“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.” (Matthew 12:33) I was recently involved in a misunderstanding that turned out to be a real source of embarrassment. The particulars are not important because the embarrassment that I experienced had nothing to do with the nature of the misunderstanding. I was embarrassed because the circumstances that surrounded the incident make me look as if I was the farthest thing from […]

“In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.” (Psalms 5:3) I once wrote a column about a diet I tried that prompted a reader from Roxboro to telephone me. “Could you help me?” she said. “I don’t know what to do!” I understood her pain. I’ve gained a lot more weight than I’ve ever lost and will never forget the depression and sense of defeat that accompanies weight gain. In fact, research tells us […]

“And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’” (Luke 15:31-32) I have to give credit to my pastor for this devotion. He recently preached a sermon on the prodigal son that inspired me to think about the “other son” in the parable. His slant on the meaning of this parable was both […]

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” (James 1:2) History tells us that Thomas Edison invented the microphone, the phonograph, the incandescent light, the storage battery, movies with sound, and more than 1,000 other things. The truth is the quality of our lives has been immeasurably improved by the genius of a man who overcame dyslexia and found that there was a great deal to learn from the failures and trials that life brought his way. In 1914, the laboratory where many of […]