Pain Has Limits Set By God

One of our recurring fantasies is that there are some people who have it all, who have no problems, who just seem to cruise through life. You can see their faces and hear their stories on prime-time TV. Maybe you wish you could have a life like theirs.

Maybe you've also secretly wished you could be a Christian superhero like Abraham or David or St. Paul. Actually, the heroes of the Bible suffered as much as or more than you.

A Small Breakthrough in the Mystery of Touch

By Belinda Luscombe

The sense of touch is more of a mystery than that of hearing, smell, sight or taste. Perhaps that’s why more songs have been written about it (“Smell Me in the Morning” just doesn’t have the same ring.)

 But now scientists have unlocked one secret about how it works using only a fruit fly and an eyelash.

Elijah : The Man Who Had No Fear of Man

Elias, Elijah [Ĕlī'as,Ĕlī'jah]—god is jehovah or god himself.

1. Elias is the Greek form of Elijah (Matt. 11:14). Elijah the Tishbite is the grandest and most romantic character Israel ever produced (1 Kings 17; 18;19).

The Man Who Had No Fear of Man

No career in the Old Testament is more vividly portrayed, or has as much fascination as that of the unique character of Elijah. 

The New Testament attests to his greatness and reveals what an indelible impression he made upon the mind of his nation. All we know of him before his dramatic appearance can be summed up in the words: “Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead” (1 Kings 17:1). Scripture is silent about his past history. 

As Long as the Candle Burns

“Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.” — Genesis 42:3

This Torah portion for this week, Mikeitz, is from Genesis 41:1–44:17 and 1 Kings 3:1–4:1.

By the time Jacob’s sons go down to Egypt because of the famine in Canaan, Joseph has been gone for 22 years. So the Sages find it strange that in the Scriptures, the ten brothers are referred to as “Joseph’s brothers.” They haven’t had anything to do with Joseph for over two decades and they certainly hadn’t acted much like brothers the last time they saw Joseph! Wouldn’t "Jacob’s sons" have been a more appropriate term?

The Sages explain that they are called “Joseph’s brothers” in order to teach us that when they came down to Egypt, they were indeed behaving like family. They had long regretted their act of selling Joseph and were desperate to find him. But that leads to another question: Why would they even imagine that Joseph would still be alive? The life expectancy for slaves in Egypt wasn’t very long!

Is Your Church Alive?

Written by John Grant 

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 

Seeing the commissioning of a new naval vessel is a wonderful sight and experience. Amidst all the pomp and circumstance dockside, the ship is moored at the dock, quiet as a church mouse and not a sight of a single person aboard.

Then at the appointed time someone says: “Officers and crew of the (name of vessel), you may board and bring the ship to life.” Then the crew comes running from behind the audience and boards the ship. It literally comes to life, as the crew scurries to their assigned duty stations. Smoke pours from the stacks, lights come on and sailors man the rails.

Horoscope : What's Your Sign?

Written by Jeanne Caldwell

Neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.... Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:26b, 31)

In the sixties, horoscopes (prophesying a person's future through the use of astrology) were on the rise. 

Everyone wanted to know what astrological sign you were born under. It was the topic of conversation during coffee breaks and at lunch tables. Everywhere you went, people were talking about their "signs."

I was no different. I worked in an office where we all discussed each other's signs. Some read books about astrology or followed their daily horoscopes in the newspaper. Many had faith in them.

Gen XXX: Teens Addicted in a World Awash in Porn

PAUL STRAND/CBN

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Today, teenagers are bombarded with these images like never before through the Internet. They're growing up in a world awash in X-rated material. (CBN)

When it comes to pornography, no one is immune. It affects men and women of all ages.

Today, teenagers are bombarded with these images like never before through the Internet. They're growing up in a world awash in X-rated material.

It's a $97 billion business every year, making more than top tech companies Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, eBay, Google, and Yahoo combined.

Roughly 12 percent of the world's websites, 4.2 million of them, offer the illicit material. About 2.5 billion pornographic emails whiz through cyberspace everyday--a whopping 8 percent of all the world's daily emails.