November 25, 2024
Unfair
Jesus did not demand his rights. He did not hold on to what was fair, but became three unspeakably unfair things for us.
Articles for tag: 2 Corinthians 5:2
September 1, 2023
There Is Hope, and His Name Is Jesus
By Megan Rawlings The news makes me anxious. Stories that make it seem the world is ending far outnumber positive articles and reports. Wars, division, disaster—it’s too much to process on a daily basis. And social media only adds to my unease. To deal with this, I changed my phone setting to limit my social media intake to 30 minutes a day. Any longer than that and I find I am crippled by comparison, more bad news, and disappointment. I started to wonder why the news and media (social media included) seem mostly to bend toward evil. It turns out,
March 20, 2023
Reverse the Curse
Sin’s curse has been removed by the Savior’s cure.
June 11, 2019
Disfigured
By Doug Redford Jane Alden Stevens was a professor of fine arts at the University of Cincinnati. During a trip to France several years ago, she noticed a stone obelisk in a small French village that had inscribed on it the names of those who had died during World War I. She later decided to conduct a study of how people in various European countries remembered that war. The result was a book of black and white photos that she entitled Tears of Stone: World War I Remembered. At Brookwood Military Cemetery in England, Stevens photographed a grave with this
April 25, 2019
You Can Call Me Grumpy
By Dan Schantz “Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly . . .” (Leviticus 19:32). With church members in America steadily aging, we need to know how to respectfully address our elders, but the last thing we need is more politically correct gag orders. Therefore, now that my body has passed its “best by” date, I hereby give you permission to call me by any of the following terms. YOU CAN CALL ME . . . 1. Old Fogy—Meaning “old-fashioned,” or “living in the past,” the term fogy comes from the word fog, and
August 5, 2014
Ready to Heal
By Mark A. Taylor Nobody forced Atlanta”s Emory University Hospital last week to accept two patients stricken with the deadly Ebola virus. Instead, Dr. Bruce Ribner, head of the Emory unit treating the sick Americans, welcomed the chance to admit them. Emory, according to Ribner, is one of only four U.S. facilities uniquely equipped to treat such a contagious disease. He told CNN, “We are not going to miss this opportunity.” Hospital staff members congratulated him for accepting the patients, he said. When he explained his decision to his wife, she responded, “Great, that”s what you”ve been dreaming of for
April 15, 2014
The Reason for This Season, Too
By Mark A. Taylor On the day before Easter in 2012 I snapped this picture in my local grocery store. The imposing, inflated bunny surrounded by candy eggs seemed a good symbol of the secular holiday and retailers” efforts to cash in on it. Not that I”m criticizing. I eat my share of chocolate eggs every year around this time. And every spring our house is decorated with Easter baskets and jellybeans””and a few of our own stuffed bunnies. But Easter, like Christmas, can get lost in the trappings if we don”t pause to meditate on the profound reasons for
December 15, 2013
What About the Church?
By Chris Beard John 1 is by far my favorite Christmas story. With all due respect to mangers, angels, and magi, John”s account of the Christmas event overflows with the epic proclamation and fanfare that such an earth-shattering moment deserves. Before the foundation of the world, One existed who shared in God”s presence and identity. This eternal being was the chief executor of creation; nothing was made without him. On a day that would redefine history, this all-powerful, eternal being became flesh and made his dwelling among us! This majestic juncture when God collided with human history is known as
April 6, 2012
“˜I Will Save You”
By Jeff Vines The prophet Joel said it (Joel 2:32), and more than 800 years later, the apostle Paul repeated it: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). Of all the enduring promises we find in Scripture, no other promise holds greater significance for both this life and the one to come. But what does salvation really mean? From what is one saved? Why is salvation something we should be concerned about? Before God”s promise of “I will save you” can become precious to us, we must understand the answers to those questions.
February 5, 2011
The Highest Purchase Price
By Charles Gerber People buy and sell some outrageous items on eBay. I heard about someone who tried to sell an elastic band you put around your head to hold your mobile phone to your ear. (It sounded an awful lot like a rubber band.) No one bid on it. (What a surprise!) However, someone actually did buy a half-eaten taco! Yard sales are places you can find some great bargains, but at auctions you are more likely to pay a premium on your purchase. Perhaps the most expensive sculpture sold at auction was L”Homme qui marche, created by Alberto
March 1, 2006
Interview with Steve Wyatt
By Brad Dupray Steve Wyatt is the lead pastor of Christ’s Church at the Crossroads in Phoenix, Arizona. “The Crossroads” was launched on January 9, 2005, and is already averaging almost 600 in Sunday attendance. Steve’s new book, Trading Places: Allowing God to Renovate Your Life, has just been released by Standard Publishing. Once you had the assignment from Standard in hand, how did you tackle the concept? IÂ don’t know that there was a “lightbulb moment.” I started thumbing through various passages of Scripture that meant a great deal to me, and it became clear that God has a specific
