# Series (Page 102)

Years ago, I was waiting at the counter in a Christian bookstore in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, when a man came in and stood in front of me. He stared at the staff and said, “Stop making God’s house a place of business.” His paraphrase of John 2:16 most certainly took the staff by surprise. They were speechless, and he, being satisfied that he had issued his prophetic proclamation, turned on his heels and left. Jesus, of course, didn’t just…

It is easy to imagine Julius Caesar straightening at the shoulders as he was proclaimed “Dictator perpetuo” (Latin for “Dictator for Life”). The year was 45BC, Caesar had won a civil war against his in-house enemies and had set up the new ‘Roman Empire’ to replace the ‘Republic of Rome.’ This, arguably the most famous Roman leader who ever lived, was about to learn why it doesn’t pay to bestow titles upon yourself—a year later he was dead! Stabbed by a…

It was Mel Sheasby who recommended Louis L’Amour’s book, “Last of the Breed” as a good read. I couldn’t put it down. L’Amour’s novel tells the story of a captured US Fighter Pilot. His journey, after escaping from a Soviet prison camp, takes him on foot across Siberia to the Bering Strait. Getting home to freedom was his driving force. It is a hard slog across freezing terrain. The frigid conditions were only matched by the cold hearts of his…

As a kid any size TV was a good TV. But since they were prohibitively expensive, your family took what they could get, and you dreamed of one as good as the one at your friend’s house. Obviously, the Florida thief must have been trying to hurry along his childhood dream when he stole a 43-inch TV from a Walmart. He planned the heist like a professional—well, almost. He exited the store with his prize at exactly the moment that…

(1) You are imitating Jesus; (2) You are a champion of good; (3) You attract like-minded carers; (4) Evil is being driven out; (5) Needs are being met. (6) You inspire others to care; (7) Haters will strengthen your resolve; (8) Appreciation will lift your spirits (9) You create Gospel teaching moments; (10) You learn the indispensability for prayer; (11) You witness hard hearts soften; (12) You overcome shyness; (13) You store up treasures in heaven; (14) Failure becomes your…

It’s a hard act to follow when your grandfather was a military hero who instilled terror in his hearts of his enemies, while still finding time to pen the songs that instilled God’s love in the hearts of his nation. And what do you have to offer when your father is smarter than Einstein and richer than J.D. Rockefeller? Well, you do what every spoilt kid does when you’re out of your depth, you put on your bling, call together…

Add women and children to Israel’s 600,000 males over 20 years of age and we push the population into the millions. This very large group went from potential homeowners in the Promised Land to tent-dwelling nomads in the desert in a matter of weeks. God pulled the pin on any prospects of an Israelite over the age of 60 ever setting foot in the Promised Land, save Joshua and Caleb. All that Israel had to do was believe God’s promise…

Being persecuted is not something that the average Christian lines up for. And it is never the way we imagined it would be when we do have our faith in God demeaned. Emotions run high during such confrontations and our brain tries to decide the best option between fight or flight. Christians have used silence as the most practiced preventative tool. Considering some of the thoughts that come to mind as someone reduces your closest held beliefs and practices to…

The sick man of John 5 believed that the occasional stirring of the Pool of Bethesda was his only hope of being whole again. Thirty-eight years later, on the Sabbath before the Passover Feast, a Galilean walked up to him and asked, “Do you want to get well?” What else did he know to do but repeat his failures to date: ‘By the time I get to the water, someone else has gotten the blessing.’ So, Jesus quietly healed him,…

Ezekiel is second only to the Book of Revelation in its ability to make you shake your head in confused amazement as it unfolds one spectacular vision after another. But that’s not all, some chapters will never ever be made into children’s storybooks and others would have to be censored before they were taught in youth class. By the time you reach chapter 37 you will have read enough to know that God reigns sovereign over everything. He knows all…