LESSONS FROM A BANANA TREE
I once learned an interesting lessons from a retired pastor who grew banana trees in his backyard. Bananas will grow in our hot and humid Southern Illinois summers. But the season isn't long enough for them to produce much fruit. Some people tried to overcome this by
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SATISFIED
News flash: I like food! You know -- with a dash of seriousness -- it doesn't take a master chef to see that I've had a love-affair with food for some years. I'm like a lot of Americans; I often eat more than I need in order be "satisfied."
A number of years ago, I went to
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Contributed by Michael Walther on Jul 29, 2011
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A CHURCH MOVES ON
"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12.21).
A church that was already struggling financially suffered a loss of $5,000 which one of its members had embezzled. This put the church in even greater peril because of its difficulty in meeting financial
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GIFT OF PEARLS
A number of years ago, when our oldest was just a little tyke, a Chinese man we knew gave my wife a string of pearls as a gift. Anyway, the pearls he gave her were different from the ones we might find in a jewelry store; they were natural, not cultivated.
Now, the most common
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SHOOT THE MOON
The other day I needed to take my mind off things, so I opened my computer and played a game of hearts. Now, like all card games, no matter how diligent you play, there's time when the unexpected happens, and you're hand turns to disaster. One sneaky move from an opponent and it's
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Contributed by Michael Walther on Jul 11, 2011
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GOD'S WORD IN A MENTAL HOSPITAL
I think you'll agree that all true and sincere spiritual movement in your life has been caused and created by the word of God.
I served for one year as a part-time chaplain at a mental hospital. One of my duties there was to help people suffering from chemical
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Contributed by Michael Walther on Jul 11, 2011
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A THUNDERCLAP IN THE DEBATE
A group of college students were debating this issue one day. Some said a mother has the right to do what she wants with her own body. Others pointed out the scientific fact that an unborn child is not part of the mother's body and has its own distinct DNA, blood type,
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Contributed by Michael Walther on Jul 11, 2011
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PENNIES FROM HEAVEN
Many of the farms in the state of Nebraska are right on the edge of the fertile plains that receive enough rainfall to produce abundant crops. Some years the yields can be a little lower simply because they are not blessed with as much rain as other farmers. Being so dependent
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LIGHTS FOR OUR PATH
A couple of years ago, I went outside after dark to look at the stars in ways we couldn’t while back in Minnesota. I stepped from the porch, with the lights of course, and then I tripped on the water-hose. Down I went, taking my wife and daughter with me. Truth be known —
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THE LIBERTY BELL
One of the most, iconic symbols of our national heritage --the Liberty Bell --hangs magnificently in the city of brotherly love. In 1751, the Pennsylvania Assembly ordered the bell to commemorate the commonwealth's fiftieth anniversary of William Penn's 1701 Charter of
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ACHIEVING VIRTUE
The word "virtue" is taken from the Latin word virtus and actually means "strength" or "manliness." So you see that the real strength of this life is found by successfully winning the inner war of faith. It is because of weakness that we are ruled by passions and controlled by
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HOW NOT TO ACHIEVE VIRTUE
How do we move from vice to virtue? Let me tell you first of all how not to... Even ancient pagans, those who never heard the Bible, recognized that living in vice was deadly and destructive. They were far ahead of our modern culture that is foolishly accepting vices
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AT WAR WITH OUR VICES
On July 4, 1776 fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence. Citing numerous abuses of the law and the oppressive and unjust rule of the king of England, these men pledged their honor, their lives and their livelihood to the cause of justice and freedom. We have
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DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY
Some people have dogs; some have cats, and some have both. Our dogs — well, they don’t worry about their fur. As far as we know, they don’t worry about much of anything. When they’re hungry they let us know. When the need to go outside and do their thing, they let us
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Contributed by John Herrmann on Jun 21, 2011
WHAT TO DO WHEN THERE'S NO FIREWORKS
Around sunset one very hot summer’s eve when we (in the Army Chaplaincy) were in Iraq, about forty miles north of Baghdad, we saw the military police pull up in the building just next door. Out came two Iraqi Prisoners of War, their hands were shackled behind
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Contributed by Michael Walther on Jun 20, 2011
DARWIN KISSED AND CRIED OVER EVOLUTION
Shortly after Charles Darwin and his wife Emma were married, Emma wrote Charles a letter. In her letter Emma warned Darwin about believing things that can’t be proved and of recognizing the limitations of our minds... That there are things "which if true are
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COMMISSIONING OATH
When I hear the word "commission," the first thing that comes to my mind is the commission military officers receive when they enter into service. Commissioned officers derive their authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the
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CHURCH ON FIRE
Here's an interesting article that goes well with Pentecost. The article’s title read, "Fireworks Blamed for Church Fire." The story begins, "Fireworks were blamed for a fire that tore through a church in Brush Prairie, on Monday... . The church's roof collapsed as the fire
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Contributed by Tim Hinrichs on Jun 8, 2011
FAMOUS PEOPLE
Do you know anyone famous? Maybe relatives or ancestors who did something incredible?
Once I worked part time at a luxury condo in Minneapolis as a security guard letting residents in and out of the complex. One late night a man entered whom I didn't recognize. As he began walking
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