Topic > Christian Beliefs > Salvation >
Ruth’s Story
Ruth cannot tell her story without tears. In her mid-eighties and unable to get around much anymore, Ruth may not appear to be a central figure in our church’s life. She depends on others for rides, and because she lives alone she doesn’t have a huge circle of influence.
But when she tells us her story of salvation—as she does often—Ruth stands out as a remarkable example of God’s grace. Back when she was in her thirties, a friend invited her to go to a meeting one night. Ruth didn’t know she was going to hear a preacher. “I wouldn’t have…
Exceedingly Better
My birthday is the day after my mother’s. As an adolescent, I would scramble to think of a gift that delighted my mom yet fit in my budget. She always received my purchases with appreciation, and on the following day, my birthday, she would present her gift to me. Without fail, her gift vastly outshone mine. Her intention wasn’t to diminish what I’d given her; she simply gave generously from her resources, which far exceeded my own.
My desire to give to my mother reminds me of David’s wish to build a home for God. Struck by the contrast between his…
The Insanity of Faith
Written By Adelena Oh, Singapore Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1) It seems crazy to believe in something that’s not there yet, to have complete certainty that something’s going to happen even though there is no physical evidence. Yet Hebrews 11:1 describes […]
The Secret I Hid From My Sister That Could Tear Us Apart
On January 4, 2016, I genuinely thought my life was falling apart. I remember sitting on my couch, alone in my apartment.
Love keeps a record . . . just not a record of resentments
The Bible tells us that love keeps no record of wrong. But that doesn’t mean there’s never any value in keeping good records and writing things down! Today on Discover the Word, we’ll discuss how love keeps a record, just not a record of resentments. Join us today for Discover the Word!
If I Knew Then . . .
On the way to work, I listened to the song “Dear Younger Me,” which beautifully asks: If you could go back, knowing what you know now, what would you tell your younger self? As I listened, I thought about the bits of wisdom and warning I might give my younger, less-wise self. At some point in our lives, most of us have thought about how we might do things differently—if only we could do it all over again.
But the song illustrates that even though our past may fill us with regrets, all our experiences have shaped who we are. We…
New: Inside and Out
A few years ago a publisher made a big mistake. A book had been on the market for several years, so it was time for a makeover. The author rewrote the book to bring it up to date. But when the revision was published, there was a problem. The publisher gave the book a nice new cover but printed the old book inside.
The exterior was fresh and new, but the interior was old and out of date. This “reprint” was not really new at all.
Sometimes that kind of thing happens with people. They realize a change needs to be made…
Fresh Faith
When our son was struggling with heroin addiction, if you had told me God would one day use our experience to encourage other families who face these kinds of battles, I would have had trouble believing it. God has a way of bringing good out of difficult circumstances that isn’t always easy to see when you are going through them.
The apostle Thomas also didn’t expect God to bring good out of the greatest challenge of his faith—Jesus’s crucifixion. Thomas wasn’t with the other disciples when Jesus came to them after the resurrection, and in his deep grief he insisted, “Unless…
From Empty to Full
A popular children’s book tells the story of a poor, country boy who took off his cap to honor the king. An identical hat appeared instantly in its place on his head, inciting the king’s anger for what appeared to be disrespect. Bartholomew removed hat after hat while being escorted to the palace for punishment. Each time, a new one appeared in its place. The hats grew increasingly fancy, bearing precious jewels and feather plumes. The 500th hat was the envy of King Derwin, who pardoned Bartholomew and purchased the hat for 500 pieces of gold. At last, Bartholomew’s head…
What’s Your Father’s Name?
When I went to buy a cellphone in the Middle East, I was asked the typical questions: name, nationality, address. But then as the clerk was filling out the form, he asked, “What’s your father’s name?” That question surprised me, and I wondered why it was important. Knowing my father’s name would not be important in my culture, but here it was necessary in order to establish my identity. In some cultures, ancestry is important.
The Israelites believed in the importance of ancestry too. They were proud of their patriarch Abraham, and they thought being part of Abraham’s clan made them…
God is near to the broken-hearted
From ballads to the blues, people love to hear sad songs. Today on Discover the Word, we will kick off a new round of conversation surrounding a song of lament found in Psalm 6. Receive heartfelt consolation from the Bible’s songbook and discover just how near God is, whenever you’re in pain. Join us on […]
How does Jesus restore us?
What do we do when someone is crying and it’s our fault? What do we do when we’ve made choices we regret? Today on Discover the Word, the team digs into the life of Peter to see how Jesus restores him even after he denies Christ. Let the discussion encourage your heart as they look […]
Made Clean
When I opened our dishwasher, I wondered what went wrong. Instead of seeing sparkling clean dishes, I removed plates and glasses that were covered in a chalky dust. I wondered if the hard water in our area was wreaking havoc, or if the machine was kaput.
God’s cleansing, unlike that faulty dishwasher, washes away all of our impurities. We see in the book of Ezekiel that God is calling His people back to Himself as Ezekiel shared God’s message of love and forgiveness. The Israelites had sinned as they proclaimed their allegiance to other gods and other nations. The Lord, however,…
Tearful expressions
Today on Discover the Word, the group introduces a brand-new three-week series titled, “Tearful Expressions.” Many people think tears are a sign of weakness, but the group will discover that God welcomes this heartfelt expression. Be encouraged by Jesus’s response to the tears of a woman in Luke 7 when you tune into Discover the […]
Earnestly Searching
Every Saturday our family lines the edges of the racecourse to cheer on my daughter as she runs with her high school cross-country team. After crossing the finish line, the athletes stream out to rejoin their teammates, coaches, and parents. Crowds engulf the finishers—often more than 300 of them—making it difficult to find one person among so many. We scan the crowd excitedly until we find her, eager to put our arms around the one athlete we came to watch: our much-loved daughter.
After 70 years of captivity in Babylon, God returned the Jews to Jerusalem and Judah. Isaiah describes the delight…
