We are all aware of our need to communicate—it starts early in life. In order for a baby to communicate that he needs something, he will cry. It is amazing how effective a baby can be at communicating without words. After a while, we learn our first word, and then it isn’t long before we are talking a blue-streak.

In early 1940 the British and their allies sent a force of some 350,000 men into the low countries of Europe to stem the tide of German advance into France, Belgium, and Holland. Caught in a brilliant pincer movement by the invading German forces, the beleaguered British Expeditionary Force was pushed back to the beaches of the small Belgian town of Dunkirk.

You know those seasons when you are so busy you hardly feel you have time to even look at your to do list? And you consider what would happen to your family if you actually lost your mind?

We serve a God who is powerful. There is nothing too hard for Him, and with Him all things are possible!

Peter was a man who, like all of us, was hindered by his flesh. He often spoke too soon, made promises he could not keep, and allowed his temper to get the best of him.

Here’s a faith-building exercise: Take one of the miracles of the Bible—any miracle will do—and write a list of reasons why it couldn’t be done.

Have you ever made a purchase at the store and realized later that you were overcharged by several dollars? The happiness of the shopping excursion was soon replaced with frustration. Just as Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of soup, we often sell our happiness for a few dollars!

It is impossible for any local church to carry out the Great Commission without missionaries. Missionaries, then, are our co-laborers in the harvest.

One of the great privileges of serving God is that we are laborers together with Him. Sure, He has given us the command to preach the gospel, but He didn’t leave the work entirely up to us. While we find the ears to hear, He is working on hearts.

As much as we wish it wasn’t so, the truth is, all of us have a mean streak. The “works of the flesh” (our flesh) include “hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife” (Galatians 5:19–20). We all have flesh, our flesh is selfish, and the selfishness of our flesh often comes out in meanness.