The BackdropYou've probably heard the phrase: "You only have one opportunity to make a good first impression." This also applies when you are introducing a friend to a group of people (other friends, family, et...

"Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me" (Eph. 3:8).Some months ago I was talking with a group of leaders when the question was asked, "What's the strangest thing you have ev...

"May I never boast of anything except the cross of Christ" (Gal. 6:14).One of the most important books (other than the Bible) that shaped my life was Henri Nouwen's classic The Wounded Healer. In this book...

Quick BackdropSeveral times in the Old Testament, we find God's people, Israel, disobeying God. Some instances were worse than others. In fact, toward the end of the Old Testament, God had to send special messe...

"I press on toward the goal" (Phil. 3:14)When he was 19 years old, Andy Andrews lost his parents. His mother died of cancer, and then just weeks later his father was killed in a car accident. Soon after, Andy f...

"Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand" (Mark 6:44).On Dec. 7, 1937, a heavy snowstorm blanketed the area of the Blue Star Highway in western Michigan and stranded dozens of motorists on the hig...

OpeningRacism is defined as "the poor treatment of or violence against people because of their race." Do you think you would enjoy being treated poorly or beaten up because of your race? Let's take a look at ho...

OpeningYour life is full of decisions: when to go to bed, what to eat, whom to befriend, what to wear...These are just a few of the decisions you make regularly. Some decisions are big, and some are s...

OpeningFormer college and pro football coach and current ESPN analyst Lou Holtz once said the following about revenge: "You'll never get ahead of anyone as long as you try to get even with him." So many times, ...

OpeningIn 1 Timothy 6:12, the Bible talks about fighting the good fight of faith, and in 1 John 3:8, we are told that one of the reasons for the Son of God appearing was to destroy the devil's work. These image...