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.
