At Risk For The Savior
During basic training, Desmond Doss irritated his drill instructor and fellow soldiers. A pacifist by conviction, he refused to carry a weapon into battle, and this made his peers doubt his courage. Trained as a medic, the young Christian had no qualms about facing combat. But his goal was to save lives.
Faithful Unto Death
The Walker Art Gallery in Liver- pool, England, has a painting of a Roman soldier faithfully standing guard in ancient Pompeii. The painting was inspired by an archaeological discovery in Pompeii of an ashen-encased Roman soldier in full military gear. The volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in ad 79 covered that city in lava, capturing the people and their culture in a moment of time. The painting Faithful Unto Death is a testimony to the sentinel’s continuing vigil even as his world was being engulfed in fiery death.
In The Face Of Fear
I’ll never forget my childhood fear that the clothes thrown on my chair would turn into a shadowy dragon-like figure after my bedroom lights were turned off. My early experience of fear-driven insomnia reminds me that when trouble arrives on the doorstep of life, fear is not our friend. It disables us from moving forward and causes us to shrink from doing what is right—unless we have our eyes fixed on Jesus.
A Fragrance
Katie nervously walked into the church youth group party that Linda had invited her to attend. She hadn’t been to a church since she was a little girl and didn’t know what to expect at a Valentine dinner with mostly strangers. But her heart started to calm when she found valentines at her plate that had been written for her from everyone there. They had cards for each other too, but it touched Katie’s heart that they would think to do that for her, a visitor to their group.
From Head To Heart
My childhood piano teacher was a stickler for memorization. Being able to play a piece without error was not enough. I had to play several pieces flawlessly by memory. Her reasoning was this: She didn’t want her students to say, when asked to play, “I’m sorry, I don’t have my music with me.”
The Romance
Widows in biblical times often faced a life of poverty. That’s the situation Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi, were in after each woman lost her husband. But God had a plan to provide security for them while involving Ruth as an integral part of a much bigger plan.
Beyond Just And Fair
Working conditions in England during the 19th century were abysmal. Men, women, and children labored in dangerous factories during the day and went home to dirty tenement slums at night. Many of the factory owners cared little for the well-being of their employees.
Six-Word Testimony
Over the past 15 years, Dan Smith’s name and face have appeared on fliers in coffee shops, laundromats, and small businesses across New York City. The six-word slogan on each flier says: Dan Smith Will Teach You Guitar. The result is that Mr. Smith stays as busy as he wants to be, teaching his students how to play the guitar. Many enthusiastic students hang his fliers in new places. It’s their way of saying, “Dan Smith taught me guitar. He can teach you too.”
