ISAIAH 43:1–9 The British Parliament commissioned artist Graham Sutherland to paint a portrait of Winston Churchill for his eightieth birthday. Churchill reportedly asked the artist if he would paint him as a cherub or the bulldog. Churchill liked these two popular perceptions of him, but Sutherland said he would paint what he saw. Churchill was dissatisfied … [Read more…]
PSALM 139:1–12 When couples have grown more accustomed to one another’s speech patterns and way of thinking, they will occasionally finish each other’s sentences. Sometimes, they might only need to say a word or a glance to convey an idea. That has a certain comfort to it, similar to an old pair of shoes that people still … [Read more…]
JAMES 1:1–12 Lately, I discovered some remarkable facts about aspens. An entire grove of aspens can grow from a single seed and share the same root system. These roots can exist for thousands of years, whether or not they produce trees. They sleep underground, waiting for fire, floods, or other natural disasters to clear their … [Read more…]
GENESIS 50:22–26 I remember sitting with others by a dying man’s bedside and seeing both the amazing and the ordinary aspects of life. With God’s presence encompassing us as we wept over this great man who was dying at an early age of forty, his final breath felt like a holy moment. Many faith heroes, such … [Read more…]
ISAIAH 55:1–7 Despite receiving numerous mail invitations, including free seminars on retirement, real estate, and life insurance, the one to a gathering honouring a longtime friend was quickly accepted because I desired to be there. Invitation plus desire equals acceptance. Isaiah 55:1 is a biblical invitation to those in difficult circumstances, offering them inner nourishment, spiritual … [Read more…]
MATTHEW 27:45–54; ROMANS 12:1 When young Isaac Watts saw that his church’s music was extremely poor, his father urged him to compose better music. Isaac did. His musical composition “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” has been translated into numerous different languages and is regarded as the best in the English language. Watts’s third verse of worship … [Read more…]
JOHN 11:1–16; JOHN 20:25 Though the name Doubting Thomas is most familiar to us (see John 20:24–29), it is not quite accurate. Ultimately, how many of us would have thought that our leader, who was executed, had been raised from the dead? We may as well give him the nickname “Courageous Thomas.” After all, Thomas showed … [Read more…]
LUKE 8:1–8; 2 CORINTHIANS 8:7 At age eight, a young boy expressed his love for Jesus and desire to serve God overseas. Over the next decade, my friend prayed for him and invested money in his future. When he applied to a mission agency, my friend gave him the money he had been saving for him, … [Read more…]
ROMANS 5:12–21 Mom saw Samuel, who was four years old, running away from the baby kittens. He was instructed not to touch them. She inquired, “Samuel, did you touch the kittens?” “No!” he answered firmly. Then Mom asked again, “Were they soft?” “Yes, and the black one mewed,” he added. For a toddler, we smile at such duplicity. … [Read more…]
PSALM 139:1–18 My friend asked if we could pick up their five-year-old son from school and take him home because they had a medical emergency. On arrival at the school, we asked the lad whether he was surprised that we came to get him, but he told us that he knew everything. A five-year-old may claim to … [Read more…]
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