“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 One Cyber Monday, years ago, I awoke, happy to be home. Traveling most of the week before, I…
Tag: Christian devotionals
Appreciating Discipline
“Because the Lord disciplines those He loves, as a father the son he delights in.” Proverbs 3:12 (NIV) Ahh, was I ever frustrated! My exhausted mind refused to focus on the grammar of this foreign language. It had been a long month since my arrival. My host sisters spoke better English than I did German….
Lessons From Tipper, Part VIII
“I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.” Jeremiah 29:14 NIV One Saturday morning I stumbled onto a precious scene: our second grader was curled up on the floor with a book and Tipper. She was reading aloud and Tipper was listening intently. Her eyes even…
He Hears, Always
“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you.” Jeremiah 29:12 NIV “No one is listening to me,” shouted the petite teenage-girl, turning and dashing out the door, abandoning both the conversation and the home she dearly loved. The past few months had seemed like eternity,…
Gifts
“Whatever you give is acceptable if you give eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.” 2 Corinthians 8:12 NLT It was Mother’s Day, 2002. Our precious three-year-old daughter carefully carried a beautifully wrapped box with a great pink bow resting just under her chin. Her eyes shone bright…
Servant Leadership, Part II
“My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism.” James 2:1 I turned in the crowded convention hall to find another young mom trying to escape the current of the crowd. I smiled politely, distractedly, ready to turn and follow my own agenda when the tears in her eyes caught my…
Fighting Forgiveness
“I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better than they ever dreamed of.” John 10:10 The Message The plate was passed as a reflective silence descended upon us all. My mind focused on the prayer just offered by our speaker. To offer my life as a sacrifice. A living sacrifice….
Distinguishing The Noise
“For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.” Proverbs 2:6-8 NIV Last week, I asked you…
Shut In and Remembered
Genesis 8:1 “But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.” It was January in Michigan, cold, dark, and stormy. The young foreigner felt the weather matched her disposition: cold, dark, and…
Charged
“Come to me all who are weary, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 Rushing, bustling through the season, I grabbed my coffee to jazz me up as I dialed up the volume of my radio. The DJ’s announcement was so unbelievable, I stopped in my tracks. Apparently, an Internet hoax has been circulating. …