The great English poet Alexander Pope [died in 1744], published his “Essay On Criticism” in 1711. That poem is the source of the familiar saying, “To err is human; to forgive is divine.” The saying echoes the Bible’s teaching that all accountable human beings sin (even those who are Christians – Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), […]
Talking About Jesus! by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN A six-year-old boy stirred his parents interest on the way home after church one Sunday. The child said, “My Sunday school teacher must be Jesus’ grandmother.” When they asked why, he replied, “Because she talks about Him all the time.” As my wife and I prayerfully and […]
A man was trying to teach his horse to obey and to stop and start on command. The man was a very religious man, so he came up with a couple of religious statements to use as command words while training his horse. He trained the horse to go on the phrase, “Praise the Lord!” […]
There’s a story about an old lumberjack who went to a lumberjack company looking for a job. He sought out the foreman and told him, “I want to work as a lumberjack. I want to chop down some trees.” The foreman responded, “Man, I’m sorry, but you are too old to chop down trees.” The […]
A better Bible? Let me shout, “No, NO, NOOO!” We not only don’t need a “better” Bible, it would be impossible to write one. Inspired men refer to the one we have as “given by inspiration of God”, profitable for doctrine, reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteous- ness”– and the result is “the man […]
There’s an old story about a frog that wanted to cross a lake but he did not have the means to go that distance. So he tried to figure out how to get across the water, and he came up with a brilliant idea. There were two birds nearby and he talked the two birds […]
Oprah Winfrey is credited with saying, “Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.” I don’t know the context of Winfrey’s words, but there is great truth in them. A muscle remains flabby unless it is pushed and pulled and stressed and strained. For a long time athletes have motivated themselves with the mantra, […]
I want to begin this little meditation with four simple, one-syllable words we hear Jesus speaking in Mark 11:22 – “Have faith in God.” Do you have faith? What do you have faith in? Jesus said, “Have faith in God.” Careful study reveals Jesus is within five days of His death on the cross in […]
For how long will God be merciful? How far does God’s mercy go? How can finite man answer such a question about an infinite God? The depth of God’s love is expressed in the statement “God is love” (1 Jn. 4:8, 16). God is the most succinct, the most comprehensive definition of “love.” It is […]
Several years ago Woody Hayes, who is a college football hall of famer and a former head coach at Ohio State University, was delivering a commencement speech during a graduation ceremony at OSU. While he was speaking to the graduates, he challenged them with these words: “You can never pay back what this school has […]