A Work In Progress
Pablo Casals was considered to be the preeminent cellist of the first half of the 20th century. When he was still playing his cello in the middle of his tenth decade of life, a young reporter asked, “Mr. Casals, you are 95 years old and the greatest cellist that ever lived. Why do you still practice 6 hours a day?”
Hope for dark times is found in knowing our place in God’s redemption story!
The Bible tells us Jesus came to rescue us from the oppressive powers of sin and death. So why do we often feel like we’re still held captive?
Remembering Advent, Overcoming Frustration
It is December and the season of Advent is upon us! A time to remember and consider how God in all His glory humbled Himself and came into our world. A time of expectation and hope. A time of looking forward to the promise of redemption and […]
A Ukrainian Christmas
The people of Ukraine include many wonderful elements in their observance of Christmas. Sometimes wisps of hay are placed on the dinner table as a reminder of the Bethlehem manger. Another portion of their celebration echoes the events of the night when the Savior entered the world. A Christmas prayer is offered and then the father in the household offers the greeting, “Christ is born!” The family then responds, “Let us glorify Him!”
Gain a BIG picture of God’s Word
The romance in Ruth, the mystery in Revelation, the wonder in the Gospels; the Bible certainly contains many fascinating stories. Let’s take a step back and discover that the whole of Scripture is an epic, remarkable, and redemptive story!
Story Stewards
Many people take great care to make sure their resources are used well after they die. They set up trusts, write wills, and establish foundations to guarantee that their assets will continue to be used for a good purpose after their life on earth is done. We call this good stewardship.
A Special Birth
In the pages of Scripture, several baby-boy births stand out. Cain, the firstborn after creation. Isaac, the hope of Israel’s future. Samuel, the answer to a mother’s fervent prayer. All extremely important. All joyously expected. And all described exactly the same by the chroniclers of Scripture: In each case, we are told that the mother conceived and bore a son (Gen. 4:1; 21:2-3; 1 Sam. 1:20).
Another Hero Of Christmas
For most of my life, I missed the importance of Joseph in the Christmas story. But after I became a husband and father myself, I had a greater appreciation for Joseph’s tender character. Even before he knew how Mary had become pregnant, he decided that he wasn’t going to embarrass or punish her for what seemed to be infidelity (Matt. 1:19).
Jesus’ offer to join Him in His ministry of compassion
Two thousand years ago, Jesus began a movement that fed the hungry, comforted the hurting, and offered grace to the brokenhearted. Ready to get involved? Our study in Matthew 9 concludes .
Snug As A Bug In A Rug!
When I was a child, my family lived in a house my father built in the cedar breaks west of Duncanville, Texas. Our house had a small kitchen-dinette area, two bedrooms, and a great room with a large stone fireplace in which we burned 2-foot-long cedar logs. That fireplace was the center of warmth in our home.
Let’s ponder Jesus’ request for workers
Face-to-face with the desperate needs of people we know, we might pray that God brings them comfort. But could God be asking us to be the ones to meet their need? Are we willing to say, “Lord, send me”?
Snake In A Box
At a nature center, I watched my friend’s rosy-cheeked toddler pat the side of a large glass box. Inside the box, a bull snake named Billy slithered slowly, eyeing the little girl. Billy’s body was as thick as my forearm and he sported brown and yellow markings. Although I knew Billy could not escape from his container, seeing a menacing-looking creature so close to a small child made me shudder.
An eye-opening discussion on the motives behind Jesus’ ministry
Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus healed the sick, fed the hungry, and forgave the sinner. But have you ever wondered why?
The Nightmare before Christmas
I can only imagine the thoughts running through Mary’s mind when the angel Gabriel told her that she will conceive as a virgin and give birth to a son, who will be great and called the Son of the Most High (Luke 1:32). Now, although Mary was obedient […]
Wonders Of The Heart
Our heart beats about 100,000 times every day, pumping blood to every cell in our bodies. This adds up to about 35 million beats a year and 2.5 billion beats in an average lifetime. Medical science tells us that every contraction is similar to the effort it would take for us to hold a tennis ball in our palm and give it a good hard squeeze.
