No Need Is Too Trivial
Several mothers of small children were sharing encouraging answers to prayer. Yet one woman said she felt selfish about troubling God with her personal needs. “Compared with the huge global needs God faces,” she explained, “my circumstances must seem trivial to Him.”
Clean Up The Environment
What a frustrating problem pollution is! Everybody suffers with it, yet everybody contributes to it.
In The Car Wash
I’ll never forget my first experience using an automatic car wash. Approaching it with the dread of going to the dentist, I pushed the money into the slot, nervously checked and rechecked my windows, eased the car up to the line, and waited. Powers beyond my control began moving my car forward as if on a conveyor belt. There I was, cocooned inside, when a thunderous rush of water, soap, and brushes hit my car from all directions. What if I get stuck in here or water crashes in? I thought irrationally. Suddenly the waters ceased. After a blow-dry, my car was propelled into the outside world again, clean and polished.
Seeds And Faith
I read a fable about a man who was browsing in a store when he made the shocking discovery that God was behind a sales counter. So the man walked over and asked, “What are You selling?” God replied, “What does your heart desire?” The man said, “I want happiness, peace of mind, and freedom from fear . . . for me and the whole world.” God smiled and said, “I don’t sell fruit here. Only seeds.”
Nothing Left But God
A wise Bible teacher once said, “Sooner or later God will bring self-sufficient people to the place where they have no resource but Him—no strength, no answers, nothing but Him. Without God’s help, they’re sunk.”
Idols In The Heart
When my husband and I first went out as missionaries, I recall being concerned about the growth of materialism in our society. It never crossed my mind that I myself could be materialistic. After all, hadn’t we gone overseas with almost nothing? Weren’t we choosing to live in a shabbily furnished, rundown apartment? I thought materialism couldn’t touch us.
Faith Of A Child
One Sunday I heard Mike talk about his relationship with his two fathers—the one who raised him as a child, and his Father in heaven.
A Personal Gospel
In John 3:16 we read, "For God so loved the world." But what about His love for individuals? The rest of the verse reveals the central purpose behind God's sacrifice of His Son: "That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Therefore, without exception, every person may interpret John 3:16 like this: "For God so loved me!"
The Blessing Tree
I read about a young couple whose business had failed, and they had little money to spend at Christmas. They were going to have to move out of their house after the new year. But they didn’t want their holiday season to be spoiled because of it. So they decided to throw a party. When the guests arrived, they saw a cedar tree decorated with one string of lights and small rolled-up pieces of paper tied to the limbs with ribbon.
The Peace-Of-Mind Game
In her down-to-earth book More Than Sparrows, Mary Welch tells of her discussion about worry with a group of teenagers. Although they were Christians, they were as worried as unbelievers about the common things of life. As she lovingly listened to them, an unusual idea came to her for a game they could play. It went like this:
Does God Forget?
God longs to forgive sinners! But in the minds of many people, this thought seems too good to be true. Countless sermons have been preached to convince guilt-ridden individuals that it is true. Many of these sermons emphasize that God not only forgives the sinner but also forgets the sin. I’ve often said it myself, never doubting its soundness.
Hearing Aid
Joshua, a precocious 2-year-old, watched his mother baking cookies. “Please, may I have one?” he asked hopefully. “Not before supper,” his mother replied. Joshua ran tearfully to his room, then reappeared with this message: “Jesus just told me it’s okay to have a cookie now.” “Jesus didn’t tell me,” his mother retorted. Joshua replied, “You must not have been listening!”
Hurry Sickness
Hurry up!" "We're late!" "You're too slow!" How often do impatient words crop up in our speech, revealing our fast-paced life? If we're not careful, we become people living in the fast lane, demanding quick arrivals and instant results. Stress experts call this "hurry sickness."
Careless Preachers
Some opponents of Christianity may not be so much against Christ as they are against the hypocrisy of His followers. Ironically, it hasn't occurred to them that no one was more opposed to hypocrisy than Jesus Himself.
Mixing-Bowl Musings
Countless times I’ve heard myself say, “I’m going to bake a cake.” Then one day I realized that I’ve never baked a cake in my life—only my oven can do that. I simply mix the right ingredients and allow the oven to do its part. Through that division of labor, I have the joy of seeing others taste and enjoy delicious cake.
Housekeeping Of The Heart
As a young homemaker, I enjoyed cleaning our house from top to bottom. The trouble was, it never stayed clean for long. Eventually I discovered that if I kept our house reasonably tidy, it appeared to be clean even when it wasn’t. Gradually I concentrated more on the appearance of a clean house and neglected thorough cleaning. This compromise was not only convenient, it was convincing. Sometimes even I was fooled. But on sunny days my clean-looking house was revealed for what it was—dusty and dirty.
Taking God At His Word
Many true believers in Christ are plagued with doubt about their salvation. Even though they have come in repentance and faith to Jesus as their Savior, they still wonder, “Will I really go to heaven?”
Dartboard Or Pipeline?
One day during my devotional time, this thought came to my mind: “Don’t let life happen to you. Let life happen through you.”
Groans Now, Glory Later
I once heard of a Christian seminar titled, “How To Live A Stress-Free Life.” Such an unrealistic hope promptly made me stressful! Yet we all long for relief from life’s many pressures.
No Need Is Too Trivial
Several mothers of small children were sharing encouraging answers to prayer. One woman admitted that she felt selfish when she troubled God with her personal needs. “Compared with the huge global needs God faces,” she explained, “my circumstances must seem trivial to Him.”
The Choice Is Ours
One summer afternoon I climbed a hill near my home. When I reached the top, I stretched out on the grass to relax.
Unopened Tomorrows
We often wish we could see what lies around the corner in life. Then we could prepare for it, control it, or avoid it.
Knowing God Personally
Most Christians would prefer to see God perform mighty miracles rather than to have fellowship with Him and learn His ways.
Life Words
Words of encouragement can be "life words," bringing new motivation to our lives. Mark Twain said that he could live for a whole month on one good compliment.
The Right Focus
We call life's older years the "sunset years." But are they really that rosy? For some, they are. But for many others, even Christians, the sunset years may become clouded with bitterness or despair.
No Fast Food In The Bible
I love the sight of cows lying in the field, chewing their cud. But what is cud? And why do they spend so much time chewing it?
More Than Good Advice
A few years ago, I was invited to speak on the subject of guidance. In my preparation, I opened my concordance to look up the word guidance, expecting to find a long list of verses promising guidance from God. To my surprise, guidance wasn't there. Instead, I found the word guide and a number of verses promising that God Himself would be the guide of His people.
The Strongest Weak People
If there is anything that we love to hate more than the arrogance of others, it would have to be an awareness of our own weakness. We detest it so much that we invent ways to cover our personal inadequacy.
A Winner Either Way
Lois had just undergone cancer surgery and was alone with her thoughts. She had faced death before, but it had always been the death of people she had loved—not her own.
Why Me?
A few years ago, an unkempt, poorly adjusted youth named Tim (not his real name) was converted to Christ in an evangelistic crusade. Several days later, still unkempt but bathed in the love of Christ, he was sent to my home so that I could help him find a good church. And so it was that he began attending with me.
Our Main Calling
In our performance-driven world, Christians often assume that God's main calling on their lives is to work for Him. But working for Christ should be secondary to our devotion to Him. As Oswald Chambers warned: "The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus is service for Him."
Rock Bottom
I was in my early thirties, a dedicated wife and mother, a Christian worker at my husband's side. Yet inwardly I found myself on a trip nobody wants to take—the trip downward. I was heading for that certain sort of breakdown that most of us resist, the breakdown of my stubborn self-sufficiency.
Wounded Oysters
When seemingly needless suffering invades our lives, we often ask ourselves, "Who needs all this grief?" But consider, for a moment, the origin of pearls.
Good Question
"Finding the right questions is as crucial as finding the right answers," says devotional writer Henri Nouwen. Yet how easy it is to run ahead of God's Spirit as we talk to unbelievers about Christ, giving pre-packaged answers before we listen to their questions.
Better Than Your Best
When John became a salesman in a well-known insurance company years ago, his aim was to work effectively in his firm without compromising his Christian integrity. But there were those who considered him naive. In their view, one could possess either job security or Christian integrity—not both.
Free-Falling
In the tender song of Moses found in today's Bible reading, God is portrayed as a dedicated mother eagle who can be trusted by her young, even in the scary experience of their learning to fly (Deuteronomy 32:11-12).
Are You Struggling?
I was in my second year of widowhood and I was struggling. Morning after morning my prayer-life consisted of one daily sigh: "Lord, I shouldn't be struggling like this!" "And why not?" His still, small voice asked me from within one morning.
Little By Little!
When I was a little girl, my mother gave me her prized "reader" to help me learn, just as it had helped her years earlier. I loved one particular story, never dreaming how much it would affect me years later.
Sacrificial Love
What does it mean to lay down our lives for Christ and for our friends? In John 15, notice Christ's logic as He taught about sacrificial love.
God's Delight
A Scottish preacher spoke of evangelism as a fellowship of reconciled, forgiven sinners who don't simply preach but live out their faith. They also offer to others the same reconciliation and forgiveness they have received from God.
Panic Prayers
In her book Beyond Our Selves, Catherine Marshall wrote about learning to surrender her entire life to God through a "prayer of relinquishment." When she encountered situations she feared, she often panicked and exhibited a demanding spirit in prayer: "God, I must have thus and so." God seemed remote. But when she surrendered the dreaded situation to Him to do with it exactly as He pleased, fear left and peace returned. From that moment on, God began working things out.
Perfect Peace Is Possible
Few things (if anything at all) in this fallen world can be called perfect. But God promises to keep us in "perfect peace" if we keep our minds focused on Him and continue trusting Him (Isaiah 26:3).
Serving Without Distraction
While Martha served Jesus unsparingly, her sister Mary sat at His feet, listening and learning. Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) believed that Martha's mistake wasn't her serving, but rather that she allowed it to distract her attention from Jesus. Spurgeon believed that we should be Martha and Mary in one. He wrote, "We should do much service, and have much communion at the same time. For this we need great grace. It is easier to serve than to commune."
Returning God's Love
The book of Malachi begins with this wholehearted word from the Lord to His halfhearted worshipers: "I have loved you" (1:2). Though Israel had long been the object of God's love, they no longer returned His love.
Be Filled With Thankfulness
Throughout history, many cultures have set aside a time for expressing their thankfulness. In the US, Thanksgiving Day originated with the pilgrims. In the midst of extreme hardship, loss of loved ones, and meager supplies, they still believed they were blessed. They chose to celebrate God's blessings by sharing a meal with Native Americans who had helped them survive.
Hope For Worriers
Everyone worries occasionally, but I was once a "professional worrier." My daily preoccupation was mulling over my worries, one by one.
Another Chance
Jesus promised Peter something every repentant believer craves—another chance (Luke 22:31-34). After telling him Satan would sift him as wheat, Jesus reassured Peter that He had prayed that his faith would not fail. Although Peter had insisted he would never forsake Him, Jesus said he would deny Him three times before dawn. In expectation of Peter's restoration, Jesus recommissioned him for future ministry: "When you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren" (v.32).
Have A Wonderful Day
After admiring a painting in a woman's home, I was surprised by her generosity when she took it down and gave it to me.
Don't Despair, Share
During these days of horrific world events, Christians should be appalled but not taken by surprise. Jesus forewarned us of terrible times to come (Luke 21:25-28). In today's reading, Peter reassured believers by reminding them of God's unfolding purposes and final victory.
"Wreck" A Bible
The Bible is a remarkable book. Millions of copies are bought each year. It has been the number-one bestseller for decades. But tragically, the Bible is said to be the least-read bestseller of all time.
The Humanity Of Jesus
I once overheard this comment about a person who was always critical: "The trouble with him is that he's forgotten what it's like to be human!" How easily we forget our past struggles and become unsympathetic toward those who are struggling today. But there's one who hasn't forgotten what it's like to be human—Jesus.
The Oil Of Helpfulness
There's a story of an eccentric old man who carried an oil can with him everywhere he went. If he passed through a squeaky door or a stiff gate, he applied oil to the hinges. His practice of lubricating made life easier for those who followed after him.
God Forgives Disobedience
I’ll never forget the painful lesson I learned in early childhood about disobedience. My father, who had been mowing our lawn, interrupted his work to go shopping. He left the push mower standing near some flowers and ordered me not to touch it while he was gone. But I disobeyed him and gave it a push. To my shock, the mower veered and knocked over several flowers.
The“What Then?”Test
From the 16th century comes a story of a probing conversation between an ambitious young man and a devout Christian named St. Philip Neri. The youth said to him excitedly,“My parents finally agreed to my studying law!”Philip asked simply,“What then?”
The Making Of Us
When my husband was a child, his mother sometimes scolded and disciplined him for disobeying her. During one such scolding he said to her imploringly, "You must be nice to your little boy!" His words touched her tender heart. But because she loved him, she continued his discipline and training. Years later as a missionary, Bill was grateful for her tough love, for it was the making of him.
For Sinners Only
Many non-Christians know the hymn "Amazing Grace" but may not know what grace means. One day when evangelist D. L. Moody was studying the meaning of God's grace, he dashed into the street and shouted to the first man he saw, "Do you know grace?" Mystified, the man replied, "Grace who?" No doubt Moody then explained grace —that God has compassion on sin-sick people and freely offers them forgiveness and new life through faith in Christ.
I heard of a man who had lived a troubled life and died without understanding the message of God's grace. A minister had talked to him and encouraged him to come to church, but his response was, "I'm too undeserving." He didn't know that God's grace is for the undeserving.
God Is Alive!
The great 16th-century theologian Martin Luther once experienced a long period of worry and despondency. One day his wife dressed in black mourning clothes.
Mountains Can Move!
A familiar slogan about prayer is, "Prayer changes things." But prayer doesn't do this—God does. Some people think that prayer itself is the source of power, so they "try prayer," hoping "it will work" for them. In Mark 11, Jesus disclosed one of the secrets behind all true prayer: "Have faith in God." Not faith in faith, not faith in prayer, but "faith in God" (v.22).
Pain And Gain
Years ago I was an extremely anxious Christian. When I began spiraling downward emotionally, God didn't intervene, for He knew I needed to reach the end of myself. When I finally hit rock bottom, the "rock" on which I fell was Jesus Christ.
The Lord immediately began rebuilding me, applying truths from His Word to teach me trust and faith. Gradually He changed me into the joyful, God-dependent person He intended me to be. Through this painful but profitable experience, I learned that when God disciplines us, our greatest gain isn't what we get but what we become.
Our Life In Heaven
The following words were inscribed on a gravestone: "Don't weep for me now, don't weep for me ever; for I'm going to do nothing forever and ever." Some people think heaven will be a boring place. Others, after years of exhausting work, look forward to doing nothing in heaven—the ultimate retirement!
It's true that in heaven we will rest from earthly labors (Revelation 14:13), but it's not a place of inactivity. When John saw a vision of the New Jerusalem with the throne of God and the Lamb, and populated with God's redeemed people, he stated plainly, "His servants shall serve Him" (22:3).
Keep On Asking
I heard a woman say that she never prayed more than once for anything. She didn't want to weary God with her repeated requests.
Facing My Fears
After Bill and I married, I became overly dependent on him, rather than depending on God for my security and strength. Feeling very inadequate and fearful, secretly I worried, "What if one day I don't have Bill anymore?"
Message For All Seasons
I'm a novice at growing flowers. But I've learned to appreciate the difference between annuals and perennials. Every spring I usually buy trays of annual bedding plants. Once in the ground, they immediately take root. Their brief life always ends with the autumn frosts, and the soil lies barren until my next annual spring planting. I prefer to plant perennial flowers. They go on living from year to year, and regularly bloom, flower, and reproduce.
Strength For Today
Most people own a calendar or an appointment book in which they record details of future commitments. A Christian friend of mine uses one in the opposite way. He doesn't record key activities until after they've taken place.
How Would You Answer?
Sir Norman Anderson was invited to give a television talk on the evidence for Christ's resurrection, a subject that he had written much about. When his son died of cancer, the program producers offered to cancel his participation, saying, "You can't speak about the resurrection when you've just lost a son." But Anderson said, "I want to speak about it now even more." And so, sad in heart but with great assurance, he spoke of Christ's resurrection, and ours as believers.
Open At The Top
A preacher was delivering a sermon before a large congregation. He pointed out that believers aren't exempt from trouble. In fact, some Christians are surrounded by trouble—trouble to the right, trouble to the left, trouble in front, and trouble behind. At this, a man who had served the Lord for many years, shouted, "Glory to God, it's always open at the top!"
Aging Gracefully
Many people try to reverse the aging process. Those with wrinkles get facelifts, while others have injections to remove unwanted facial lines. Behind this current trend is the notion that an aging face is unacceptable.
Limitation Or Advantage?
We've been taught that when we ask God for something through prayer, His answer may be yes, no, or wait. We're told that even no is an answer, though obviously not the one we may want. It certainly wasn't the answer Paul wanted when he begged God three times to remove his "thorn in the flesh" (2 Corinthians 12:7-8).
Let's Not Kid Ourselves
A child was told by his mother, "Go look in the mirror and wash your face." He insisted, "I already have!" But she replied, "You're only kidding yourself!" His dirty face proved to her that if he really had looked in the mirror, he ignored what it revealed. He may have seen the truth about himself, but he didn't act on it.
The Great Potter
One definition of the word attitude is "the angle of approach" that an aircraft takes when landing. Author Chris Spicer writes: "Attitudes are to life as the angle of approach is to flying." He adds, "Attitude is the way we choose to think about things; attitudes will cause us to react and behave in a certain way." He also says that attitudes are not inborn or accidental. They are learned and absorbed reactions; therefore they can be changed.
Thoughtful Praises
Most of us long to praise God more joyfully than we do. One common hindrance is that no matter how hard we try, we often don't feel like praising Him.
Let God Do His Work
In our zeal to serve the Lord, it's easy to think that it's our responsibility to produce results. This causes us to place too much faith in our ability and too little faith in God's.
The Battle Within
In his letter to Christians in Galatia, Paul tried to get them to understand the inner conflict that all who belong to Christ will experience. This battle is between "the flesh" (our sinful human nature) and the Holy Spirit who lives within us (Galatians 5:17).
Thoughtful Praises
I wonder what God thinks about the way we sing at church. I'm not talking about the quality of our voices, but the honesty of our words. If we're being truthful, the following rewritten hymn titles might more accurately express what's in our hearts as we sing:
Parents Who Pray
A young mother sent these lines to a magazine: "I wish I could wrap my children in bubble wrap to protect them from the big, bad world outside."
Reasons To Rejoice
The New Testament gives us many reasons to rejoice. For example, Jesus said, "Rejoice because your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20). The apostle Peter spoke of the reasons believers can "rejoice with joy inexpressible" (1 Peter 1:8). We're not asked to pretend that problems don't exist but to rejoice even in the midst of them.
Life Beyond The Grave
My beloved husband Bill died of cancer at the age of 48. One tearful morning I read John 11, the story about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. I was reassured by two truths I found in Jesus' words to His disciples on their way to Lazarus' grave.
God's Treasure Chest
Most of us wouldn't ignore a dollar lying on the ground. We would gladly pick it up and put it in our pocket. Yet we often ignore the Bible, a treasure chest overflowing with God's precious promises. David, the likely author of Psalm 119, recorded the rich blessings he experienced as he studied God's Word and stored it in the pocket of his heart. No wonder British pastor Charles H. Spurgeon referred to it as "David's pocket book."
People God Can Use
Evangelist Franklin Graham wrote, "If we want to become the type of people that God can use anytime, anywhere, anyplace, we must offer ourselves, our homes, our kitchens, and our living rooms as outposts for the kingdom of God." People who practice these words are fulfilling Paul's challenge to "be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share" (1 Timothy 6:18).
Repenting And Rejoicing
A Christian woman asked another believer how he was doing. With a broad smile he replied, "Repenting and rejoicing, sister!"
Truth Is Liberating
A Christian friend shared several problems with me over the phone. He was particularly concerned about his frustration and anger. But talking seemed to help. The next day he e-mailed this message to me: "After our talk, I read my Bible notes and found several pages that spoke to me. But what helped me most was the realization that Christianity really is the truth. I suppose that for a Christian this should be obvious. But for me it was a fresh revelation that Jesus in fact is the Son of God and He loves me." He added, "Just knowing the truth was very liberating. Suddenly, all the frustration and anger left me."
Fretting Is A Waste
The older we get, the shorter life seems. Author Victor Hugo said, "Short as life is, we make it still shorter by the careless waste of time."
Christ-Centered Faith
Some Christians try to live from one dramatic mountaintop experience to another. Their relationship with the Lord is based on their feelings at the moment. They go from Bible conferences to seminars to Bible studies, trying to maintain an emotional high.
Unlikely Servants
We often hear people say things like: "I'm only a housewife." "I'm only a janitor." "I'm only an average student."
Beware Of Quick Fixes
Some people pray only in a crisis. They have a "quick fix" mentality that sees God mainly as a problem solver. When merciful solutions come, He is courteously thanked, then more or less forgotten until the next crisis.
Heart To Heart
We would expect King David to be extremely upset, because his enemies were scheming to dethrone him. Yet in Psalm 62 he testified that his soul was quietly confident before God. How was this possible in the midst of such turmoil? Verse 8 offers a clue—one I discovered for myself several years ago.
Taste And Say!
Do you believe God is good, even when life isn't? Mary did, and I gasped in amazement the day I heard her pastor share her story at her funeral.
The Winning Combination
I have often been encouraged by people without their realizing it. I remember walking through the main lounge of a Christian retirement community late one evening. The residents had gone to their rooms for the night, except for one elderly woman. Unaware of my presence, she patiently worked on a jigsaw puzzle and joyfully hummed to herself. She seemed to be quite content.
Planting Good Seeds
As a new gardener, I soon learned that uncultivated soil was resistant to seed planting and growth. But when I planted good seeds in well-prepared soil, heaven's sun and rain did their part until the harvest came. Well-prepared soil, the right seeds, and God's blessing are essential for fruitfulness, not only in gardening but also in Christian living.
Worrier Or Warrior?
A missionary wrote a newsletter to thank his supporters for being "prayer warriors." Because of a typing error, though, he called them "prayer worriers. " For some of us, that might be a good description.
New Life On Death Row
We see two opposite responses to Jesus from the two thieves who were crucified next to Him: One blasphemed, the other believed (Luke 23:39-42). We rejoice over the conversion of the one and Christ's words to him: "Today you will be with Me in Paradise" (v.43). Now, as then, Jesus saves those who truly repent—even at "the eleventh hour."
God Can Save Anyone!
Today, as always, there is an urgent need for us to pray for "all who are in authority" (1 Timothy 2:2). But does the word all include the most wicked of leaders? Are there ever people in positions of power and influence who are beyond the help of prayer?
Lighten The Load
I once read about a distraught Christian woman who was extremely upset because her children had become unruly. She telephoned her husband at work one day and tearfully described the visit of a friend who had pinned this verse above the kitchen sink: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). The friend had meant well. She was trying to be helpful, but her action just made the mom feel even more like a failure.
The Treasure Chest
When I was a young girl, my mother often let me rummage through her button box as I recovered from an illness. It always cheered me to come across old, familiar buttons and remember the garments they once adorned. I especially liked it when she picked out an old, overlooked button and used it again.
Just Tell The Story
The main character in the movie Up Close And Personal is a TV newsman who dies trying to get a story in one of the world's trouble spots. After his death, he is remembered for saying, "I once thought reporting was about glory. But I'm here for only one reason—to tell the story."
Special But Not Spoiled
Family counselor John Rosemond asks, "Is your child special . . . the most exceptional person in the world?" He answers, "Of course—to you!"
