Topic > Spiritual Growth
Why God chose David as king over Israel
David wasn’t the first choice in his family to be Israel’s king. Was he overlooked because he was so young? Or because they needed him out in the field, tending sheep? Whatever the reason, it’s clear God chose David to be the next king because of what He saw inside of him, not what was on the outside. Don’t miss the conversation with our guest Crystal Bowman. That’s today on “Discover the Word.”
What Following God’s will is NOT
Unlike many of my peers who submitted countless applications to various employers even before they graduated, I had only intended to send out a single resume. I was so set on pursuing a specific career in educational therapy that I could join only one organization that I believed could enable me to do this.
The Best Kind of Happiness
“Everybody’s doing it” seemed like a winning argument when I was young. But my parents never gave in to such pleas no matter how desperate I was to get permission to do something they believed was unsafe or unwise.
As we get older we add excuses and rationalizations to our repertoire of arguments for having our own way: “No one will get hurt.” “It’s not illegal.” “He did it to me first.” “She won’t find out.” Behind each argument is the belief that what we want is more important than anything else.
Eventually, this faulty way of thinking becomes the basis for…
How to raise godly children
What does God want us to teach our children? Today on “Discover the Word,” “Our Daily Bread for Kids” author Crystal Bowman joins us at the table to address a common concern for parents, how to raise godly children. Many feel ill equipped to do so, yet we want so much for them to have a relationship with our heavenly Father through His Son Jesus. How to help kids “discover the Word”—don’t miss the discussion, today on “Discover the Word”!
All His Benefits
A recurring difficulty on our journey of life is becoming so focused on what we need at the moment that we forget what we already have. I was reminded of that when our church choir sang a beautiful anthem based on Psalm 103. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits” (v. 2 nkjv). The Lord is our forgiver, healer, redeemer, provider, satisfier, and renewer (vv. 4-5). How could we forget that? And yet we often do when the events of daily life shift our attention to pressing needs, recurring failures, and circumstances that seem out…
He Knows If You’ve been Knotty or Nice
“It can’t be done,” my friend said matter-of-factly. We were in the process of decorating our very own “Christmas tree”—made up of stacked Starbucks paper cups—and wanted to wrap glittery garlands around it.
When My Christmas Tree Fell Over
This year, my husband and I bought a real Christmas tree. It was our first; I was ecstatic. You see, when I was young in China, I could only get my hands on plastic trees.
A Faithful Servant
Madaleno is a bricklayer. From Monday to Thursday he builds walls and repairs roofs. He is quiet, reliable, and hardworking. Then from Friday to Sunday he goes up to the mountains to teach the Word of God. Madaleno speaks Nahuatl (a Mexican dialect), so he can easily communicate the good news of Jesus to the people in that region. At age 70, he still works with his hands building houses, but he also works to build the family of God.
His life has been threatened several times. He has slept under the stars and faced death from car accidents and falls. He…
The Birth of Christmas
When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and then to shepherds with good news for the world (Luke 1:26-27; 2:10), was it good news to this teenage girl? Perhaps Mary was thinking: How do I explain my pregnancy to my family? Will my fiancé Joseph call off the betrothal? What will the townspeople say? Even if my life is spared, how will I survive as a mother all alone?
When Joseph learned about Mary’s pregnancy, he was troubled. He had three options. Go ahead with the marriage, divorce her publicly and allow her to be publicly scorned, or break off the…
Discover how Elisha fills the shoes of his mentor
Today on “Discover the Word,” we will uncover another “Left Behind” story in the Bible. When the prophet Elijah was taken to heaven, caught up in a whirlwind, he left a very distressed Elisha. Elijah was his mentor, his friend, and his father in the faith. How could Elisha fill those shoes? Be part of the conversation today on “Discover the Word”!
Old Testament prophets reveal God’s character
Today on “Discover the Word,” we’ll discuss how Old Testament prophets Elijah and Elisha both represent God’s nature. Elijah shows Him more as a God of judgment, while Elisha shows more of God’s merciful side. And flashing forward, we can also see both of them in Jesus, who would come to save people from the judgment they brought on themselves.
Glass Beach
Early 20th-century residents of Fort Bragg, California, disposed of their trash by throwing it over a cliff and onto a nearby beach. Cans, bottles, tableware, and household garbage accumulated in huge, disgusting piles. Even when residents stopped depositing trash on the beach, it remained an embarrassment—a dump seemingly beyond reclamation.
Over the years, however, wave action broke up the glass and pottery and washed the rubbish out to sea. The pounding surf rolled and tumbled the glass fragments in the sand on the ocean floor, frosting and smoothing the surface and creating gemlike “sea glass,” which it then deposited back onto…
Elisha, revealing the kinder, gentler side of God
Many husbands refer to their wives as their “better half.” And Elisha the prophet could have been called that too. Today on “Discover the Word,” we’ll discuss that although Elisha was a servant to his mentor, Elijah, he would do twice as many miracles, ones that revealed a “kinder and gentler” side of God. “The Miraculous Life of Elisha” continues today on “Discover the Word”!
The miraculous life of Elisha
Elijah was a mighty man of valor, for about a day. Because after God gave him an amazing victory over the prophets of Baal, a threat from the opposition sent him running for cover. So how could he be a hero one day and a coward the next? It can happen to any of us if we take our eyes off God. Join the group today on “Discover the Word” as we begin a series on the miraculous life of Elisha, and how he was influenced by his mentor, Elijah.
Poem: A Life Transformed
I took a journey one day,
Looking ahead, I was on my way,
But lacking purpose, meaning, not much to say,
Walking through this life, wondering as I go,
Somewhere out there has what I need to know.
