On Time
Read: Luke 2:25-38
When the set time had fully come, God sent his Son. (Galatians 4:4)
Sometimes I joke that I’m going…
He Understands
Read: Psalm 27:1-8
The Lord is my light and my salvation. (Psalm 27:1)
Some young children have trouble falling asleep at night.…
When We Don’t Understand
Read: Isaiah 55:6-13
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. (Isaiah 55:8)
Although…
When Questions Remain
Read: Job 23:1-12
He knows the way that I take. (Job 23:10)
On October 31, 2014, an experimental spacecraft broke apart during…
Facing Fear
Warren moved to a small town to pastor a church. After his ministry had some initial success, one of the locals took a dislike to him. Concocting a story accusing Warren of horrendous acts, the man took the story to the local newspaper and even printed his accusations on pamphlets to distribute to local residents by mail. Warren and his wife started praying hard. If the lie was believed, their lives would be upended.
King David once experienced something similar. He faced an attack of slander by an enemy. “All day long they twist my words,” he said, “all their schemes…
Lord, Help!
Read: Hebrews 4:14-16
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find…
Join the Cry
Read: Psalm 122:6-9
I urge . . . that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people. (1 Timothy…
Please Come In
Read: Hebrews 10:19-25
Let us draw near to God . . . with the full assurance that faith brings. (Hebrews 10:22)
Jenny’s…
Be Still
Read: Psalm 46
Be still, and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10)
Years ago I responded to letters within a couple…
To Be Human
“Mr. Singerman, why are you crying?” asked twelve-year-old Albert as he watched the master craftsman construct a wooden box.
“I cry,” said Isaac, “because my father cried, and because my grandfather cried.” The woodworker’s answer to his young apprentice provides a tender moment in an episode of Little House on the Prairie. “Tears,” explained Mr. Singerman, “come with the making of a coffin.”
“Some men don’t cry because they fear it is a sign of weakness,” he said. “I was taught that a man is a man because he can cry.”
Emotion must have welled up in the eyes of Jesus as he compared…
sg-amos
Never Alone
“It can be an affliction more harrowing than homelessness, hunger or disease,” wrote Maggie Fergusson in The Economist’s 1843 magazine. Her subject? Loneliness. Fergusson chronicled the increasing rates of loneliness, irrespective of one’s social or economic status, using heart-wrenching examples of what it feels like to be lonely.
The hurt of feeling alone is not new to our day. Indeed, the pain of isolation echoes off the pages of the ancient book of Ecclesiastes. Often attributed to King Solomon, the book captures the sorrow of those who seem to lack any meaningful relationships (4:7–8). The speaker lamented that it is possible to…
What Freedom Really Means
What Freedom Really Means
It has been one year since Covid-19 was declared a pandemic, and Malaysia has been in lockdown – on and off – since March 2020. With this strange new lifestyle,…
Turn on the Light
As my husband and I prepared for a cross-country move, I wanted to ensure that we kept in touch with our grown sons. I found a unique gift, friendship lamps connected by wireless internet, which can be turned on remotely. When I gave the lamps to my sons, I explained that their lamps will turn on when I touch my lamp—to provide a shining reminder of my love and ongoing prayers. No matter how great the distance between us, a tap on their lamps would trigger a light in our home too. Though we knew nothing could replace our more…
