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Only a Gypsy Boy
“Oh, it’s only a gypsy boy,” someone whispered with disgust when Rodney Smith walked to the front of the chapel to receive Christ during a service in 1877. Nobody thought much of this teenager, the son of uneducated gypsy parents. Yet, Rodney didn’t listen to those voices. He was certain that God had a purpose for his life so he bought himself a Bible and an English dictionary and taught himself how to read and write. He once said, “The way to Jesus is not by Cambridge, Harvard, Yale, or the poets. It is . . . an old-fashioned hill…
God of All People
Former Newsboys lead vocalist and songwriter Peter Furler describes the performance of the band’s praise song “He Reigns.” The song paints a vivid picture of believers from every tribe and nation coming together to worship God in unity. Furler observed that whenever the Newsboys sang it he could sense the moving of the Holy Spirit in the gathering of believers.
Furler’s description of his experiences with He Reigns would likely have resonated with the crowds who converged upon Jerusalem at Pentecost. When the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4), things began to happen beyond anyone’s experience. As a…
Finding Treasure
John and Mary were walking their dog on their property when they stumbled on a rusty can partially unearthed by recent rains. They took the can home and opened it, discovering a cache of gold coins over a century old! The couple returned to the spot and located seven more cans containing 1,427 coins in all. Then they protected their treasure by reburying it elsewhere.
The cache of coins (valued at $10 million) is called the Saddle Ridge Hoard, the largest find of its kind in US history. The story is strikingly reminiscent of a parable Jesus told: “The kingdom of…
Divine Escape
Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot mystery The Clocks features antagonists who commit a series of murders. Although their initial plot targeted a single victim, they found it necessary to take more lives in order to cover up the original crime. When confronted by Poirot, one of the conspirators confessed, lamenting, “It was only supposed to be the one murder.”
Like the schemers in the story, the chief priests and Pharisees of Jesus’s day formed a conspiracy of their own. After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:38–44), they called an emergency meeting and plotted to take His life (11:45–53). But they didn’t…
Wisdom Is The Fruit Of Repentance
Hiding your sin will tear you up inside, but wisdom is the fruit of repentance. Today on Discover the Word, we talk about the profound wisdom David gained when he finally came clean about his hidden sins. Find out why we can have joy when we’re corrected and disciplined by God today on Discover the Word!
Hiding Sin And The Dangerous Place It Can Take Us
Have you ever tried to hide your failures as a way of controlling how people perceive you? Most of us probably have. Today on Discover the Word, we discuss how King David’s attempt to hide his sins put him in a precarious place with God. That is, until he confessed! Join the conversation today on Discover the Word!
What We Lose When We Don’t “Fess Up” To Sin
People often worry about what they’ll lose if they “come clean” about their sins. But we lose a whole lot more when we’re too stubborn to “fess up,” and instead try to hide what we’ve done. Today on Discover the Word, the group discusses David’s “year of hiding and denial.” Join the group today for Discover the […]
Correction And Forgiveness Go Hand In Hand
Most of us wince a little when someone corrects us. It’s awkward and often painful. But we love it when someone extends forgiveness! Today on Discover the Word, the group takes a look at Psalm 32. It’s a poem that shows how forgiveness and correction often go hand in hand, and both are a blessing from […]
The Joy Of God’s Correction
Nobody likes being corrected. And most people would choose just about anything over being disciplined! Today on Discover the Word, the group begins a study in Psalm 32, in which King David talks about the joy of God’s correction. Really? The joy of correction? Is this an oxymoron? Find out today on Discover the Word!
Seeing the Light
On the streets of Los Angeles, a homeless man struggling with addictions stepped into The Midnight Mission and asked for help. Thus began Brian’s long road to recovery.
In the process Brian rediscovered his love for music. Eventually he joined Street Symphony—a group of music professionals with a heart for the homeless. They asked Brian to perform a solo from Handel’s Messiah known as “The People That Walked in Darkness.” In words written by the prophet Isaiah during a dark period of Israel’s history he sang, “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the…
Who Is That?
When a man installed a security camera outside his house, he checked the video feature to ensure that the system was working. He was alarmed to see a broad-shouldered figure in dark clothing wandering around his yard. He watched intently to see what the man would do. Somehow, though, the interloper seemed familiar. Finally he realized he was not watching a stranger roam his property, but a recording of himself in his own back yard!
What might we see if we could step out of our skin and observe ourselves in certain situations? When David’s heart was hardened and he needed…
Need a New Heart?
The news was grim.
My father had been having chest pains, so his doctor had ordered a test to peer into his heart. The result? Blockage in three arteries.
Triple-bypass surgery was scheduled for February 14. My dad, though anxious, saw that date as a hopeful sign: “I’m getting a new heart for Valentine’s Day!” And he did! The surgery went perfectly, restoring life-giving blood flow to his struggling heart. A “new” heart. A second chance.
My father’s surgery reminded me that God offers us a new life as well. Because sin clogs our spiritual “arteries”—our capacity to connect with God—we need spiritual…
Bearing the Burden of Wrongs
On January 30, 2018, almost thirty-eight years after his conviction, Malcolm Alexander walked out of prison a free man. DNA evidence cleared Alexander, who had steadfastly maintained his innocence amid a myriad of court proceedings that were tragically unjust. An incompetent defense attorney (later disbarred), shoddy evidence, and dubious investigative tactics all put an innocent man in prison for nearly four decades. When he was finally released, however, Alexander showed immense grace. “You cannot be angry,” he said. “There’s not enough time to be angry.”
Alexander’s words evidence a deep grace. If injustice robbed us of 38 years of our lives and…
Discover How Every Page Of Scripture Whispers His Name
Jesus might not appear until the New Testament. But if you read carefully, you can find Him on every page of Scripture. Every story whispers His name. Well, today on Discover the Word, the team shows us how the story of Jonah points us to Jesus, revealing who God loves and wants, and to whom He […]
Discover God’s Grace Offered Freely To All People
God offers His grace freely to all people, regardless of their past. But sometimes, we feel like certain people shouldn’t get it because they don’t deserve it. Today on Discover the Word, we’ll discuss Jonah’s shocking reaction when God chose to spare the Ninevites. Another surprising twist on how the story of Jonah ends, today on Discover […]
