Ecclesiastes 12:10

  In 1853, a contractor named John Coffee was hired to build a new jail in the town of Dundalk, Ireland. The project, however, proved too much, and during the construction, Coffee went bankrupt.  Unable to pay his debt, he was sentenced to serve time.   He became his jail’s very first inmate.   Sin works the same way. At the start, it seems like we are in control of it. But the longer it lasts, the more it takes over. Then, sooner or later, what we thought we were in charge of is now the very thing that traps us. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death . James 1:14-15   Sin is a prison we build for ourselves. The only escape comes when one is willing to pay the debt that put us there.  Sin is too much for us. We are not controlling it; it is capturing us. Only in Christ can our debt be paid and our fr...

    As the Civil War was beginning, Colonel James Ripley was the man responsible for arming the troops. He chose to outfit the Union troops with 50-year-old short-range smoothbore rifles that dated to the War of 1812. Now there were better rifles, the more modern long-range Enfield rifles, available, but he claimed they were too expensive. But cost was not the real reason; it was the fact that the Enfield company was based in England, which Ripley still hated fiercely.    The Confederacy didn’t hold onto that grudge. They were willing to buy the rifles from England. At the first Battle of Bull Run in July 1861, the Confederates devastated the Union troops and suffered a third fewer casualties because their Enfield rifles could hit targets at 800 yards, compared to the Ripley’s guns, which had a range of only 500 yards.   The Union did end up winning the Civil War, but according to some historians, Ripley’s ill-fated gun order made it last two years longe...

    Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “ Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen; few in pursuit of the goal.”   To find success, one must be willing to set one's pride aside to do what is best. That isn’t always easy, especially when we think we are right.  But thinking we are right is not the same as being right.   Paul was sure he was right when he attacked the church (Acts 26:9). Peter thought he was making the right call when he distanced himself from the Gentile Christians (Galatians 2:12). Diotrephes was sure he was protecting the church (3 rd John 1:9-10).   But they were wrong.   And sometimes we are as well.   If you can’t change a path that isn’t working, it may not be because you are dedicated to the cause but because you are holding on to your pride. Success is about making sure you are right before you dig your heels in. Being so set in your ways that you won’t seek to improve is the pat...

   German Chocolate isn't German.   It’s named after its creator, Samuel German, who developed a specific type of baking chocolate for Baker Chocolate Company.   Which wasn't named for the fact that it sells to bakers, but for its founder, Dr. James Baker.   You see this a lot in religion. People claim to be Christians but are not very Christian. Church that claim to be “Bible church” but teach things not found in the Bible.  Groups that have a practice in their name that they don’t teach are necessary. A church that claims to worship God but has a person as its name. A church that claims it is “of Christ” but rules itself by human traditions.   If we are going to use a name we better live up to it. Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler;  but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. 1 st Peter 4:15-16   If...

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.   Proverbs 13:12     In the book The Fred Factor, the authors remark,  “ When people feel that their contributions are unappreciated, they will stop trying. And when that happens, innovation dies .”     Everybody needs a win from time to time. You can expect people to keep on going when they don’t feel they are going anywhere.  That's why it's a good idea when trying to develop a new positive habit that you don’t put the goal line too far away. Make sure you find a goal you can complete so you can have the will to keep going.     Too many times, in the church, good people give up not because they don’t think they are doing anything worthwhile, but because they see no hope/end in sight. Let’s not let that happen. Make sure we give folks something that a sense of completion that will encourage them to keep on.  

Where there is no guidance the people fall, But in abundance of counselors there is victory   Proverbs 11:14      In 1870, the French were on the verge of war with Prussia. However, they had a secret weapon, the mitrailleuse. It was a new type of machine gun they had developed. Now, at that time, machine guns were recent inventions, and the government wanted to keep the technology a secret.    So it distributed the guns to military units…without instructions for how to use them. The instructions weren’t sent until after the war had begun.    But by then it was too late. Needless to say, France lost that war.   Lack of information is a great way to ruin any effort. Leaders who fail to share their vision with followers. People who fail to ask the counsel of those with experience and knowledge. When one side doesn’t or doesn’t want to talk to the other.  You can’t expect people to work together if they can’t / don’t speak together (...

A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a citadel. Proverbs 18:19   A young lawyer was flabbergasted at the case he had just lost. He had the evidence. He had laid the case out perfectly. He had dismantled the opposition case. Yet when the jury return it’s verdict, they sided against his client.   As he told the story to a senior partner, He remarked, “I can’t understand that stupid jury!”  The older man responded, “That’s why you lost.  You didn’t understand them, you dismissed them as stupid. They could sense that, and no matter how good you presented your case, you couldn’t win them!”   It's just what we read in Proverbs. Once you insult or offend someone, it’s very hard to ever get them back on your side. If you make people feel dumb, or worthless, or beneath you, it's not likely that they will listen to you any longer.   This should be advice we consider when we teach the gospel to oth...