LACKING NOTHING
I think I was in college before I understood verse one of the 23rd Psalm. Perhaps others have puzzled over it as well. The rest of the psalm seemed relatively clear to me. Like a…
EBED-MELECH THE ETHIOPIAN, A MAN WHO PUT HIS TRUST IN THE LORD
It is always good to receive an encouraging personal message, one that someone has taken the time and effort to compose for you alone, to lift your spirits and help you in your daily struggles.…
GUARANTEED VICTORY
Perhaps you have learned the hard way. Even when the odds seem to be stacked in your favor, you should never guarantee a victory. They are called upsets for a reason—an unexpected outcome despite the…
BRIGHT LIGHT / DARK SHADOWS
Everyone who sees can discern the relationship between light and shadow. The Germans had a saying: “Wo viel Licht, da viel Schatten.” That is, “Where the light is bright, the shadow is deep.” How true…
Remember The Amalekites?
“Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when…
SWORDS AND SPEARS, PLOWSHARES AND PRUNING HOOKS
Do you ever say things which—without consideration of the times and circumstances—would seem to be contradictory? So does the Bible. Consider the following Old Testament examples: Isaiah 2:4: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares,…
A HEART OF THANKS IN THE BELLY OF THE FISH
“But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.” (Jonah 2:9) Thanksgiving is a joyful time of year, isn’t it? Getting…
WE NEED GOD TO RESCUE US FROM US
(Please read Ezekiel 36:22-28) Those who follow Jesus will have enemies. First, there’s the devil. He’s determined to do you everlasting harm. He “walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1…
THE GOD WHO SEES ME
For Hagar, the circumstances were desperate. She was young, alone, pregnant and penniless; a slave fleeing the harsh treatment of her mistress Sarai. Seventy miles lay behind. If her destination was home in Egypt, many…
WHEN TO PRAY, OR NOT
A visiting missionary to India recounted this prayer-experience. His mechanical pencil had run out of lead, and though he was in a large city, he had difficulty finding replacements. Shop after shop had none. He…