Alfred Bernhard Nobel invented dynamite in 1867. It is the most famous or infamous of the 355 international patents Nobel held. It was his goal to use dynamite to aid demolition and construction. It was used to create weapons of war that made Nobel rich. In 1888, Alfred’s brother Ludwig died. A French newspaper mistakenly published an obituary for Alfred, entitled “The Merchant of Death is Dead.” A chastened Nobel determined he did not want this to be his legacy. He quit the business of warfare, liquidated his assets, and used nine million dollars to establish the Nobel Peace Prize. It is the most prestigious award in the world.  Matthew...

One day, a woman called her friend in tears. Her mother had given her a beautiful handkerchief, which had been passed down from her grandmother. The woman had carelessly marked it with indelible ink. The handkerchief was ruined, and her heart was broken. Her friend, an artist, asked her to send it to him, which she did. Several weeks later, the artist returned it to her. The woman called again, this time with tears of joy. Her artist friend had taken the ink spot and designed a beautiful work around it. The ruined handkerchief was brand new, more beautiful and...

In The Window, G.W. Target tells of two men who shared a hospital room. One man’s bed was next to the wall; the other’s next to the window. Nurses sat the man up by the window to drain fluids from his lungs. He would describe to his roommate the beautiful things he saw outside the window. A father and son are fishing. Lovers having a picnic. A parade is passing by. These descriptions lifted the spirits of the man by the wall. But he began to resent the man by the window. Why did he get to the bed with a view? One...

Mark Twain said, “Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.” No one exemplifies this reality more than the woman of Proverbs 31. The Proverbs 31 Woman is idolized by many Christians. She is notorious to just as many. Her good example is an annoyance that is hard for many to put up with. But the tension of the text is eased by knowing that Proverbs 31 is one long discourse.  King Lemuel wrote this chapter. Proverbs 31:1 is the only place where the name occurs. Lemuel may be a pseudonym for Solomon or Hezekiah. All we know for sure is that Lemuel was a wise king whose mother taught him the ways of wisdom. Proverbs 31:1 calls this chapter “an...

The beatitudes teach the attitudes of heart that God blesses. Poverty of spirit, mourning, meekness, and hungering and thirsting for righteousness are dispositions that characterize citizens of the kingdom of heaven. In Matthew 5:7, Jesus adds mercy to this blessed list. But this beatitude is about more than possessing a merciful spirit. It is about practicing a lifestyle of mercy.  The first four beatitudes are purely and primarily God-centered. The poor in spirit acknowledge their bankruptcy before God.  Those who mourn grieve the sinfulness of their sin against God.  The meek adopt a posture of lowliness under the authority of God.  Those who hunger and...

Mark 15:22-32 records the crucifixion of Jesus. The word “crucified” occurs four times in these verses. That terrible term is the dominating theme of the text. Crucifixion was a slow death by dehydration, exhaustion, and asphyxiation. It was illegal for the Roman government to crucify Roman citizens. Foreign slaves, soldiers, and citizens were crucified. This “cruel and unusual punishment” was a public service announcement that warned all of the consequences of defying Caesar and Rome. The Jewish religious establishment and Roman political authorities did not crucify Jesus simply to get rid of him. They did it to make a point. Mark’s account focuses on the point that the Jews and Romans were making. The text is about the crucifixion of Jesus. Yet Mark says little about the crucifixion itself. The Gospels describe the crucifixion of Jesus in an economy of words. Mark ignores the physical...

Phillips Brooks was visited by a friend who found the typically calm pastor pacing the floor like a caged lion. He finally asked what was wrong. Brooks replied, “The trouble is I’m in a hurry, but God isn’t.” Have you ever been there? Are you there now? This was the situation Judah faced. Unrepentant sin had invoked divine judgment. Assyria would be the means and mechanism through which the Lord would punish his people. The northern kingdom of Israel had already fallen. The same fate would soon befall the southern kingdom of Judah. Rather than coming back to God in repentance, Judah went to Egypt, hoping a political alliance would rescue them from danger.  Isaiah 30:1-2 rebukes their foolish and futile plans: “Ah, stubborn children,”...

Franz Kafka wrote a story entitled “The Hunger Artist.” Professional fasting was a respected, lucrative, and celebrated art. The Hunger Artist was the main attraction. He sat in a cage for forty days without eating or drinking. When the fast ended, his manager made a speech. The band played. A woman led the weakened but triumphant hunger artist out of the cage. But the day came when fasting was no longer understood or appreciated. The hunger artist lost everything and joined the circus to survive. His cage was placed with the animals. He became depressed. No one paid him any attention. One fast went past forty days because his attendants neglected to count the days....

You start reading through Genesis. In Genesis 1, you read how God created the heavens and the earth. In Genesis 2, you read how God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden. In Genesis 3, you read about the Fall, when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden tree. In Genesis 4, you read how Cain killed his brother Abel. After breezing through these historical narratives, you hit a speed bump at the genealogy in Genesis 5.  The temptation is to skip over this biblical ancestry.com record. That would be a mistake. Nothing in scripture is meaningless, unnecessary, or superfluous. 2 Timothy 3:16 asserts: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” After Cain killed Abel, Eve gave birth to a son named Seth....

You have heard of a “one-hit wonder” in music. Have you heard of a “one-scene wonder” in movies? The term refers to a moving or memorable cameo appearance, even though it is not central to the plot. There are many “one-scene wonders” in the story of Jesus. None stand out as much as Simon of Cyrene. He is only mentioned in three verses in the Bible: Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, and Luke 23:26. All three verses record the same incident.  Simon enters the story out of nowhere.  His screentime is minimal with no callbacks.  Yet you can’t forget him as the story moves on without him.  It was Good Friday. The Jewish religious establishment and the Roman political machine condemned Jesus...

Charles Wesley wrote his brother, John, to report what a doctor told him: “Most people die for fear of dying, but I never met with such people as yours. None of them are afraid to die, but are calm, and patient, and resigned to the last.” John Wesley wore that statement as a badge of honor. When asked what set Methodists apart from other Christians, Wesley remarked, “Our people die well.”  We talk a lot about the Christian lifestyle.  We don’t talk about the Christian death style. Warren Wiersbe wrote: “We are not really prepared to live unless we are prepared to...

Acts 2 records the birthday of the church on the day of Pentecost. Pentecost was a holy feast observed fifty days after Passover. During Passover, Jesus was betrayed, condemned, and crucified. The pilgrims left Jerusalem with rumors swirling that his body was missing. Pentecost was the next time Jerusalem was filled with worshipers. There were now credible claims that Jesus had risen from the dead.  On the day of Pentecost, the sound of a hurricane rocked the city. Crowds gathered at the epicenter of the sound, where 120 disciples of Jesus had been in prayer. This international crowd was amazed when these Galileans started praising God in languages they had never learned. Without a reasonable explanation for what they saw and heard, they concluded the disciples were drunk. Then Peter addressed the crowd.  Peter was the most devoted, courageous, and outspoken disciple...