A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways... Former President Ronald Reagan once had an aunt who took him to a cobbler for a pair of new shoes. The cobbler asked young Reagan, "Do you want square toes or round toes?" Unable to decide, Reagan didn't answer, so the cobbler gave him a few days. Several…

"Heresy is not so much rejecting as selecting. The heretic simply selects the parts of the Scripture he wants to emphasize and lets the rest go. This is shown by the etymology of the word heresy and by the practice of the heretic. "Beware," an editorial scribe of the fourteenth century warned his readers…

In an interview with Time Pastor Rick Warren was asked, “If you could get people to change one thing, what would it be?” Warren’s answer may be the quote of the year. “I’d get them to stop believing everything they think. We lie to ourselves more than anybody else. Jesus said the truth will set you free—but…

In “Approved Life,” Joshua Saefkow writes, “In the 1951 children's classic, Alice in Wonderland, Alice asks Cheshire cat for advice when she comes to an intersection on the road. She said, ‘Cheshire, can you please tell me, which way I ought to go from here?’ ‘That depends a good deal on where you want…

GLORIFYING GOD In his book, "Don't Waste Your Life", John Piper says one of the primary differences between humans and animals is that human beings are given the opportunity to make choices about their work based on motives that can either honor God or dishonor Him. Piper writes, "No beaver or bee or…

I Ought It’s easy to think “I Ought” is the end, the ultimate Christian ambition, But ought wears thin at a quarter to ten, When you really want to go fishing. “I should” sounds good, but it’s as dead as wood When it comes to doing what’s right. For, the good that I could; What my head knows I should,…

It is so easy to become a victim of our circumstances, and develop a victim mentality. Forgotten promises, lies, and schemes do their best to convince us that life is not filled with happy endings. When he was young, Skeeter Bronson found that hard to accept. His father, who owned a Southern California…

An Englishman may happen to be in Spain—he wishes a thousand things were different from what they are, but he does not trouble himself much about them. He says, “If I were a Spaniard I would see what I could do to alter this government. But, being an Englishman, let the Spaniards see to their own matters.…

In the movie The Mission, Robert DeNiro's character, Mendoza, a kidnapper and slave trader of the indigenous people of South America, repents from his ways and turns to God. Mendoza repeatedly carries a load of armor tied to his body while climbing up a cliff as a form of penance for killing his brother…

The HuffingtonPost.com quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson on the uselessness of anger. “For every minute you are angry, you lose 60 seconds of happiness.” Of course that is only the beginning of what you lose when you hold on to your anger, but it is a good reminder. --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell The Week,…

ETERNITY If there is anything that gets a couple thinking about religion, it is the thoughts of the children they are responsible for. That is true, even for the world’s richest couple. Melinda Gates is Catholic, goes to church, and wants to raise daughter Jennifer that way. "But she offered me a deal,"…

WISDOM From San Francisco's Golden Gate bridge, past the sheer cliffs of Big Sur to the sun-drenched beaches of Southern California, the views along the 644 miles of Highway 1 are breathtaking. The views of the Pacific crashing against the shore compete with the rugged beauty of the mountains, forests…

CHOSEN Paul Herold is trying his best not to be elected to the City Council of Blaine, Minnesota. He entered the primary several months ago, but then found a new job that will not leave him enough time to properly serve his constituents. He missed the deadline for removing his name from the ballot, so…

It's not living that is important, but living rightly. The Emperor's Club

Americans crave the right to choose. We revere our autonomy. We don’t want to participate in a predetermined plot; we want to create our own future. We are the masters of our own destiny—the captain of our ship. No one else is allowed at the helm. The entertainment industry bears out the American preference…

Felix Baumgartner will go down in history for many things, particularly for being the first man to break the sound barrier without vehicular power. That's right - Felix is a stuntman/risk taker to the extreme. His expertise? Skydiving. On October 14, 2012 Felix took a helium balloon up into the stratosphere…

An online survey of new parents has found that more than half say they regret the name the gave their child afterward. The survey found that from 1,000 respondents 54 percent said they wished they have given their child a different name. 26 percent of the parents said the name they selected had become…

Patriotism My mom made Susan a beautiful vest that displays several patriotic symbols. Susan asked me "do you think I can wear this anytime, or only in July." I told her she should be proud to display patriotic symbols anytime. She wore it this morning as she left for work. What if Patriotism were limited…

-I’m not a big Country music fan…but I do think that country music has the best song titles of any musical genre hands down… Here are a few: "May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose" "You Can’t Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd" "Thank God And Greyhound She’s Gone " "I’ve Got The Hungries For Your Love…

My basic principle is that you don’t make decisions because they are easy, you don’t make them because they are cheap, you don’t make them because they’re popular; you make them because they’re right. - Theodore Hesburgh (American Educator)

“Refugees from the Berlin wall, to Vietnamese and Cuban boat people, to the DMZ, the prisoners of communism run in only one direction: toward liberty and self-government.” A 24-year-old North Korean soldier joined the race to freedom. He commandeered a jeep in North Korea and sped toward the De-Militarized…

Freddie Jackson, a heavy equipment operator for the Ocala Florida Public Works Sanitation Department had been praying for some extra money to take his wife on a vacation. When he found a wallet containing $500 in the back of his garbage truck, Jackson knew he had to do the right thing. Immediately he…

In the olden times of imprisonment for debt, it would have been quite correct for you to step into the cell of a debtor and say to him, “I have freed you,” if you had paid his debts and obtained an order for his discharge. But he is still in prison! Yes, but you really liberated him as soon as you paid…

The Boston Marathon is arguably the most prestigious foot race in the country. It has strict qualifying times that a runner must meet to run the big race. Another way to enter the race is with a charity team, usually requiring a person to raise thousands of dollars for the charity. Some runners choose…

Adam LaRoche, who has averaged over 20 home runs a year in his 12-year Major League Baseball career, is walking away from his $13 million contract with the Chicago White Sox because the club would no longer allow Drake, his teenage son to accompany him the clubhouse. While many were critical of his decision…