Topic > Christian Beliefs
A Bubble Break
A young boy showered my husband, Carl, and me with bubbles as he came running by us on the Atlantic City boardwalk. It was a light and fun moment on a difficult day. We had come to the city to visit our brother-in-law in the hospital and to help Carl’s sister who was struggling and having trouble getting to her doctors’ appointments. So as we took a break and walked along the seaside boardwalk we were feeling a bit overwhelmed by the needs of our family.
Then came the bubbles. Just bubbles blown at us whimsically by a little boy…
Doing What He Says
I needed an underground water tank and knew precisely how I wanted it constructed, so I gave clear instructions to the builder. The next day when I inspected the project, I was annoyed when I realized that he had failed to carry out my instructions. He had changed the plan and therefore the effect. The excuse he gave was as irritating as his failure to follow my directives.
As I watched him redo the concrete work, and as my frustration diminished, a guilty conviction swept over me: How many times have I needed to redo things in my life in obedience…
An invitation versus a command
What if you called your dog using a “bad dog” tone of voice? Would the dog come running with its tail wagging, or come slinking with tail between its legs? Today on Discover the Word, the group discusses the big difference between Jesus issuing an invitation to rest, versus a command. One stems from grace, the […]
Relying on His strength as we navigate life
Have you heard the expressions, “I’m going to power through” or “We just have to plow ahead?” Usually, those words imply a “grit-my-teeth-do-it-in-my-own-strength” kind of effort. Today on Discover the Word, we invite you to hitch yourself to Jesus’s plow, relying on His strength as you navigate life, allowing Him to set the pace. Only […]
Before A Loved One Dies
I was by the side of a church member’s father minutes before he took his last breath. Overcome with emotion, I whispered a final prayer for him. It was the first time I’d felt so depressed while praying for someone.
How Can I Be Filled With The Holy Spirit?
Find sound, practical answers to the questions you have about the Holy Spirit as author Herb Vander Lugt examines Scripture to help you gain clarity about what it means to live a Spirit-filled life. Discover how putting Christ at the center of your life, reading His Word, submitting to His will, and having complete trust in His promises can show evidence of His Spirit operating in your life.
How can we “rest well”?
It sounds wrong, but sometimes it really does take effort to rest! But can we draw closer to Jesus without rest? This week on Discover the Word, the group discusses what Jesus meant when He said “My yoke is easy, My burden is light.” How can we “Rest Well”? Join us today for Discover the Word!
Free Indeed
Olaudah Equiano (c. 1745–1796) was only 11 years old when he was kidnapped and sold into slavery. He made the harrowing journey from West Africa to the West Indies, then to the colony of Virgina, and then to England. By the age of 20 he purchased his own freedom, still bearing the emotional and physical scars of the inhumane treatment he had experienced.
Unable to enjoy his own freedom while others were still enslaved, Equiano became active in the movement to abolish slavery in England. He wrote his autobiography (an unheard of achievement for a former slave in that era) in…
An invitation from Jesus to rest
Suppose you receive an engraved invitation in the mail. It’s from Jesus and it says, “Come to My house and rest.” Sounds nice, but since you don’t know what He necessarily means by “rest,” you keep referring back to your “To Do” list. You’re thinking, Do I even have time for rest? Today on Discover […]
Sabbath rest
Do you struggle to find time to rest? Well, you’re not alone! Today on Discover the Word, join the group as they discuss the concept of Sabbath rest. For some, the idea of rest may sound almost un-American! After all, if we’re not doing something then we’re not being productive, right? Join the team as […]
The Ultimate Road Trip
Madagascar’s National Road 5 offers the beauty of a white sand coastline, palm forests, and the Indian Ocean. Its 125 miles of two-track road, bare rock, sand, and mud, however, have given it a reputation for being one of the worst roads in the world. Tourists looking for breathtaking views are advised to have a four-wheel-drive vehicle, an experienced driver, and an onboard mechanic.
John the Baptist came to announce the good news of the coming Messiah to those traveling on rough roads and through barren landscape. Repeating the words of the prophet Isaiah written centuries earlier, he urged curious crowds…
Naming God
In his book The God I Don’t Understand, Christopher Wright observes that an unlikely person is one of the first to give God a name. It’s Hagar!
Hagar’s story provides a disturbingly honest look at human history. It’s been years since God told Abram and Sarai they would have a son, and Sarai has only grown older and more impatient. In order to “help” God, she resorts to a custom of the day. She gives her slave, Hagar, to her husband, and Hagar becomes pregnant.
Predictably, dissension arises. Sarai mistreats Hagar, who runs away. Alone in the desert, she meets the…
God’s Mouthpiece
My nerves fluttering, I waited for the phone to ring and the radio interview to start. I wondered what questions the host would ask and how I would respond. “Lord, I’m much better on paper,” I prayed. “But I suppose it’s the same as Moses—I need to trust that you will give me the words to speak.”
Of course I’m not comparing myself with Moses, the leader of God’s people who helped them escape slavery in Egypt to life in the Promised Land. A reluctant leader, Moses needed the Lord to reassure him that the Israelites would listen to him. The…
A Father’s heart
Luke 15 and Jesus’s parable about the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son—they all make the point that our heavenly Father’s heart is a heart that “seeks and saves” the lost. And whether we think we’re the best of the best or the worst of the worst, we have a pursuing Father […]
A wasted inheritance
“It’s not fair!” It’s not just whiny little kids who say that, because we all want justice. Today on Discover the Word, we will continue to discuss the parable of the prodigal son. We know about the runaway son who wasted his inheritance. But the older brother was wasting an inheritance too . . . his relationship with […]
