Consider this

 A Swiss army knife provides a lot of different tools in a small item. This scripture is similar in that it gives a lot of tools in a small scripture. No one wants trouble, but it can be beneficial if you handle it this way.  

                   Though Peter and Judas’ nights started similarly, they ended completely differently.                On the night of the Passover feast, Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.   After Jesus was arrested, Judas had a change of heart and Matthew 27:3 tells us that he was “seized with remorse”.   On that same night, Peter saw Jesus arrested and, though he had said that he would die for Jesus (Matthew 26:35), he denied knowing him three separate times (Matthew 26:69-74).   When he realized his failure, he went outside and wept bitterly (verse 75).                Judas and Peter were the same in that they both failed and fe...

 I used to believe that if we emphasized grace too much, it would encourage people to be careless about their choices and encourage bad behaviour. Why try to be good if everything is forgiven anyway? However, the truth is that grace is the only hope we have.  

 An unlikely source teaches us two spiritual principles that will help us deal with life's difficult moments.  

                  As recently as the 1950s, having a baby was a risky proposition.   One in thirty births ended badly until an anesthesiologist named Virginia Apgar developed a system to rate how newborns were doing.   She focused on five key areas (appearance, pulse, the reflex action or grimace, activity or muscle tone and respiration).   She encouraged doctors and nurses to rate each child on a scale of zero to three for each quality.   A score of 10 or more meant that the baby was healthy; 4 or lower indicated that the baby needed immediate intervention.                While numerous other medical advances have occurred over the years, all agree that Apgar’s rating system had a huge impact. ...

 The church could talk about a million different things. The Bible is full of all kinds of teaching. However, for thousands of years, there has been a consistent message that needs to be shared. This lesson is both a reminder and an invitation.  

 When we imagine what God is like, we usually make one of two mistakes.... we either see him as being too stern or too permissive. The truth is somewhere in-between. Fortunately, we do not have to wonder or guess. God himself tells us what he is like and that changes how we relate to him. A Father's Day lesson about our heavenly father.