John 6:5 “He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.” “So what are we going to do with all these people?” Jesus asked Philip. A crowd of five thousand was flooding the countryside. But the disciples didn’t have enough money to buy even a Continue Reading…
1 Samuel 3:19 “The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.” At the end of each day when my 6-year-old grandson gets home from school, his mom asks the most consequential of questions, “Were you a good listener today?” He’s learning his answer Continue Reading…
John 8:10-11 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” I can’t imagine how this adulterous woman must have felt. Dragged from her literal bed Continue Reading…
John 3:27 John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.” When I pick up a book, it’s always interesting to me to see various affirmations on the first pages from people recommending it as a good read. Some authors include pages of Continue Reading…
Matthew 25:12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ I don’t know why five of the ten virgins in Jesus’ parable ran out of oil. Evidently, they thought they had enough to get by. But their miscalculation caused them to lose everything. Kind of like Continue Reading…
2 Timothy 1:12 “…But I am not ashamed for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day which has been entrusted to me.” I was talking with a woman the other day who has trouble remembering who she is Continue Reading…
Proverbs 17:22 “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” I inherited a distinctive trait from my Grandma Creech (besides making good pie crusts). Sometimes she laughed so hard when something struck her funny bone that she couldn’t squeeze out even one coherent word. Continue Reading…
Proverbs 14:9 “Fools mock at making amends for sin, but goodwill is found among the upright.” [NIV] Goodwill. Although expressions of “peace on earth” and “goodwill toward men” flourish in the Christmas season, peace remains elusive. And if goodwill describes willing good for others, I’m afraid we’re falling short. No Continue Reading…
Ephesians 5:8 “for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” Sometimes I forget that I was darkness. In the pre-Christ days when I worshipped myself instead of my Creator, I didn’t realize how much I needed someone to save me from the dark. You would Continue Reading…
Luke 2:26 “And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” A few years ago my husband pruned our holly tree. Boy, did he! I wondered if any of those beautiful red berries would ever Continue Reading…