Topic > Spiritual Growth
The Restoration Business
Adam Minter is in the junk business. The son of a junkyard owner, he circles the globe researching junk. In his book Junkyard Planet, he chronicles the multibillion-dollar industry of waste recycling. He notes that entrepreneurs around the world devote themselves to locating discarded materials such as copper wire, dirty rags, and plastics and repurposing them to make something new and useful.
After the apostle Paul turned his life over to the Savior, he realized his own achievements and abilities amounted to little more than trash. But Jesus transformed it all into something new and useful. Paul said, “Whatever were gains to…
Doing Right in God’s Sight
“Cowboy builders” is a term many British homeowners use for tradespeople who do shoddy construction work. The term is bandied about with fear or regret, often because of bad experiences.
No doubt there were rogue carpenters, masons, and stonecutters in biblical times, but tucked away in the story of King Joash repairing the temple is a line about the complete honesty of those who oversaw and did the work (2 Kings 12:15).
However, King Joash “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (v. 2) only when Jehoiada the priest instructed him. As we see in 2 Chronicles 24:17-27, after…
Grace restores
Today on “Discover the Word,” grace restores—that’s the final observation we’ll make as we look through the prism of grace. We will examine the story of David and Mephibosheth to illustrate that while grace is all about restoration, it doesn’t release people from the consequences of sin. Listen today on “Discover the Word”!
Grace commits
To demonstrate God’s grace to others we need to be fully committed. Today on “Discover the Word,” we continue the story of King David and Mephibosheth. David’s commitment to help Jonathan’s son was the result of a vow he made years before. Another facet of grace’s prism—grace commits. That’s today on “Discover the Word”!
God’s Way
We really needed to hear from God. Having been asked to foster two young children as an emergency measure just for 3 months, a decision had to be made about their future. With three older children of our own, becoming foster parents to preschoolers didn’t seem to fit with our life plan and having our family almost double in size had been hard work. Our book of daily readings by the veteran missionary Amy Carmichael directed us to some unfamiliar verses in Numbers 7.
“I wonder how the Kohathites felt?” Amy wrote. “All the other priests had ox-carts to carry their…
Confessions of a Christian Life Hacker
I watch, impressed, as a friend tears open a bag of crisps, tucks in the bottom corners of the packet and keeps rolling the sides under until he’s created an instant snack bowl from nothing but the original packaging—ingenious!
Never Give Up
We will always be battered in this life. Physical limitations. Cruel people. Spiritual battles. But God is with us. He promises never to abandon us. And He renews our spirits even during the struggles. We can keep going in this life and look with anticipation to the next.
3 Life Hacks from Moses’ Life
Have you ever been asked to do something you didn’t want to do? Was it because you were afraid and felt it was beyond your capabilities, or because there were too many restrictions?
When I Died to Myself At Work
Several weeks ago, my church mate commented about the attitude of an intern working in her organization. Whenever he did not know how to do something, she said, he would keep quiet instead of seeking help, or say that it could not be done.
Don’t Walk Away
In 1986, John Piper nearly quit as minister of a large church. At that time he admitted in his journal: “I am so discouraged. I am so blank. I feel like there are opponents on every hand.” But Piper didn’t walk away, and God used him to lead a thriving ministry that would eventually reach far beyond his church.
Although success is a word easily misunderstood, we might call John Piper successful. But what if his ministry had never flourished?
God gave the prophet Jeremiah a direct call. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,” God said. “Before you were…
The Gallery of God
Psalm 100 is like a work of art that helps us celebrate our unseen God. While the focus of our worship is beyond view, His people make Him known.
Imagine the artist with brush and palette working the colorful words of this psalm onto a canvas. What emerges before our eyes is a world—“all the earth”—shouting for joy to the Lord (v. 1). Joy. Because it is the delight of our God to redeem us from death. “For the joy that was set before Him,” Jesus endured the cross (Heb. 12:2 nkjv).
As our eyes move across the canvas we see an…
Encountering the resurrected Christ
Before his name was changed to Paul, Saul was a religious zealot bent on protecting Jewish law from the heretical influence of Christianity by persecuting—and even killing—Christians. Today on “Discover the Word,” we contrast the “before” and “after” of the apostle Paul. How exactly did his life change after encountering the resurrected Christ?
3 Ways to Face Your Future
What comes to your mind when you think about the future? For many, it holds a bright array of endless possibilities, great expectations, dreams to fulfill, and accomplishments to achieve.
When Jesus appeared to Saul
For the apostle Paul, the resurrection of Jesus Christ was personal and humbling. Today on “Discover the Word,” we will discuss when Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus, and how it was more like Jesus appearing to Osama bin Laden rather than Billy Graham! Exaggeration? Well, be part of an insightful conversation today on “Discover the Word”!
How has the resurrection changed your story?
Imagine if God had given us a theological textbook instead of relatable stories on how people interact with God. Today on “Discover the Word,” we begin a study called, “The Impact of the Resurrection.” The resurrection of Jesus changed the stories of so many people we read about in Scripture, including the apostle Paul. Join the study today on “Discover the Word”!
