Lesson

College professors have long complained that students don’t read their course syllabus. As a result, the end of the semester is often filled with unnecessary heartache. One professor devised a…

For three years, Dr. George Schaller stalked lions on the Serengeti as they stalked their prey. His observations were cataloged in a book so everyone could learn about African lions.

But one incident he witnessed should help Christians learn about another “lion,” the devil.

What you say is very important. But how you say it is also very important. In fact, the meaning of what you say can be changed by how you say it!

Want proof? Just look at this simple sentence.

In 2006, high school student Amanda Clark ran a stop sign while talking on her cell phone and was broadsided by another vehicle. Her SUV took a beating, but Amanda walked away with only a few scrapes and bruises. Lesson learned, right?

Not exactly.

Hank was driving through a small Texas town when he failed to come to a complete stop at an intersection before continuing on his way. Unfortunately, a highway patrolman witnessed the infraction and pulled him over.

Within minutes, Hank would learn that a ticket wasn’t the worse thing he could get from a cop.

“It’s too bad that dying is the last thing we do. Because it could teach us so much about living.”

Coach Brown and his squad of little leaguers were down 11 runs in the 8th inning. He was as frustrated as the 4th graders he was coaching. The game was all but lost, and the poor attitudes around him just kept getting worse.

When he could take it no more, Coach Brown walked over for a heart-to-heart talk with his young pitcher.

When asked, “What made Michael Jordan so great?” lots of basketball fans may think “practice,” “dedication,” “teamwork,” “great coaching,” “luck” or something else. When Michael Jordan answers that question about himself, he give a surprising answer.

A very surprising answer.

When you’re in God’s presence, do you expect great things from Him? Do you believe He will do what only He can do? Or has doubt caused you to lose your sense of wonder and anticipation? If so, you’re not alone.

Evidently, it happens to pastors, too.

Rules. Statutes. Laws. Decrees. Commandments. It doesn’t matter what you call them, most people don’t like them. Many simply view them as constraints in life that keep them from experiencing what they call “true freedom.”

But goldfish disagree. Just ask Albert.