What Is God Like?
To celebrate a special occasion, my husband took me to a local art gallery and said I could choose a painting as a gift. I picked out a small picture of a brook flowing through a forest. The streambed took up most of the canvas, and because of this much of the sky was excluded from the picture. However, the stream’s reflection revealed the location of the sun, the treetops, and the hazy atmosphere. The only way to “see” the sky was to look at the surface of the water.
Jesus is like the stream, in a spiritual sense. When we…
Do It Now!
In this verse, Jesus Christ laid down a very important principle by saying, “Do what you know you must do— now. Do it quickly. If you don’t, an inevitable process will begin to work ’till you have paid the last penny’ (Matthew 5:26) in pain, agony, and distress.” God’s laws are unchangeable and there is no escape from them. The teachings of Jesus always penetrate right to the heart of our being.
Light of the World
One of my favorite pieces of art hangs in the Keble College chapel in Oxford, England. The painting, The Light of the World by English artist William Holman Hunt, shows Jesus holding a lantern in His hand and knocking on a door to a home.
One of the intriguing aspects of the painting is that the door does not have a handle. When questioned about the lack of way to open the door, Hunt explained that he wanted to represent the imagery of Revelation 3:20, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and…
365 Devotions for Women by Women
God Hears Her: Devotions by Women for Women is a collection of Our Daily Bread devotionals specifically selected to bring comfort and encouragement to your everyday life. Each meditation was written by a woman to speak to another woman’s heart. The personal stories, Scripture passages, and inspirational quotes lift you up and remind you that God is bigger than the trials you face.
Join In The “Prayer Dare”
For kids on the playground, there’s perhaps no more solemn a challenge than the “double dog dare.” Well, today on Discover the Word, we conclude the study on “The Prayer Coin,” by issuing a dare to you. Will you take the “Prayer Dare”? It’s an encouraging edition of Discover the Word today!
The Strictest Discipline
Jesus did not say that everyone must cut off his right hand, but that “if your right hand causes you to sin” in your walk with Him, then it is better to “cut it off.” There are many things that are perfectly legitimate, but if you are going to concentrate on God you cannot do them. Your right hand is one of the best things you have, but Jesus says that if it hinders you in following His precepts, then “cut it off.” The principle taught here is the strictest discipline or lesson that ever hit humankind.
Pictures of Love
My children and I have started a new daily practice. Every night at bedtime, we gather colored pencils and light a candle. Asking God to light our way, we get out our journals and draw or write answers to two questions: When did I show love today? and When did I withhold love today?
Loving our neighbors has been an important part of the Christian life “from the beginning” (2 John 1:5). That’s what John writes in his second letter to his congregation, asking them to love one another in obedience to God (2 John 1:5–6). Love is one of John’s favorite…
2018 World Cup
All set for World Cup 2018? We’re predicting that the winner will be . . .
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“. . . Yet Not My Will”
As Jesus knelt in the garden of Gethsemane, he offered an honest prayer, “take this cup from Me.” But he didn’t stop there. Today, on Discover the Word, we will examine the flip side of Jesus’s prayer, “yet not my will.” Learn to pray with both sides of “The Prayer Coin,” like Jesus, when you listen today to Discover the Word!
Held by the Grip of God
Never choose to be a worker for God, but once God has placed His call on you, woe be to you if you “turn aside to the right hand or to the left” (Deuteronomy 5:32).
When I Traded God for My Boyfriend
It didn’t happen immediately, but so gradually and subtly that the both of us were completely oblivious to it. We became so blinded in our love for each other that we didn’t see it coming.
Ring in a Dumpster
In college, I woke up one morning to find Carol, my roommate, in a panic. Her signet ring was missing. We searched everywhere. The next morning we found ourselves picking through a dumpster.
I ripped open a trash bag. “You’re so dedicated to finding this!”
“I’m not losing a two-hundred-dollar ring!” she exclaimed.
Carol’s determination reminds me of the parable Jesus told about the kingdom of heaven, which “is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field” (Matthew 13:44). Certain things…
Relinquishing Our Desires Into God’s Capable Hands
Prayer is a vehicle for bringing our whole selves to God. In prayer, we can honestly make our requests known, while also relinquishing our desires into God’s capable hands. Today, on Discover the Word, we suggest that pivoting between both postures is necessary for a healthy prayer life. Join the discussion on Discover the Word!
The Overshadowing of God’s Personal Deliverance
. . . I am with you to deliver you,’ says the Lord —Jeremiah 1:8
God promised Jeremiah that He would deliver him personally— “. . . your life shall be as a prize to you . . .” (Jeremiah …
