“Make sure you don’t take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship—a different kind of “sacrifice”—that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets” (Hebrews 13:16, MSG).

              Life isn’t fair. Just ask the employee who is laid off from work after faithfully serving the same company for thirty-two years or the widow who loses her husband’s pension due to a Ponzi scheme. The sooner we learn this lesson in life the better prepared we will be.

“Don’t jump to conclusions – there may be a perfectly good explanation for what you just saw” (Proverbs 25:8, The Message).

              Not everything is as it seems. Unfortunately, this saying holds true for movie buffs. I am a big fan of the 1939 iconic film, The Wizard of Oz. I like the fact the Wicked Witch gets justice in the end. I am encouraged that Dorothy and Toto live happily ever after.

“And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, ‘These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also’” (Acts 17:6, ESV).

         Holy cow! It was a crime of epic proportions. Last October, authorities in London arrested a sixty-three-year-old man who allegedly stole 48,500 pounds of cheddar cheese from Neal’s Yard Dairy. Many of the 950 wheels of cheese taken from the distributor had won numerous awards and were quite sought after by artisans. The total value of the heist was estimated to be $389,000.