Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched him. —Mark 1:41 Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Paul Brand pioneered tendon-transplant operations on leprosy victims in India. One day a patient started weeping when Dr. Brand reached out and touched him. A nurse explained: “You touched him, …
Jackie Robinson is celebrated as the first African-American to play major league baseball, breaking the color barrier and changing professional sports forever. (Note: Actually, Jackie wasn’t the first black ballplayer in the major leagues. That honor belongs to Moses “Fleet” Walker, way back in 1883. But that’s a history lesson for another time.) Robinson is …
Get along with each other, and forgive each other. —Colossians 3:13 “Inside of me,” said grandpa, “a ferocious fight is going on between two dogs. One is hostile, bristling with anger, hatred, envy, greed, and resentment. The other is peaceful, brimming with joy, love, generosity, serenity, and kindness.” “Which dog wins?” asked his …
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. —1 Chronicles 16:34 Browsing a Hallmark display for a “Thank You” card, I spotted one with the caption, “Thank You for Being You.” The inside was blank—clean space for the sender’s words. I bought it. There’s a …
Set out a sacrifice I can accept. —Psalm 50:14 Is there anything that God doesn’t have? According to Psalm 50, he says: “I do not need bulls from your stalls or goats from your pens, because every animal of the forest is already mine. The …
I stand at the door and knock. —Revelation 3:20 English artist William Holman Hunt’s painting, The Light of the World, hangs in the side chapel at Keble College, Oxford, England. It depicts Jesus knocking on a cottage door that has no handle. Hunt said he wanted the painting …
They examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. —Acts 17:11 I had twin boy cousins who gave their trusting (gullible?) younger sister a lot of pain. Yes, pain. Coming home from Sunday school, they asked her …
If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. —John 8:36 Thomas Paine’s The Age of Reason didn’t—and doesn’t—sit well with Christians. The book argued that the miracle stories in the Bible are nothing but myths. It hammered institutional religion in general and Christianity in particular. Thomas rejected the …
My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love. —Colossians 2:2 Life isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon—a long, demanding race. Someone needs your encouragement to negotiate it—to endure, achieve, finish. Encouragement has tremendous power. Here is a …
I must leave the fruits of my hard work to others. —Ecclesiastes 2:18 “There is a time to be born and a time to die” (Eccl 3:2). When that last “time” comes, you’re going to leave your stuff behind—all of it. That troubled Solomon: “I must leave the fruits of my hard …
