Topic > Christian Living
She Did What She Could
When her friends say thoughtless or outrageous things on social media, Charlotte chimes in with gentle but firm dissent. She respects the dignity of everyone, and her words are unfailingly positive.
A few years ago she became Facebook friends with a man who harbored anger toward Christians. He appreciated Charlotte’s rare honesty and grace. Over time his hostility melted. Then Charlotte suffered a bad fall. Now housebound, she fretted over what she could do. About that time her Facebook friend died and then this message arrived from his sister: “[Because of your witness] I know he’s now experiencing God’s complete and…
Editor’s Picks: Top 3 Articles | Social Issues
It’s impossible to turn a blind eye to the social issues happening all around us. For centuries, societies have had to deal with perennial issues like unemployment, crime and violence, and poverty.
Good Imitation
“Today we’re going to play a game called Imitation,” our children’s minister told the kids gathered around him for the children’s sermon. “I’ll name something and you act out what it does. Ready? Chicken!” The kids flapped their arms, cackled, and crowed. Next it was elephant, then football player, and then ballerina. The last one was Jesus. While many of the children hesitated, one 6-year-old with a big smile on his face immediately threw his arms wide open in welcome. The congregation applauded.
How easily we forget that our calling is to be like Jesus in the everyday situations of life. “Follow God’s example,…
An invitation versus a command
What if you called your dog using a “bad dog” tone of voice? Would the dog come running with its tail wagging, or come slinking with tail between its legs? Today on Discover the Word, the group discusses the big difference between Jesus issuing an invitation to rest, versus a command. One stems from grace, the […]
What If Your Neighbor is a Prostitute?
A few scantily-dressed women flirt with passers-by in a dimly lit alley. Some of them strike up conversations and bargain with potential customers, while others wait around for customers to offer them a price.
How to Carve a Duck
Carolyn and I met Phipps Festus Bourne in 1995 in his shop in Mabry Hill, Virginia. Bourne, who died in 2002, was a master wood carver whose carvings are almost exact replicas of real objects. “Carving a duck is simple,” he said. “You just look at a piece of wood, get in your head what a duck looks like, and then cut off everything that doesn’t look like it.”
So it is with God. He looks at you and me—blocks of rough wood—envisions the Christlike woman or man hidden beneath the bark, knots, and twigs and then begins to carve away…
Relying on His strength as we navigate life
Have you heard the expressions, “I’m going to power through” or “We just have to plow ahead?” Usually, those words imply a “grit-my-teeth-do-it-in-my-own-strength” kind of effort. Today on Discover the Word, we invite you to hitch yourself to Jesus’s plow, relying on His strength as you navigate life, allowing Him to set the pace. Only […]
Before A Loved One Dies
I was by the side of a church member’s father minutes before he took his last breath. Overcome with emotion, I whispered a final prayer for him. It was the first time I’d felt so depressed while praying for someone.
“Because You Prayed”
What do you do with your worries? Do you turn them inward, or turn them upward? When the brutal Assyrian King Sennacherib was preparing to destroy Jerusalem, he sent a message to King Hezekiah saying that Judah would be no different from all the other nations he had conquered. Hezekiah took this message to the […]
How can we “rest well”?
It sounds wrong, but sometimes it really does take effort to rest! But can we draw closer to Jesus without rest? This week on Discover the Word, the group discusses what Jesus meant when He said “My yoke is easy, My burden is light.” How can we “Rest Well”? Join us today for Discover the Word!
The Most Ideal Job: Stay-At-Home Mom
I remember a chat I had with a friend back in high school about what we wanted to be when we grew up. I don’t recall what I had said at the time, but it was probably a human rights lawyer or missionary.
An invitation from Jesus to rest
Suppose you receive an engraved invitation in the mail. It’s from Jesus and it says, “Come to My house and rest.” Sounds nice, but since you don’t know what He necessarily means by “rest,” you keep referring back to your “To Do” list. You’re thinking, Do I even have time for rest? Today on Discover […]
Gentle Influence
A few years before he became the 26th U.S. president (1901–1909), Theodore Roosevelt got word that his oldest son, Theodore Jr., was ill. While his son would recover, the cause of Ted’s illness hit Roosevelt hard. Doctors told him that he was the cause of his son’s illness. Ted was suffering from “nervous exhaustion,” having been pressed unmercifully by Theodore to become the “fighter” hero-type he himself had not been during his own frail childhood. Upon hearing this, the elder Roosevelt made a promise to relent: “Hereafter I shall never press Ted either in body or mind.”
The father was true to…
Sabbath rest
Do you struggle to find time to rest? Well, you’re not alone! Today on Discover the Word, join the group as they discuss the concept of Sabbath rest. For some, the idea of rest may sound almost un-American! After all, if we’re not doing something then we’re not being productive, right? Join the team as […]
When I Found the Missing Piece To Success
Sometime ago, I started mulling over the meaning of success. This came about when my dad made an offhand comment on how successful one of my distant cousins, a surgeon, was in life.
