Ecclesiastes 12:10

John Pemberton was brilliant.  You would have to be to earn a medical degree at age nineteen, start up eighteen companies and own a research lab recognized as the best in the state of Georgia. Yet this brilliant chemist is probably most remembered for the one invention he stupidly let slip away.   In 1888, John invented a wine drink that he tried to sell as mouthwash.  As mouthwashes go it wasn’t all that good but it did taste good, so he began selling it as a drink.  He decided to incorporate his soft drink company but after the first year, sales weren’t that good.  He sold seventy five dollars’ worth of the stuff that cost him fifty dollars to make. So in order to make some money to pursue other interests, he sold the company to an employee for a mere $2,300.   Ten years later, sales were better. Coca Cola, the company he started to sale the drink by the same name was now the number one drink in the country.   Short term think...

Like a Rolling Stone Don't worry you can rock this one! Who was asked to turn stones into bread? Jesus Paul Elijah Moses What patriarch's pillow was a stone? Abraham Issac Jacob Joseph Who was killed by having a millstone dropped on his head by a women? Abimelch Joab Uriah Reuben What did Samuel call the large stone he set between Mizpah and Shen? Petra Bol-Deah- Ar Jehovahnissi: Ebenezer Who rolled the stone across the tomb when Jesus was buried? Roman soldiers His disciples Joseph of Arimathea King Herod How many stones were removed from the dry path as the Israelites crossed the Jordan river? 7 12 50 None, they crossed the Red Sea What leader trapped 5 kings by having a stone rolled in front of the cave they were hiding in? David Abner Joshua Gibeon Which person was NOT at least attempted to be stoned? Jesus Paul Steven Peter Who rolled a stone from off a well so that Laban's flocks could ...

  Let’s say you travel back in time six hundred years or so.  Luckily, you happen across a fellow that speaks English.  Upon hearing your tale, he describes you as nice, smart, and handsome.  Wouldn’t you feel good?   You shouldn’t.  As Sol Steinmetz in his book, Semantics Antics , explains; Nice originally meant someone who was foolish, ignorant, senseless, or absurd (middle English 1300). Smart for the first 300 years of its use meant causing pain, sharp, cutting, or severe, a sense that survives in the idiom "smart as a whip.” Handsome wasn’t complimentary. When coined around 1425, it just meant easily handled; it didn’t have its current positive connotation until 1590.   You might think he said you were a kind, intelligent, good looking bloke, when in reality he said you were a foolish pain easily dealt with.   Words have an annoying habit of changing meaning over time in the same language and it becomes even more compli...

I t's not as bad as it sounds... Select the correct answer from the technically correct but still just a bit-off description. Who was the slave that was convicted of attempted rape yet still managed to get a government job? Ahab Joseph Benjamin Nehemiah Who was the prophet that cursed on some children that resulted in bears eating them? Elijah Elisha Obed Haggai What girls dancing lead to a prophet’s death? Jezebel The daughter of Herodias The sisters of Hera Sallious What three friend defied a king since they were inflammable? John, James and Peter Shadrack, Mashele and Abel Lot, Aaron And Moses Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah Who was the prophet that broke the commandments of God because of singing? Moses Jonah Malachi Zephaniah Who killed the priest of Baal because they couldn’t get a fire going? Elisha Elijah Paul Ballam What early Christian's history lesson led to his stoning? Stephen Simon Apollos Philip What kin...

  No one likes to be criticized. We don’t want to be the butt of the joke. We don’t enjoy being the punching bag for others. It hurts when it isn’t true. It really hurts when it is.  It might bruise our egos, hurt our feelings and make our faces red, but how much does it harm us.     Words can hurt but only damage us if we let them. And it might even help us.   It seems to me that folks today have much thinner skin than we used to. Maybe it’s because we have so many ways to talk about people, it’s worn down our skin. Maybe, we are a little wimpier since we have had not to suffer as many ‘real’ hardships.  Whatever the case, from the athletic field to the boardroom, to the capital, people seem to be much more oversensitive to the words of others.   I wonder if it is because we place too much concern on what others think of us. A lack of self-esteem is shown in how we respond to critics. A wise man listens to a critic and takes to he...

I'm not an Animal! Watch out for the name calling... What animal did Paul call the false workers of the circumcision? Lions Dogs Wolves Locust What animal did Jesus call false teachers? Pigs Dogs Wolves Sheep Who did the angel of the Lord describe as "a wild donkey of a man"? Samson Esua Ishmael Haggai What animal did John the Baptist describe the Pharisees and Sadducees as children of? Sheep Vipers Mice Goats What animal did the 10 spies say they would look like in the eyes of the Nephilim? Mites Ants Grasshoppers Rabbbits What animal did Jesus describe Herod as? A swallow A gnat A fox A viper What insect did David compare himself when speaking to Saul? A mosquito A tick A beetle A flea Who is referred to as the Lion of Judah in Revelation? David Abraham Jesus John What animal does Proverbs say a person under a debt should emulate? Gazelle Bear Bull Sloth Who is described as "leopard ...

  When you look at groups that immigrated to the US, it’s not hard to tell they tended to congregate in certain regions or cities.  As these groups took hold of a place you can see why people might flock to that area as they would share a language or might have some family ties. But how did it start?   For example, why did so many Irish immigrants to America settle in Boston rather than New York? The answer is very simple: The boat fare was $ 6.50 cheaper.   It amazes me how many decisions that are made, that turn out to have a great effect, are often made for trivial reasons.  My wife chose the college, where we would eventual meet and get married, for the fact that it allowed freshman to not have a roommate. How different would my life be if she had been a little less reclusive?   The most important decision we make is our faith. How did we arrive at that decision? Is it because we considered the Bible teachings? Have we expl...

What's The Weather? See if you can weather thru this Bibe quiz... According to Jesus, a south wind blowing caused people to think what? A shower is coming It will be a hot day A buildup of clouds Six more weeks of winter How long did the drought Elijah prayed about last? Seven years Forty days and nights A year and a day Three years and six months Who went down and killed a lion inside a pit on a snowy day? Benaiah Uzzah Goliath David How big were the hailstones that came when the seventh bowl was poured out in Revelation? Pea sized As big as your hand A hundred pounds As large as a whale Where was Jesus before he calmed the storm on the lake? Walking on the water In the stern of the boat At the oars In the cabin What was the name of the wind that blew Paul's ship off course to eventual shipwreck? A Blistering Euraquilo La Nina Balacy What weather event did Samuel call forth to show the Israelites they were wrong to ask for a king? T...

  Ulysses Simpson Grant became known as unconditional surrender Grant for his refusal to accept any other terms of surrender. The nickname worked so well since it fit right in with his initials of U.S.  The only problem those were not his initials, at least not the one he was born with.   Grant was actually born Hiram Ulysses but when he applied for acceptance into West Point the congressman who supported the boy’s application submitted erroneously his name as Ulysses Simpson (his mother Hannah’s maiden name) Grant.  When Grant arrived he tried to correct the error, but he soon learned a humbling fact of a soldier; when the army calls you by a name it becomes your name whether it really is or not.   As Christians, I think we face a similar dilemma. The name Christian is one that should have a certain distinction, a name that makes us of Christ.  Yet over the years, that name has been hijacked by those of the world.  It’s been warped into ...