the day
Recently, our family took a trip to visit my parents in a distant state. Our two boys love their “Grams” and “Pa,” so they were excited to see their grandparents. They were also excited to miss a week of school, to travel by aircraft, and because we had tickets for all of the guys in the family to attend a local university football game. As you can imagine, my boys counted the days leading up to the trip, something that was both excruciating and immensely exciting for them.
ready or not
Recently, a thief propped a metal ladder against the back of a restaurant early one morning. He scaled the ladder, reached the roof, and entered the eatery hoping to plunder the place. He couldn’t have known, however, that the restaurant’s owner was waiting inside. The restaurant had been burglarized three times in previous weeks, and the owner refused to become a victim again.
worth the wait
Everybody is waiting for something. What are you waiting for—employment, marriage, family peace? Imagine having to wait centuries for the fulfillment of a promise, but there was no evidence that it would be fulfilled. This was the spiritual and emotional climate during the time Jesus was born. People were waiting for God to fulfill the promise of restoration through the Messiah, but the political, social, and spiritual darkness concealed any evidence that God would keep His promise. Many people became weary of being righteous. Yet, there was a man who continued to wait and trust in God’s promise (Luke 2:25).
in the end
As I looked at the goldfish cracker on the floor of my pantry, I reminisced about the tiny hands of my children and an earlier season in life. Though the fallen cracker was the result of a recent forage, the image made me realize how quickly time passes. As I dealt with sleepless nights, teething babies, and potty training, I would have been hard-pressed to believe that the end was soon in sight. The hands that once cupped goldfish crackers now grip a gym bag, textbooks, and an iPad.
risk it
What’s one thing you hope to hear God say to you in heaven? I’m guessing it’s these words: “Well done, My good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21). This verse is quoted so often that it’s invaluable that we understand its meaning.
end of the world?
If the premise of the movie 2012 is correct, then we have less than 12 months to live. Our world will come to a catastrophic end on December 21 of this year—the day when the ancient Mayan calendar officially expires. Yeah, right . . .
Christians in every generation have believed that Jesus would come back in their lifetime because they…
perhaps today
When will all this happen? What sign will show us that these things are about to take place?” (Luke 21:7). Over the centuries, Christians have asked these two questions. And in every generation they’ve believed that Jesus was coming back in their lifetime because of signs and events that they observed during their day. Yet, 2,000 years later, we’re still…
