Ecclesiastes 12:10

  Companies, armies, and really any organization know the importance of morale. The quickest way to bring things to a screeching halt is to take away joy and cheer from people. The Bible teaches us that importance as well. All the days of the afflicted are bad, But a cheerful heart has a continual feast . Proverbs 15:15  A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, But when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken . Proverbs 15:13  A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones . Proverbs 17:22  The spirit of a man can endure his sickness, But as for a broken spirit who can bear it? Proverbs 18:14  Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Philippians 4:4      So why is it that some Christians seemingly can’t help but try to squash out anyone who is too happy? Those who scold the jokester, shush the child, complain about the excited and down the joyous.   Is it because we think fun is s...

   There are some bad ways to go, but one of the worst ways in all of history happened in 1184 in Erfurt, Germany.  King Henry VI called a meeting of church officials and nobility to deal with a land dispute.  During the meeting, the room on the upper floor they were in collapsed under the weight. The fall killed several, but the rest drowned. That’s because the floor collapsed into the latrine below the structure.  Over 60 people drowned in the cesspool of human waste.   But that might just be the way we are going now.   Not literally, but it does seem that the world is drowning in its own filth. Sexual immorality and perversion infest our entertainment. Hate, nastiness, and malice fill the airwaves. Slander, lies, and cursing are in the public domain.  It seems we have fallen from a higher place into the mire.   There is a better way. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility rece...

  For a rather obscure figure, the New Testament mentions Balaam a lot.   Jude 1:11, 2 nd Peter 2:15-16, and Revelation 2:14 all make mention of the prophet son of Beor, yet not in a good way. He is held up as the example of what not to be. His desire for wealth causes him to accept what was clearly wrong. It took a dumb donkey to make him see the error of his ways. And even then, he still used his influence to drive the people of God into error, all for his own gain. “ They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness .” --2 nd Peter 2:15-16   Maybe it does because his type is still common. Even in the early church, we see those more concerned about their pocketbook than the Good Book. Teachers who will say whatever as long as it fills their bank account. People who convince themselves that evil isn’t ...

    There are lots of firsts in Genesis. First Day. First Person. First Marriage. First Sin.   In Genesis 4:1, we have the first birth and the first mother Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, "I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD. " Genesis 4:1   What an amazing experience. Till that point, the man had been fully formed by God out of the dirt or out of another. Yet now the union of man and wife had brought forth a child. Eve had lived up to her name as the mother of all the living (Genesis 3:20)   It wasn’t easy. Part of the punishment of the fall was the increase in pain of childbirth (Genesis 3:16). Yet just birthing a child isn’t the only part of being a mother. It is raising that child, and that wasn’t easy after that as well. Cain would go on to become the first murderer, taking the life of his own brother.  What a tragic turn of events for Eve as a mothe...

     Somebody had to save the beavers! The government of the Czech Republic was tasked with protecting the wetland marsh that the beavers called home. It was decided that a dam had to be built to protect the marsh, but the project got caught up in so much bureaucracy and red tape that by the time it was green-lighted, it was too late.   Not to protect the beaver but to build the dam. The beavers had built one all on their own.   Good intentions, however, don’t always mean good results. Many things we know need to be done are never done because we take too long to do them. If we are not careful, the plans we make are worthless, not because they were not good, but because we took too long to do them.   Proverbs 3:27-28 warns us, “ Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, "Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it," When you have it with you. ”   So, let get it d...

    In 2 nd Kings 22, the wicked king Ahab has found out that God has set up a plan to get him killed. He had been trying to get the king of Judah, Jehoshapat, to unite with him in battle against the king of Aram.   But Jehoshaphat was hesitant, not sure that the prophets Ahab had brought forth to foretell God's blessing were really on the up and up. So, the prophet Micaiah is brought in, even though he’s never been pro-Ahab.  Ahab expects Micaiah to be against his idea; however, Micaiah says do it, it’s all part of God’s plan to knock off Ahab.   Yet, this revelation doesn’t make Ahab cancel his attack. Instead, he tries to fool God. The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you put on your robes." So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle. 1st Kings 22:30    At first, his ruse appears to work. The enemies’ orders are to attack Ahab personally, and they go after...