Author: Chris Brauns (page 33)

The other night at dinner my family reviewed the Old Testament story of Jehosheba.  The quick summary is that a murderous woman named Athaliah made it her goal to murder all the heirs to the throne.  But, for brave Jehosheba she would have been successful.  Jehosheba was heroic.  She hid her little nephew and his nurse for six years.  Discovery at any time would have meant horrible death.

My family and I talked about what had to be true of Jehosheba in order for her to save the life of her baby nephew.  We concluded that in a time of crisis Jehosheba combined clear thinking, faithful courage, and decisive action.

Week of May 7, 2007

One way to beat depression is to stop thinking of ourselves and start thinking more deeply about Christ.

Let me tell you something to avoid asking a friend who is feeling down.  I am not saying it is always wrong, but be careful.  Ask this question and you may make the situation worse.Here is the question to avoid, “How are you doing?”  “How’s it going for you?”

Week of April 30, 2007

The biblical concept of submission is a beautiful one.  God works in and through submission and uses those over us to shelter us from some of the storms of life.

Non-Christians regularly throw around words that should not be part of a believer’s vocabulary.  No matter how flippantly people may say, “Oh my God,” Christians should never use our Creator’s name irreverently.

You already knew that.  What is interesting, is that there are words in the Christians vocabulary that society treats as swear words. 

Beginning the week of January 22, 2007 

Don’t get “phished.”  The kind of “phishing” I am talking about here has nothing to do with lures or tackle boxes.  It is phishing spelled with a “ph.”  Getting “phished” happens when you receive what looks like a harmless e-mail asking you to click on a link or download something.  But, when you do this, your identity is ultimately stolen via the internet.  Identity theft rocketed to an estimated 56 billion stolen in 2006.

For the week of September 18, 2006 

If you are looking for a verse for this week, think about this one.  Psalm 84:11 says,

11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

Reflect on the picture that God is a “sun” and “shield.”  The idea of God being the sun symbolizes power.  To even look at the sun hurts our eyes.  God is an atomic explosion.  All power, light inaccessible hid from our eyes.

For the week of September 11, 2006 

My 3 year old daughter Mary Beth loves to be written into the story.  She likes traditional fairy tales a lot.  But, she loves them even more when I invent a role for her in the story.  So, I’ve been rewriting fairy tales with a dark haired 3 year old named Mary Beth in a starring role.