Dec
29
Her Favorite Christmas Present
Filed Under Marriage & Family | Leave a Comment
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” —Hebrews 11:1
It was her favorite Christmas present, she said. Perhaps it was his, too, but he was still recovering from long months at sea and was needing to catch up on sleep. As they stood before us […]
Dec
25
Christmas Connections
Filed Under Spiritual Training | Leave a Comment
“And Mary said: ‘My soul praises the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior . . .” —Luke 1:46,47
One of the fun things to do in Bible study (yes, fun!) is to make the Scripture connections between the Old and New Testaments. For example, when I read the apostle John’s account of John […]
Dec
22
What Did You Expect?
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“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary […]
Dec
18
Heartfelt Prayers
Filed Under Prayer | Leave a Comment
“The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with.”
— James 5:16, The Message
It is a blessing to start my day with the reading of a devotional (or two or three) before reading from my Bible. It’s sort of like stretching before going out to run—a bit of a […]
Dec
15
Not A Silent Night
Filed Under Lessons from History | Leave a Comment
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” — Isaiah 9:6
It was Christmas Eve in Thailand, 1972. Thanks to Armed Forces Radio “Silent Night” was playing in my […]
Dec
11
Lonely Christmas
Filed Under Lessons from History, Marriage & Family | Leave a Comment
“The angel of the Lord said to [the shepherds], “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11
Though I sat in a room […]
Dec
8
Christmas Presence
Filed Under Spiritual Training | Leave a Comment
“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.” —2 Corinthians 9:15
Is this the Bible verse that you normally think of when you think of Christmas?
Probably not . . . . Traditionally we go to the second chapter of Luke and begin with, “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the […]
Dec
4
Once again, we saw a marriage crumble. Once again, we saw the husband walk out . . . the wife give up. Once again we saw a family disintegrate leaving a legacy of divorce. Once again we thought—if only they had seen the truth and not believed the lies. If only they had hung in […]
Dec
1
“So let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, with hearts that have been purified from a guilty conscience and with bodies washed with clean water. Let us hold on firmly to the hope we profess, because we can trust God to keep His promise. Let us be concerned […]