As one reads through the Old Testament it is a fascinating experience to try to imagine yourself living in those times and involved in those stories. Perhaps you have pictured yourself as one of the sons of Noah on the ark, or among the Israelites as they marched around Jericho, or as one of Gideon’s 300 men holding a torch inside of a clay pot. Such an exercise of imagination reminds us of how real these stories were and helps us to appreciate what took place.   These people of faith, though they lived in distant lands long ago, were not so different than us.

Read more: The Corners Of Your Field

“One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.”

We’ve all heard statements like this. They demonstrate that we each value things differently. What you like, I may hate and vice versa. This ought to prepare us for the different responses we’ll get when we proclaim the gospel of Jesus. One man may love it, while another hates it. One woman will follow it, while another will avoid it.

Read more: The Smell Of The Gospel

In Ephesians 4:26‑27, Paul commanded, "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: neither give place to the devil." This passage is variously translated. Phillips renders it, "Don't give the devil that sort of foothold." Goodspeed's translation says, "You must not give the devil a chance." The Twentieth Century New Testament gives it, "And give no opportunity to the Devil." The thought in all of these is the same: mainly, don't give the Devil residency in your mind.

Read more: Competition For The Mind

I have never been in a circumstance in which I would be sleeping on a boat. I have never been on a cruise and the only “sea” fishing trips I have taken were in the gulf for 6 hours. I’m sure it’s pretty easy to sleep on a cruise ship (unless it’s a Carnival cruise ship), but it’d probably take some time to get used to sleeping on a fishing boat. They rock, make noises, and could not be comfortable.

Yet in the Bible, we ready of two individuals who seemed to find it quite easy to go to sleep on a ship. Not only did they go to sleep on a ship, but they were sleeping through terrible storms. The storms were so bad, nobody else could sleep and everybody else thought the ship would be destroyed.

Read more: Two Men Sleep In A Boat