Written by Chuck Swindoll, these encouraging devotional thoughts are published seven days per week.
Are you an eagle-type, soaring to heights beyond your peers? Do you find yourself bored with the maintenance of the machinery...yawning through the review of the rules...restless to cut a new swath...excited rather than intimidated by the risks? Don’t expect pats on the back or great waves of applause. Not today.
Looking back, we laud those who refused to take no for an answer. We quote them with gusto. We even name our children after them.
“I want to know Him. I also want to model the power outflowing from His Resurrection. And I certainly want to be continually transformed into His likeness... which requires accepting my share of suffering.”
Looking back, I distinctly remember the turning point. No heavenly vision caused my attitude to change. My resentment toward God didn’t decrease because of some audible voice in the night. I can trace the acceptance of my circumstance and the shift of my focus to a single verse of Scripture.
Grandparents. What amazing gifts from God. Generation after generation He provides a fresh set of them...an ever-present counterculture in our busy world. Lest everyone else get so involved they no longer stop to smell the flowers or watch tiny ants hard at work, these special adults are deposited into our lifestyle account.
Webster—the old codger—would’ve been a good stand-in for Scrooge. Or maybe he was like the late W. C. Fields and just didn’t like kids. On the other hand, he probably played everything by the rulebook and didn’t let his emotions get in the way of his literary contribution.
We find ourselves making the extreme the standard. Periods are fast being replaced by exclamation points, “Nice” is no longer sufficient. Now it’s got to be “fantastic” or “incredible.”
It wasn’t very long before they realized this guy hadn’t just fallen off some turnip truck. When it came to communicating, Paul had his stuff together. He was a class act.
No matter how it may appear to others, if the church is something God has chosen and God is pleased to use, it’s a big deal.
Really, now...haven’t you wondered at times if the church is that significant in a day of high-level decisions and powerful international issues? I sure have. How could a congregation of folks carry much clout in our modern era of transcontinental missiles, mind-boggling scientific discoveries, space exploration, and impressive educational advancements?
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Insight for Living is committed to excellence in communicating the truths of Scripture and the Person of Jesus Christ in an accurate, clear, and practical manner so that people will come to an understanding of God’s plan for their lives, as well as their significant role as authentic Christians in a needy, hostile, and desperate world.
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