Topic > Christian Beliefs
“Prison religion”
When an inmate “gets religion” to help his or her chances for parole, what they have is often called “prison religion,” where post-release Jesus gets left behind. Today on “Discover the Word,” the group, and Institute for Prison Ministries director Karen Swanson, talks about “prison religion” and also wants to know, when your circumstances change for the better, where is Jesus in your life? “Discover the Word” today!
The Bread That Satisfies
I learned to recite the Lord’s Prayer as a boy in primary school. Every time I said the line, “Give us today our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11), I couldn’t help but think about the bread that we got only occasionally at home. Only when my father returned from his trip into town did we have a loaf of bread. So asking God to give us our daily bread was a relevant prayer to me.
How curious I was when years later I discovered the booklet Our Daily Bread. I knew the title came from the Lord’s Prayer, but I also knew it…
Perpetrators and victims of sin
While victims of crime can struggle with anger and bitterness, the criminal can wrestle with the shame and the guilt of what they’ve done. And both end up being imprisoned by the things they battle. Today on “Discover the Word,” the group, and special guest Karen Swanson, talks about how we’re both perpetrators of sin and victims of sin, making us all prisoners, until Christ sets us free. Join the study today on “Discover the Word”!
Time to Grow
In Debbie’s new home, she discovered an abandoned plant in a dark corner of the kitchen. The dusty and ragged leaves looked like those of a moth orchid, and she imagined how pretty the plant would look once it had sent up new bloom-bearing stems. She moved the pot into a spot by the window, cut off the dead leaves, and watered it thoroughly. She bought plant food and applied it to the roots. Week after week she inspected the plant, but no new shoots appeared. “I’ll give it another month,” she told her husband, “and if nothing has happened…
“We’re all prisoners, until Christ sets us free”
Imagine being forced to live 24/7 in a room the size of your bathroom. Sounds like prison, right? Today on “Discover the Word,” the group and special guest, director of the Institute for Prison Ministries, Karen Swanson, compare the confinement of a prison cell with the spiritual prison we confine ourselves to through our own wrong choices. “We’re All Prisoners, Until Christ Sets Us Free”—join that study today on “Discover the Word”!
Is He Good?
“I don’t think God is good,” my friend told me. She had been praying for years about some difficult issues, but nothing had improved. Her anger and bitterness over God’s silence grew. Knowing her well, I sensed that deep down she believed God is good, but the continual pain in her heart and God’s seeming lack of interest caused her to doubt. It was easier for her to get angry than to bear the sadness.
Doubting God’s goodness is as old as Adam and Eve (Gen. 3). The serpent put that thought in Eve’s mind when he suggested that God was…
Always in His Care
Veteran news reporter Scott Pelley never goes on assignment without his travel essentials—a shortwave radio, camera, indestructible suitcase, laptop computer, phone, and an emergency locator beacon that works anywhere. “You extend the antenna, push two buttons, and it sends a signal to a satellite connected to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Pelley said. “It tells them who and where I am. Depending on what country you’re in, they’ll either send a rescue team – or not” (AARP The Magazine). Pelley has never needed to use the beacon, but he never travels without it.
But when it comes to our…
Resting and Waiting
It was high noon. Jesus, foot-weary from His long journey, was resting beside Jacob’s well. His disciples had gone into the city of Sychar to buy bread. A woman came out of the city to draw water . . . and found her Messiah. The account tells us that she quickly went into the city and invited others to come hear “a man who told me everything I ever did” (John 4:29).
The disciples came back bringing bread. When they urged Jesus to eat, He said to them, “My food . . . is to do the will of him who…
Does God heal non-believers?
Today on “Discover the Word,” we will conclude this section of the study on the “Miraculous Life of Elisha” with the story of how God miraculously healed someone who previously may not have believed in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But when he was healed, we’ll discover important truths about who God is reaching out to. Listen today on “Discover the Word”!
Trusting God in tough times
Can you really trust God in tough times? Well, today on “Discover the Word,” the group continues their study of “The Miraculous Life of Elisha” and why trusting God with healing a Syrian military leader named Naaman was so tough for all concerned. Join the group today on “Discover the Word”!
Leprosy, a military commander, and a message
What would you say is the most feared communicable disease of our day? Well, during the time of “The Miraculous Life of Elisha,” it had to have been leprosy. And a Syrian military commander named Naaman had it. Today on “Discover the Word,” we will talk about an astounding prophetic message behind this intriguing story. Don’t miss the conversation today on “Discover the Word”!
Start Afresh
When I was growing up, one of my favorite books was Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. In one amusing passage, young Anne, by mistake, adds a skin medication instead of vanilla to the cake she is making. Afterward, she exclaims hopefully to her stern-faced guardian, Marilla, “Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”
I like that thought: tomorrow is a new day—a new day when we can start afresh. We all make mistakes. But when it comes to sin, God’s forgiveness is what enables us to start each morning with a…
Similarities between Elisha’s and Jesus’s miracles
It was a time of famine in Israel, and Elisha the prophet fed a large crowd with only twenty loaves of bread. And there was a bunch left over. Does this event in “The Miraculous Life of Elisha” sound familiar? Today on “Discover the Word,” we will tie Elisha’s miracle to when Jesus fed a crowd of thousands with five loaves and two fish. You’ll find fascinating similarities between the two today at on “Discover the Word”!
Our Divine Defense
Under Nehemiah’s supervision, the Israelite workers were rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. When they were nearly half finished, however, they learned that their enemies were plotting to attack Jerusalem. This news demoralized the already exhausted workers.
Nehemiah had to do something. First, he prayed and posted numerous guards in strategic places. Then, he armed his workers. “Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked” (Neh. 4:17-18).
We who are building God’s kingdom need to arm ourselves against the…
