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Bouncing Back
On January 18, 2012, the longest winning streak in US intercollegiate varsity sports history—252 consecutive victories—ended when Trinity College lost a squash match to Yale. The morning after the team’s first loss in 14 years, Trinity’s coach, Paul Assaiante, received an e-mail from a friend, a prominent professional football coach, who wrote, “Well, now you get to bounce back.” Ten days later, that football coach’s team lost in one of the most widely seen athletic events—the NFL Super Bowl. All of us must cope with defeat.
Late Arrivals Welcome
One night when I visited a nursing home, a resident named Tom slipped out quietly from his room, hoping to catch me to chat. After we talked awhile, he asked, “Won’t God be insulted if I become a Christian this late in life?” Tom’s question wasn’t a surprise. As a chaplain, I often hear it in varying forms from the elderly, from those who struggle with addictions, from former prisoners. They think they have a legitimate reason to believe it’s too late for them to know God or to be used by Him.
Strength Of A Man
Some years ago I found myself in an elevator with a couple of men. It was late at night, and we all looked weary. The elevator came to a stop, and a larger-than-life cowboy ambled in, wearing a battered hat, an old, stained sheepskin coat, and rundown logger boots. He looked us up and down, met our eyes, and growled, “Good evening, men.” All of us straightened up and squared our shoulders. We were trying to live up to the name.
A Letter From C. S. Lewis
In September 1961, Harvey Karlsen, a high school student in Brooklyn, New York, wrote to C. S. Lewis in England. Harvey had read Lewis’ book The Screwtape Letters and asked the author, “When you wrote this book, did Satan give you any trouble, and if he did, what did you do about it?”
The Tragic Flaw
In literature, a tragic flaw is a character trait that causes the downfall of a story’s hero. That was true of Uzziah, who was crowned king of Judah at age 16. For many years, he sought the Lord; and while he did, God gave him great success (2 Chron. 26:4-5).
No Loose Laces
One person’s actions can affect an entire group. This truth became clear to journalist Sebastian Junger as he followed a platoon of soldiers. Junger watched a soldier accost another soldier whose bootlaces were trailing on the ground. He didn’t confront him out of concern for his fashion. He confronted him because his loose laces put the entire platoon at risk—he couldn’t be counted on not to trip and fall at a crucial moment.
God’s commands are His way of protecting His children
Good parents know that rules are there to help our kids, not to hurt them. Those guidelines are evidence of parental love! A challenging study of the Ten Commandments.
Discover how temptation is really a choice, to either love God or to go against Him
Cornered with an enticing temptation, and seeing no way out, it’s easy to believe that giving in is the only option. Another interesting study on the role of the Ten Commandments.
Find out how the Ten Commandments can offer us true freedom
According to the “Discover the Word” team, sin is a desire to be free from God. Let's study the Ten Commandments and discover that instead of restricting us, they actually offer us true freedom.
How a study of the Ten Commandments can reveal sin, and lead us to freedom in Christ
The annual visit to the doctor’s office can be an unpleasant experience. But that check-up could be the very thing that saves our life!
Discover how the Ten Commandments play into God’s plan of salvation
In light of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, it’s easy to assume the Ten Commandments don’t apply to us today. Let's look at the apostle Paul’s treatise on the balance between law and grace, and find that the commandments play a vital role in God’s plan of salvation. A study of Romans 7.
How the Ten Commandments point us to Christ
Some may think the Ten Commandments are archaic rules that don’t apply to our lives today. Discover how the commandments are an integral part of the bigger picture of God’s work through history, and ultimately point us to Christ.
Discover how the Great Physician uses the Law to diagnose and heal our sin
Though an x-ray can reveal what’s broken inside us, we still need the skilled hand of a surgeon to repair internal damage. It’s a spiritual check-up.
An insightful study on the Ten Commandments and the role it plays in our lives
The Ten Commandments were given to a people and a culture bound to follow Old Testament law. So do those ancient rules have any application in our lives today?
