July 25, 2018Hope: The Antidote to the Quitter InstinctCAREY SCOTT “I pray that God, the source of all hope, will infuse your lives with an abundance of joy and peace in the midst of your faith so that your hope will overflow through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 (VOICE) We recently learned that I’m not the best driving instructor in the family. That award goes to my husband, who doesn’t scream when our 15-year-old takes the corner too fast. I may or may not have said a choice word or two while holding on to the dashboard for dear life. Sweet mother, I think I need therapy. Truth is, my son isn’t a bad driver. He’s actually quite good. And while he may take a corner a little faster than feels comfortable, we’re not in jeopardy. He might be in learning mode, but the ...

God has many different names in the Old Testament. Each title exemplified his distinctiveness and his power. Similarly, Jesus Christ has parallel titles in the New Testament, which reveal his many facets. The “Psalm of David” (Psalms 23) illustrates God’s direction, protection, and guidance in the life of the believer, which corresponds to his many titles used throughout the Bible.  1. Jehovah-Nissi: God Is My Refuge Moses’s faithfulness resulted in Israel’s preservation and victory in battle. In Exodus 17:11, we learn that “when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.” As Moses’s hands grew weary, a stone was placed under him while Aaron and Hur helped by keeping Moses’s hands in the raised position. Following the vi...

All of us come to our longing for peace from slightly different places. I confess that one of my least favorite Scripture passages is from 1 Peter. In it, Peter urges the Christians of Asia Minor, specifically the women, to develop a “gentle and quiet spirit” (1 Peter 3:4). This has always rubbed me the wrong way, perhaps because, though I am neither loud nor brash, I would not characterize myself as particularly gentle. And why, I wonder, does Peter address only the women? Are men off the hook then, free to behave in rough and brutish ways? Couldn’t a case be made that men in particular have a need to reign in their aggressions? I have been tempted to conclude that Peter preferred women who were passive and weak rather than strong and confident. Such a preference would seem to fit the ste...

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July 24, 2018Living Love When We Disagree  Melissa Spoelstra Today’s Truth I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose (1 Corinthians 1:10, NLT). Friend to Friend Living love when we disagree sounds good on paper, but it isn’t easy. We’re different—we have different personalities, preferences, and perspectives. And we can struggle to get along, especially when we don’t see eye-to-eye. In the course of a day, we can find ourselves disagreeing or debating with family, friends, coworkers, and even strangers on social media about everything from food choices and parenting styles to politics and religion. Often we find...

“For He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone” (Psalms91:11-12). The popularity of angels is evident each year as they are described in books and songs or portrayed in movies. Beyond captivating cultural interest, angels are real beings with supernatural power and a supernatural purpose. We can see in the Bible that angels have six specific purposes in the lives of believers. 1. Angels give praise to God. The primary purpose of angels is to give worship and praise to God. In Luke 2:13-14, we are told “[a]nd suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” In Revelat...

As you resist temptation, keep a close watch on the stories around you, not with a prurient interest and certainly not with a sense of moral superiority, but with a sense of warned empathy. You could be in every one of those situations. Feel the horror that comes with each of them. Also, though, keep before your conscience the warnings of eternal loss. I recognize that this idea will probably trouble many of you so let me preface it by saying what I’m not arguing. I am not arguing that you ought to be wondering whether or not Jesus will reject you and you’ll go to hell. I believe one who is genuinely born from above by the Spirit will continue in that faith until the very end. The one who believes in Christ will be raised with him at the last day (John 6:40). But, at the same time, no one ...

“Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” Colossians 3:13 (NLT) When I was 10 years old, I did something unkind to my brother, Averell. It was a hot summer day, and he’d claimed the last Coke in the refrigerator. I asked him to share it with me, but he refused. When he was distracted by a knock at the door, I decided to help myself to a few sips. He immediately noticed and was upset. I knew it was wrong, so I apologized and expected him to say, “That’s OK. It’s not a big deal.” But to my surprise, he was very distraught, and it took him a long time to get over it. It seems silly now, but for the longest time, all I wanted was for him to forget about my actions and forgive me. Looking back, I sho...

You could look at it this way: Only one time did a bad thing happen to a good person. That person was Christ. The bad thing that He suffered was the punishment that our sins deserved. We are only good because He has taken our sins and is transforming us into His good image. The question still remains: Why do bad things happen to those who have faith in Christ? 1. God uses pain to get our attention. “We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world” (C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain). 2. God uses pain to help us grow. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the test...