Scripture: “Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory”—Romans 15:7 NLT God surely has a sense of humor. How else can we explain how He puts together people who are so totally opposite in temperament?  Most married people I know tell of the shock to learn […]

Scripture:  A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out—. Isaiah 42:3 NIV Reeds were tall pieces of thick grass that grew by the riverbanks. The Hebrew people collected the good pieces for walking canes, sandals, and baskets. But they’d throw away the bruised, cracked, and broken stalks. […]

Scripture:  “I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart”—Ezekiel 36:26 NLT. All of us face a “someday” death. Sometimes the sentence slaps us in the face. Someone has said, “Nothing concentrates the mind of a man more than to […]

Scripture: “If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” Romans 8:31 NLT. The greatest chapter in the entire Bible may be Romans 8, which begins with, “No condemnation” and ends with “Nothing can separate us from God’s love.” Saint Paul’s writings are completely selfless— never self-centered, always Christ-centered. How did this former […]

Scripture:  “The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children who follow them” (Proverbs 20:7 NLT). In the corner of my living room sits my mother’s cherished Singer sewing machine. Almost one hundred years old now, I see it as a small monument to my parents’ rock-solid values. The machine was purchased in 1929, the year […]

Scripture: “We are pressed on every side, but we still have room to move. We are often in much trouble, but we never give up” (2 Corinthians 4:8 NLT). I remember seeing a magazine picture of a flower growing in the most inhospitable place imaginable—a slight crack in an expanse of concrete. First of all, […]

Scripture: “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”—– Luke 9:23 I love the story of Ben Hur, which ends with angry, vengeful Judah remembering Jesus’s incredible words, “Father, forgive them.” At that moment, Judah let go […]

 Scripture: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord  (Romans 6:23 NIV). Because I’m classified as “elderly,” I have chosen to shelter in place for these last two weeks, obeying our governor’s directive.  My daughter shops for me and gives me a few […]

Scripture: “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12:15 NIV We are like children playing on a seesaw, a teeter-totter.  When each one is of a similar weight and in a similar situation, all is well.  When one goes up, the other goes down.  “How are you today?” “Just fine. How […]

POWERFUL PRAYER Scripture: “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16)  If A = B and B = C, then A = C.  Basic algebra, right? Our Bible class has been studying the life of Elijah, an ordinary man just like us (James 5:18), who is one of the most powerful […]