Topic > Christian Beliefs
In The Car Wash
I’ll never forget my first experience using an automatic car wash. Approaching it with the dread of going to the dentist, I pushed the money into the slot, nervously checked and rechecked my windows, eased the car up to the line, and waited. Powers beyond my control began moving my car forward as if on a conveyor belt.
Detecting Toxins
San Francisco and New York City are using bluegill fish to check for the presence of toxins in their water supply, which could be a possible target for a terrorist attack. A small number of bluegills are kept in a tank at the bottom of some water treatment plants because the fish are sensitive to chemical imbalances in their environment. When a disturbance is present in the water, the bluegills react against it.
The Other Side
When someone said to my friend, “See you in a year,” it sounded odd when he replied, “Yes, see you on the other side.” He meant that he’d see him on the other side of a one-year deployment for the US Navy. But because the phrase is often used of heaven, it made me think about the uncertainty of life. I wondered, Who will be here in another year? Who might by then be on the other side—in heaven?
Charlie’s Walk On The Moon
The documentary In the Shadow of the Moon includes the story of Charlie Duke, one of the Apollo 16 astronauts launched to the moon in 1972. While the command ship orbited the moon, Duke and another astronaut landed the lunar module Orion on the moon’s surface. After 3 days of running experiments and collecting lunar rocks, the Apollo 16 crew safely returned to earth.
The Written Word
Last January, ESPN television ran a compelling feature about Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who had just been named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player. But the feature was not about football. Instead, it explained that for several years, when certain competitors Manning admired were retiring from the NFL, he took time to handwrite a note to them, congratulating them on their careers and their character.
Quiet Time With God
The word connected captures our contemporary experience of life. Many people rarely go anywhere without a cell phone, iPod, laptop, or pager. We have become accessible 24 hours a day. Some psychologists see this craving to stay connected as an addiction. Yet a growing number of people are deliberately limiting their use of technology. Being a “tech-no” is their way of preserving times of quiet, while limiting the flow of information into their lives.
Giving Up?
Have you ever felt like giving up? Elijah did. The Lord had just used him to show the nation of Israel that the Lord is God (1 Kings 18). Yet, the threats of Queen Jezebel so alarmed him that he ran to Beersheba, 100 miles south (19:3). Then he walked another 150 miles south to Horeb, the mountain of God.
Fear Of The Unknown
Has God ever asked you to do something that seemed unreasonable? Something that took you into the territory of the unknown? What if He asked you to refuse a long-awaited promotion or resist a longed-for relationship? What if He called you to a remote part of the world or asked you to release your children to serve Him in a faraway place?
Always With You
The highway that winds around the southern shore of Lake Michigan can be treacherous in the winter. One weekend as we were driving back to Grand Rapids from Chicago, a buildup of snow and ice slowed traffic, caused numerous accidents, and almost doubled our drive time. We were relieved as we eased off the expressway onto our final road. It was then that my husband said out loud, “Thanks, Lord. I think I can take it from here.”
Tears Of Repentance
My husband, a self-proclaimed computer illiterate, purchased a computer to help him with his business. After giving him a few pointers, I left him alone to do some experimenting. It wasn’t long, however, before I heard a slightly panicked voice from the office: “Hey, where’s that ‘uh-oh’ button?”
What he had been looking for, of course, was the “undo” key that lets you backtrack when you’ve made a mistake. Have you ever wished for one of those in life? A provision to reverse, repair, or restore what’s been broken or damaged by sin?
Traveling Mercies
I’m catching my breath after some 2000 miles on the road in a tight loop from Grand Rapids through West Virginia down to South Carolina and then over to the Flourish conference northeast of Atlanta and up again through Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, the northeast corner of Indiana and back home. A trip like that in May is a joy: trees in all stages of bloom and leaf, riotous birdlife, thunderstorm fireworks far and near, the freshest, greenest grass of the season, and vistas grand enough to make imprints on the memory with only a few seconds of exposure as I speed past with the cruise set at seventy. [Tent is my "motel" on Lake Lanier.]
Discover The Profound Meaning Imbedded In The First Communion
“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus replied, ‘You do not realize now what I am doing, but later on you will understand.’ ‘No,’ said Peter, ‘you shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part in me.’ ‘Then Lord,’ Simon Peter replied, ‘not just my feet but my hands and my head as well.’
The Time Will Come
A USA Today article describes how parents today seek to initiate their children into a world of all faiths. Ema Drouillard, who runs a ceremony service, was asked by a couple to conduct a service for their baby, Greer. The mother said, “We just wanted a larger spirit to guide our daughter, but we didn’t want to get specific. I wanted all her bases covered.” The couple said, “We just do Christianity L-I-T-E” for Greer, who “believes in angels and fairies, leprechauns and Santa Claus.” This illustrates the low value placed on scriptural truth that is so prevalent in our culture today.
What Jesus Says About Heaven And Hell And What That Means For Us
Listen to a parable that Jesus told. It is both sobering and fascinating. It is the only parable that Jesus gave us that has its major action on the other side of the grave. As you listen to the parable, what can you learn from it about life after death—especially for those who die apart from God. What do you learn about hell?
[Max McLean reads this story from Luke 16:19-25.]
There are sections of the Bible that I love to talk about. For example, I enjoy preaching on the parable of the prodigal son. It is the story of God’s kindness and grace to people who don’t deserve it. In that sense, it is my story. Sometimes when I tell men and women about God’s grace—or think about it—I am moved to tears of joy. I revel in the good news of the gospel. If I could I would preach on God’s grace all the time.
A Serious Discussion About What Determines Our Eternal Home
Here is a parable that Jesus told. As you hear it read, try to answer a very basic question: Why does the rich man end up in hell? Why does the beggar end up in paradise?
“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
