Devotionals

When Truth Speaks

By Shawn McMullen “Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone””and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true” (3 John 12). We don”t know much about the disciple named Demetrius. He”s mentioned only once in the New Testament, in John”s third letter. Some suggest he was the courier who delivered John”s letter to Gaius, but that”s speculation. We do know one thing about him. He enjoyed a good reputation among his brothers and sisters in the church. John described him as “well spoken of by everyone.” It seems everyone

September 13, 2017

Writing a New Ending

By Diane Stortz We rightly associate faith in Christ with new beginnings””but because of Jesus we can have new endings too. Heaven is a new ending, of course. Death won”t be the final chapter! But what about new endings while we”re here on earth? When Jesus left his home in Nazareth and began to teach and preach, he chose to announce his mission by reading aloud a passage from the book of Isaiah. It begins, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent

September 6, 2017

Remember Me

By Diane Stortz With missionaries in the family, she had become pretty good at saying good-bye, although it”s never easy. This time, the leave-taking felt especially difficult, because not only were her daughter and son-in-law returning to the mission field, but this time they were taking their 7-week-old baby, Solomon, her first grandchild. One of the first things Solomon”s grandma did when she got home from the airport was frame some of the many pictures taken during those first seven weeks of Solomon”s life. She placed three in the family room, one on the piano, one in the bedroom, and

August 30, 2017

We Fear No More

By Jackina Stark John Donne, 17th-century poet and preacher, wrote some of the most beautiful poetry in the English language. His Holy Sonnet X, “Death Be Not Proud,” may be the greatest expression of Christ”s victory over death since Paul wrote, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). When Donne turns to the issue of sin, his poetry isn”t always so victorious. In “Hymn to God the Father,” the speaker asks if God can possibly forgive all of his sin: Wilt Thou forgive that sin, through which I run, And do run

August 16, 2017

Epic Love, Exorbitant Cost

By Jackina Stark It is said that John Milton, 17th-century poet, arguably the greatest poet of all time, read everything of consequence in English, Latin, Greek, and Italian, and that he knew the Bible by heart. He wanted to use the greatest literary form, the epic, to honor the greatest kingdom and hero of all time. In his unparalleled Paradise Lost (1667), he tried to explain something of God”s ways to man. In book three (of 12), Milton fictionalizes the moment Jesus makes his grand commitment to God and man. God and the Son watch Satan, who is bent on

August 9, 2017

When I Come to the Cross – Images of Sorrow and Joy

By Jackina Stark Scholars have suggested two details about the cross that I have found intriguing. One has to do with where the cross might have been placed. Some suggest it was not erected at the top of Golgotha but at the base. This is in keeping with crucifixions taking place in busy thoroughfares, but it puts the cross too close to an unconcerned, gawking public for my comfort. It puts it, for that matter, too close to me. The second detail some scholars suggest is that Jesus might have been hung only a few feet above the ground. The

July 26, 2017

The Good Shepherd Lays Down His Life for His Sheep

By Ronald G. Davis John, in his Gospel, borrows the beautiful image of God that permeates the Scriptures: God is our shepherd. And that image may be the most common symbolic image reproduced through the Christian era. From mosaics in the second-century catacomb resting places of those first Christians in Rome to magnificent stained-glass windows in hundreds of 20th-century church buildings from Europe to Australia, the shepherd shows himself ready to protect and feed. When Jesus applies that image to himself, in John 10, he pictures the absolute devotion the shepherd maintains in every circumstance. His whole existence is given

June 30, 2017

Holes Are Fascinating

By Rick Chromey Holes come in all shapes and sizes, from pinpricks in paper to massive holes in the ozone. There are knotholes, peepholes, and sinkholes. If there”s a hole in your story, you”re not telling the whole story. Our food is filled with holes. Swiss cheese is among God”s holiest. Doughnut holes are delicious. Some of God”s finest holes are tourist attractions, such as the Grand Canyon, Royal Gorge, and Mammoth Cave. Space tourists, however, would think twice before visiting a black hole. A Google search of holes produced 87 billion results. That”s a lot of holes. I”m not

May 5, 2017

The Unexpected Place Setting

By Randy Gariss It must have seemed an odd table. David was king of Israel, and when he sat down to eat he had his family and his sons. As king, he naturally would have included some friends and perhaps a favorite servant or two. And also a crippled man by the name of Mephibosheth. The backstory has all the human interest we can handle. Years before, Saul had been the king and he had made the young David”s life miserable””repeatedly attempting to cut it short! Saul”s despotic life and desperate panic were all an ill-fated attempt to keep David,

April 23, 2017

Fear Knot

By Eddie Lowen How to untangle boldness,Â fear, and pride. I wonder how Pharaoh and his crew sized up Moses when he barged into their presence. Did Moses look “fresh from the farm” after decades of rural ranching? No doubt, age and circumstance had altered Moses” appearance. Those easy childhood years as adopted grandson of an earlier king were long gone. However, what Moses lacked in fashion and grooming, he overcame with boldness. True, he hedged at the burning bush. Yet something had shifted in him. His presence was amplified by another presence. Aaron went along because Moses lacked confidence as

April 7, 2017

“˜Faith Up” to Your Fears

Compiled by Doug Redford Feeling fearful these days? That”s not unusual. Throughout the Bible we find stories of God”s people who were afraid. And again and again, God, one of his angels, or Jesus himself told the frightened follower, “Fear not.” Here we”ve compiled a list of these fear-chasing challenges. You may want to look up some of these verses to see the whole story surrounding them. Or you may choose a couple to keep by your desk or on your mirror or in your pocket. Maybe memorizing one or two of these will remind you that God”s in control,

April 1, 2017

Why Are You So Afraid?

By Aaron and Diane Lincoln Traveling between cultures leads to some interesting moments. “Paper or plastic?” a grocery checker asked us one furlough. We looked at each other quizzically. “We’re paying with cash.” Now it was the checker who looked confused. “Paper bags or plastic bags?” was of course the question, but not one we hear in England. When a stranger (or friend) casually references a line of dialogue from a commercial or TV show, we can be left clueless. And it seems every time we return on furlough, bank card machines have changed. Lots of small differences, that have

March 17, 2017

The Joy of Suffering

By Becky Ahlberg Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart (Hebrews 12:1-3). We live in

March 10, 2017

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

By Becky Ahlberg He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:3-5, King James Version). This famous passage of Scripture is filled with imagery to

February 24, 2017

Just Ten Seconds

By Doug Redford In February of 2003 Fred Rogers passed away. Rogers was the man responsible for creating Mister Rogers” Neighborhood, a program on public television that sought to let all children know how much they are loved and how very special they are. Rogers, an ordained minister in the Presbyterian church, did the show for 33 years; it can still be seen on many public television stations. In a 1997 interview, Rogers recalled, “When I saw television for the first time, I saw people throwing pies in each other”s faces””demeaning things. I knew then that this medium needed to

February 17, 2017

Calvary-Road Therapy

By Doug Redford Peter Bronson, a former columnist for The Cincinnati Enquirer, wrote an item for the opinion page that appeared in the paper on July 31, 2005. He entitled it, “Country-road Therapy Soothes the Soul.” In it he wrote, “I”ve heard of physical therapy, occupational therapy, water therapy, and music therapy. I prefer country-road therapy. The prescription is simple: Take a full tank of gas and a summer afternoon, and just drive until the billboards are replaced by barns and the skyscrapers turn into silos.” “When I had a motorcycle,” he continued, “I spent hours exploring country roads. Mostly

February 13, 2017

St. Valentine

By Joe Boyd I am pretty good about remembering my wife”s birthday and our anniversary. Christmas is hard to overlook. But Valentine”s Day always sneaks up on me. If you”re like me, your February 14th may involve a frantic stop at the flower shop to overpay for roses and chocolates. The cynics among us like to claim that Hallmark invented these pop-up holidays to sell greeting cards. Our consumer culture undoubtedly pours a massive amount of gas on the Valentine”s Day fire. But is that all this is? Is there a bigger story at play here? (Hint: there is always

February 13, 2017

Surprise!

By Chad Ragsdale The Jesus of Scripture is not the safe Jesus we may seek. I was in the library the other day and stumbled across a book titled What Would Jesus Drive? My imagination was immediately captivated by the idea of Jesus and his disciples road tripping down the dusty back roads of Galilee. I was also curious how in the world the author could get an entire book from such a narrow topic, so I opened it up. It turns out each chapter placed Jesus in a different, contemporary ethical situation. “What would Jesus eat?” “What would Jesus

February 3, 2017