He said to them, “Suppose one of you has only one sheep and it falls in a pit on the sabbath; will you not lay hold of it and lift it out?” — Matthew 12:11. When I was a trial lawyer in Arkansas, there was one jury instruction that the Judge gave to the jury in…
He Hears Us
And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. — 1 John 5:14. The author of 1 John doesn’t promise we will get what we ask God, but he promises that God does hear us. Many times just being heard is all we…
Eating and Drinking
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Look a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners.” — Matthew 11:19. Human nature is a funny thing. People are always on the lookout for what someone does wrong, not what someone does right. First, they criticize John for eating locusts…
Love and Hate
Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers and sisters, are liars; …. — 1 John 4:20. The author of 1 John doesn’t mince words. Apparently, he felt it necessary to be blunt about the hypocrisy of professing to love God, but finding it in their hearts to hate certain brothers and sisters. Do…
Giving Up
Every now and then we consider giving up. For me, it started as a young kid who struck out for the first time. I was convinced that my future in baseball and life was over forever. It wasn’t, despite decades of strike outs, mishaps, big mistakes, and sometimes just plain bad luck somehow I still…