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Thanks-Living
Wanting to mature in her spiritual life and become more thankful, Sue started what she called a Thanks-Living jar. Each evening she wrote on a small piece of paper one thing she thanked God for and dropped it in the jar. Some days she had many praises; other difficult days she struggled to find one. At the end of the year she emptied her jar and read through all of the notes. She found herself thanking God again for everything He had done. He had given simple things like a beautiful sunset or a cool evening for a walk in…
When Christmas Isn’t the Happiest Time of the Year
With the joyful endings of cheesy, Hallmark movies, comes the subconscious expectation that somehow during Christmas, everyone will get along, then snowflakes will fall at precisely the right time and in a perfect quantity.
I’m Rich!
Perhaps you’ve seen the TV ad in which a person answers the door and finds someone who hands over a check for an enormous amount of money. Then the amazed recipient begins shouting, dancing, jumping, and hugging everyone in sight. “I won! I’m rich! I can’t believe it! My problems are solved!” Striking it rich evokes a great emotional response.
In Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, we find this remarkable statement: “I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches” (v. 14). What a comparison! Obeying God’s instructions for living can be just as exhilarating…
Game of Thanks
Every autumn we throw a scrumptious Thanksgiving feast on campus at Cornerstone University. Our students love it! Last year a group of students played a game at their table. They challenged each other to name something they were thankful for—in three seconds or less—without repeating what someone else had said. Anyone who got stymied was out of the game.
There are all kinds of things that students might gripe about—tests, deadlines, rules, and a host of other college-type complaints. But these students had chosen to be thankful. And my guess is that they all felt a lot better after the game…
Learning to Count
My son is learning to count from 1 to 10. He counts everything from toys to trees. He counts things I tend to overlook, like the wildflowers on his way to school or the toes on my feet.
My son is also teaching me to count again. Often I become so immersed in things I haven’t finished or things I don’t have that I fail to see all the good things around me. I have forgotten to count the new friends made this year and the answered prayers received, the tears of joy shed and the times of laughter with good…
Desert Solitaire
Desert Solitaire is Edward Abbey’s personal history of his summers as a park ranger in what is now called Arches National Park in Utah. The book is worth reading if only for Abbey’s bright language and vivid descriptions of the US Southwest.
But Abbey, for all his artistry, was an atheist who could see nothing beyond the surface of the beauty he enjoyed. How sad! He lived his entire life in praise of beauty and missed the point of it all.
Most ancient peoples had theories of origins enshrouded in legend, myth, and song. But Israel’s story of creation was unique: It told of…
Blessed to Bless Others
Three months ago, I took a nervous step off a plane onto Australian soil (or rather, concrete pavements), after an incredible nine months in another country. This re-entry to my home country marked the end of a life-changing journey of working in a developing country.
Appreciating the great debt Jesus paid for you
Are you struggling in your Christian life? Could it be you’ve developed a “pinch of spiritual entitlement”? Today on Discover the Word, the group and guest Darrell Bock remind us how appreciating the great debt Jesus paid for us can cure us of that entitled feeling and get us back on the right track spiritually. […]
A needed perspective
Imagine you’ve gone back in time and you’re watching Moses part the Red Sea, after observing all the plagues that convinced Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Many believers wish they could have witnessed those dramatic miracles. But today on Discover the Word, the group, and our guest Darrell Bock give us a needed perspective on […]
Africa: The Secret Behind Faith and Hope
Whenever I visit other continents, a question I am often asked is, “What is the hidden secret behind faith and hope in Africa?” That’s when I share about the power of thanksgiving and prayer—the fuel that drives the church in Africa towards faith and hope.
What is the litmus test for true love?
Just like the word “awesome,” the word “love” is overused and misapplied. We love our dogs, we love our iPhone, we love this film or that TV show. And we love our spouse . . . until we don’t. Today on Discover the Word, the group, and author Adele Calhoun discuss the litmus test of […]
A Lesson Learned
Mary was widowed and facing serious health challenges when her daughter invited her to move into the new “granny apartment” attached to her home. Although it would involve leaving friends and the rest of her family many miles away, Mary rejoiced in God’s provision.
Six months into her new life, the initial joy and contentment threatened to slip away as she was tempted to grumble inwardly and doubt whether the move was really God’s perfect plan. She missed her Christian friends, and her new church was too far away to get to independently.
Then she read something that the great…
Complaining is more than just a bad habit
What, manna again? Complaining about their food and everything else they didn’t like, kept the Israelites wandering in the desert for forty years, delaying their destiny. Today on Discover the Word, we discuss with our guest, Jeff Manion, why complaining and grumbling is more than just a bad habit, it’s an enemy of our trust in […]
Reasons to rejoice when life is hard
A happy family. A fulfilling career. A clean bill of health. It’s easy to be grateful for things that go well. But being thankful for events that turn our life upside down? Join us today on Discover the Word as we explore reasons to rejoice even when life is falling apart. “The Beauty of Broken” […]
God of the Ordinary
Hearing testimonies about how God did something spectacular in someone else’s life can challenge us. While we may rejoice to hear about answers to prayer, we may also wonder why God hasn’t done anything amazing for us lately.
It’s easy to think that if God showed up in astonishing ways for us like He did for Abraham, then we would be more inspired to be faithful servants of God. But then we remember that God showed up for Abraham every 12 to 14 years, and most of Abraham’s journey was rather ordinary (see Gen. 12:1-4; 15:1-6; 16:16–17:12).
God’s work is usually done…
