Thieves in Germany stole a truck rsquo s refrigerated trailer filled with more than twenty tons of chocolate The estimated worth of the stolen sweetness was eighty thousand dollars Local police asked anyone who was offered large quantities of chocolate via unconventional channels to report it immediately Surely those who stole the massive amount of sweets will be facing bitter and unsatisfying consequences if they rsquo re caught and prosecuted Proverbs confirms this principle ldquo Food gained by fraud tastes sweet but one ends up with a mouth full of gravel rdquo Things we acquire deceptively or wrongfully may seem [... more]

A thousand dollars of food mdash jumbo shrimp shawarma salads and more mdash was delivered to a homeowner But the man wasn rsquo t having a party In fact he didn rsquo t order the smorgasbord his six-year son did How did this happen The father let his son play with his phone before bedtime and the boy used it to purchase the expensive bounty from a restaurant ldquo Why did you do this rdquo the father asked his son who was hiding under his comforter The six-year-old replied ldquo I was hungry rdquo The boy rsquo s appetite and [... more]

Discover magazine suggests that there are around quintillion followed by zeros planets in the universe but only one like Earth Astrophysicist Erik Zackrisson said that one of the requirements for a planet to sustain life is to orbit in the ldquo Goldilocks rdquo zone where the temperature is just right and water can exist Out of quintillion planets Earth seems to be one planet where conditions are just right Zackrisson concluded that Earth somehow had been dealt a ldquo fairly lucky hand rdquo Paul assured the Colossian believers that the universe existed not because of Lady Luck but because of [... more]

Pride precedes and often leads to humiliation mdash something a man in Norway found out Not even dressed in running clothes the individual arrogantly challenged Karsten Warholm mdash the world record holder in the -meter hurdles mdash to a race Warholm training in an indoor public facility obliged the challenger and left him in his dust At the finish line the two-time world champion smiled when the man insisted that he rsquo d had a bad start and wanted to race again In Proverbs we read ldquo Pride brings a person low but the lowly in spirit gain honor rdquo [... more]

Many years ago Julie Landsman auditioned for principal French hornist for New York rsquo s Metropolitan Opera Orchestra The MET held their auditions behind a screen to avoid prejudice by the judges Landsman did well in her audition and ended up winning the competition But when she stepped out from behind the screen some of the all-male judges walked to the rear of the room and turned their backs on her Apparently they were looking for someone else When the Israelites asked for a king God accommodated the people and gave them a man who was physically imposing like the [... more]

To help avoid future financial mistakes such as those in and that brought down the world rsquo s economy The Library of Mistakes was founded in Edinburgh Scotland It features a collection of more than two thousand books that can help educate the next generation of economists And it serves as a perfect example of how according to the library rsquo s curators ldquo smart people keep doing stupid things rdquo The curators believe that the only way to build a strong economy is to learn from prior mistakes Paul reminded the Corinthians that one way to avoid yielding to [... more]

A twelve-year-old named LeeAdianez Rodriguez-Espada was worried that she rsquo d be late for a K run just over miles Her anxiousness led her to take off with a group of runners fifteen minutes earlier than her start time with participants of the half marathon more than miles LeeAdianez fell in pace with other runners and put one foot in front of the other At mile four with the finish line nowhere in sight she realized that she was in a longer and more difficult race Instead of dropping out she simply kept running The accidental half-marathoner completed her -mile [... more]

A compassionate volunteer was called a ldquo guardian angel rdquo for his heroic efforts Jake Manna was installing solar panels at a job site when he joined an urgent search to find a missing five-year-old girl While neighbors searched their garages and yards Manna took a path that led him into a nearby wooded area where he spotted the girl waist-deep in a marsh He waded into the sticky mud to pull her out of her predicament and return her damp but unharmed to her grateful mother Like that little girl David also experienced deliverance The singer ldquo waited patiently [... more]

God doesn rsquo t help those who help themselves He helps those who trust in and rely on Him Jonathan Roumie mdash the actor who plays Jesus in the successful TV series The Chosen which is based on the four Gospels mdash realized this in May of Roumie had been living in Los Angeles for eight years was nearly broke had enough food just for the day and had no work in sight Not knowing how he would make it the actor poured out his heart and surrendered his career to God ldquo I literally prayed the words lsquo I [... more]

Ever heard of The Sewing Hall of Fame Established in it recognizes people that have made ldquo a lasting impact on the home sewing industry with unique and innovative contributions through sewing education and product development rdquo It includes individuals like Martha Pullen inducted into the hall in who is described as ldquo a Proverbs woman who never failed to publicly acknowledge the source of her strength inspiration and blessings rdquo The Sewing Hall of Fame is a twenty-first-century invention but had it been around during the first century in Israel a woman named Tabitha might have been a lock [... more]

When a baby cries it rsquo s a signal that she rsquo s tired and hungry right Well according to doctors at Brown University subtle differences in a newborn rsquo s cries can also provide important clues for other problems Doctors have devised a computer program that measures cry factors like pitch volume and how clear the cry sound is to determine if something rsquo s wrong with the baby rsquo s central nervous system Isaiah prophesied that God would hear the distinct cries of His people determine their hearts rsquo condition and respond with grace Judah rather than consulting [... more]

One day a sixth-grade student noticed a classmate cutting his arm with a small razor Trying to do the right thing she took it from him and threw it away Surprisingly instead of being commended for her act she received a ten-day school suspension Why She briefly had the razor in her possession mdash something not allowed at school Asked if she would do it again she replied ldquo Even if I got in trouble I would do it again rdquo Just as this girl rsquo s act of trying to do good got her into trouble at her school [... more]

Years ago a train carrying people derailed in northwestern Spain killing people and hospitalizing more The driver couldn rsquo t explain the accident but the video footage could and did The train was going far too fast before it hit a deadly curve The limit of allowable speed limit had been created to protect everyone on board the train Despite being a thirty-year veteran of Spain rsquo s national rail company however the driver had for whatever reason ignored the speed boundary and many people lost their lives In Deuteronomy Moses reviewed God rsquo s original covenant boundaries for His [... more]

David Willis had been upstairs in Waterstones Bookshop when he came downstairs and found the lights were turned off and the doors locked He was trapped inside the store Not knowing what else to do he turned to Twitter and tweeted ldquo Hi Waterstones I rsquo ve been locked inside of your Trafalgar Square bookstore for hours now Please let me out rdquo Not too long after his tweet he was rescued It rsquo s good to have a way to get help when we rsquo re in trouble Isaiah said there rsquo s Someone who will answer our cries [... more]

In a tsunami struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra killing more than four hundred people But the deaths could have been prevented or minimized had the tsunami warning system been working properly The tsunami detection networks buoys had become detached and drifted away Jesus said His disciples had a responsibility to warn fellow disciples to things that could harm them spiritually mdash including unrepentant sin He outlined a process in which a believer who rsquo s been sinned against by another can humbly privately and prayerfully ldquo point out rdquo the sin to the offending believer Matthew If the person [... more]

Running a marathon is about pushing yourself physically and mentally For one high school runner however competing in a cross-country race is all about pushing someone else In every practice and meet fourteen-year-old Susan nbsp Bergeman pushes older brother Jeffrey in his wheelchair When Jeffrey was twenty-two months old he went into cardiac arrest mdash leaving him with severe brain damage and cerebral palsy Today Susan sacrifices personal running goals so Jeffrey might compete with her What love and sacrifice The apostle Paul had love and sacrifice in mind when he encouraged his readers to be ldquo devoted to one [... more]

We all leave a bit of ourselves behind when we move to a new place But to become a long-term resident of Villas Las Estrellas Antarctica a cold and desolate place leaving a piece of yourself behind is a literal thing With the nearest hospital miles away a person will be in serious trouble if her appendix bursts So every citizen must first undergo an appendectomy before moving there Drastic right But it rsquo s not as drastic as becoming a resident of the kingdom of God Because people want to follow Jesus on their own terms and not His [... more]

Northern Spain produced a beautiful way of expressing communion and friendship With the countryside full of handmade caves after each harvest some farmers would sit in a room built above a cave and inventory their various foods As time passed the room became known as the ldquo telling room rdquo mdash a place of communion where friends and families would gather to share their stories secrets and dreams If you needed the intimate company of safe friends you would head for the telling room Had they lived in northern Spain the deep friendship shared by Jonathan and David might have [... more]

The restless soul is never satisfied with wealth and success A deceased country music icon could testify to this truth He had nearly forty of his albums appear on Billboard's country-music top ten charts and just as many number one singles But he also had multiple marriages and spent time in prison Even with all his achievements he once lamented There rsquo s a restlessness in my soul that I've never conquered not with motion marriages or meaning It's still there to a degree And it will be till the day I die Sadly he could have found rest in [... more]

In a viral video a three-year-old white belt karate student imitated her instructor With passion and conviction the little girl said the creed with her leader Then with poise and attentiveness the little ball of cuteness and energy imitated everything her teacher said and did mdash at least she did a pretty good job Jesus once said ldquo The student is not above the teacher but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher rdquo Luke He told His disciples that to imitate Him included being generous loving non-judgmental vv ndash and discerning about whom they followed ldquo [... more]

In Martin Luther observed Among themselves the merchants have a common rule which is their chief maxim I care nothing about my neighbor so long as I have my profit and satisfy my greed rdquo More than two hundred years later John Woolman from Mount Holly New Jersey let his commitment to Jesus influence his tailor shop dealings Out of support for the freeing of slaves he refused to purchase any cotton or dye supplies from companies who used their forced labor With a clear conscience he loved his neighbor and lived according to integrity and sincerity in all his [... more]

In the movie Fiddler on the Roof the character Tevye talks honestly with God about His economics ldquo You made many many poor people I realize of course that it rsquo s no shame to be poor But it rsquo s no great honor either So what would have been so terrible if I had a small fortune Would it have spoiled some vast eternal plan mdash if I were a wealthy man rdquo Many centuries before author Sholem Aleichem placed these honest words on Tevye rsquo s tongue Agur lifted an equally honest but somewhat different prayer to God [... more]

A man and several friends went through a ski resort gate posted with avalanche warning signs and started snowboarding On the second trip down someone shouted ldquo Avalanche rdquo But the man couldn rsquo t escape and perished in the cascading snow Some criticized him calling him a novice But he wasn rsquo t he was an ldquo avalanche-certified backcountry guide rdquo One researcher said that skiers and snowboarders with the most avalanche training are more likely to give in to faulty reasoning ldquo The snowboarder died because he was lulled into letting his guard down rdquo As Israel prepared [... more]

In inventor Alexander Graham Bell spoke the very first words on a telephone He called his assistant Thomas Watson saying ldquo Watson come here I want to see you rdquo Cackly and indistinct but intelligible Watson heard what Bell had said The first words spoken by Bell over a phone line proved that a new day for human communication had dawned Establishing the dawn of the first day Into the ldquo formless and empty rdquo earth Genesis God spoke His first words recorded in Scripture ldquo Let there be light rdquo v These words were filled with creative power He [... more]

A rescue mission nicknamed ldquo Operation Noah rsquo s Ark rdquo might sound fun for animal lovers but it was a nightmare for the Nassau Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals After receiving complaints about the noise and the horrid stench coming from a certain house workers entered the Long Island home and found and removed more than four hundred animals from the neglected conditions We may not be holding hundreds of animals in filthy conditions but Jesus said we might be harboring evil and sinful thoughts and actions in our hearts that need to be exposed and [... more]

To test the stability of two houses engineers simulated a category three hurricane by using powerful fans that produced winds gusts of mph for ten minutes The first house was built according to a non-hurricane building code and the other was put together with a reinforced roof and floors The first house shook and eventually collapsed but the second house survived with only a few cosmetic damages One of the engineers summarized the study by asking Which house would you rather be living in Concluding His teaching on values of kingdom living Jesus said ldquo Everyone who hears these words [... more]

After eight-year-old Gabriel underwent surgery to remove a tumor from his brain it left a noticeable scar on the side of his head When the boy said he felt like a monster his dad Josh had an idea demonstrate how much he loved his son by getting a tattoo on the side of his head with the same shape as Gabriel rsquo s scar According to the psalmist this is the kind of empathic and compassionate love God has for ldquo his children rdquo Psalms Using a metaphor drawn from human life David illustrated God rsquo s love He said [... more]

Kyle and Allison had a wonderful honeymoon in an exotic location When they returned home however they discovered that Kyle rsquo s feet had developed a strange itchy rash The couple was referred to an infectious disease specialist He informed them that small parasites had burrowed their way into Kyle rsquo s feet through blisters caused by his new flip flops What started out as a dream vacation ended in a challenging battle with unwanted ldquo guests rdquo David knew that if he didn rsquo t ask God for help to fight sin his dream of living a pleasing life [... more]

Encouragement is like oxygen mdash we can rsquo t live without it This was true for nine-year-old James Savage The boy swam more than two miles from the San Francisco shoreline to Alcatraz Island and back breaking the record for the youngest person to accomplish the feat But thirty minutes into the swim the choppy frigid waters made James want to quit However a fleet of paddlers called out ldquo You can do it rdquo The words gave him the boost he needed to finish his goal When the choppy frigid waters of tribulation made believers in Jesus want to [... more]

A Colorado mother proved she would stop at nothing to protect her child Her five-year-old son was playing outside when she heard him screaming She rushed outside and to her horror saw that her son had an unexpected ldquo playmate rdquo mdash a mountain lion The large cat was on top of her son with his head in its mouth The mother summoned her inner mamma grizzly to fight off the lion and pry open its jaws to rescue her son This mother rsquo s heroic actions remind us of how motherhood is used in Scripture to illustrate God rsquo [... more]

Why is it that when we say ldquo This is the last potato chip I rsquo m going to eat rdquo five minutes later we we rsquo re looking for more Michael Moss answers that question in his book ldquo Salt Sugar Fat rdquo He describes how America rsquo s largest snack producers knows how to ldquo help rdquo people crave junk food In fact one popular company spent million a year and hired ldquo crave consultants rdquo to determine the bliss point for consumers so it could exploit our food cravings Unlike that company Jesus helps us to long [... more]

Youthfulness shouldn rsquo t stop anyone from achievement It certainly didn rsquo t stop eleven-year-old Mikaila Instead of putting up a lemonade stand Mikaila opened a lemonade business Me amp the Bees Lemonade started with her grandmother rsquo s recipe and eventually earned a investment from investors on the television show Shark Tank She also signed a contract with a major grocer to sell her lemonade at fifty-five of the chain rsquo s stores Mikaila rsquo s drive and dreams point us back to Paul rsquo s words to Timothy ldquo Don rsquo t let anyone look down on you [... more]

What if our clothes were more functional having the ability to clean themselves after we dropped ketchup or mustard or spilled a drink on them Well according to the BBC engineers in China have developed a special ldquo coating which causes cotton to clean itself of stains and odors when exposed to ultraviolet lights rdquo Can you imagine the implications of having self-cleaning clothes A self-cleaning coating might work for stained clothing but only God can clean a stained soul In ancient Judah God was angry with His people because they had ldquo turned their backs on rdquo Him given [... more]

Waiting can be a culprit in stealing our peace According to computer scientist Ramesh Sitaraman few things ldquo inspire universal frustration and ire rdquo in internet users as waiting for a sluggish web browser to load His research says that we rsquo re willing to wait an average of two seconds for an online video to load After five seconds the abandonment rate is about twenty-five percent and after ten seconds half of the users desert their efforts We rsquo re certainly an impatient bunch nbsp James encouraged believers in Jesus to not abandon Jesus while they were waiting for [... more]

Dan was riding his motorcycle when a car swerved into his lane and pushed him into oncoming traffic When he woke up two weeks later in the trauma center he was ldquo a mess rdquo Worst of all he suffered a spinal cord injury that left him a paraplegic Dan prayed for healing but it never came Instead he believes God has compassionately taught him that ldquo the purpose of this life is that we become conformed to the image of Christ Unfortunately that doesn rsquo t happen when everything is unicorns and rainbows It happens when life is tough [... more]

During a promotional event in two seventy-three-year-old former Canadian Football League players got into a fistfight on stage They had a ldquo beef rdquo grudges and feuds between friends family members or enemies dating back to a controversial championship football game in After one man knocked the other off the stage the crowd called out to him to ldquo let it go rdquo They were telling him to ldquo squash the beef rdquo The Bible contains many examples of people ldquo beefing rdquo Cain held a grudge against his brother Abel because God accepted Abel rsquo s offering over his [... more]

A German bank employee was in the middle of transferring euros from a customer rsquo s bank account when he accidentally took a power nap at his desk He dozed off while his finger was on the key resulting in a million euro million dollars transfer into the customer rsquo s account The fallout from the mistake included the firing of the employee rsquo s colleague who verified the transfer Although the mistake was caught and corrected because he wasn rsquo t watchful the sleepy employee rsquo s lapse almost became a nightmare for the bank Jesus warned His disciples [... more]

During World War II Waldemer Semenov was serving as a junior engineer aboard the SS Alcoa Guide when mdash nearly three hundred miles off the coast of North Carolina mdash a German submarine surfaced and opened fire on the ship The ship was hit caught fire and began to sink Semenov and his crew lowered a lifeboat into the water and used the vessel rsquo s compass to sail toward the shipping lanes After three days a patrol plane spotted their lifeboat and the USS Broome rescued the men the next day Thanks to that compass Semenov and twenty-six other [... more]

On a hot and humid day one August my wife gave birth to our second son But he remained nameless as we struggled to settle on a given name After spending many hours in ice cream shops and taking long car rides we still couldn rsquo t decide He was simply ldquo Baby Williams rdquo for three days before finally being named Micah Choosing the right name can be a little frustrating Well unless you rsquo re God who came up with the perfect name for the One who would change things forever Through the prophet Isaiah God directed King [... more]

Psychologist Madeline Levine noticed the fifteen-year-old girl rsquo s ldquo cutter disguise rdquo mdash a long sleeve T-shirt pulled halfway over her hand commonly used by people who engage in self-harm When the young girl pulled back her sleeve Levine was startled to find that the girl had used a razor to carve ldquo empty rdquo on her forearm She was saddened but also grateful the teen was open to receiving the serious help she desperately needed The teen in some way represents many people who have carved ldquo empty rdquo mdash perhaps not on their forearms but on their [... more]

In James Ward the creator of the blog ldquo I like Boring Things rdquo launched a conference called the ldquo Boring Conference rdquo It rsquo s a one-day celebration of the mundane the ordinary and the overlooked In the past speakers have addressed seemingly meaningless topics like sneezing sounds that vending machines make and inkjet printers of Ward knows the topics may be boring but the speakers can take a mundane subject and make it interesting meaningful and even joyful Several millennia ago Solomon the wisest of kings launched his own search for joy in the meaningless and mundane He [... more]

After my mother rsquo s sudden death I was motivated to start blogging I wanted to write posts that would inspire people to use their minutes on earth to create significant life moments So I turned to a beginner rsquo s guide to blogging I learned what platform to use how to choose titles and how to craft compelling posts And in my first blog post was born Paul wrote a ldquo beginner rsquo s guide rdquo that explains how to obtain eternal life In Romans ndash he contrasts the fact that we rsquo re all born in rebellion to [... more]

In the movie Hachi A Dog s Tale a college professor befriended a stray Akita puppy named Hachi The dog expressed his loyalty by waiting at the train station each day for the professor to return from work One day the professor suffered a fatal stroke Hachi waited hours at the train station and for the next ten years he returned each day mdash awaiting His loving master Luke tells the story of a man named Simeon who patiently waited for the coming of his Master Luke The Holy Spirit revealed to Simeon that he would not see death until [... more]

When their bank accidentally deposited into their account a couple went on a shopping spree They purchased an SUV camper and two four-wheelers in addition to paying off bills Discovering the deposit error the bank told the couple to return the money Unfortunately the husband and wife had already spent it They were then charged with felony theft When the couple arrived at the local court the husband said to a reporter ldquo We took some bad legal advice rdquo The two learned that following bad advice and spending what wasn rsquo t theirs could lead to making a mess [... more]

Julio was biking across the George Washington Bridge mdash that nbsp busy double-decked thoroughfare connecting New York City and New Jersey mdash when he encountered a life-or-death situation A man was standing on a ledge over the Hudson River preparing to jump Knowing that the police wouldn rsquo t arrive in time Julio acted quickly He recalls getting off his bike and spreading out his arms saying something like ldquo Don rsquo t do it We love you rdquo Then like a shepherd with a crook he grabbed the distraught man and with the help of another passerby brought him [... more]