“But as for you…who spread a table for Fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny…you did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me.” (Isaiah 65:11-12) I don’t think it could get any clearer as to how God feels about gambling. Even a beginning Bible student can readily see the parallel to gambling in the above verses. Yet, there are a lot of Christians who say, “The Bible doesn’t directly forbid gambling.” But after you hear about why the above verse was written and understand […]

“A greedy person tries to get rich quick, but it only leads to poverty.” (Proverbs 28:22, NLT) The National Gambling Impact Study Commission was able to find out more about the statistical causes and impacts of gambling and finally released its report last month, a study that was two years in the making. Its conclusions suggest that state lotteries may not offer the beacon of hope that some of the folks in Raleigh want you to think. In fact, many states may have created more problems than they […]

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord…” (2 Timothy 1:7-8) Do you remember Bobby Richardson? If you’re one of my younger readers, you’ve probably never heard of him. Bobby Richardson played second base for the New York Yankees. He made the American League All-Star team seven times, won a World Series Most Valuable Player award, and helped the Yankees help themselves to seven league pennants […]

“Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him.” (Psalm 32:6) My wife told me a story the other day, which took the form of a modern-day parable. Jesus often relied on parables in the Bible to compare something in everyday life to a spiritual truth. However, many of us have trouble applying them in today’s world because we don’t belong to the culture for which they were written. In other words, […]