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Read Job 5:17 "Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty." Lou Holtz, former head football coach of the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, is legendary in his adherence to discipline. In an interview with The Saturday Evening Post in 1989, he was quoted as saying, "When it comes to discipline here, we ask three questions: Will it make him a better man? A better student? A better athlete? If the answer is yes, we make him do

2 Samuel 5:3-4 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. Age Is No Excuse Someone once defined middle age as "a brief period of time between being too young to do something and being too old to want to." And there's truth to that. It seems we spend the first part of our lives

1 Samuel 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah. A Filling, Not a Flash In the days of electric trolley cars, it was common for the small wheel to jump off the power-charged wire overhead. When that happened, the connection was broken and the power was gone. Sometimes in the motorman's efforts to get the wheel back on the power cab

Job 1:21 And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." You Can't Take It with You A few years ago, advice columnist Ann Landers printed a supposedly true story of a tightfisted husband who was married to a gracious woman. The wife put up with his tightwad behavior for more than 40 years. At age 60, "Ollie" was stricken with cancer. Toward the end, he made his wife

Deuteronomy 1:37-38 The Lord was also angry with me [Moses] for your sakes, saying, "Even you shall not go in there; but Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall go in there. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it." The Value of Encouragement Francois Arago, a 19th-century French astronomer, attributed his success to words he found written on the paper cover of his book at a time when he was greatly discouraged. These words, written by French mat

1 Samuel 26:23 "May the Lord repay every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the Lord delivered you into my hand today, but I would not stretch out my hand against the Lord's anointed." God's Payday After serving for 40 years on the African mission field, Henry C. Morrison returned home by boat. On that same boat, returning from one of his big-game hunts in Africa, was Theodore Roosevelt. Upon docking in New York, President Roosevelt received a great fanfare.

Read 1 Samuel 16:11 And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all the young men here?" Then he said, "There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here." A friend once told me that the moment he dreaded most in high school was when his classmates in PE chose sides for a team. Being the non-athletic type, he consistently was chosen last. The rest of the school day was usually clo

Read Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." Fear is everywhere. Even people who appear brave, if they're honest, will admit to moments of immense fear. During World War II, a military governor met with Gen. George Patton in Sicily. When he highly praised Patton for his courage and bravery, the general replied, "Sir, I am not a brave man--the truth is, I

Read Job 5:6-7 For affliction does not come from the dust, nor does trouble spring from the ground; yet man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward. Perhaps you have heard someone talk about a snafu. You probably realized that this meant something had gone wrong, but you may not know how the word became a part of our English language. In reality, snafu is the first letter of each word in the phrase, "Situation normal, all fouled up." In other words, when something goes w

Read Joshua 24:15 " And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Sometime ago many newspapers carried a story about a woman who was divorcing her husband after discovering he had two other wives and several children by each of them. H

Read 1 Samuel 17:47 "Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands." When King George VI gave his Christmas address to the British people in 1939, World War II had just begun. The German armies had conquered northern Europe and a long war lay ahead. In his speech the king quoted these words from a book by M. Louise Haskins: "And I said to the man who stood at the gate of th

Read 1 Samuel 17:26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, "What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" When my son, Tim, was about 14 years old, we were visiting my mother and father in western Pennsylvania. My father was outside on a ladder washing an upstairs window. Tim opened the window, stuck his head out and s

Read Job 6:24-27 "Teach me, and I will hold my tongue; cause me to understand wherein I have erred. How forceful are right words! But what does your arguing prove? Do you intend to reprove my words, and the speeches of a desperate one, which are as wind? Yes, you overwhelm the fatherless, and you undermine your friend." In regions of South America there is a snake called the "two-step." If it bites you, you take two steps and die. Its venom swiftly paralyzes your nervous syst

Genesis 22:18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice. Make My Life a Blessing The creed for a lot of parents these days is, "Get even. Live long enough to be a problem to your kids." That's humorous, and in some circumstances, understandable, but it's not very good advice. Abraham's life illustrates a different approach: he lived long enough to be a blessing. Think what we might have missed had Abraham died at an earlier a

Job 34:10 "Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding: Far be it from God to do wickedness, and from the Almighty to commit iniquity." Don't Blame God A man was handing out business cards that read, "Federman and Coe, Merchants." When asked about his partner the man admitted there was no such person. "Then why do you have the name on your card?" someone wanted to know. "Well, you see," the man replied, "if something goes wrong I just blame it on Coe. That way I get out

Proverbs 2:3-5 Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. Searching God One of the better-known treasure hunts of modern times is the quest to find the rumored wealth known as the "Beale treasure." The hunt began when an eccentric man who left the East for the gold and silver mines of the West

Job 1:11-12 "But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!" So the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person." So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. Lion on a Leash Many cities and even small towns have leash laws. You can't simply let your pets run loose; they must be kept on a leash. The logic is obvious. With no constraints, dogs and cats not only do

Read Genesis 12:8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. Many professional athletes proudly wear the corporate logo or company colors of those who sponsor them. They have no qualms at all in identifying themselves with the products and purposes of those who finance their careers. When Abraham pitched his tents near Bethel

Read 1 Samuel 24:17-18 Then [Saul] said to David: "You are more righteous than I; for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil. And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me; for when the Lord delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me." A gentleman who had held many important positions in public life went to a friend in great anger over a real injury he had received from a prominent politician. He was considering how to react

Joshua 18:2-3 But there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes which had not yet received their inheritance. Then Joshua said to the children of Israel: "How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you?" How Long? Some people refuse to wait. On June 22, 1997, Thomas and Corilee McClurkin peacefully celebrated their golden anniversary. But it wasn't that way 50 years ago. The month of June in 1947 was exceptiona

Job 3:9-12 "May the stars of its morning be dark; may it look for light, but have none, and not see the dawning of the day; because it did not shut up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hide sorrow from my eyes. Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb? Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?" In the Depths of Discouragement Some time ago the Hayden Planetarium in New York City issued an invitation to all those

Joshua 7:11-12 "Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from a

Job 1:20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. Rubble Reaction A Sunday school teacher was giving an object lesson on reactions. She placed a glass on a small table and carefully filled it to the brim with water. Then she gave the table a slight shake and some of the water sloshed out. "Oh, my," she said, "I spilled some grape juice." A hand shot up. "But that's water," said a little boy. "That's right," she replied. "T

Read Genesis 13:8-9 So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left." Everyone seems concerned about their rights. Whatever the issue, someone is sure to claim that he or she has the right to engage in it. Someone else will ma