Month: October 2017

How To Get Up After Your Dreams Are Crushed

One of the biggest life hopes I had when I was a kid was to play professional baseball. That dream was shattered when during my freshman year of high school, I was cut from the high school baseball team.

He Hears Us

Life doesn’t always go as you dreamed it would. The road often includes heartache and pain and tears. You may never understand why things happen the way they do, but God is still good and He is still faithful. And He does hear us.

Who Is This?

“Remove everything from your desks, take out a piece of paper and pencil.” When I was a student these dreaded words announced that “test time” had come.

 In Mark 4, we read that Jesus’s day, which started with teaching by the seaside (Mark 4:1), ended with a time of testing on the sea (v. 35). The boat that had been used as a teaching platform was used to transport Jesus and a handful of His followers to the other side of the sea. During the journey (while an exhausted Jesus slept in the back of the boat), they encountered a swirling…

Learn to see yourself as God does

Is it possible to have a right view of God, but a wrong view of yourself? Today on Discover the Word, we’ll explore how often our theology needs to move from our head to our hearts. Learn to see yourself the way God does with a discussion based on Elisa’s book, “Beauty Full Beings.” Listen […]

Ruth’s Story

Ruth cannot tell her story without tears. In her mid-eighties and unable to get around much anymore, Ruth may not appear to be a central figure in our church’s life. She depends on others for rides, and because she lives alone she doesn’t have a huge circle of influence.

But when she tells us her story of salvation—as she does often—Ruth stands out as a remarkable example of God’s grace. Back when she was in her thirties, a friend invited her to go to a meeting one night. Ruth didn’t know she was going to hear a preacher. “I wouldn’t have…

5 Reasons Why the Reformation Matters Today

In a conversation about our favorite historical figures, I asked a coworker if he knew who Martin Luther was. He responded with, “Oh! Is that the guy who nailed stuff to the door?” “Yes, that’s him!” I said with a laugh.

Ruth’s Story

Ruth cannot tell her story without tears. In her mid-eighties and unable to get around much anymore, Ruth may not appear to be a central figure in our church’s life. She depends on others for rides, and because she lives alone she doesn’t have a huge circle of influence.

But when she tells us her story of salvation—as she does often—Ruth stands out as a remarkable example of God’s grace. Back when she was in her thirties, a friend invited her to go to a meeting one night. Ruth didn’t know she was going to hear a preacher. “I wouldn’t have…

Beauty Full Being

Studies reveal that most people struggle with their self-image to a certain degree. So it stands to reason that how we see ourselves and how God sees us doesn’t always match up! Today on Discover the Word, we will be led in the discussion about what it means to be a “Beauty Full Being.” Listen today […]

Martin Luther: And So He Died As He Lived

“And so he died as he lived.” That’s how Martin Luther was eulogized after his death on February 18, 1546, some 470 years ago.

Unraveling the Mysteries

I have always enjoyed the wit and insight of Peanuts creator, Charles Schulz. One of my favorite cartoons drawn by him appeared in a book about young people in the church. It shows a young man holding a Bible as he tells a friend on the phone, “I think I’ve made one of the first steps toward unraveling the mysteries of the Old Testament . . . I’m starting to read it!” (Teen-Ager Is Not a Disease).

 Psalm 119 overflows with the writer’s hunger to understand and experience the power of God’s Word each day. “Oh, how I love your law!…

Trust Tally

Before my husband and I surrendered our lives to Christ, we seriously considered divorce. But after committing to love and obey God, we recommitted to each other. We sought wise counsel and invited the Holy Spirit to transform us individually and as a couple. Our heavenly Father continues to help us develop healthy communication skills. He’s teaching us how to love and trust Him—and one another—no matter what happens.

Yet, even as we head toward celebrating our twenty-fifth anniversary, I occasionally forget everything God has done in and through our trials. Sometimes, I struggle with a deep-seated fear of the unknown—experiencing…

Learning About FOMO from Lot’s Wife

I have a confession to make. I have to Google half the new words I come across these days. If you’re an eighties baby like me, you can probably identify with this.

Rooted in God

When friends moved into a new home, they planted wisteria near their fence and looked forward to the lavender blossom that would appear after five years of growth. Over two decades they enjoyed this plant, carefully pruning and tending it. But suddenly the wisteria died, for their neighbors had poured some weed killer by the other side of the fence. The poison seeped into the wisteria’s roots and the tree perished—or so my friends thought. To their surprise, the following year some shoots came through the ground.

We see the image of trees flourishing and perishing when the prophet Jeremiah relates…

Needing a well-devised strategy to engage your culture

History certainly tells us that going into any war without a well-devised strategy brings sure defeat! So in our daily spiritual battle, we need to plan carefully and seriously to secure victory! Today on Discover the Word, we wrap up the series with Darrell Bock titled, “Engagement” by defining both what our mission is, and […]

Seeking Détente in the Battle of the Sexes

Battle of the Sexes is the latest movie to weigh in on the ongoing discussion on gender equality. It centers on the highly publicized 1973 tennis match between 29-year-old female tennis star Billie Jean King and 55-year-old past-his-prime former champion Bobby Riggs.