Peace . . . in Spite of Panic

I invite you to focus your full attention on one of the rarest of all virtues. It is a virtue that everybody pursues, but very few possess on a regular basis. I’m referring to the often-longed-for but seldom-found virtue of peace. Peace—something that is needed between nations just as badly as it is needed between neighbors. We are a warring people. Deep down underneath our placid plastic cover we are fighters.

In God’s Service

Then the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.” (Isaiah 6:6–7) This is a major part of the […]

God’s Calm Control

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8) Isaiah says, “I saw the Lord!” His earthly situation turned his eyes upward. That’s what happened to me back in the late 1950s. My disappointment, […]

Going . . . Not Knowing, Part Two

Yesterday we read about two great men of the faith, Abraham and the apostle Paul, who set out into the great unknown out of obedience to God. It is no easy thing to leave a sure thing, walk away from an ace in the hole, and start down a long, dark tunnel with no end in sight. Absolutely frightening . . . yet filled with unimaginable excitement. Going . . . yet not knowing.

Acting Decisively, Part Two

Making one’s own decisions develops healthy mental muscles. But there will always be a few who crave to be told what to do. A major reason some prefer to be indecisive is laziness. Decision making is hard work. Peter Drucker was correct when he said: A decision is a judgment. It is a choice between alternatives. It is rarely a choice between right and wrong.

Radical Adjustments, Part Two

On October 12, 1972, a Fairchild F-227 of the Uruguayan Air Force was chartered by an amateur rugby team. The plan? To fly from Montevideo to Santiago, Chile . . . a flight pattern which required flying over the rugged Andes. There were forty-five on board, including the crew. Bad weather brought the plane down in Mendoza, a small Argentinian town.

Focus on God, Not Circumstances

Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. (Colossians 3:2) You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! (Isaiah 26:3) There is a mystery, an aura, about the living God that is designed to force us to trust Him, even when we […]

Does a Pot Argue with the Potter?

“Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes.” (Psalm 115:3) Nothing is a surprise to God, not even our slightest trials. His plan may seem unfair, but that’s because we dwell in the here and now. We lack the vertical view. In fact, we sometimes quarrel with God, as the prophet […]

God’s Decreed Plan

“I am the one who made the earth and created people to live on it. With my hands I stretched out the heavens. All the stars are at my command.” (Isaiah 45:12) It may seem to many that the One who made us is too far removed to concern Himself with such tiny details of […]

Hope Beyond Bitterness

Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. (Hebrews 12:15) If God has called you to be a Job—a rare calling—remember that the Lord is not only full of compassion, He is […]

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