Insights from the Word
  • Home
  • Articles
    • 2000 Articles 1-7 >
      • 1. The Perfect Storm
      • 2. Biographical Update
      • 3. Why so much Judgment?
      • 4. Glasses come in Pairs
      • 5. Why so much about Church?
      • 6. Reflections on an Election
      • 7. For Me to Live is Maintenance
    • 2001 Articles 8-22 >
      • 8. From Common Sense to nonsense
      • 9. Left Behind
      • 10. Owners or Guardians?
      • 11. From Honeymoon Harmony to Divorce
      • 12. For Goodness Sake
      • 13. A Perfect Prayer
      • 14. No is not a Negative
      • 15. What My Shoes have Taught Me
      • 16. For Mercy Sake
      • 17. The Attack on America
      • 18. The Motivation of a Sucide Terrorest
      • 19. The Message of the Terorist
      • 20. The Anthrax Scare
      • 21. Real Thanksgiving
      • 22. I have been Robbed!
    • 2002 Articles 23-39 >
      • 23. A Tribute to George
      • 24. Church Math
      • 25. Marriage Math
      • 26. How Sad
      • 27. The Anatomy of an Affair
      • 28. "I have a Problem."
      • 29. When
      • 30. Sport History
      • 31. Under God
      • 32. An "Honest" Thief
      • 33. Why does Life have to be so Difficult?
      • 34. A Tribute to Maria
      • 35. What Jesus' Words Have Taught Me
      • 36. Who Ministers to the Minister?
      • 37. The Whiner
      • 38. Reckoned Righteous by Works
      • 39. Are New Year's Resolutions Biblical?
    • 2003 Articles 40-53 >
      • 40. One of the Greatest Need America
      • 41. Your Memorial Table
      • 42. George W. Bush Verses Saddam Hussein
      • 43. Learning to Listen
      • 44. The Problem with Gambling
      • 45. Memorial Day
      • 46. My Ecounter with an Orthhodox Jew
      • 47. Scott Free
      • 48. What My Auto Accident Taught Me
      • 49. The Decline in Family Living
      • 50. Give Me a Problem
      • 51. Decoding the Da Vinci Code
      • 52. Thanksgiving is not a Holiday
      • 53. What a Christmas Present!
    • 2004 Articles 54-67 >
      • 54. What Do You Mean by that?
      • 55. What are Parents to Do?
      • 56. "The Passion of Christ"
      • 57. Martha Stewart's Greatest Lesson
      • 58. Same Sex Marriage
      • 59. A Tribute to a Servant
      • 60. Happy Marriages
      • 61. Independence
      • 62. Kerry's Logic
      • 63. The Olympic Spirit
      • 64. Playing Cards
      • 65. Cardinal Virtures
      • 66. Now that the Election is over
      • 67. Tribute to My Mother
    • 2005 Articles 68-79 >
      • 68. Real Spiritual Growth
      • 69. No Time to Think
      • 70. The Ten Commandments Controversy
      • 71. Do We Need a Pope?
      • 72. Everybody Loves Raymond
      • 73. Examples Worthy of Note
      • 74. How Two Different People Learned to Get Along
      • 75. "The God who Wasn't"
      • 76. Katrina and Now Rita!
      • 77. Would You Say "No" to $4 Million?
      • 78. "In God We Trust"
      • 79. The Redemption of Tookie Willaims
    • 2006 Articles 80-91 >
      • 80. Is Religion a Problem?
      • 81. The Rights of the Born
      • 82. Did You Hear What She Said about Muslims?
      • 83. Judas: Betrayer or Best Friend?
      • 84. Weekend or Week--Beginning?
      • 85. A Tribute to My (Spiritual) Father
      • 86. Your Relationship to the Word of God
      • 87. What an Opportunity!
      • 88. America's Four Gods
      • 89. How to Deal with Your Enemies
      • 90. The Case for Systematic Exposition
      • 91. Don't Miss the Message
    • 2007 Articles 92-104 >
      • 92. I can Afford it!
      • 93. The Gospel according to Patricia
      • 94. The Functional Church
      • 95. Who wants to Deal with a Taxman?
      • 96. Vital Virtures
      • 97. Have You Grown up Yet?
      • 98. A July 4th Reminder
      • 99. The Volume of Silence
      • 100. Biblical Illiteracy
      • 101. A Modest Political Propospal
      • 102. How to Handle Credit Cards
      • 103. When it is Tough to be Thankful
      • 104. Romney's Religion
    • 2008 Articles 105-114 >
      • 105. Continue
      • 106. A Tribute to Jack
      • 107. Why Good Ftiday?
      • 108. Happy Birthday
      • 109. The Most Important Room in the House
      • 110. The 80-20 Rule
      • 111. Be Sensible
      • 112. To Be Like Christ
      • 113. Sweet Reasonableness
      • 114. The Other Benefit of Christmas
    • 2009 Articles 115-126 >
      • 115. What Determines who Obtains Eternal Life?
      • 116. The Healing Touch
      • 117. The Function of Dysfunction
      • 118. When Your World Falls Apart
      • 119. 24-7-365
      • 120. To Complain or not to Complain
      • 121. "Suggestions"
      • 122. Making a Mark
      • 123. God's Timing
      • 124. Jesus Wept
      • 125. Andrew
      • 126. The Cost of Service
    • 2010 Articles 127-138 >
      • 127. Don't Ask; Don't Tell
      • 128. A Forest Dark
      • 129. The Rule of Law
      • 130. The Hits and Miss of Grace
      • 131. People Need the Lord
      • 132. Examples Worthy of Notes
      • 133. A Hassle Reduction Strategy
      • 134. Gossip
      • 135. My Favorite Poem
      • 136. Let's Put the Cross in its Place
      • 137. "Don't Spare Me"
      • 138 The Unseen Message of Christmas
    • 2011 Articles 139-147 >
      • 139. What Parents Should Teach their Children
      • 140. How to Avoid Having to Serve
      • 141. What Happen to Mike?
      • 142. An Atheist Recommends God
      • 143. Surprise
      • 144. Socialism
      • 145. Union, Unity, and Uniformity
      • 146. Get in the Way
      • 147. "Let George do it."
    • 2012 Articles 148-160 >
      • 148. Truth or Consequences
      • 149. Don't Leave Home without it
      • 150. Take a Break
      • 151. The Worth of an Individual
      • 152. A Tribute to Nana
      • 153. Jesus Crossed the Line
      • 154. Thomas Jefferson
      • 155. Taxes
      • 156. You Must be Present to Win
      • 157. A Grandfather's Wish
      • 158. Trials. Temptations, and Tests
      • 159. Is There a Santa Claus?
      • 160. A Tribute to Sumner Wemp
    • 2013 Articles 161-172 >
      • 161. How to Finish Well
      • 162. Rewards
      • 163. Spiritual Binging
      • 164. There is no way out of this one
      • 165. Half Empty or Half Full
      • 166. Nones
      • 167. Greet One Another with a Holy Kiss
      • 168. God's Answer to Atheism
      • 169. Obedience
      • 170. The Problem of Fellowship with God
      • 171. Character Development
      • 172. For Mercy's Sake
    • 2014 Articles 173-180 >
      • 173. Lies
      • 174. Endure to the End
      • 175. Teaching Children How Money Grows
      • 176. The Principle of Delay
      • 177. By Their Fruit
      • 178. Sermons that Changed My Life
      • 179. If Paul Harvey were the Devil
      • 180. The Principle of Practice
    • 2015 Articles 181- >
      • 181. In Wrath Remember Mercy
      • 182. Choosing the Right Shepherd
      • 183. The Lord's Requirements
      • 184. Your Ear Lobe. Thumb, and Big Toe
      • More articles will be added as they are written
  • Basic Courses
    • The Spiritual Life
    • The Family Life (The Ultimate in Marriage)
    • The Christian Life
    • Bible Overview (The Plane View of the Bible)
    • Bible Survey (The Bible: Book by Book)
    • Bible Doctrine (Relating Doctrine to Daily Life)
    • Bible Evangelism (Evangelism without Fear)
    • Bible Study (Oh to Know the Truth)
    • Bible Teaching (How to Prepare Effective Messaages)
    • Church History
  • Advanced Courses
    • The Formation of the Bible (the canon)
    • The Translation of the Bible
    • The Chronology of the Bible
    • The Historical Accuracy of the Bible
    • Jewish Prophecies of the Messiah
    • The Synoptic Problem
    • The Riddle of Revelation
  • Topical Studies
    • Struggling with Assurance
    • Eternal Security
    • Prayer
    • The Will of God
    • The 5 Principles
    • Are Believers under the Mosaic Law?
    • Why So Many Denominations?
    • Natural Disasters
    • The Explanation of Mass Murder
    • Do we need a Pope?
    • More Topical Studies coming
  • Theological Studies
    • Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation?
    • Roman Catholicism
    • Calvinism
    • Lordship Salvation: Is it Biblical?
    • John MacArthur Jr.'s System of Salvation
    • The Miraculous Today
    • Should you seek the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?
    • Speaking in Tongues
  • More
    • Free Commentaries >
      • Ruth
      • Proverbs
    • Free Books >
      • Optimum Health
    • Free Audio Messages
    • Books For Sale >
      • Evangelism: A Biblical Approach
      • Repentance: The Most Misunderstood Word in the Bible
      • Salvation Controversy
      • Joshua
      • Daniel
      • Amos
      • Jonah
      • Gospel of John
      • Galatians
      • Titus
    • About Mike
    • Contact Mike

My Favorite Poem

If you were to ask me, “What is your favorite poem?” without hesitation, I would say “If” by British Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936). Although it was written in the nineteenth century (1895), it contains timeless truths that are needed in the twenty-first century.

                 If you can keep your head when all about you
                     Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
                 If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
                     But make allowance for their doubting too;
                 If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
                    Or, being lied about, and don't deal in lies,
                 Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
                    And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

                 If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
                     If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
                  If you can meet with triumph and disaster,
                     And treat those two imposters just the same;
                  If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
                     Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
                  Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
                      And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

                 If you can make one heap of all your winnings
                    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
                 And lose, and start again at your beginnings
                    And never breathe a word about your loss;
                 If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
                    To serve your turn long after they are gone,
                 And so hold on when there is nothing in you
                     Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;

                 If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
                    Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch;
                 If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
                    If all men count with you, but none too much;
                 If you can fill the unforgiving minute
                    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run –
                 Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
                    And – which is more – you’ll be a Man my son!

It speaks for itself. It needs no comment from me.

                                  © G. Michael Cocoris, 9/22/2010
Proudly powered by Weebly