The Red Oak Restaurant
Read: Romans 5:1-9 Endurance produces character, and character produces hope. (v. 4) In a terrifying rush of destruction, the entire town of Sanford quickly became enveloped in a murky swath of contaminated water, debris, upended trees, and twisted metal. In this small community of 859 people, not a single building or home went unscathed. For Melissa […]
Midland’s Mighty Army
Read: 1 Chronicles 12:1-18 Peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers! (v. 18) In Michigan, homeowners have basements that often serve as a recreational room, spare bedroom, or simply additional storage. When the dams burst, water completely filled this lower-level space or the main living level. Toxic mold from floodwaters can set in within […]
I Will Carry You
Read: Isaiah 46:3-13 I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save. (v. 4) Albert and Dorthea, 92 and 93 years old, respectively, had moved into their dream home in the early 1970s. The modest, single-story, three-bedroom house was paid for. They fully intended to care for each other and live out […]
It’s Not My Fault
Read: 1 Samuel 15:13-31 I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me . . . But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen. (vv. 20-21) A series of dams, privately built in the 1920s, were designed to create a series of lakes for homeowners and recreationists in Mid-Michigan. Over the years, ownership […]
Who Am I? Enough
Read: 1 Peter 1:3-25 He . . . was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you. (v. 20) In 2003, the worship band Casting Crowns released a song entitled “Who Am I” in which the writer humbly compares himself to a “flower quickly fading” and a “wave tossed in the ocean.” He laments that […]
When the Dams Burst
Read: Psalm 57 In the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. (v. 1) When David wrote these heartfelt words, he was in distress and despair. He was hiding in a cave, fearing for his life. Not long before, he had played music for the king of Israel, […]
House and Home
Read: Psalm 23 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. (vv. 2-3) How would you describe the difference between a “house” and a “home”? One is physical and temporary, made with boards, nails, and concrete. The other is emotive and elusive, harder to describe. Unlike […]
Going Home
Read: Philippians 3:20-21 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. (v. 20) I was recently visiting with a patient who had endured a long battle with debility, also known as “failure to thrive.” She was living in her daughter’s house and receiving excellent care from her […]
Young Leadership in Uganda
Recently, one of our Ugandan language producers received a phone call from a listener who told him that, while she had been born into a Christian family, her father had left them at an early age. When her mother remarried, the new husband was a Muslim who turned the family toward the Islamic faith. One […]