HYMN DAY! When we’ve found Christ, we’ve found our All. “I’ve Found a Friend, O Such a Friend” by James G. Small says it well—From Him who loves me now so well what power my soul can sever? Shall life or death or earth or hell? No, I am His…
In a lot of ways, this world is a mess. And do you know why? Because of sin, that’s why. I realize “sin” is a word that makes people uncomfortable or irritable or outright defensive, but it has to be said. Because until we recognize our sinful state, we cannot…
Do you ever weep when you pray for the lost? When I was younger, I was pretty stiff upper-lipped (that’s how my mom phrased it). Even though I felt things deeply, I kept a rein on my emotions and didn’t let my inner hurt or anguish show. Not anymore. Four…
How sad when people choose religion over relationship. Obviously, if people follow a religion, they’re seeking fulfillment; they’re searching for meaning in life. But they won’t find it in a man-made list of foods to eat or words to say or duties to perform. The only filler for that empty…
Faith in Christ—believing that Jesus is the Son of God who was sent to earth through the virgin’s birth, nailed to a cross as the sacrifice for the sins of mankind, and rose again, conquering death forevermore—saves us from eternal damnation. Jews in Jesus’s time followed a strict set of…
HYMN DAY! Fanny Crosby wrote many endearing hymns, and “Near the Cross” is one of my favorites. Let my righteousness bestowed through faith in Jesus shine consistently day by day. 1. Jesus, keep me near the cross; there a precious fountain, free to all, a healing stream, flows from Calvary’s…
Probably many of you know about whom I’m speaking when I write the name Annalise Hope. Annalise Hope was diagnosed with hydranencephaly in utero. Her parents were encouraged to abort her because she probably wouldn’t live more than a few minutes. But Kevin and Candace believe God is the giver…
When I was in grade school, I read a short biography about the daughter of missionaries living in India. Everyone else in her family had blue eyes; she had brown, and she resented them. All of the brown-eyed people in the village were enamored by these blue-eyed strangers who spoke…
This is one of the most difficult scriptures for me to comprehend. A God who wills that none should be lost, hardens some hearts? The Bible gives us examples of this hardening—with Pharaoh, who refused to release God’s chosen people, and with Saul, who needed to step aside so David…
There’s a great deal of unrest in our country and around the world. Some might wonder why a God of power allows evil to run rampant. I can think of two reasons: 1) He gives us free will—He doesn’t pull our “strings” and force us to follow Him; and 2)…