Life Jackets

As a storm raged, the captain realized his ship was sinking fast. He called out, “Anyone here know how to pray?” One man stepped forward. “Aye, Captain, I know how to pray.” “Good,” said the captain. “You pray while the rest of us put on our life jackets. We’re one short.”  In life – and…

Where Football Began

What we in America call “football” has its roots in European rugby and what we call “soccer.” Imported to the states in the 1800s, these games evolved into what would eventually become the National Football League, which recently celebrated its 55th annual Super Bowl. Tom Brady has won 50 of those Super Bowls. The modern…

Humiliations

Writing The True Christian Life, John Calvin said, “Warned by such evidences of their spiritual illness, believers profit by their humiliations. Robbed of their foolish confidence in the flesh, they take refuge in the grace of God. And when they have done so, they experience the nearness of the divine protection which is to them…

Keep Punching

Relapse is a trickle that becomes a stream that becomes a river. The key is to catch it while it is still just a trickle. Any of us is susceptible to relapse. Take this verse to heart: “Let him who thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).  In my book, Life…

Hogan’s Hero

Bob Crane played Colonel Hogan in the 1960s comedy series, Hogan’s Heroes. Crane lived the life of a faithful family man. He was married and had five children.  But there was more to Crane’s life than his fans, friends, and family knew. He was living the compartmentalized life of a sex addict. On June 29,…

Mess Up, Clean Up

God loves the worst of us on our worst days just as much as he loved Billy Graham on his best day. Oswald Chambers wrote, “The miracle of the redemptive reality of God is that the worst of the vilest offenders can never exhaust the depths of his love.” The great apostle said it like…