Sorry, My Friends!
I’ve not been a good friend to some of my closest friends. I’ve betrayed one, angered another, and offended a third (twice). I betrayed the first by cutting him out of my life because of someone else (long story).
Not Again!
As I was reading the text message on my mobile phone, my temperature started to rise and my blood began to boil. I was on the verge of shooting back a nasty message when an inner voice told me to cool down and reply tomorrow. The next morning after a good night’s sleep, the issue that had upset me so greatly seemed so trivial. I had blown it out of proportion because I didn’t want to put another person’s interest before my own. I was unwilling to inconvenience myself so I could help someone.
Regretfully, I am tempted to respond…
How worry strangles our faith
I think it’s safe to say that there are plenty of things you could worry about. However, we are reminded that worry can strangle our faith. Don’t miss this important conversation on saying “no” to worry as we continue our series.
Friendship in Our Fast-Paced Society
I’ll be the first to say that if there was ever an award for “Worst Friend”, I would win first place. There have been times when I was so caught up with my work, I forgot my friends even existed. If I was not busy replying to work-related text messages, then I was constantly checking my email.
A Portrait of Jesus
In Portraits of Famous American Women, Robert Henkes writes, “A portrait is not a photograph, nor is it a mirror image.” A portrait goes beyond the outer appearance to probe the emotional depth of the human soul. In a portrait, a true artist tries “to capture what the person is really about.”
Over the centuries, many portraits have been painted of Jesus. Perhaps you’ve seen them in a church or museum of art or even have one in your home. Not one of these is a true portrait, of course, because we have no photograph or mirror image of our Lord’s…
A Letter From My Father
On one of my free days, I decided to clear some of the drawers in my room. As I was sorting through some old letters in one of my drawers, I stumbled on a letter I had not seen in a long while and had clean forgotten about.
How Mary said “no” to shame
It took great faith for Mary to accept God’s will for her life—to be pregnant with the Savior, Jesus, and yet unmarried. What would Joseph say and feel? Not to mention everyone else? Mary would have to trust God despite the shadow of shame.
Debits and Credits
When my husband was teaching an accounting class at a local college, I took one of the tests just for fun to see how well I could do. The results were not good. I answered every question wrong. The reason for my failure was that I started with a faulty understanding of a basic banking concept. I reversed debits and credits.
We sometimes get our debits and credits confused in the spiritual realm as well. When we blame Satan for everything that goes wrong—whether it’s bad weather, a jammed printer, or financial trouble—we’re actually giving him credit that he doesn’t…
Saying “yes” to God
When we say “yes” to God’s call, that often means we have to say “no” to something that could hinder our commitment. Listen in today to learn from the faith of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Her life of faith was a daily pattern of saying “yes” to God, and “no” to unbelief.
The Importance of Healing from Within
If an athlete is injured during training or competition, he will need time to recuperate in order to regain his form. Depending on the severity of the injury, the recovery process may involve applying an ice pack to the affected area, treating it—which may include cleaning the wound and stitching it up—or simply, resting.
I’ve Come to Help
Reporter Jacob Riis’s vivid descriptions of poverty in 19th-century New York City horrified a generally complacent public. His book How the Other Half Lives combined his writing with his own photographs to paint a picture so vivid that the public could not escape the certainty of poverty’s desperate existence. The third of fifteen children himself, Riis wrote so effectively because he had lived in that world of terrible despair.
Shortly after the release of his book, he received a card from a young man just beginning his political career. The note read simply, “I have read your book, and I…
Batter in the Bowl
My daughter and I consider brownies to be one of the seven wonders of the culinary world. One day, as we were mixing the ingredients of our favorite chocolate treat, my daughter asked if I would leave some batter in the bowl after pouring most of it into the baking pan. She wanted to enjoy what was left over. I smiled and agreed. Then, I told her, “That’s called gleaning, you know, and it didn’t start with brownies.”
As we enjoyed the remnants of our baking project, I explained that Ruth had gathered leftover grain in order to feed herself…
Unpredictable
In the 2003 US Women’s Open, the relatively unknown Hilary Lunke secured the greatest prize in women’s golf—and a place in history. Not only did she win the US Open in an 18-hole playoff, but it was also her only professional victory. Her surprising and inspiring win underscores the fact that one of the most exciting things about sports is its unpredictability.
The unpredictability of life is not always so thrilling, however. We devise and strategize. We make plans, projections, and proposals about what we would like to see happen in life, but often they are little more than our…
Don’t Just Have Godly Friends
At every stage of my student life, friends were an important part of my life. The majority of friends I was close to were not Christians. When I entered university, heard the gospel and believed in Jesus, I came to know fellow sisters and brothers in the church and became friends with them.
