In 2012, Alabama and LSU played the BCS championship game. The Crimson Tide rolled to a 21-0 victory over the Tigers. On ESPN the next morning, a sports analyst made an interesting observation. He said that the college football season left him feeling somewhat dissatisfied. After all, Alabama and LSU had already played each other…

Lisa has a painful childhood. Her alcoholic mother is angry, sarcastic, withdrawn, and sometimes physically abusive. As Lisa moves into the teen years, the embarrassment of having a drunken mother becomes excruciating. After marrying and giving birth to a daughter of her own, Lisa makes a promise to herself: “I will never, never be like…

My childhood home was in Jefferson, Iowa, a small rural community about 70 miles northwest of Des Moines. Winters there were bitterly cold, and snow blanketed the ground from December until March. Although the icy wind seemed almost unbearable at times, I always enjoyed a fresh snowfall. After a big snow the town’s residents promptly…

A king dressed in royal splendor sits on his throne. Two men come before him requesting forgiveness. One man, a terrified slave, approaches the ruler and drops to his knees. He confesses that he has made a serious mistake and begs for mercy. With pounding heart he awaits judgment. The other man, the king’s own…

King David’s household was an unhealthy place for growing children. Lax discipline, parental inattention, indulgence of spoiled conduct, and poor role modeling combined to create a monster – rebellious Absalom. After winning the hearts of the men of Israel, this handsome prince seized the throne and tried to kill his father. These tragic circumstances involved…

During the holidays the message that “Jesus is the reason for the season” appears everywhere. It’s on greeting cards, Christmas tree ornaments, church signs, and so on. The idea, of course, is that Christmas mustn’t lose its spiritual significance in the mad rush to shop, decorate, and plan parties. The birth of Jesus is the…

You are stranded in the desert with nothing to drink. A relentless sun burns your skin. A hot wind saps your strength and parches your throat. Finally, you discover a small natural reservoir of cold, clear water and quench your thirst. According to John’s Gospel the refreshment of drinking water is an excellent metaphor for…

  A typical proverb of Solomon is a concise, two-line observation revealing or emphasizing some truth about human conduct. When taken to heart, a biblical proverb has transformative power. Here’s a case in point: “A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones” (Prov. 17:22). Modern medical research definitely supports…

As a college student I learned a fascinating fact about the animal kingdom. If the temperature of a frog’s water is raised gradually, he senses no danger—not even when the water boils. This means that the poor little fellow will boil to death without ever thinking to hop to safety. I fear that many of…

In 1832, Margaret Mackay wrote the hymn “Asleep in Jesus.” The first stanza speaks of “a calm and undisturbed repose.” After staying up too late on Saturday night, we may be tempted to sleep in instead of attending Bible school or to doze off during the morning message. This wasn’t the sort of “undisturbed repose”…