The Good News Blog

by Dr. Harold Sala

“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” -1 Corinthians 13:6

When you learn that your bitterest enemy has really “gotten it in the neck,” how do you feel? Do you quietly—or perhaps not so quietly—rejoice? “Good!” you think, “Got just what he deserved! I never liked that person anyway.”

Our natural reaction is the very opposite of that which God wants us to develop. In the greatest passage ever written about love, Paul gives us some words of advice—tough ones too! They grate against our natures like sandpaper on a glass table top, or like a chicken bone that turns sideways when you try to swallow it. He says simply that “love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth” (I Corinthians 13:6).

When we learn to love as God wants us to, we are saddened when a person falls in a moment of

by Dr. Harold Dala

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” -1 Corinthians 13:4-7

When the late cartoonist Charles Schulz dined in the home of a friend, the host remarked that he had just what Schulz needed to set off his dinner jacket. He disappeared and then returned in a few minutes with a heavy chain from which a medallion hung. Across the face of the medallion were the letters L O V E. Schulz fingered it for a few minutes and then handed it back to the host. With a wry “Charlie Brown” smile on his face, he said, “It’s just

by Dr. Harold Sala

And so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” Luke 5:10

“Where is Zebedee?” asked George Stormont in Pointers. He continued, “I’ve been looking for him for nearly fifty years. The New Testament is haunted by his name. You read of his sons, his wife, his hired servants, his fishing; but you never meet him.”

To understand Stormont’s question and the issue, you need to know that Zebedee, of whom the writers of the New Testament speak, had two sons, James and John, two young men who were prominent in the ministry of Jesus. They came from a fishing village in Northern Galilee, Bethsaida—the ruins of which can still be seen today when a guide points them out from the tourist boat that takes visitors from Tiberias to Capernaum.

James and John

by Dr. Harold Sala

“…and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.” Matthew 2:9-10

The star of Bethlehem what was it, really? In 1613 the question occurred to Johannes Kepler, the European astronomer. It was just a week until Christmas and Kepler was fascinated by the confluence of the two planets Saturn and Jupiter in the constellation of Pisces.

“Could it be,” thought Kepler, “that the star which guided the Wise Men was really these two planets?” Kepler was intrigued by the idea and began to study. Whether he wanted to prove his idea or to discredit it is not certain, but before he died, Kepler’s brilliant mathematical deductions showed that a conjunction of the two planets did take place in the year 7 BC.

Kepler died before scholars discovered

by Dr. Harold Sala

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” -1 Corinthians 1:18

When the U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia spoke to a group of law-school students at a Christian university, he said that Christians are “destined to be regarded as fools in modern society” because of their belief in the supernatural.

Supporting his premise, this learned jurist and scholar quoted another intellectual who learned what it is to live outside the pale of acceptability, none other than Paul, the Apostle. Referring to what Paul wrote to the Corinthians when he contrasted the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God, Justice Scalia said Christians are “fools for Christ’s sake” who are scorned by the “worldly wise.”

And what’s wrong with that? The answer to that question depends on what you

by Dr. Harold Sala

“Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”- Hebrews 13:7-8

Why God chooses to use some individuals, and seemingly ignores those with far greater talents, is always something which defies human logic. The fact is that God often uses those who have little to recommend them when it comes to entitlement through education, family connections, and intelligence. Yet the biographies of those who have made a mark for God indicate that they share three common traits: 1) They immediately and without hesitation responded to the call of God in their lives. 2) Their simple faith in God was marked by complete obedience, and 3) What they had, they gave to the Lord completely and without reservation.

Such was a man who lived centuries ago,

by Dr. Harold Sala

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

“What is faith?” asked the writer of the book of Hebrews in the New Testament. Then he answered his own question, saying, “It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead” (Hebrews 11:1, LB). Two words express this reality. The first word, translated “confident assurance,” is a very positive expression; but it is the second word which gives us a picture which enlightens us.

In the first century this Greek word elegchos was used of a title deed. For example, you buy a piece of property which you have never seen, but when the transaction is completed you are given a title deed—a legal

by Dr. Harold Sala

“So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” -Matthew 19:6

Liberals and feminists definitely are not going to like today’s commentary. Should you find yourselves in their camp, save your blood pressure by changing stations or reading no further. Today’s commentary shares the findings of two researchers who have investigated the social and economic factors relating to making a marriage work or, inversely, its failure resulting in a broken home.

Sociology Professor Steven Nock of the University of Virginia and Economist-law professor Margaret BriÅ”ig from the University of Iowa conducted a study of some 3,592 couples surveyed at random. Their study analysis entitled, Divorce and the Division of Labor didn’t exactly fit the prevalent shibboleths of our culture.

They discovered that if you wanted your marriage to succeed, you should pursue the following:

Step #1: Choose your in-laws carefully. They gave

by Dr. Harold Sala

“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” -Isaiah 40:8

It was about 1880 when a Welshman by the name of R. G. Thomas was aboard a ship that went aground off the coast of Korea. His destination of China was never realized because Thomas was taken captive and soon martyred. But before he was taken prisoner, he grabbed his Bible and took it with him.

Some time later, however, Thomas’ son gained possession of his father’s Bible, and for the first time in his life began seriously studying this book which had brought his father half-way around the world and given him comfort in his death. What happened? He was converted and followed in his father’s footsteps.

Question: Have you ever heard of anyone who said, “When I began reading books on science and technology, my heart was strangely drawn towards God”?

by Dr. Harold Sala

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” -Romans 5:8

Our need to be loved was put there by God Himself, and it was He who also made provision for that great need to be met in our families. Do you remember the familiar words of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians, “And now abide faith, hope, love but the greatest of these is love”?

No matter how great the need for love, it seems that our capacity really to love each other has been seriously diminished in the world of quick fixes and fractured, broken relationships.

Have you ever asked yourself, “What has happened to our ability to love?” Has it been gassed by the pernicious fumes that have polluted our environment? Or has it simply been pushed aside by our selfish desire for gratification? Have we so