Be Glad!
For several days after my husband and my brother sang a duet in church of “Be Ye Glad,” I was unable to get the lyrics by Michael Blanchard out of my mind. But they’re good words to get stuck on:
All The Facts
The Babylonian armies had Jerusalem surrounded. Resistance was futile. Jeremiah the prophet had already warned the leaders that the city would fall. Now he languished in prison for prophesying the truth.
Sustained In The Silence
Hudson Taylor (1832-1905) was the founder of the China Inland Mission and a great servant of God. But after the ferocious Boxer Rebellion of 1900, in which hundreds of his fellow missionaries were killed, Taylor was emotionally devastated and his health began to fail. Nearing the end of life’s journey, he wrote, “I am so weak that I cannot work. I cannot read my Bible; I cannot even pray. I can only lie still in God’s arms like a child and trust.”
A Fragile Stone
When writing on the life of Simon Peter, songwriter and author Michael Card described the apostle as “a fragile stone.” It is a term filled with contrast, yet one that aptly describes Peter.
Storm Before The Calm
The small church was struggling, and everyone knew why. Two elderly church members had a conflict, and the people had divided their loyalties between them, which made any kind of progress impossible. They blatantly disregarded Jesus’ instructions on forgiving others (Matthew 6:14).
Wake Up And Live
It happened more than 30 years ago but it still hurts. During a period of spiritual rebellion, I ran into a young man I had introduced to Christ. He was stunned to discover that I had walked away from the Lord and was no longer the person he had known. It is one of my most regretted experiences, and I still pray for an opportunity to make it right with him.
Hope For The Blues
You’ve felt it yourself, or at least listened to other people talk about it—the blues, times of dark discouragement. Lynette Joy, in an article for christianwomentoday.com, tells of several steps we can take during those dark times to turn toward Jesus, the Light of the World:
Spared From Death
On August 6, 1945, Kanji Araki, then a toddler, was playing on the floor. Although an air-raid siren had sounded a warning, few paid it any heed since Hiroshima had previously escaped bombing. Then a blinding flash lit up the sky. Superheated air rushed at tremendous speed, knocking down buildings and setting the center of the city ablaze. In the days that followed the nuclear detonation, Kanji’s grandmother, brother, and sister died from radiation sickness.
Run With Horses
In the Olympic Games, the greatest runners of the world compete for gold medals and laurel wreaths. Long before the final race, competitions are held in countries throughout the world to weed out those who are not fast enough to compete. At the Games, the fastest of the fast qualify for the final competition.
