nature and therefore already judged and awaiting our due punishment. I got to thinking about some people … Continue reading →

Thursday, Sept. 4 “Regret is an appalling waste of energy.”—Katherine Mansfield. This is a catchy little statement, but I don’t agree with it. Regret is kin to guilt. If I regret something, I need to take some kind of action … Continue reading →

Wednesday, Sept. 3 “Be humble or be humbled.” I suppose all of us remember being humbled at one time or another. We would like to forget those occasions. Being humbled should motivate us to be humble so as to avoid … Continue reading →

Tuesday, Sept. 2 “No guilt in life; no fear in death.”—Tom Thieme. These few words tell the whole story of the human race. Guilt is a reality that every man who has ever lived (except Jesus) has experienced. It is … Continue reading →

Monday, Sept. 1 I don’t have all the answers to Biblical anomalies, but here are some things that could help. 1) Sin has changed the very nature of man. While the sin nature is brought into submission by the redeeming … Continue reading →

Monday, Sept. 1 I don’t have all the answers to Biblical anomalies, but here are some things that could help. 1) Sin has changed the very nature of man. While the sin nature is brought into submission by the redeeming … Continue reading →