Topic(s): Sin

What’s the natural response when you’ve seen God? You’re convicted of sin. “Woe is me, for I am undone” (Isaiah 6:4). The closer I walk with God, the more quickly I feel my sin and realize how much I need God. It’s like a huge mirror with a great big light over it. When we stand away from the mirror, things look pretty good: suit looks in order; tie looks straight; the hair, what’s left of it, is combed. But as you begin to move towards the mirror, things begin to show up. The suit has a spot on it. The tie is a little bit wrinkled. The hair is out of place. The closer we get to the bright light, the more we realize our defects. It’s the same way when we get close to God. When we get close to him, we realize how much we need him and how far we are from him. We’re convicted of our sin. —Rod Cooper, “Beholding the King,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 150.

“When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord” —Luke 5:8; cf. Job 40:4; Psalm 40:12

Motivation

Topic(s): Forgiveness, God, Sin

Leaders are always looking for ways to motivate people. Unfortunately, the two most frequently employed tactics are guilt and fear. According to a Gallup poll conducted for Newsweek, the best way to “motivate a person to work hard and succeed” is through “increased self-value.” Eighty-nine percent of the adults surveyed said motivation was most effective when it enhanced their self-esteem. God uses all three—in His “program” we first feel guilty for our sin, then we fear what they will cost us, and then He frees us from them and improves our image of ourselves (Philippians 3:13,14).

Good Advice

Topic(s): Wisdom

A business man who was well known for his ruthless behavior once told Mark Twain, “Before I die I mean to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I will climb Mount Sinai and read the Ten Commandments aloud at the top.” Mark Twain said, “I have a better idea. You could stay in Boston and keep them.” (Today in the Word, Sept. 1991, p. 32)

“...keep them in the midst of thine heart”—Proverbs 4:21

Pride Goeth Before a Fall

Topic(s): Nature of Man

Romanian ruler Nikolai Ceausescu was one of the cruelest dictators of this century. After years of viciously persecuting professing Christians and killing all potential threats to his power, he instructed the National Opera to produce a song in his honor. Included in this song were to be the words, “Ceausescu is good, righteous, and holy.” He wanted this sung at his seventy-second birthday on January 26, 1990. Instead, he and his wife were executed a month earlier on December 25, 1989. “God opposes the proud” (James 4:6). (Our Daily Bread, Aug. 2, 1992).

Are We Putting Our Children's Welfare First?

Topic(s): Children

Understandably, many families must utilize the services of a day care center, but many Americans use such centers merely to increase their buying power by putting both parents in the workforce. A comprehensive study of American families discovered that “even among dual-wage earning couples, nine out of every ten believe that children are better off being raised with a mother at home rather than in a day care setting” (Family Research Council, Feb. 7, 1994, p. 4).

“...That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed” - Titus 2:4,5