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Muscling Through
Competitive bodybuilders put themselves through a rigorous training cycle. During the initial months, they emphasize gaining size and strength. As the competition nears, the focus shifts to losing any fat that hides the muscle. In the final days before the competition, they consume less water than normal so their muscle tissue is easily visible. Because of the reduced consumption of nourishment, the competitors are actually at their weakest on the day of competition, despite appearing strong.
In 2 Chronicles 20, we read of the opposite reality: acknowledging weakness in order to experience God’s strength. “A vast army is coming against you,”…
New Life
God graciously sacrificed His only Son to give you a gift. However, many don’t know the power that comes through the resurrection of Jesus. In New Life, you’ll experience the power of being born again through the resurrection of the …
Staying Focused During Life’s Unexpected Detours
Navigating life’s tough times is rarely as simple as going from Point A to Point B. Chances are, you’re going to have to make some unexpected detours along the way. Today on Discover the Word, the team will encourage us to stay focused on the destination whenever we’re sidetracked by life’s detours. Tune in today […]
When God Carries Out His Plan In Unexpected Ways
When the trials of life appear like storm clouds in the distance, our first instinct is to jump ship. But God always has a greater purpose in mind when He takes us into rough seas. Today on Discover the Word, we are reminded not to be alarmed when God carries out His plan in unexpected […]
Trusting God In The Shipwrecks Of Life
The seas of life are rarely calm. So when the water gets rough, how do we respond? Well, today on Discover the Word, the team will help us find the courage and faith to trust God in the shipwreck seasons of life. More biblical encouragement from the life of Paul for “Navigating Life’s Shipwrecks” coming […]
Strength for Your Journey
Hinds Feet on High Places, a classic allegory of the Christian life, is based on Habakkuk 3:19. The story follows the character Much-Afraid as she goes on a journey with the Shepherd. But, Much-Afraid is scared so she asks the Shepherd to carry her.
The Shepherd kindly replies, “I could carry you all the way up to the High Places myself, instead of leaving you to climb there. But if I did, you would never be able to develop hinds’ feet, and become my companion and go where I go.”
Much-Afraid echoes the questions of the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk (and if I’m…
Learning to Trust
When I was a teenager I sometimes challenged my mother when she tried to encourage me to have faith. “Trust God. He will take care of you,” she would tell me. “It’s not that simple, Mom!” I would bark back. “God helps those who help themselves!”
But those words, “God helps those who help themselves” are nowhere to be found in Scripture. Instead, God’s Word teaches us to depend on Him for our daily needs. Jesus tells us, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father…
Sky Garden
While in London, a friend arranged for my wife Marlene and me to visit the Sky Garden. On the top floor of a thirty-five-story building in London’s business district, the Sky Garden is a glass-encased platform filled with plants, trees, and flowers. But the sky part captured our attention. We gazed down from a height of over 500 feet, admiring St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London, and more. Our views of the capital city were breathtaking—providing a helpful lesson on perspective.
Our God has a perfect perspective of everything we experience. The psalmist wrote, “For He looked down from His…
Riding the Rapids
The rafting guide escorted our group to the river’s edge and directed us all to put on life jackets and grab paddles. As we climbed into the boat, he assigned us seats to balance the boat’s weight, providing stability when we encountered rapids. After highlighting the thrills the watery voyage ahead would hold for us, he detailed a series of directions we could expect to hear—and would need to follow—to effectively steer the boat through the whitewater. He assured us that even though there might be tense moments on the way, our journey would be both exciting and safe.
Sometimes life…
A Hopeful Lament
To visit Clifton Heritage National Park in Nassau, Bahamas, is to revisit a tragic era in history. Where the land meets the water, stone steps lead up a cliff. Slaves brought to the Bahamas by ship in the eighteenth century would ascend these steps, often leaving family behind and entering a life of inhumane treatment. At the top, there is a memorial to those slaves. Cedar trees have been carved into the shapes of women looking out to sea toward the homeland and family members they’ve lost. Each sculpture is scarred with marks of the slave captain’s whip.
These sculptures of…
When the Bottom Drops Out
During the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, more people were looking for work than there were jobs available. I was one of those job seekers. After nine anxious months, I landed employment as a copywriter. But the company soon fell on bad times and I was jobless again.
Ever been there? It seems like the worst is over when suddenly the bottom drops out on you. The widow at Zarephath could relate (1 Kings 17:9). Due to a famine, she was preparing the last meal for herself and her son when the prophet Elijah requested a bite to eat. She reluctantly agreed…
God’s Purpose or Mine?
He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side… —Mark 6:45
We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the…
Jesus Knows Why
I have friends who’ve received partial healing but still struggle with painful aspects of their disease. Other friends have been healed of an addiction but still struggle with feelings of inadequacy and self-loathing. And I wonder, Why doesn’t God heal them completely—once and for all?
In Mark 8:22–26, we read the story of Jesus healing a man born blind. Jesus first took the man away from the village. Then He spit on the man’s eyes and “put his hands on him.” The man said he now saw people who looked “like trees walking around.” Then Jesus touched the man’s eyes again,…
Seeing And Believing
Today on Discover the Word, we conclude this week’s study titled, “Seeing and Unseeing.” Learn how the “cautious disciple” Philip was changed by a personal relationship with Jesus and discover how you can find new confidence in your faith! Listen to Discover the Word today!
Seeing The Full Picture
Today on Discover the Word, the team talks about jigsaw puzzles. When we first start out, individual pieces just look like little blobs of color with jagged edges. But the more pieces we get the clearer the real picture becomes. Discover how Jesus revealed Himself piece by piece when you listen today to Discover the Word!
