“And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, . . . so that you became an example to all the believers” (1 Thessalonians 1:6–7). Suppose they could actually speak to us, the characters described throughout the pages of Scripture whom we barely consider as we swiftly scan their stories. What would they say, […]
-Read More“It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night” (Psalm 92:1–2). Some people might venture through their entire life without encountering someone they believed to be absolutely extraordinary. I am not one of […]
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‘“Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.’ For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends” (2 Corinthians 10:17-18). They ooze out like sticky syrup, splotching conversation unnecessarily. Boastful words. Braggadocios challenges. Arrogant assumptions. Pride raises its puffed head and portrays pretentious imagery. […]
-Read More“He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (Isaiah 53:3 KJV). Lashes from one who should love us lacerate like sharp fangs. Rejection curls its snarling lips, extends its cavernous jaws […]
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“But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love…” (Nehemiah 9:17) They each blundered big under a varying set of circumstances. Eve reached for the fruit, Sarah handed over her maid, Moses slammed the rock, David hatched a deadly plot, and the children of Israel […]
-Read More“She has done a beautiful thing to me” (Mark 14:6). Their names are not even mentioned, and yet the Lord bestowed the highest praise on three women who demonstrated courage in difficult circumstances. Their ordinary lives are not memorials for us to simply admire, but to emulate, compelling us to love the Lord more deeply […]
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“You shall walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you…” (Deuteronomy 5:33). Babies do a lot of sleeping (When we desperately need some, they usually quit!). In the first few months of life, babies could almost be called […]
-Read More“Weeping may tarry for the night,” (Psalm 30:5) It matters that they lived, regardless how short the span. It matters on a scale of enormous significance that your friends’ loved ones drew breath for a wisp of time or for a lengthy chain of years. A life that was loved is worthy to matter to […]
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“Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 124:8). Heavy-hearted and under siege, we hunker down and hide, fearful of the onslaught from the enemy intent on our destruction. At the very least, he plots to capture us in his cavern of discouragement by providing a hundred reasons […]
-Read More“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6). In all likelihood, nothing fits in a fist closed tight. A clenched hand, fingers turned inward with nails pressed into palm will never hold a thing, will never be on the receiving side. […]
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