The Centurion At The Cross
Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour.
About the ninth hour Jesus…
Centurions in the New Testament
Several centurions are mentioned in the New Testament. The accounts of the more prominent ones reveal the degree to which…
A Centurion’s Life
Our oldest son has been in the Army for several years. Watching him progress through the ranks from recruit to…
The Power Of The Cross
When I wrote the book Windows on Easter, from which this booklet is adapted, my goal was to take a…
Secret Delivery
A clear, glass vase with bell-shaped Lilies of the Valley, pink tulips, and yellow daffodils greeted Kim at her front door. For seven months, an anonymous Christ follower sent Kim beautiful bouquets from a local flower shop. Each monthly gift arrived with a note filled with scriptural encouragement and signed with these words: “Love, Jesus.”
Kim shared photos of these secret deliveries on Facebook. The flowers gave her opportunity to celebrate a stranger’s kindness and to acknowledge the way God expressed His love to her through His people. Month after month, each secret delivery caused her friends to rejoice over the…
A Transformed Life
Mysterious Helpers
Louise suffers from muscular dystrophy. While trying to exit a train station one day, she found herself facing a large flight of stairs without an elevator or escalator. On the verge of tears, Louise saw a man suddenly appear, pick up her bag, and gently help her up the stairs. When she turned to thank him, he was gone.
Michael was late for a meeting. Already stressed from a relationship breakdown, he started battling London’s traffic only to get a flat tire. As he stood helplessly in the rain, a man stepped out of the crowd, opened the boot (trunk), jacked…
Shining the Light
Stephen told his parents that he needed to get to school early every day, but for some reason he never explained why it was so important. Yet they made sure he arrived at Northview High School by 7:15 each morning.
On a wintry day during his junior year, Stephen was in a car accident that sadly took his life. Later, his mom and dad found out why he’d been going to school so early. Each morning he and some friends had gathered at the school entrance to greet other students with a smile, a wave, and a kind word. It made…
Perfectly Placed
Scientists know our planet is precisely the right distance from the sun to benefit from its heat. A little closer and all the water would evaporate, as on Venus. Only a bit farther and everything would freeze like it does on Mars. Earth is also just the right size to generate the right amount of gravity. Less would make everything weightlessly sterile (the Moon), while more gravity would trap poisonous gases that suffocate life (Jupiter).
The intricate physical, chemical, and biological interactions that comprise our world bear the imprint of a sophisticated Designer. We catch a glimpse of this complex craftsmanship…
God Waited
When Denise Levertov was just twelve, long before she became a renowned poet, she had the gumption to mail a package of poetry to the great poet T. S. Eliot. She then waited for a reply. Surprisingly, Eliot sent two pages of hand-written encouragement. In the preface to her collection The Stream and the Sapphire, she explained how the poems “trace [her] own movement from agnosticism to Christian faith.” It’s powerful, then, to recognize how one of the later poems (“Annunciation”) narrates Mary’s surrender to God. Noting the Holy Spirit’s refusal to overwhelm Mary and the Spirit’s desire for Mary to…
Bushfire Crisis
It is hard to understand that a large chunk of Australia has been burning for months now. There are many people and entire communities around our country who have lost everything and are suffering at this time.
Our team has been praying for those who have been impacted by these fires and will continue to pray for safety for all Australians…
Good for You
People the world over spent an estimated $98.2 billion on chocolate in 2016. The number is staggering, yet at the same time not all that surprising. Chocolate, after all, tastes delicious and we enjoy consuming it. And the world rejoiced collectively when the sweet treat was found to have significant health benefits too. Chocolate contains flavonoids that help safeguard the body against aging and heart disease. Never has a prescription for health been so well received or heeded (in moderation, of course!).
Solomon suggested there’s another “sweet” worthy of our investment: wisdom. He recommended his son eat honey “for it is…
Prompted to Pray
“Several years ago I was prompted to pray for you often, and I wonder why.”
That text message from an old friend came with a photo of a note in her Bible: “Pray for James. Cover mind, thoughts, words.” Beside my name she recorded three separate years.
I looked at the years and caught my breath. I wrote back and asked what month she began to pray. She responded, “Sometime around July.”
That was the month I was preparing to leave home for extended study abroad. I would be facing an unfamiliar culture and language and have my faith challenged like never before.…
