Such a wonderful contribution did not come without tremendous sacrifice. Madame Curie died of leukemia caused by prolonged exposure to radioactive materials. Even today, after 100 years, scholars who wish to read her hand-written journals and lab papers must wear protective clothing because these archives are still radioactive.

No one today would approach radioactive material without the proper protection. Radiation is something like sin. It seems harmless on initial contact, but it poisons the body and begins a slow death process. No one should approach sin without proper protection: the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:11).

Later in life I found him living with an adult son, who was listed as a ‘Minister of the Gospel’. So I went deeper yet, studying the Lebanon County History and found they were both part of the Church of the Brethren branch known as the Dunkers. The Dunkers, of course, believed in water baptism by immersion, thus the moniker. They were also apparently pretty legalistic.

It seems the Dunker church in Lebanon County was founded by two men, Abraham Zug and one other. It seems the other man fell into sin, whatever that was. At first he confessed to the sin, but then denied it. Since he denied the sin, the church refused to allow him to attend. He was excommunicated and it rocked that local church to the core. I wonder if there was more to the story than meets the eye. A little politics in the old church?

How difficult we sometimes make it for sinners to come to Christ and find grace for their lives. Are you making it simple or difficult for those on the journey?

“Oh, that’s only your shadow, dear,” she answered.

“I’m scared of it, Mommy. I don’t ever want to see it again!” he said, tightly shutting his eyes.

Suddenly his mother had an idea. Turning his little body to face the other direction, she said, “Honey, open your eyes. See, the shadow’s gone.” “How’d it happen?” he asked happily.

“I turned you toward the sun,” she said. “When you keep your face to the sunshine, you can’t see the shadow.”

Your past is like a shadow, following you wherever you go. So, keep looking to the Light of the world (John 8:12) and you won’t be scared by your shadowy past.

These guys were masters of destruction, which is exactly what sin does in our lives. The damage they did to each other and those they encountered is humorous. But when that damage is real instead of pretend, its scarey. I’ve watched people do some of the stupidest and damaging things and think they were right. So, why do it keep it around? That’s what I once was. It reminds me of His grace.

Tell me about your favorite coffee cup and why.

I immediately began to lose my balance and slip to the right side of the log. Instinctively jerking my arms up to regain balance, my bayonet caught on the side of the log and the butt of the rifle struck my lower lip, splitting it open. Stunned senseless, I fell onto my back to the ravine bottom. I lay there for a few seconds until my drill sergeant yelled at me to get up and move on. When I stood, he saw the blood running down my chin and onto my jacket. That’s when they pulled me off the course and took me to the first aid station.

Its easy to lose your footing when you’ve been wading in the mud. If we don’t want to fall into sin, we must avoid wading around in it. If we’ll clean our behavior up, we’ll have a better grip on life. Clean something up today.

Jesus was obviously a liberal when it comes to helping others. Suppose Jesus attended our church and was in charge of a row of seats. What kinds of people would He bring into our church and how would they be received? Next to the aisle would be a peaceful man with a reputation just a few months ago of running naked among the stones at the Waterloo Cemetery, cutting himself with rocks and screaming at passersby. We don’t want a guy like that in our church.

Sitting next to him would be a man named Bartimaeus. He’s a nice enough guy, but every time we would sing about grace, especially the line that says, “I once was blind, but now I see…”, he would get really emotional and embarass everyone around him. We don’t want a guy coming to our church who can’t behave himself.

Next to Bartimaeus would sit a woman who dresses too gaudy. She also has a reputation that she was caught in bed last week with another man. She could use a few lessons in good taste. Really, she should know better than to show up here.

I’m not so sure Jesus would do the best job at recruiting new people into New Hope. What do you think?

How like the world that is! God never intended that we should stop here and make this our home. Since the “fall” this world is a dangerous place that engulfs us in its lusts and passions. It causes us to sink deeper into its mire.

Christians must remember that this is not our home…we’re only passing through. The more you settle for what this world offers, the more we become submerged in its sands. Keep moving toward God!

Just as a river winds through the countryside because it follows the path of least resistance, so do our lives become crooked when we keep deviating from God’s perfect plan for us by taking the easy way. The more we take short cuts and compromise godly values for bad behavior, the more turns in our life’s path.

In the Old Testament, the prophet Daniel set an example for all of us. Daniel 1:8 records, “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself.” That’s another good verse to place on your refrigerator.

Although drunk, Jacob was frightened by what he had done. What would the rabbi say when he came out of the inn? An idea occurred to him. He placed himself between the empty shafts of the cart and started to chew hay. When the rabbi came out, he was struck speechless by what he saw. “What’s the meaning of this?” he stammered. “Where’s the horse?”

“The horse? That’s me!” replied Jacob, and he uttered a loud whinny. “What on earth are you doing?” murmured the rabbi. “Have you gone out of your mind?” “Don’t be angry with me, Rabbi,” pleaded his servant, Jacob. “Years ago a great misfortune happened to me. I was a young man then, a little wild and foolish, and, may God forgive me, I sinned with a woman. So to punish me, God turned me into a horse – your horse. For twenty long years you have been my master, Rabbi, little suspecting who I really was. Well, it seems my punishment is over. I’m again a man, praise God!”

When the Rabbi heard Jacob’s story he was amazed. However, there was the practical difficulty of how he could continue his journey without a horse, so he went into the market place to buy one. Suddenly, he stood face to face with his old horse. It was munching a wisp of hay at the horse trader’s. Going up to it with a frown, the rabbi whispered in its ear, “For goodness sake, Jacob! Again, so soon!”

“What is it, child?” the priest replied.

“Father, I have commited the sin of vanity. Twice a day I gaze at myself in the mirror and tell myself how beautiful I am.”

The priest turned, took a good look at the girl, and said, “My dear, I have good news. That isn’t a sin – it’s only a mistake.”

Vanity certainly is a sin. We have very little to do with our outward appearance. If we’re well endowed, we ought to be grateful to God for this blessing. But if I take responsibility for the good in my life, I also must take responsibility for the bad in my life. Its better to just ourselves as a vessel God has chosen to use and not be concerned, positive or negative, with the outward shell. Paul said, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels” (2 Corinthians 4:7).