Sin & Temptation

In a Dennis the Menace comic panel, Dennis articulates a problem all of us have. He said to his mother as he was being put in time out, "I'm not good at being bad, I'm just bad at being good." _______________ J. Michael Shannon is professor of preaching at Cincinnat

Righteousness

Someone has come up with a country version of the Ten Commandments. It goes like this: 1) There is only one God 2) No false gods 3) No cuss'n 4) Gather on Sunday 5) Mind your Ma and Pa 6) No killin' 7) Cheatin' is forbidden 8) Ya'll don't steal

Principle

At one point in his career, Henry David Thoreau chose to accept a prison sentence on the basis of civil disobedience principle. He thought others should value the same principles he did. A friend of his came to visit him in jail and asked, "What are you doing in there?" Thoreau

(Lack Of) Vision

According to The New Book of Lists, Bob Metcalf, founder of the 3Com Corporation once said, "The Internet will collapse within a year." A year later, the Internet was growing exponentially. Metcalf agreed to eat his words. He took the article that recorded his comments, put it in

Hope

In a cemetery in Jaffrey, New Hampshire you can read the following epitaph: Sacred to the Memory of Amos Fortune who was born free in Africa a slave in America, he purchased liberty, professed Christianity, lived reputably, died hopefully Nov. 17, 1901 At. 91. Seems Amos For

Temptation

According to the Associated Press, a real estate tycoon named Ronald Bergeron, who was known for his love of nature, tried to show off for visitors by riding on the back of an eight foot alligator. The man owned his own nature preserve. There was a complication. The alligator bit his hand and

Salvation

According to USA Today, a 56-year-old man in Paraguay wants to adopt 1,000 poor foreign children. The man is a German citizen, which would enable the children to benefit from German social services. The politics and ethics of that can be debated, but we have an even greater offer: we have a

Optimism

We all admire those who are able to make the best of bad situations-to see the good in everything. Even Dennis the Menace has an optimistic streak. In a recent comic he said to his friend Joey, "One good thing about vegetables Joey, they really make the dessert taste good." It is

Hypocrisy

A little boy attended the baby dedication of his little brother. The older boy proceeded to cry all the way home, in the car. His father asked, "What's wrong son?" The boy said, "The minister made you promise that you would have us raised in a Christian home." &