Never Let Down
When I was a child, one of my favorite pastimes was playing on the teeter-totter in the nearby park. A kid would sit on each end of the board and bounce each other up and down. Sometimes the one who was down would stay there and leave his playmate stuck up in the air yelling to be let down. But the cruelest of all tricks was getting off the teeter-totter and running away when your friend was up in the air—he would come crashing down to the ground with a painful bump.
How our diligence and God’s assistance work together in our lives
They say, “God helps those who help themselves.” But is that actually true? An eye-opening study in Second Peter chapter one.
Shout Hallelujah!
A few days ago, I spied my old friend Bob vigorously pedaling a bike at our neighborhood gym and staring down at a blood pressure monitor on his finger.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Looking to see if I’m alive,” he grunted.
“What would you do if you saw you were dead?” I countered.
“Shout hallelujah!” he replied with a radiant smile.
From One Sister to Another: Glory Beauty
By Kezia Lewis, Thailand I battled with insecurities, feelings of inadequacy, and ugliness for as long as I can remember. In those unpleasant moments, I sometimes wonder: Do other women feel the same way? I believed I was alone in the struggle. Consumed and blinded by the lies of my emotions, I became self- absorbed—seeing nothing […]
Let’s look at Second Peter chapter 1
Melodies. Word pictures. Repetition. These are all ways to commit important information to memory. Let’s explore one memory device the apostle Peter used to highlight an important biblical truth.
Acts Of Kindness
I was traveling with some men when we spotted a family stranded alongside the road. My friends immediately pulled over to help. They got the car running, talked with the father and mother of the family, and gave them some money for gasoline. When the mother thanked them over and over, they replied, “We’re glad to help out, and we do it in Jesus’ name.”
كورنثوس الأولى والثانية: رسالتان لكنيسةٍ صعبة
زُرِعت كنيسة كورنثوس في بيئة فاسدة أخلاقياً. والذين آمنوا بالمسيح وألّفوا تلك الكنيسة أتوا بأفكارهم الفلسفية والدينية والأخلاقية معهم، ممّا جعل هذه الكنيسة كنيسة صعبة. الرسالتان اللتان لدينا من قلم بولس لكنيسة كورنثوس تعالجان بعض أصعب القضايا الروحية والأخلاقية التي تتمّ معالجتها في الكتاب المُقدس. ودرس “كورنثوس الأولى والثانية: رسالتان لكنيسة صعبة” يحتوي على معونة كثيرة وغنية للكنيسة في كلّ العصور
Victory Over Death!
An ancient painting I saw recently made a deep impression on me. Its title, Anastasis, means “resurrection,” and it depicts the triumph of Christ’s victory over death in a stunning way. The Lord Jesus, newly emerged from the tomb, is pulling Adam and Eve out of their coffins to eternal life. What is so amazing about this artwork is the way it shows how spiritual and physical death, the result of the fall, were dramatically reversed by the risen Christ.
Peter, an unlikely follower of the Lord who left a legacy of faith!
Jesus often chose the most unlikely characters to follow Him and make an impact for God. Let’s gather around the table to begin a study of the personal insights of the apostle Peter.
Salvation
By Teresa Ann Yu Different races, Different faces, But some things are the same. Created by one Father To care for one another Praise and glory to His name. Unique but equal in His eyes, Each one is special, beyond a price, His love and salvation all can claim. Approach with a humble heart, No […]
Easter Every Day
A friend of mine, who is a preschool teacher, overheard an animated conversation among her students. Little Maria threw out the question: “Who loves God?” All of them responded, “I do! I do! I do!” Billy said, “I love Jesus.” Kelly protested, “But He died.” Billy said, “Yeah, but every Easter He rises from the dead!”
The Spotlight
I’ll never forget the Easter Sunday in 1993 when Bernhard Langer won the Masters golf tournament. As he stepped off the 18th green to receive the green jacket—one of golf’s most coveted prizes—a reporter said, “This must be the greatest day of your life!” Without missing a beat, Langer replied: “It’s wonderful to win the greatest tournament in the world, but it means more to win on Easter Sunday—to celebrate the resurrection of my Lord and Savior.”
I’m Alive
Laura Brooks, a 52-year-old mother of two, didn’t know it but she was one of 14,000 people in 2011 whose name was incorrectly entered into the government database as dead. She wondered what was wrong when she stopped receiving disability checks, and her loan payments and her rent checks bounced. She went to the bank to clear up the issue, but the representative told her that her accounts had been closed because she was dead! Obviously, they were mistaken.
Let’s look at the first Easter story from a fresh perspective
For those who’ve grown up in the church, the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection may have become overly familiar. Sometimes we forget the magnitude of His suffering on the cross! Let’s help restore the awe of Easter. We’re talking about “Malchus.”
Gardening 101
“Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” — Matthew 13:8 (NIV) We may be familiar with the verse about the seed that falls on good soil. Unfortunately, we often forget that good soil does not stay good on its […]
