The Golden Mean

The Temple of Apollo at Delphi contained the inscription: “Nothing In Excess”
This is what Greek philosophers referred to as “The Golden Mean” – the virtuous
middle between two extremes. Aristotle gave as an example, “Courage is the
mean between cowardice and recklessness.”
More importantly to us, this avoidance of extremes is also a biblical principle,
found in both the Old and New Testaments. For example, Prov 30:8-9:
Give me neither poverty nor riches . . . lest I be full and deny Thee
and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be in want and steal.

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In The Beginning . . .

In his book, “12 Choices: Life-Changing Decisions You Must Make,” Wilson
Adams makes an observation about how the book of Genesis begins:
Isn’t it interesting how the Bible begins? One might expect Scripture to
lead off with a detailed explanation about God, His nature, and a
definitive apologetic as to why you should believe in Him. It doesn’t.
The Bible begins with an assumption: assuming that rational people will
grasp the obvious: a Supreme Being superior to man did all this!
Brother Adams’ point becomes all the more relevant when we compare the
opening words…

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Do Not Be Deceived

Those who are in Christ Jesus have been saved by grace through faith to the glory
of God. We didn’t earn or merit anything (Ephesians 2:8-9). Our redemption is a
gift through the incredible sacrifice of Christ (Romans 5:15; 6:23). What’s more, if
we sin, Christ continues to advocate for us before the Father (1 John 2:1). In light
of this incredible gift we can develop a dangerous attitude if we are not careful.
Consider the following passages:
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom
of God? Do not be deceived. Neither…

The (other) Ethiopian Eunuch

There are two Ethiopian eunuchs mentioned in Scripture. One is the more
famous one from Acts 8, who was converted by the apostle Phillip whilst
returning home from worshipping in Jerusalem. The other Ethiopian eunuch is
from much earlier in the Bible, and unlike the one in Acts 8, he is named in the
text. Known as Ebed-Melech, he was a servant in the court of King Zedekiah, the
final king of the southern Kingdom of Judah, and all descriptions of him come
from the book of Jeremiah.
As a side note, some translations may indicate that…

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ALCOHOL HELPS 
(by Steve Curtis)

Sound strange? Maybe, but it is true. Recently, an article brought this to my attention. It is something that I had known already. The article was entitled, “Tequila Helps Actress Take Her Clothes Off” (Reuters, May 14, 2001). It seems actress Rebecca Rominin-Stamos is required to strip in her next film. According to her, “It was the scariest thing I’ve ever done… practice and a couple of shots of tequila got me through it.” Just a couple of shots of tequila helped this actress take her clothes off. There are other things alcohol can help do.

Is VBS Worth the Time and Trouble ?

Once there was a little boy who lived in a rural community with his mother,
father, and younger brother. This family was not affiliated with any church and
rarely attended religious services of any kind. In the summer, some neighbor
children would invite this little boy and his younger brother to go with them to
VBS at the church of Christ in the city. “Going to church” was a new and exciting
experience for this little third-grade boy, and he would stand at the end of his
driveway waiting for the neighbors to…

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Why All This Waste ?

… And the woman broke the alabaster flask and anointed Jesus …
This event in the life of Jesus is mentioned in all four gospel accounts. Much like
a diamond can split light into different beautiful colors, each author spends time
on different perspectives to teach us what happened and what was important.
Mark, who some scholars feel is the oldest writing of the four gospels, suggests
that those who were seated at table were indignant. Matthew places this
indictment closer to home when he calls out the disciples as the ones who were
indignant. Luke…