Read: Exodus 17:8–15 Aaron and Hur held [Moses’s] hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. Exodus 17:12 Stories in the Bible can make us stop and wonder. For instance, when Moses led God’s people into the Promised Land and the Amalekites...

Read: Romans 7:14–25 The trouble is with me, for I am all too human. Romans 7:14 NLT British writer Evelyn Waugh wielded his words in a way that accentuated his character flaws. Eventually the novelist converted to Christianity, yet he still struggled. One day a woman asked him, “Mr. Waugh,...

Read: Psalm 29 The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning. Psalm 29:7 Many years ago a friend and I were fishing a series of beaver ponds when it started to rain. We took cover under a nearby grove of quaking aspen, but the rain continued to fall....

Read: 1 Corinthians 15:50–58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58 A financial advisor I know describes the reality...

Read: Mark 6:7–12 God is able to bless you abundantly, so that . . . you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8 Imagine going on a trip without luggage. No basic necessities. No change of clothing. No money or credit cards. Sounds both unwise and terrifying, doesn’t...

Read: 2 Corinthians 4:4–15 For God . . . made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6 Much of my career as a writer has revolved around the problem of pain....

Read: Romans 12:1–8 I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice. Romans 12:1 When I played college basketball, I made a conscious decision at the beginning of each season to walk into that gym and dedicate myself totally to...

Read: Genesis 2:4–8 Then the Lord God . . . breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Genesis 2:7 On a cold and frosty morning, as my daughter and I walked to school, we enjoyed seeing our breath turn to vapor. We giggled at the various steamy clouds we...

Read: 2 Corinthians 4:1–7 We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:7 In March 1974, Chinese farmers were digging a well when they made a surprising discovery: Buried under the dry ground of central...

Read: Psalm 100 The Lord is good and his love . . . continues through all generations. Psalm 100:5 Several years ago, my wife and I stayed in a rustic bed-and-breakfast in the remote Yorkshire Dales of England. We were there with four other couples, all British, whom we had...

Read: 2 Chronicles 20:1,13–22 If calamity comes . . . [we] will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us. 2 Chronicles 20:9 French artist Henri Matisse felt his work in the last years of his life best represented him. During that time he experimented with...

Read: Matthew 10:37–42 Whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. Matthew 10:39 When I married my English fiancé and moved to the United Kingdom, I thought it would be a five-year adventure in a foreign land. I never dreamed I’d still be living here nearly twenty years...