Who Cares?
I will fear no evil, for you are with me. —Psalm 23:4 “No one is concerned for me,” David groaned—“no one cares” (Ps 142:4). Many feel that way. But it isn’t true. God cares. The measure of God’s love is that …
God Is with Us
The Lord Almighty is with us. —Psalm 46:11 My mother was twelve years old when her mother died in the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. Seven of my friends have become death victims of COVID-19. Such losses raise the old question: “Why do bad things happen to …
God Waiting for Change
The Lord is waiting so that people have time to be saved. —2 Peter 3:15 When life has us by the throat, and we’re exhausted and out of answers, we sometimes wonder why God doesn’t step in and solve the problem. What is he waiting for? Instead of …
Win This Race
Do not run like someone running aimlessly. —1 Corinthians 9:26 Carl Lewis won four gold medals in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He was confident that his first leap had been good enough to win the gold in the long jump. …
MVP
How good is a timely word. —Proverbs 15:23 NBA star Michael Jordan seemed to be a shoo-in for the Most Valuable Player award in 1990. Without question, he was professional basketball’s most outstanding athlete. Many consider him the greatest roundballer ever to hit the hardwood. But Jordan wasn’t voted MVP. The …
Ditch the Blame Game
We are each responsible for our own conduct. —Galatians 6:5 Donald Jensen was umpiring a Little League game in Terre Haute, Indiana, when someone took exception to a call and threw a baseball bat at him, hitting him …
My Utmost for His Highest
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others. —1 Peter 4:10 The daily-devotional book My Utmost for His Highest has occupied space on my coffee table for many years. Back story. Oswald Chambers was appointed to serve as chaplain to Australian …
God’s Providence
O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you. —2 Samuel 7:22 I confess that I do not know how to reconcile God’s sovereignty with humanity’s free will—but I believe in both. I admit that I cannot explain how God’s providence …
The Way It Was and the Way It Is
Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. —Ephesians 4:24 My good friend Allen Isbell wrote the following, which strikes a chord with us grayheads. We were born before television, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, plastic, contact lenses, …
Be Faithful Regardless
Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. —Hebrews 11:1 Sometimes God gives us immediate victory. Sometimes he doesn’t. Hebrews 11:32–35a names some people of faith who were triumphant in this life. Then 11:35b–38 notes some of …