-
A happy man
Bob and Stan were good buddies and baseball friends. One day at a ballgame, they made a vow to each other that whichever friend died first, that friend would send a message back to earth to let the other friend know if there was baseball in Heaven. Sure enough, one day, Bob died. After a…
-
‘Spice of Life’
We call it “Spice of Life,” and it’s a family favorite. Wait. Let me start at the beginning. Way back in the early 1990s, Baptist Student Union teams came to our church at First Baptist, Belfry. It was electric, though that sounds cheesy. High-energy college students invaded the brick-and-mortar of our congregation like never before.…
-
The Gift of Contentment
BY GREG CRUM “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.” I Timothy 6:6-8 So, if you’ve been around me much and had the opportunity to hear me minister on…
-
Good timing, Lord
Actress Shirley MacLaine, a new-ager, was conducting one of her seminars at the Long Beach Arena teaching people about their own divinity. During the seminar, she had everyone light a candle. They turned off the lights so those candles could be seen shining in the dark. She said, “Just those candles have individual flames. All…
-
No expiration date
When our daughter comes home, we laugh, reminisce, eat delicious food, laugh more, make fun of each other…And then she tells us everything we have that is past its expiration date. Apparently, my beloved and I only look at the date on the milk. Today, the Doritos and the hamburger buns had expired. A while…
-
Choose life
There are always those voices who would like to eliminate this matter of decision from Christianity. There is something in human nature that hates to decide “Yes” or “No.” Recently there was a radio announcement that next week was National Procrastinators’ Week. “Actually,” said the announcer, “they were going to hold the celebration this week,…
-
Only the Man in the Mirror
BY GREG CRUM “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11 God thinks about us. That’s mindboggling. Really, it is. Think about it. The most powerful and important being in all the Universe, the One…
-
Planting and waiting
Every spring, for as long as I can remember, my beloved and I have planted flowers. Over the years, I’ve killed a lot so I know what will thrive and what is sure to die. (Can’t grow a Red-Hot Sally to save my life.) We usually make more than one trip to our local greenhouse…
-
The Holy Spirit—Our Proof of Purchase
BY GREG CRUM “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of…
-
Rejoice by choice
A young girl became a Christian in an exciting revival at her church and was baptized the closing Sunday morning. That afternoon she ran through the house singing and dancing. Her sour grandfather rebuked her with these words: “You ought to be ashamed of yourself. You just joined the church and you’re singing and dancing…
