We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. — Ephesians 2:10 I had wanted a red coat for years. But paying full price for a coat seemed excessive when I had several perfectly fine coats in my closet. So, each year I…
The Miracle of God Coming to Be with Us
In many households, expectations around Christmas are high. Not in mine. ‘When will Dad be ill?’ is a fairly frequent comment from the children, who are used to the fact that by Christmas Day vicars get to the point where they run out of resistance to any disease going. Or, ‘So what’s going to…
It’s Your Serve
Through love serve one another. — Galatians 5:13 I remember him as a large man, built like a concrete block. He wore a crew cut, neckties, and short-sleeved white shirts with an ever-present pocket protector. I was one of four fourth-grade boys who attended his Bible study each Wednesday at the Parkview Church of Christ…
Happy Thanksgiving!: The Right Attitude
Now, our God, we give You thanks, and praise Your glorious name. — 1 Chronicles 29:13 The Pilgrim Fathers who landed at Plymouth to settle in what became the United States of America can teach us an important lesson about giving thanks. During that first long winter, seven times as many graves were made…
When Your Grumbles Humble You… and Finding Gratitude Instead
Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! — James 3:9-10 I’d been having huge, grumbly blowups. Mostly on Fridays.…
Healthy Comfort for the Grieving
Editor’s Note: When someone is hurting, it’s hard to know what to say. How can we help? In times of hardship, loss, and pain, Scripture beckons us to look up and out. We pray you are blessed by this excerpt from The Book of Comforts. * Meaning to be friendly, I asked, “How was Christmas?” If…
Champions Find God’s Strength in Their Own Weakness
It would be so much more comfortable if God would keep us in our “strength zone,” wouldn’t it? But God keeps thrusting us into our “weakness zone” because it is only in our weakness that He is made strong. [Jesus] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect…
Communing with the Living God
Reflections on the Value of Abstinence in the Christian Life For four consecutive years (2015–18), the Cleveland Cavaliers played the Golden State Warriors in the NBA finals. LeBron James versus Stephen Curry. Had LeBron not left for the L.A. Lakers, that trend may well have continued in perpetuity. LeBron is by all accounts the best…
When We Love People We Disagree With, It Turns Our Faith Into a Living Biography
Everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. — Matthew 7:24 In one of Jesus’ most popular sermons, He told people how to become love. He told them to be humble. He urged them to turn the other cheek…