I saw that question earlier, and my mind at once scattered into so many different directions and to all the many lessons that could be taught starting with that one question. I thought about Luke 19 and the story of Zacchaeus, the tax-collector Jesus spotted and to whom He said, “Come down immediately. I must stay at your house today” (vs. 5 NIV). The crowd’s only interest was that Jesus had chosen to dine with a sinner. Then, I thought about Luke 16 and the “rich man, clothed in purple and fine linen who feasted sumptuously every day” (vs. 19 ESV). It is clear that the victor in this lesson was Lazarus, the man covered with sores, who desired to be fed with the scraps that fell from the table of the rich man (vss. 20-21). I thought about all the lessons we can learn concerning humility and that Jesus is interested in saving sinners, not entertaining the “righteous.” Maybe your answer is found above, but when I thought a little more, I found my own answer. If Jesus told me to stop what I was doing immediately, that He must come to my house to stay today, I’d be worried that all of my clothes weren’t hung, my floors weren’t swept and I have dirty dishes in the sink. I thought about the possibility of feeling overwhelmed because of all the work I have piled up I need to do. My “to do” list is often large, and to

We have been reading The Domino Effect by Tim Lewis in our Sunday morning Bible class. In a nutshell, the book’s central focus is that if we choose to base every decision on God, then that first decision—or domino—will lead to more good decisions. Doing so does not mean one will have a problem-free life, but it does mean we can place our hope in something eternal. Our discussion today touched on some tender places in my life, and I would like to take a moment to share some of my thoughts. I have loved many people, some of whom have chosen to believe in life after death and some who have not. I want to first say that I do not believe “unbelief” means a person will struggle more than a believer in this lifetime; however, I know from experience that not having hope in something eternal when trials come makes the effort to overcome seem much more futile. I have lived in both worlds, and I cannot imagine ever going back to a life in which I have no Savior Who has overcome the grave. In our Bible class, the focus over the past couple of weeks has been on the avenue of prayer. We’ve discussed how this is one of the greatest resources we’ve been given; yet, we often only use it during difficult times. I firmly believe that if we were more dedicated to what we’re told in 1 Thessalonians, our hope would be more concrete. “Rejoice always,