Daily Articles

Time for a Heart Check

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. Hebrews 9:27-28

Years ago I had my then preschool-age granddaughter with me when I made a stop at the cemetery to deliver some flowers. My granddaughter was naturally curious about what sort of place a “sembletery” was, so I did my best to explain. As we read a few markers and headstones, I told her what the dates meant, and we figured the ages of a few of the deceased.

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Are You Spreading Germs of Discouragement?

When we are sick and have germs we are very careful not to spread them to babies, yet we spread germs of discouragement to new Christians. We spread them by our holier than thou attitudes and we try to impress them with our knowledge of the Bible and our wisdom. How sad that is because instead of encouraging them by our patience, understanding and kindness, we discourage them with our impatience and criticism.

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Freedom From Bondage

Today is the day we celebrate our nation’s freedom yet there are so many people who are still in bondage. They are in bondage to schedules, deadlines, television, sports, alcohol, drugs, sex, profanity, and all the other things that come before Jesus and keep them from serving Him and spending time with Him as He has commanded us to do. He has told us that we should have no other gods before Him. However all too often we allow things that will one day mean nothing come before Him and our service to Him.

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Train Up Your Children

Proverbs 22:6 RSV
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

From the Associated Press (Garland, Texas):An essay that won a 6-year-old girl four tickets to a Hannah Montana concert began with the powerful line: “My daddy died this year in Iraq.” While gripping, it wasn’t true — and now the girl may lose her tickets after her mom acknowledged to contest organizers it was all a lie.

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In Sickness and in Health

When does a person think about health? For me, this question surfaced when I was sick, when I was far from healthy. For years I thought I was a healthy person. My doctors had declared how healthy and strong I was for my age. Then, very much to my surprise, I discovered that I had cancer. Health flew from my mind and disease and debilitation and death took health’s place. The plain and simple fact that a biopsy had found a significant cancer in my body immediately effected my identity. My sense of self was instantaneously altered . I became, from that hour of discovery, different. I was no longer healthy. Who was I? I was no longer even myself, but a cancer victim, and might soon become a cancer survivor. Whatever the outcome of this dread discovery, I thought I would never be the same.

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Husbands, love your wives – build hedges

Shortly after I married his daughter, my father-in-law gave me one of the most treasured gifts I have ever received — a book titled Hedges: Loving Your Marriage Enough to Protect It.

From the precepts found in the book, I learned how building “hedges” is important to a marriage. Just as in Scripture, hedges are a protection and direction against infidelity, a leading cause of marriage failure in America.

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Divorce Proof Marriage

Divorce-proof Marriage?

No marriage can be made absolutely divorce-proof. No marriage is without difficulties and crises. Yet, a strong and intimate relationship can be built through what I choose to call crisis survival. Pain and suffering can provide creative growth. Romance and moments of ecstasy are wonderful, yet the stressful experience can also provide a setting for blessing. There is truth in the cliché, “No pain, and no gain.” Some of us flee from discomfort and never discover the benefits of “seeing it through” and forging even closer bonds in the shared traumas and trials.

The following seven building blocks are designed to nurture divorce- resistant partnerships:

1. Build each other up.

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