When was the last time you stole something? We all remember times when we were little and stole a cookie out of mom’s cookie jar, or telephone wire from Bell Telephone for our home made sling shots (don’t ask). But that was a long, long time ago. And the desire to take someone else’s stuff does start when we are young, right?

A few years ago a list contrasted CEO compensation for non-profits versus for-profit companies. When asked about the difference, the CEO of one non-profit ministry replied, “You couldn’t pay me enough to do this job!” Some aspects of ministry spring from calling and compulsion, and can’t be quantified into dollars.

In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul outlines his ministry philosophy.

In the Second World War, cracking the German Enigma code created an ethical dilemma. The British could finally understand all German communications, but what should they do with their newfound knowledge? In the short term, battle victories would save lives but prompt the Germans to change their code or provide disinformation.

How do leaders respond when God sometimes seems silent and achingly far away at a time when our backs are against the wall?

The scene in this passage opens late in the siege of Samaria. Unimaginably desperate, people are willing to pay a huge price for things they never dreamed were edible: a donkey’s head or pigeon droppings. They are even willing to eat their own children!

In December 2013, a young public relations executive tweeted an offensive joke before turning off her phone for a flight to Africa. If someone would have told her that in 11 hours, her name would be known in every part of the world as millions followed her flight on Twitter, she wouldn’t have believed it.

In this passage, when Elisha tells the chief officer that in 24 hours, food will be so abundant in besieged Samaria that it will cost almost nothing, it sounds inconceivable.

How do you react when God doesn’t answer your prayers the way you think he should?

In 1 Kings 19, after Elijah’s public showdown with the false prophets on Mt. Carmel, the prophet has an emotional crash at news the queen has called for his head.

The world is a wicked place and evil men run rampant. All we have to do is listen to the news broadcasts about events around the world, or look around in our own communities to know that statement is true. In fact, that statement has always been true, from the day Adam and Eve chose to trust the serpent instead of God and opened the way for sin to enter the world. Throughout history it has seemed that God does not see, does not hear, does not care.