It was the early evening of the day in which Gideon had told his army that all who were faint of heart could return to their homes. A group of soldiers were gathered around their campfire, and they were explaining to one another why they had all decided to return to their homes in just …
Resentment By the Book
In his own mind, and according to his own rationalizations, Judas was the hero of the story — at least until the cold reality came crashing in on him. Once there was a hypocritical man who made a great show of his loyalty and faithfulness to his friends at a company where they all worked. …
Already in Rome
There was a certain minister who decided one day, while studying the Scriptures, that an appropriate posture while confessing sin was the posture of kneeling. He raised this as a possibility during a congregational meeting, and suggested that the church look into obtaining kneeling benches. To his surprise, the opposition to this suggestion was immediate …
Ah, To Have Been Submissive
A wise man once defined a classic as a book that no one wants to read, but everyone wants to have read. In the same way, submission is something that everyone wants to have done, but no one wants to do. As the old blues song puts it, “Everyone wants to go to heaven, but …
The Bend in the Story
Once there was a group of small boys who were very close friends. There were five of them, and they were inseparable. They went to school together, they played after school together, they spent countless hours in the summers together, and they often spent the night in tents in one another’s back yards. Although they …
Super Submission
The apostle Paul said that we were to receive one another, but not into debates over disputable things. In his day the debatable things had to do with the ceremonial foods of Judaism, and so we think we have learned his wisdom simply because the church now debates different issues. As though it were appropriate …
Vintage
Incarnate blend, sanded like ancient oak, Light, but never pale, Her fruit is weight and glory. A taste of textured chocolate. All mingled years In a cask bestowed, She is my tawny port.
Vintage II
Blended, rich, sanded like ancient oak, Light, but never pale. Her fruit is weight and glory; textured chocolate. All mingled years In a cask bestowed, She is my tawny port.
The Unaware Billionaire
One day, a certain man became a Christian. He had been thinking about it for months, and a next door neighbor had explained the faith in a compelling way. This man and his wife both accepted the Lord, and were baptized the following Sunday. The next day, Monday morning, before he went to work, the …
Flesh is Grass
At Your Word, O God, the mountains smoke, And at Your Word, the oceans boil in their basins. You speak, and all the earth is silent. You speak, and regiments of tornadoes leap into battle. Quietly, You cause the grasses of the field to bend back and forth on the way to withering brown as …