World War 1 (WWI) trench warfare was some of the most horrific fighting that mankind has ever had to endure. The casualties were staggering. It is estimated that the total number of Allied deaths, military and civilian, is between 9.5 to just over 10 million people. In the Battle of Somme in France (1916), the British forces lost 60,000 men on the…

There is a quote that is often attributed to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, “Music is not in the notes but in the silence between.” Would it surprise you that the average person does not like the quiet stillness of silence? There are times that we enjoy it for a moment. Would you be willing to see how long could you go without talking…

Aristotle stated, “Nature abhors a vacuum.” A perfect vacuum is space that contains no matter. This is an impossibility in nature or even a lab. Consider yourself as a spiritual vessel for a moment. The Bible already uses that analogy in several passages (2 Tim. 2:20; Rom. 9:20-21). What would happen if you stopped filling yourself with God?  Would your spiritual reserve…

In these times it seems science trumps spirituality, philosophy over piety, and glamour glitters more than goodness. While that is true, it isn’t new to our time. There have always been these sentiments from one generation to the next. There may have been golden eras when things were better than they are now, but Adam and Eve enjoyed the only truly perfect…

He forgave her!  She went into the wrong apartment and fatally shot his brother. Her sentence was seemingly light for murder—10 years. Prosecution was asking for 28, the age of the victim. The closing comments of the victim’s brother were words of forgiveness. “I don’t hold anything against you.” “I want the best for you.” “The best for you would be to…

Have you read the Psalms lately? They contain such striking language, fluid meter, beautiful imagery, and a wide range of emotion. They communicate to the human heart unlike any other form of poetry. In Psalm 86, we see the format of prayer that is repeated in the collection of Psalms. The psalm begins with a plea to be heard, “Incline Your ear,…

Clearly-communicated expectations are key to relationships. In the case of God with His people, He has been exemplary in giving us clear communication—not just in our conduct but how we should operate in our many different roles. That is no different in the area of parenting. God has communicated to us what he expects of us as parents. It should go without…

Greed is a heart condition. It can lead to the ruin of many good and perfect things. We must change the heart in order to change from greed to contentment. Greed ruins the spiritual mind. “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things…