Today’s Walk in the Word

He who answers before listening— that is his folly and his shame.        —Proverbs 18:13 “The first duty of love is to listen,” wrote theologian Paul Tillich. Think you have nothing to give? You do. Your undivided attention. In The Road Less Traveled, M. Scott Peck wrote, “You cannot truly listen to anyone […]

Each will receive his praise from God.                 —1 Corinthians 4:5 Our talents and possessions are gifts of God’s grace: “Isn’t everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God?” (1 Cor. 4:7 MSG). Our individuality is a gift of God’s grace: “[By] the grace of […]

Do not neglect your gift.     —1 Timothy 4:14 We think of Changemakers as super-gifted and well-positioned—speakers, writers, singers, politicians, CEOs. But for every Changemaker in the spotlight, there are a dozen in the shadows that don’t make speeches, draw crowds, sell books, or set policies. You don’t have to have major talent to […]

In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.          —Psalm 33:21 Trust and thankfulness are joined at the hip. We have both, or we have neither. Trust and thankfulness are the outgrowth of our conviction that some things are unquestionably and irrevocably true. If you believe it is […]

A good name is more desirable than great riches.         —Proverbs 22:1 Names given to Bible characters often carried a meaning that defined them . . . Eve – “to breathe” or “to live” Abraham – “father of many” Ishmael – “God will hear” Isaac – “he laughs” Jesus – “the Lord […]

What is impossible with men is possible with God.                                          —Luke 18:27 Matthew 13 records Jesus’ parable of the soils: four different kinds of soil (hard, shallow, worldly, receptive) that depict the condition of the hearts […]

Ah, Sovereign Lord … Nothing is too hard for you.      —Jeremiah 32:17 Abraham and Sarah would soon have a hundred candles on their cake. They had no children, so when God told them their descendants would be as numberless as the stars they cracked up. “Is anything too hard for the Lord? . […]

I am the Lord . . . Is anything too hard for me?      —Jeremiah 32:27 Matthew 19:26 says that “with God all things are possible.” There are people in your circle who don’t doubt his power, but question his concern. His concern was clear at the Cross. But the Cross of the first […]

Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life.                   —John 6:40 Etymologist Fredd Culbertson compiled a list of 537 phobias, from A to Z—ablutophobia to zoophobia. Just for grins try wrapping your tongue around this one: hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia. Fear of long words. […]

Let the little children come to me.                 —Luke 18:16 A fictional story pictures an architect gazing with pride at his magnificent new cathedral. Then his eye is drawn to a scrawny waif at his elbow. Abused? Abandoned? Homeless? If he had to make a choice to save […]