“Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.” (II Timothy 2:16) Recently at church, an old friend of mine came to visit. It was the strangest thing. My wife and I were just talking about him. He was out of work and we just felt so sorry for him. As I watched him take his seat, I couldn’t help but wonder how he was handling his crisis. I’ve been out of work before and I haven’t forgotten the fear that sets […]

He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.” (2 Samuel 22:31) Psychologists have known for years that many of the personality traits we manifest in our everyday lives as adults are often shaped from childhood experiences. I realized recently that one of my most deep-seeded fears has its origins in my childhood. Within a year of my mother’s death in 1961, my dad lost his job and literally had to work several part-time jobs to make ends meet. Unfortunately, his work schedule forced him to […]

“Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth.” (Psalms 54:2) I had to fly to New York several years ago for a business meeting. It was a flight I will never forget. To me, I have always found the aisle seats to be the most comfortable seats on an airline. And since I had a two-hour flight, I asked the travel agent to reserve an aisle seat for me. Even though I boarded the plane and quickly found my seat, I gave it up […]

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) There were times when the Apostle Paul must have looked at himself in the mirror and wondered what in the world had happened to him. He knew that salvation from the inside is much more difficult to understand than it is from the outside. When Paul wrote to the Church at Corinth that “old things have passed away” and “all things have become […]