Ministry > Our Daily Bread
From Trash to Treasure
The trash man’s house sits atop a steep street in a poor Bogota neighborhood. Not one thing about it looks special. Yet the unassuming abode in Colombia’s capital is home to a free library of 25,000 books—discarded literature that Jose Alberto Gutierrez collected to share with poor children in his community.
Local kids crowd into the house during weekend “library hours.” Prowling through every room, each packed with books, the children recognize the humble home is more than Señor Jose’s house—it’s a priceless treasury.
The same is true for every follower of Christ. We are made of humble clay—marred by cracks and…
How Should We Respond?
For most of us, a stranger is simply a person we’ve never met before. As awkward as it can be to start a friendship with a newcomer, once we do, the term stranger no longer applies.
But there is a second type of stranger. These people are strangers not just because we don’t yet know them, but because we have…
God’s Welcome For Us
We see God’s attitude towards strangers most clearly when we look at what He has done for each of us. Jesus left His home in heaven to become a stranger on earth.
In fact, soon after Jesus was born, Joseph was commanded to take his family, flee the persecution in their home country and find refuge in Egypt. Jesus, Mary and…
Welcoming The Stranger
What is it to share Jesus with a stranger? Is it just giving them a pass to heaven and wishing them well on their way? No. Of course, Jesus did come to offer salvation to everyone. But that salvation is much more than just a golden ticket. It is about belonging to God and doing His work in this world…
Living As Strangers
National culture, personal safety, identity, social standing and upbringing can all easily become idols which shape our opinions and views of others. Judging others by these things will only highlight the differences between us, making us feel either fearful or superior towards them. But we no longer belong to the standards of this world.
Now, as heavenly citizens, we have…
God’s Welcome For Strangers
Throughout the Bible, God makes His welcome towards strangers unmistakably clear. One key example of this is how God instructed His people Israel to treat the foreigners who lived amongst them.
The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God. —Leviticus 19:34
God…
The Bulldog and the Sprinkler
Most summer mornings, a delightful drama plays out in the park behind our house. It involves a sprinkler. And a bulldog. About 6:30 or so, the sprinklers come on. Shortly thereafter, Fifi the bulldog (our family’s name for her) arrives.
Fifi’s owner lets her off her leash. The bulldog sprints with all her might to the nearest sprinkler, attacking the stream of water as it douses her face. If Fifi could eat the sprinkler, I think she would. It’s a portrait of utter exuberance, of Fifi’s seemingly infinite desire to be drenched by the liquid she can never get enough of.
There…
Who We Are
I’ll never forget the time I took my future wife to meet my family. With a twinkle in their eyes, my two elder siblings asked her, “What exactly do you see in this guy?” She smiled and assured them that by God’s grace I had grown to be the man she loved.
I loved that clever reply because it also reflects how, in Christ, the Lord sees more than our past. In Acts 9, He directed Ananias to heal Saul, a known persecutor of the church whom God had blinded. Ananias was incredulous at receiving this mission, stating that Saul had…
Limited Stocks Only
You’ve probably read or heard about the recent flap over Huawei’s National Day promotional offer of a mobile phone for $54, which was made available to Singaporeans aged 50 years and above.
Not surprisingly, perhaps, it drew long queues…
Responding to God
As we listen to God, we should answer. This is prayer—our response to the revelation and unfolding of God’s heart. “My God, Thy creature answers Thee,” said the French poet, Alfred de Musset. Prayer, understood in that way, is an extension of our visits with God rather than something tacked on.
Our meetings with God are like a polite conversation…
Listening to God
Until we take time to be quiet we’ll not hear God. God cannot be heard in noise and restlessness; only in silence. He will speak to us if we will give Him a chance, if we will listen, if we will be quiet. “Be still,” the psalmist wrote, “and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
“Listen, listen to me,” God…
Time Alone with God
“Begin small and start promptly” is an old Quaker saying. The idea is to keep things simple and to begin soon. Simplicity begins with solitude—not mere time alone, but time alone with God. Henri Nouwen wrote: “Solitude begins with a time and place for God, and Him alone. If we really believe not only that God exists, but that He…
Ready for Restoration
While stationed in Germany in the army I purchased a brand-new 1969 Volkswagen Bug. The car was a beauty! The dark green exterior complemented the brown leatherette interior. But as the years took their toll, stuff began to happen, including an accident that ruined the running board and destroyed one of the doors. With more imagination, I could have thought, “My classic car was a perfect candidate for restoration!” And with more money, I could have pulled it off. But that didn’t happen.
Thankfully the God of perfect vision and unlimited resources doesn’t give up so easily on battered and broken…
Rest and Renewal
Left to ourselves we would have nothing more than restlessness, driven by the realization that there is something more to know and love. But God will not leave us to ourselves.
According to Psalm 23:2, He makes us lie down in green pastures. He leads us beside quiet waters. The verbs suggest gentle persuasion—a shepherd patiently, persistently encouraging his sheep to…
All for Nothing
Heroin addiction is poignantly tragic. Users build tolerance, so larger hits are required for the same high. Soon the dosage they seek is more than enough to kill them. When addicts hear someone has died from an exceptionally strong batch, their first thought may not be fear but “Where can I get that?”
C. S. Lewis warned of this downward spiral in Screwtape Letters, his imaginative look at a demon’s explanation of the art of temptation. Start with some pleasure—if possible one of God’s good pleasures—and offer it in a way God has forbidden. Once the person bites, give less of it…
