I recently read a classic little book called How to Read a Book. That may sound like an odd title; after all, how could somebody read a book unless they already knew how to read a book? And if they didn’t know how to read, how could they even read it at all? But How to Read a Book turned out to be one of the most important books I have ever read.

Did you ever have to eat your words? Pull a stuck foot out of your mouth? It’s too bad that the part of us that most often gets us into trouble is the part that is most often the quickest to respond—the tongue. No wonder James 1:19 admonishes, “…let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”

The Word of God states, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance” (Psalm 33:12). We must not forget that God is the sustaining power of our republic.

People do not trust Christ as their Saviour by reading our critiques of evangelism strategies. Nor do they get saved in response to discussions about our busy schedules.

The lament of Romans 7:24 is the cry of no less than the great Apostle Paul, who groans, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” He says that his situation makes him “wretched,” and sadly many Christians live in this condition day after day, and even year after year.

Being a member of a growing Baptist church is exciting. The baptistry ministry is an area where volunteers help new Christians publicly show their profession of faith in Jesus Christ. It is a great way to see the fruit of the church’s soulwinning efforts.

The first revival meeting I ever preached was in Rock Island, Illinois, back in the early 1970s. The church already had another evangelist coming to preach to their adults, but wanted someone to hold a children’s crusade in conjunction with that revival. I gladly accepted.

As our nation is engaged in a time of getting ready to once again vote for our nation’s leader, it is important to remind ourselves what a blessed privilege it is to be able to let our voices be heard. We have the honor and the biblical responsibility to stand for what the Scriptures command.

Pride is the number one reason that Christians quit serving the Lord, and it is the number one reason that spiritual leaders fall out of the ministry. Pride can produce an angry spirit, immorality, secret sin, marital strife, excessive debt, and a host of other “surface reasons” that people stop serving the Lord.

Parents are counting on us as teachers to support them in the training of their children, God’s gifts to them. Anything we can do to improve our communication efforts with them will encourage them to communicate with us. The overall result—students will succeed in your classroom!