Category: . . . Courage & Boldness
The John and Betty Stam Way: Faith in God Leads to Stories About God
Has God answered prayer in your life recently? Do you have any specific stories to tell about God’s faithfulness? And be honest: do you almost always take the “safe” option in life? John and Betty Stam served with China Inland Mission (founded by Hudson Taylor in...
What to Do When You Are Just a Little Birdie in a Big, Bad World
If you’ve ever been in a minor car accident, you might have called a loved one and started off by saying, “Hey, everything’s okay; I’m not hurt. But I’ve been in a wreck.” David starts off Psalm 11 with “everything’s okay” type of language: “In the...
Pain for Him; Gain for Them
Muslim extremists murdered Ayub’s grandmother on one of the islands of Indonesia. We stayed in the home of this warmhearted Christian leader a few years ago. He serves as an elder for the church meeting in a home nearby. We loved this brother and his wife...
How Much Suffering Can You Take?
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (Hebrews 12:3-4) You have suffered — some — if you...
Faint, but Pursuing
The name “Gideon” means “hewer” or “one who cuts down”. It carries with it connotations of strength, one who fells great trees, strikes down enemies, and topples mighty opponents. When the angel of the Lord once greeted a man named Gideon, he did so appropriately for...
Contend for the Faith When Infiltrated by the Wicked
That small letter called Jude, which reads like a diatribe on the one hand, is a weighty and relevant appeal to the church. It should not be dismissed because of its diminutive size. Like Napoleon at 5’6,” it more than makes up for its mere 25...
The Importance of Remembering
Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for Americans who have died in military service to our nation. To remember the sacrifices of those in our past is not only right and good, but essential. Without such sacrifices, we would have no present freedom, security, or...
No Lay-up Shot: A Lesson from the Master
For some reason unknown to humankind, my older brother got to play golf on the distinguished Augusta National Golf Course, the course where perhaps the best tournament of the year is held—The Masters. It was there that the following life-shaping event took place. He was playing...
Hit by the Pitch
As an assistant coach for my son’s baseball team, I have watched a particularly formative event take place in the lives of many Little Leaguers. They come out to play with the greatest enthusiasm, but then something happens—something which even the most talented players are not...
Foes Without; Fears Within
Civil War broke out. (Have you known war, real human disruption and conflict, even if on a small scale?) It is fair to call it “breaking out,” as if it were a plague that was destined to take the lives of many cherished family members and...
