Responding to Crisis
By Rachel Ang, 21, Singapore It is not ordinary to wake up to the sound of bullets in the streets or see burnt buildings tossing billows of smoke skyward. It is not ordinary that bloodstains smear the very roads that lead to schools or workplaces. It is not ordinary for peace rallies to turn into [...]
Responding to Crisis
By Rachel Ang, 21, Singapore It is not ordinary to wake up to the sound of bullets in the streets or see burnt buildings tossing billows of smoke skyward. It is not ordinary that bloodstains smear the very roads that lead to schools or workplaces. It is not ordinary for peace rallies to turn into [...]
Already Settled
I love watching soccer, and I am a fan of the Liverpool Football Club in England’s Premier League. When the Reds are playing, it is an anxiety-filled experience for me. Because one goal or one misplay can change the game’s outcome, I feel a constant tension as I watch. That is part of what makes the games enjoyable. Recently, though, I saw a tape-delayed replay of one of Liverpool’s games. I was surprised how much calmer I felt seeing the replay. Why? Because I already knew the outcome, and as a result I was able to relax and enjoy the action.
Life is often like observing live sporting events. There are shocks and surprises, frustrations and fears, because we are unsure of the outcome. Followers of Christ can draw comfort, however, from the fact that though many of life’s situations are uncertain, our eternal outcome is settled by the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
The apostle John wrote, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). Life may present us with surprises along the way, but because of Christ’s work we can have peace. He has already settled our eternal outcome.
The Gift Of Sleep
Sleep is essential for good health. Scientists don’t know exactly why we need it but they know what happens when we don’t get enough. We put ourselves at risk of premature aging, weight gain, and diseases ranging from colds and flu to cancer. What God accomplishes in our bodies while we drift off to dreamland is nothing short of miraculous. While we do nothing, God replenishes our energy, rebuilds and restores our cells, and reorganizes information in our brains.
The reasons for not getting enough sleep are many, and some we can’t solve, but the Bible indicates that overwork should not be one of them (Ps. 127:2). Sleep is a gift from God that we should receive with gratitude. If we’re not getting enough, we need to find out why. Are we rising early and staying up late to earn money to acquire things we don’t need? Are we involved in ministry efforts that we think no one else is capable of doing?
I’m sometimes tempted to believe that the work I do when I’m awake is more important than the work God does while I sleep. But refusing God’s gift of sleep is like telling Him that my work is more important than His.
God does not want anyone to be a slave to work. He wants us to enjoy His gift of sleep.
Eyewitness Account
When the Day of Discovery television crew interviews people for a biography, we especially enjoy talking with those who knew the person whose life-story we are telling. Over the years, we’ve talked with a man who roomed with Eric Liddell in an internment camp in China;
Discover the importance of community in the Lord’s Prayer
When we choose to follow God we become part of the community of believers. As members of the larger body of Christ, we discover a whole new dimension to Jesus’ prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread.”
Fatal Attraction
By Roy Clark The 1987 movie Fatal Attraction is the story of a successful attorney (Michael Douglas), who has an affair with an editor (Glenn Close) while his wife and daughter are out of town for the weekend. Though he believed it would be a simple fling, it developed into a complicated affair. Close’s character [...]
Spiritual Sight
A prisoner who survived 14 years in a Cuban jail told how he kept his spirits up and his hope alive: “I had no window in my cell, and so I mentally constructed one on the door. I ‘saw’ in my mind a beautiful scene from the mountains, with water tumbling down a ravine over rocks. It became so real to me that I would visualize it without effort every time I looked at the cell door.”
Ironically, some of the most hopeful books of the Bible—Philippians, Colossians, and Ephesians—come out of Paul’s house arrest in Rome. The letter to the Ephesians gives a hint as to what the apostle Paul saw when he thought about life beyond his place of confinement.
The Opened Sight
This verse is the greatest example of the true essence of the message of a disciple of Jesus Christ in all of the New Testament.
God’s first sovereign work of grace is summed up in the words, “. . . that they may receive forgiveness of sins . . . .” When a person fails in his personal Christian life, it is usually because he has never received anything. The only sign that a person is saved is that he has received something from Jesus Christ. Our job as workers for God is to open people’s eyes so that they may turn themselves from darkness to light. But that is not salvation; it is conversion-only the effort of an awakened human being.
What Jesus meant when He said “Give us this day our daily bread”
When we go to the grocery store we buy enough to last us a week, or even a month! But in Jesus’ day, people had to find provision on a daily basis.
Making It Right
It was a perfect day for our garage sale—bright and warm. People rummaged through clothing, paperbacks, and mismatched dishes. I noticed a young woman looking at a string of white beads. A few minutes later, the necklace vanished along with its admirer. I spotted her in the street, jogged the length of my driveway, and discovered the missing jewelry nestled in her palm.
Find evidence in Scripture of God’s care for His people
Our basic needs, food, shelter, clothing, all seem so trivial in the grand scheme of things. And yet, Jesus made a point of teaching that God does care about our needs—trivial or not.
Reborn Identity
By Joe Stowell One of my favorite movies is The Bourne Identity. The main character, Jason Bourne, suffers from a severe amnesia that leaves him haunted, frustrated, and confused. A lot of us live like Jason Bourne. Our stories are not as dramatic but the issues are the same: Who am I, and does anyone [...]
Reborn Identity
By Joe Stowell One of my favorite movies is The Bourne Identity. The main character, Jason Bourne, suffers from a severe amnesia that leaves him haunted, frustrated, and confused. A lot of us live like Jason Bourne. Our stories are not as dramatic but the issues are the same: Who am I, and does anyone [...]
Where Sinners Go
My friend was having a conversa- tion with a man who didn’t have much good to say about the Christian faith. My friend knew that if he were to sound too “religious,” he would jeopardize any chance to witness. So, in the middle of their discussion, he said, “Hey, Bob, do you know where sinners go?”
