Loneliness is one of the most common and most devastating emotions of life. Loneliness is being the new kid at school and nobody knows your name. It’s moving to a new town and leaving all your friends behind. It’s your parents going through a divorce and you don’t know which one you’re going to live with. It’s coming home to an empty house after burying your nearest and dearest. It’s driving aw...
Dr. Pat Thomas, my dear friend and one of Tyler’s finest physicians, told me of a little girl who was asked shortly after Christmas, “Did you get all you wanted for Christmas?” She replied, “No! But it wasn’t my birthday!”
She had learned at an early age one of life’s greatest lessons: Life did not revolve around her and getting. It revolves around him and giving.
After all it...
A friend told me birthdays are good for you. People who have lots of them usually live a long time. In 2001 I had bypass surgery. I had seven of those suckers – that’s right, seven. That’s all you can have. I wanted to have eight so I could make the Guinness Book of World Records, but my doctor said seven is the maximum.
After the surgery the doctor said, “I think I bought you ten more...
The Bible is the greatest textbook on marital relations ever written. All other books are but amplifications, illustrations, and applications of the basic truths in the Bible.
In many places the Bible sets out the duties of a husband to his wife. Here they are as a good reminder to every husband.
1. Love her. The first and most often–mentioned responsibility of...
Years ago, a local newspaper carried an article entitled, “West Texas Gold Discovery Richest in Years.” It pointed out that gold flakes had been found in 18 sandy West Texas acres that its owners had previously been using to raise peanuts.
When random samples were sent to the Colorado School of Mines, assay reports concluded it was one of the richest finds in modern times. Think of it...
One Sunday a young man dressed in a suit and sitting on the third-row aisle listened and watched with such rapt attention that he caught my eye. At the close of the service an usher introduced him to me. Jason, a local seminary student, extended his hand and said, “It’s an honor to meet you.” (Obviously, Jason had read some of my books.)
I responded, “No! No, it’s an honor for me to mee...
The last battle of the Civil War was fought March 12-13, 1865 near Brownsville in Cameron County, Texas. Ironically it was fought more than a month after the South had surrendered and the war was over.
The Texans won the battle, but 118 men lost their lives. The men invested all they had – their courage, their skill, their blood, and their futures – all for nothing.
The reason...
A man sat down at a banquet table and the place setting name tag next to his read, “Emily Post”. He assumed it was the famed columnist who was an expert on table manners. He asked the lady sitting there, “Are you Emily Post?” She replied, “Yes, I am.” He asked again, “Are you the Emily Post?” She replied, “Yes, I am.”
He asked a third time, “Are you the Emily Post who wrote t...
Someone once asked my wife, “If you had it to do over, would you have children again?” She responded, “Yes, but not the same ones.” Every parent feels that way at times. When I started preaching years ago, I had a sermon entitled, “Ten Commandments for Parents.” After our first child, I changed the title to “Ten Hints for Parents.” After our second child, I changed the title to “A Few Tentative...
Once we buried a young lady who was only 21 years old. She was killed in a head-on collision while on her way to church. The night before the funeral, my daughter asked why God allows things like this to happen.
I wish I knew. Things like this have puzzled saints, wise men, and philosophers since the world began.
There is simply no one easy answer as to why tragedies like this happen. The answer may lie in the fact that God made us free. He created us with the ability to make our own choices, and choices always involve consequences. If we are careless or foolish in our choices, or if others are, we may suffer because of them. If God did not allow us freedom, we’d be less than people. We’d be robots.
This may be the only explanation we will ever have for some suffering. However, we do not have to know why things happen in order to be victorious over them. On the cross Jesus cried out “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) But the heavens were as brass. God was silent. He didn’t even answer his own Son. Jesus might have despaired and become bitter against God. But instead he said, “Father, into thy hands I commend [entrust, hand over] my spirit” (Luke 23:46).
This kind of faith is far more important than any answer we might receive. In our lives, as in the life of Jesus, it is faith that makes the difference between victory and defeat.
So keep believing in God no matter what. Commit your life to him and regardless of what happens, God will help you.