Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. —1 John 3:16 Many Bible exegetes contend that the cross on which Jesus died was intended for Barabbas, a notorious terrorist who was in custody. It was Pilate’s custom at Passover to free one prisoner, of the people’s […]
You are worth more than many sparrows. —Luke 12:7 Looking out my window on an uncommonly cold morning, I watched a sparrow waging a wing-flapping war with the wind. Life isn’t a continuous succession of fair weather days.
He Has His Eye on You Read More »
Be happy that your names are written in heaven. —Luke 10:20 Laura Brooks feels fine—but she’s dead: digitally dead, that is. Someone at the Social Security Administration accidentally hit the delete key and zapped her. Laura is dead as a hammer according to the S.S.A. She has company among the tombstones in
By grace you have been saved. —Ephesians 2:5 Do you know the difference between mercy and grace? Mercy abstains from giving us the condemnation that we deserve; grace gives us the salvation that we don’t deserve. God delights to show mercy (Mi 7:18). “He does not treat us as
Two Glorious Gifts Read More »
Don’t talk too much. —Proverbs 10:19 There’s someone you dread talking to face-to-face or on the phone because there’s no way to shut them up. Benjamin Franklin told a story about a hatter who wrote this sentence for a signboard outside his shop: JOHN BROWN MAKES AND SELLS HATS FOR READY MONEY. “Eliminate ‘MAKES
It is more blessed to give than to receive —Acts 20:35 British historian and author, Paul Johnson, asked a wealthy colleague the reason for his obvious misery. “In the last two years,” said his depressed friend, “the value of my assets has fallen
Some victories are limited. A smashup on I-45 south of Conroe, Texas, left a victim with thought-to-be-fatal injuries. Skillful surgeons at the Medical Center saved his life but said he would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. The life-saving work was a limited victory; the doctors, the victim, and his
Death is Temporary—Life is Eternal Read More »
Let anyone with ears to hear listen! —Mark 4:9 Jesus preached a parable about four soils, representing the condition of the hearts of those who hear the Word. The first two were hard and rocky, producing no grain; the fourth yielded a bumper crop. It’s
Deceitful Distractions Read More »
Ask for the old paths . . . and walk therein. —Jeremiah 6:16 I have a rustic little bookcase—just eighteen-inches-wide, three-shelves-deep—that I treasure. My paternal grandfather made that bookcase for my dad when he was a child. I sometimes wonder how many nooks it has
May your father and mother be glad. —Proverbs 23:25 Here’s a picture of contrasts: “Hezekiah trusted in the Lord . . . There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah . . . He held fast to the Lord and did not
