Read: Numbers 22:21-31 The Angel of the Lord [was] standing in the way. —Numbers 22:23 Did you know that the microbes on just one of your hands outnumber all of the people on the earth? Or that millions of microbes could fit into the eye of a needle? These one-celled,...

Read: 1 Corinthians 2:9-16 We have the mind of Christ. —1 Corinthians 2:16 Over the years I’ve been part of various book groups. Typically, several friends read a book and then we get together to discuss the ideas the author has put forward. Inevitably, one person will raise a question...

Read: Isaiah 6:1-8 Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory! —Isaiah 6:3 It used to bother me that the closer I drew to God in my walk with Him, the more sinful I felt. Then a phenomenon I observed in my...

Read: Hebrews 12:1-5 Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. —Hebrews 12:1 August 10, 1628, was a dark day in naval history. On that day the royal warship Vasa set...

Read: Genesis 39:1-6,20-23 “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” —Matthew 26:39 “May all things happen according to your will,” is a greeting frequently exchanged during Chinese New Year. As wonderful as that may sound,...

Read: James 1:19-27 He who . . . is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. —James 1:25 How often do you see your reflection in a mirror? Some studies say that the average person looks in a...

Read: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. —1 Thessalonians 1:8 James Michener’s Centennial is a fictional account of the history and settlement of the American West. Through the eyes of a French-Canadian trader named Pasquinel, Michener converges...

Read: James 3:1-12 No man can tame the tongue. —James 3:8 From Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs to Siberian foxes, humans have learned to tame wild animals. People enjoy teaching monkeys to “act” in commercials or training deer to eat out of their hands. As the apostle James put it, “Every kind...

Read: Mark 9:14-27 [Jesus] answered him and said, “. . . Bring him to Me.” —Mark 9:19 “I don’t believe in God and I won’t go,” Mark said. Amy struggled to swallow the lump in her throat. Her son had changed from a happy boy to a surly and uncooperative...

Read: Mark 12:28-34 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. —Deuteronomy 6:5 “Where intellect and emotion clash, the heart often has the greater wisdom” wrote the authors of A General Theory of Love. In the past, they...

Read: Psalm 119:17-24 Your testimonies also are my delight and my counselors. —Psalm 119:24 The Word of God comes to us in many forms. Bible-centered preaching, Scripture reading, songs, study groups, and devotional articles bring to us the truths of God from Scripture. But we can’t overlook personal reading and...

Read: Jeremiah 17:1-8 He shall be like a tree planted by the waters . . . ; its leaf will be green. —Jeremiah 17:8 I have a friend who lives on a ranch in the wide-open spaces of Montana. The road to his home is a long trail that winds through the parched and...