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Why I Look Forward to Heaven
Stories have been a part of my life since I was a kid. Before I could read, my grandpa and my mum used to read them to me. When I was old enough to read on my own, I would be found in the company of books for hours.
Is Christianity just a “Get Out Of Hell Free” Card?
Christianity is simple, isn’t it? After all, don’t Bible bits like John 3:16 show that all you need to do to be a Christian is to believe in God now and then you’ll go to heaven (good place) rather than hell (bad place) when you die?
“Lord have mercy” should be our daily request!
What is the one thing you ask God for the most? Protection for your family? Food on the table? Well, today on “Discover the Word,” we along with our special guest Robert Gelinas explain why “Lord, have mercy” should be our daily request! Making the Bible’s most prayed prayer our most prayed prayer. It’s the conclusion of a study on “The Mercy Prayer” today on “Discover the Word”!
Don’t Quit!
In 1952 Florence Chadwick attempted to swim 26 miles from the coast of California to Catalina Island. After 15 hours, a heavy fog began to block her view, she became disoriented, and she gave up. To her chagrin, Chadwick learned that she had quit just 1 mile short of her destination.
Two months later Chadwick tried a second time to swim to Catalina Island from the coast. Again a thick fog settled in, but this time she reached her destination, becoming the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel. Chadwick said she kept an image of the shoreline in her mind…
Receiving mercy turns to bestowing mercy
Pastor and author Robert Gelinas says that “receiving mercy is meant to transform us into dispensers of mercy.” And today on “Discover the Word,” we explain why God’s mercy is meant to flow out of our lives and into the lives of others. We’re talking about “The Mercy Prayer” today on “Discover the Word”!
Strangers and Foreigners
I parked my bicycle, fingering my map of Cambridge for reassurance. Directions not being my strength, I knew I could easily get lost in this maze of roads bursting with historic buildings.
Life should have felt idyllic, for I had just married my Englishman and moved to the UK. But I felt adrift. When I kept my mouth closed I blended in, but when I spoke I immediately felt branded as an American tourist. I didn’t yet know what my role was, and I quickly realized that blending two stubborn people into one shared life was harder than I had anticipated.
I…
Two probing questions Jesus asked
God is more than willing to shower you with His mercy. But first He has some questions for you to answer! Today on “Discover the Word,” our special guest Robert Gelinas along with our group, discover two probing questions Jesus asked of those looking for mercy. Find out what they are when you join the series about “The Mercy Prayer” today on “Discover the Word”!
What if Christianity was a lie?
Many years back, a friend told me casually, “God lives by faith.” At the time, I thought, Now, that makes sense. How clever! Indeed, it did have a ring of truth to it. And it seemed logical: If I chose to stop believing in God one day, then He would, in a way, stop existing in my life.
King David and the “Mercy Prayer”
Today on “Discover the Word,” we, along with our special guest, pastor and author Robert Gelinas talk about how King David was the most frequent pray-er of the “Mercy Prayer.” Find out if this contributed to David being a person who God called “a man after my own heart.” Finish up week one of a series on “The Mercy Prayer,” today on “Discover the Word”!
What if a Loved One is Not Saved?
In May 2006, my family experienced our first death. My mother’s younger brother died in a hit-and-run accident, leaving my auntie behind to raise five young children on her own.
Leaning into the Light
One day I received a bouquet of pink tulips. Their heads bobbed on thick stems as I settled them into a vase, which I placed at the center of our kitchen table. The next day, I noticed that the flowers were facing a different direction. The blossoms that once faced upward were now leaning to the side, opening and reaching toward sunlight that streamed in through a nearby window.
In one sense, we all were made to be like those flowers. God has called us to turn to the light of His love. Peter writes of the wonder of being called…
Lifeblood
Mary Ann believed in God and His Son Jesus, but she struggled with why Jesus had to shed His blood to bring salvation. Who would think of cleansing something with blood? Yet the Bible says, “The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood” (Heb. 9:22). That, in Mary Ann’s opinion, was disgusting!
Then one day she had to go to a hospital. A genetic condition had altered her immune system, and doctors became alarmed when the illness started attacking her blood. As she was in the emergency room she thought, If I lose my blood, I will die. But…
The View from the Mountain
Our valley in Idaho can be very cold in the winter. Clouds and fog roll in and blanket the ground, trapping frigid air under warmer layers above. But you can get above the valley. There’s a road nearby that winds up the flank of Shafer Butte, a 7,500-foot mountain that rises out of our valley. A few minutes of driving and you break out of the fog and emerge into the warmth and brilliance of a sunlit day. You can look down on the clouds that shroud the valley below and see it from a different point of view.
Life is…
When I was Blessed to be Sick
Recently, I was blessed to be down for a few days with a bad flu, sore throat, and fever. Yes, you read it right. I was blessed and I thank God to have been down for those few days.
Turn Off the Scoreboard
At his son’s wedding reception, my friend Bob offered advice and encouragement to the newlyweds. In his speech he told of a football coach in a nearby town who, when his team lost a game, kept the losing score on the scoreboard all week to remind the team of their failure. While that may be a good football strategy, Bob wisely advised, it’s a terrible strategy in marriage. When your spouse upsets you or fails you in some way, don’t keep drawing attention to the failure. Turn off the scoreboard.
What great advice! Scripture is full of commands for us to…
