Seeing God’s Heart
It may seem that modern, paved highways have always existed, but they’re a fairly recent invention. Intended to help people travel quickly and safely, they’re also a source of accidents and traffic jams. Many commuters lament the need to travel on highways—viewing them as an inconvenient and even dangerous part of modern life. What was designed to be a blessing is now viewed as a burden by these drivers.
The Restoration Promise
Uncle Mark (not his real name) had his big toe removed because his arteries had become blocked after years of smoking 60 cigarettes a day. My husband and I used the traumatic event to talk to our kids about the consequences of destructive habits. We realized just how much Uncle Mark’s story had impacted them when a few days later we heard our son telling another family member to quit smoking or his big toe would need to be cut off!
do you love God?
Do you love God? Just think about it. How can a lowly person draw near, much less talk about being in a love relationship with such a high and exalted Being? It blows my mind. A classic hymn describes God as “immortal, invisible, God only wise, in light inaccessible hid from our eyes.” Perhaps God’s “otherness” explains why we often feel so inadequate in claiming that we love Him.
work and leisure
Sunday’s here. Hurrah! Let’s go to church in the morning and then catch up on all those things that we couldn’t do during the week. Is that how you view the Lord’s Day? Personal confession: that’s often the way I feel after a busy work week. But is that wrong?
unfold His Word
How many times have you, like I, delved into sin— be it addiction, sexual impropriety, gossip, pride, unbridled anger, slothfulness—in attempts to mask the pain of life? It’s all too easy to respond to the emptiness, disappointment, or hurt that we’re experiencing by turning away from God’s commands instead of to them.
here comes . . .
I was driving my family to a relative’s home when I was pulled over for speeding. I had been driving faster than the suspiciously low speed limit, so there wasn’t much I could say. But when I learned that my insurance rate would skyrocket due to the ticket, I contacted the village prosecutor and asked for a compromise. He agreed, and soon a court document arrived in the mail. It began, “Here comes Mr. Wallace, prosecutor for Oakville,” and explained that he would charge me with a lesser offense.
actions and adventure
On a recent visit home to the United States, I got my first taste of D-BOX—motion theater seats that pitch you forward and backward, side to side, and up and down in sync with the action depicted on the screen.
true fulfillment
How many times have you, as I have, delved into sin—addiction, sexual impropriety, gossip, pride, unbridled anger, slothfulness, and more—in an attempt to mask the pain of life? It’s so easy to respond to emptiness, disappointment, or hurt by turning away from God’s commands.
greater than our shame
God is greater than our shame. Because Saul failed to realize this, his life ended tragically. The Israelites were engaged in a fierce battle and suffered defeat at the hands of the Philistines on Mt. Gilboa. That day, the Philistines killed Saul’s three sons and wounded him. Humiliation, torture, and death were likely to follow his capture. Unable to endure the shame, Saul committed suicide. Beneath this desperate act, however, lurked the larger and the darker issues of disloyalty and disobedience to God.
something rotten
I recently began searching for a good used car. When we went to check out a 2006 model, the vehicle looked pristine. Looks can be deceiving, however. For when I had my mechanic take a peek at the prospective purchase, he found some major transmission problems. If I had bought the car, it would have cost me thousands of dollars to fix.
needing God
When Palestinian Tass Saada was just 17 years old, he joined the Fatah movement in the West Bank. Tass hated Jews and engaged in guerilla warfare against them. He became known as “Butcher” due to the many Israeli soldiers he killed as a sniper. But later, Tass surrendered His life to Jesus and now loves God and the Jews. His ministry in the Middle East is called Seeds of Hope. Tass works to provide modern necessities for Palestinians who live in the West Bank, while he also builds relational bridges between them and their Jewish neighbors.
spin
As anyone who has ever been a parent can attest, children can be masters of the literal—especially when it comes to rules. One day, after admonishing my son to keep his hands off his sister, I looked back only to find him placing his elbows, his feet, his knees—anything but his hands—in her personal space. From his interpretation of what I had said, he was well within the boundaries I had set.
amputate!
The film 127 Hours tells the true story of Aron Ralston, based on his memoir Between a Rock and a Hard Place. In 2003 Aron’s forearm became pinned under a boulder for 5 days with no rescue in sight. Out of desperation he freed himself by cutting off his right arm with a blunt penknife. This gruesome scene in the film…
obedience
Christmas has come and gone. The decorations that decked the shopping malls and churches have been taken down. And the Christmas tree in your living room has probably been dumped outside. The festivities and revelry may be over for us, but after Jesus’ birth Joseph and Mary observed three ceremonies out of obedience to God’s laws (Luke 2:21-24,39).
When he…
