Good News 03-05-26

Faith to Weather the Storms

March 5, 2026

Words from Jesus

Audio length: 9:32

And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.—Mark 4:39

I know that at times in life, you can feel so low and discouraged. Your boat is being tossed about on life’s ocean, the sky is dark, and the waves are high. Your sails get torn and the way forward looks uncertain, and it is difficult to navigate.

When My disciples were in a storm and the waves were breaking over the boat so that it was being swamped, they grew anxious. So great was their fear that they cried out to Me, “Don’t you care if we drown?” (Mark 4:37–38). When I stilled the waves and calmed the sea, they learned that I would always be with them through life’s storms. They came to understand that I have the power to help them weather any storm and to overcome life’s trials and tests (Mark 4:40–41).

You will go through storms and rough seas in your life journey. But if you place your faith in My Word and you put it into practice, you will be like the wise man who built his house on the rock. No matter what storms come your way, your house will stand (Matthew 7:24–25). You can stand firm in the knowledge that I will be with you and I will protect you even in the midst of the squalls.

Your good gardener

Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. … Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit.—John 15:4–5

I am the Master Landscaper and I have an intricate plan for your life. It can often be a challenge for you to “see the forest for the trees,” as the saying goes. When you find it difficult to understand how things in life will work together for your good, you can take a step back and commune with Me. Bring all your questions and concerns to Me and ask Me to help you to have faith in My overall plan. Trust that one day you will understand why I allowed certain things in your life and the good that came from them (Romans 8:28).

I am the Good Gardener, and I know where to plant the mighty oaks and where to plant the tiniest flower. Everything has a purpose and a special place where it is meant to be, which will also change over time. For there is a season for everything and a time for every matter under heaven—including a time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted, a time to break down and a time to build up (Ecclesiastes 3:1–8).

Whatever season of life you find yourself in, abide in Me and I will abide in you. I am with you and will speak to your heart in the quiet moments when you’re alone. So come to Me with all your burdens and weights and let Me beautify the garden of your heart and life and make it flourish and bear fruit according to My good will and purpose for you.

My plans for your life

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.—Psalm 138:8

I have planted in you the desire to be a better person and to bear fruit for Me, so you can be a faithful witness for Me and an example of My love to others. I call you to continue to strive to grow in your love and compassion for others, and to consider the plight of the lost, the oppressed, the helpless, and people who are struggling, lonely, or suffering loss or trials. I bless all those who consider the poor to pray for them and seek to help them and show them My love (Psalm 41:1).

When you feel the weight of your imperfections and weaknesses and you feel inadequate to be all that I have called you to be, bring your every thought and burden to Me. Call out to Me and ask Me to continue to work in your life to fulfill My good purposes for you. Ask Me to empower you by My Spirit to grow in your walk with Me and have faith that I will do it.

Commit your ways to Me, seek My guidance, and walk in obedience to My Word and trust that I will guide your path (Proverbs 3:5–7). Place your confidence in My promise that I will carry on to completion the good work I began in your life (Philippians 1:6).

The blessing of giving

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.—John 13:35

The example of My followers freely giving of themselves to others has been a powerful testimony over the past two thousand years. When you give in love without expecting anything in return, whether your time, your resources, or kindness, you shine My light to the world around you. And I have promised to bless you for your giving—which is more blessed than receiving (Acts 20:35).

Even the secular world will highlight stories of heroic and self-giving love and kindness. You see this concept portrayed in books, articles, or movies, where a person is recognized for helping someone in their time of need and sacrificially giving of self for the good of others. Mother Teresa was beloved the world over for that reason, and she was a beautiful testimony of sacrificial love.

I have promised in My Word that those who give will be blessed, and will be rewarded for their giving in the life to come (Matthew 25:31–40). So keep your eyes set on Me and focus on storing up treasures in heaven by freely sharing My love with others. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19–21).

Part of something bigger

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.—Ephesians 4:4–6

Fulfilling My Great Commission means being part of a worldwide body of people committed to living out My calling and being My ambassadors to their part of the world. I have given each of you certain gifts and callings to do your part and fulfill your role. You are each members of My body and each one is needed and essential (1 Corinthians 12:12–20).

So embrace the calling you have received, and exercise the gifts I’ve given you to play your role in reaching people with My Word and truth, and sharing My love with others in whatever ways you can. Pray that I will guide you to the people and places where you can serve Me and bear fruit for Me.

Originally published in 2000. Adapted and republished March 2026. Read by Jon Marc. Music by John Listen.

My Bible Journey

March 4, 2026

By Gabriel García V.

Reading through the Bible in a year, fast paced, has given rise to some debate. Those who are not in favor of this method say that in doing so, you miss a lot of nuances, overlook important points, don’t have time to reflect on or digest properly what you have read, etc. These are legitimate observations, yet I tried reading through the Bible in a year for myself and came to some surprising conclusions.

My sister and her friend sent me a chronological Bible to be read in a year. At first, I wasn’t too enthusiastic about it because of the reasons stated above. But then, thinking of the trouble they had gone through to send it to me, the Lord nudged me and I accepted the challenge.

It was an arduous project for sure. Because of the voluminous amount of text that I needed to cover daily, there wasn’t much time to ponder and meditate on what I’d read, compare verses, and write notes as I normally do. The Holy Spirit can teach us all things and guide us in understanding the truth (John 14:26; 16:13). God’s Word is powerful whether read quickly or slowly and purposefully.

By reading straight through the Bible in a year I have discovered other aspects that are also valuable. It was my constant companion throughout my long hospital stay and gave me a concrete daily challenge. There is also something to be said about catching the overall picture. Reading the Bible without pause or interruption can help give you a general overview to discover important principles you might not catch with a slow reading.

As I was speed-reading the Epistles, for example, I realized something that I hadn’t caught before, and that is the total importance Paul gives to Christ. Everything in his letters is centered around Christ. It’s all about Jesus. He is preeminent. To Paul, everything else appears to be trivial, worthless, or unimportant by comparison. He is totally sold out on Christ. Jewish traditions, cultural differences—they are all inconsequential. Jesus is principal and foremost in Paul’s writings. He is crazy about Jesus, really. In epistle after epistle, he goes on and on raving about Jesus. For him, nothing else really matters. As he expressed to the Corinthians:

“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

The list of verses on Christ being at the center of everything is miles long, but here’s a sampling of a few of the verses that show the preeminence of Christ:

“For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11).

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:19–20).

“So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17–19).

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).

I had a similar feeling reading over the major and minor prophets. As I was reading quickly, I got an overall picture of their message, and so many verses stood out to me, which are very applicable to today’s world.

Recently I heard the famous New Testament scholar N. T. Wright express a parallel thought. When asked what he thought about fast Bible reading, he said there is nothing wrong about it. It has its place. There is a time for every purpose under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Whether you choose to read quickly or slowly, the important thing is to consistently read and study the Bible. It is God’s love letter to each of us.

We All Need Forgiveness

March 3, 2026

A compilation

Audio length: 10:27

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The word “forgive” means to wipe the slate clean, to pardon, to cancel a debt. … The Bible tells us that we are all in need of forgiveness from God. We have all committed sin. Ecclesiastes 7:20 proclaims, “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.” …

Thankfully, God is loving and merciful—eager to forgive us of our sins! 2 Peter 3:9 tells us, “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” God desires to forgive us, so He provided for our forgiveness. …

Second Corinthians 5:21 teaches us, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus died on the cross, taking the punishment that we deserve! … 1 John 2:2 proclaims, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” Jesus rose from the dead, proclaiming His victory over sin and death (1 Corinthians 15:1–28). Praise God, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the second half of Romans 6:23 is true, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”—GotQuestions.org¹

God doesn’t keep grudges. He is never trying to get even with us. Jesus paid all the costs for everything we’ve done wrong.

God planned to do that long before you were born. Ephesians 1:4 says this: “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.”

God had a plan for the guilt in our lives long before we took our first breath.

Because God forgave us, he expects us to forgive others. The Bible says, “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (Colossians 3:13).²

Here’s why forgiveness is so important.

— Because God has forgiven us. We will never need to forgive anybody else more than God has already forgiven us. When we come to Christ, all our sins are wiped away. God has no record of our sins in Heaven if we’ve accepted Christ in our life. Since God offers us that kind of forgiveness, we should freely offer it to others.

— Because resentment makes us miserable. Holding on to unforgiveness doesn’t just hurt the other person. It hurts us. In fact, it hurts us more.

— Because we’ll need more forgiveness in the future. We’ll make mistakes in the future. We’ll sin. We’ll fail. We’ll fall. We will need the forgiveness of God and others later. But Jesus taught, “If you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses” (Matthew 6:15).—Rick Warren³

My Attorney—A Story

After I lived a “decent” life, my time on earth came to an end. The first thing I remember is sitting on a bench in the waiting room of what seemed to be a courthouse. The doors opened, and I was instructed to come in and have a seat at the defense table.

As I looked around, I saw the prosecutor. He was a villainous-looking gent who snarled as he stared at me. He definitely was the most evil person I have ever seen. I sat down and looked to my left and there sat my lawyer, a kind and gentle-looking man whose appearance seemed strangely familiar to me.

The corner door flew open, and the Judge appeared. He was an awesome figure, in full, flowing robes, as He moved across the room. I couldn’t take my eyes off Him. As He took His seat behind the bench, He said, “Let us begin.”

The prosecutor rose and said, “My name is Satan, and I am here to show You why this man belongs in hell.” He proceeded to tell of lies I had told, things I had stolen, and times I had cheated others. The more he spoke, the further down in my seat I sank.

I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t look at anyone, even my own lawyer, as the Devil told of sins that even I had completely forgotten about. As upset as I was at Satan for telling all these things about me, I was equally upset at my representative, who sat there silently, not offering any form of defense at all.

I knew I had been guilty of those things, but I had done some good in my life. Couldn’t that at least compensate for part of the harm I’d done? Satan finished with a fury and said, “This man belongs in hell. He is guilty of all that I have charged, and there is not a person who can prove otherwise.”

When it was His turn, my lawyer first asked if He might approach the bench. The Judge allowed this, over the strong objection of Satan, and beckoned Him to come forward. As my lawyer got up and started walking, I was able for the first time to see Him in His full splendor and majesty. I realized why He seemed so familiar. This was Jesus representing me—my Lord and Savior!

He stopped at the bench and softly said to the Judge, “Hi, Father.” Then He turned to address the court: “Satan was correct in saying that this man has sinned. I won’t deny any of these allegations. And yes, the payment for sin is hell, and this man deserves to be punished.”

Jesus took a deep breath and turned to His Father with outstretched arms and proclaimed, “However, I died on the cross as payment for this man’s sins, and so that this person might have eternal life. He has accepted Me as his Savior. He is Mine.”

My Lord continued by saying, “His name is written in the Book of Life, and no one can snatch him from Me. Satan still does not understand. This man is not to be given justice, but rather mercy.”

As Jesus sat down, He quietly paused, looked at His Father and said, “There is nothing else that needs to be done. I’ve done it all.”

The Judge lifted His mighty hand and slammed the gavel down. The following words echoed in the chamber: “This man is free. The penalty for him has already been paid in full. Case dismissed.”

As Jesus gave me my instructions about where to go next, I asked, “Have You ever lost a case?”

Christ lovingly smiled and said, “Everyone who has come to Me and asked Me to represent them has received the same verdict as you—‘Punishment paid in full.’”—Author unknown⁴

From the very beginning, God decided that whoever would come to Him, He would transform to be like His Son. In effect, His Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers.

So when we came to Him through receiving Jesus as our Savior, the Father declared us “not guilty,” filled us with Christ’s goodness, and promised us glory like our Savior’s.

What can we ever say to such wonderful things as these? If God is on our side, who can work against us? God didn’t spare even His own Son, but gave Him up for us all. Won’t He also surely give us everything else?—Romans 8:29–32, paraphrased

Published on Anchor March 2026. Read by Lenore Welsh. Music by Michael Dooley.

¹ “Got Forgiveness?” GotQuestions.org, January 4, 2022, https://www.gotquestions.org/got-forgiveness.html

² Rick Warren, “Four Ways to Love Others Like Jesus,” Pastors.com, https://blog.pastors.com/articles/four-ways-to-love-others-like-jesus/

³ Rick Warren, “How Jesus Gives Us Freedom,” Pastors.com, https://blog.pastors.com/articles/how-jesus-gives-us-freedom/

⁴ “Jesus, Our Advocate,” God’s Other Ways (blog), https://www.godsotherways.com/stories/2020/3/25/do-the-next-thing-4baw5-8faz4-8858t-9sdzk-94pzd

God’s Promise of Power

March 2, 2026

Treasures

Audio length: 12:32

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Shortly before His arrest, crucifixion and resurrection, as Jesus prepared His disciples for His departure, He promised them that He would send them a comforter and an advocate—the Holy Ghost—to strengthen, empower, lead and guide them in their spiritual lives and relationship with Him. “But the Comforter, who is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. … and when the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 14:26; 16:13).

In the book of Acts, we read that Jesus presented himself alive to them after His resurrection during forty days and spoke to them about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). In Jesus’ final moments with His disciples before His ascension, He ordered them to “wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard from Me … for you will be baptized by the Holy Spirit.” He went on to say, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be My witnesses … to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:4, 8).

The disciples then returned to Jerusalem, where they prayed and waited with over one hundred of Jesus’ closest followers. When the day of Pentecost, a Jewish harvest festival, arrived as they were all gathered together, they witnessed a miraculous manifestation of God’s power: “Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability” (Acts 2:2–4).

This was “the promise of the Father” they had been waiting for—God’s supernatural power to continue Jesus’ work after He departed. Where previously the disciples had experienced fear, worry, and the inability to act on their convictions, they had now received the power of the Holy Spirit. Subsequently, one of the most spectacular evangelistic experiences recorded in the Bible took place.

A major religious festival was being celebrated in the streets of Jerusalem at the time, and thousands of people who dwelled in Jerusalem and Jewish pilgrims from many nations were in attendance. As the disciples received the Holy Spirit, they began proclaiming the wonderful news of God’s love and salvation through Jesus in the many languages of the people present—languages the disciples had never spoken before. As news of this miracle spread, multitudes quickly gathered (Acts 2:5–13).

The Apostle Peter then stood up with the disciples, raised his hands, and addressed the crowd, which numbered thousands of people. He spoke to them with such conviction and authority that 3,000 people accepted Jesus as their Savior (Acts 2:36–41).

Less than two months earlier, after Jesus was arrested, Peter had experienced such fear that he had denied even knowing Him (Matthew 26:69–75). But after the Holy Spirit came upon him, he stood before thousands in the very city where Jesus had been arrested, tried, and executed, boldly proclaiming God’s message to all who would listen. The Holy Spirit had restored Peter’s faith and transformed him, just as the Lord had prayed (Luke 22:32), and he was now imbued with the promised power of the Father.

The Holy Spirit empowers us to be witnesses for Jesus. In Acts 4, we read that the followers of Jesus “were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31). His power enables us to overcome feelings of inadequacy, shyness, inhibitions, worries about what others might think, or fear that would prevent us from reaching out to others with the message of God’s love and salvation in Jesus.

Most of us will never proclaim the gospel to thousands of people at a time as Peter or many other evangelists have done throughout history. But we have each been called to proclaim the good news and be living examples of it to the people we encounter in our daily lives. God has promised to give us His power to be His witnesses.

His power to proclaim the good news may manifest itself in different ways in each of our lives. His Spirit may anoint us to present the gospel message clearly and persuasively, or to present a defense for the faith and to give an answer to those who ask the reason for our hope (1 Peter 3:15). God may give you special insight into people and their problems—the ability to discern things about them that they haven’t told you and that you would have no other way of knowing. Perhaps His Spirit will place a strong conviction in your heart to change your plans, take a detour, or pause in your day to share the gospel with someone you encounter.

The Holy Spirit may bring to mind a Bible verse that is precisely what is needed for a person we are speaking with. Jesus taught us that “The Holy Spirit will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you” (John 14:26). Of course we also must do our part to study God’s Word and to store it in our hearts (Psalm 119:11), so that we can correctly explain the word of truth to others (2 Timothy 2:15).

The Bible teaches us that becoming an effective witness and example of Christ to others is not about our own talents or abilities. In fact, we read in the Book of Acts of Jesus’ first disciples: “When [people] saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).

Likewise, the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, reminding them that their calling was not based on their background or personal abilities: “Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God” (1 Corinthians 1:26–29).

We are called to be faithful witnesses and ambassadors for Christ, sharing the good news, shining His light to the world around us, and being living examples of God’s great love for the world. We play an important role in proclaiming God’s kingdom, as “how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (Romans 10:14). As we are faithful to do our part, the Holy Spirit works in people’s hearts and lives to draw them to God and to respond to the call to come to Christ.

You will receive power

When John the Baptist came preaching repentance, he told the people who came to him in search of truth and reconciliation with God, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He [Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 3:11).

God is love (1 John 4:8), and when we are infilled with His Holy Spirit, we experience the power of His love, which in turn overflows on others. His Spirit dwells within us (1 Corinthians 3:16) and works in our hearts and lives to transform us and to renew our minds and way of life and thinking (Romans 12:2). The Spirit works to change us into the very likeness of Christ. “We all, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

When we are seeking positive change in our lives and to grow in our Christian discipleship, self-help books, resolutions, and willpower will not be sufficient—we need God’s help and the renewing power of the Holy Spirit. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). The Holy Spirit helps us in our weaknesses and makes intercession for us.“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us … the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:26–27).

What evidence of the Holy Spirit at work will there be in the life of a born-again, Spirit-filled Christian? The Bible says that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23). As we commit our lives to God and determine to pattern our lives after His Word, and to love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:30–31), the miracle-working power of the Holy Spirit will produce this fruit in our lives. “For it is God who works in you both to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose” (Philippians 2:13).

Jesus referred to His followers as “the light of the world,” and called them to “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14–16). Every Christian is intended to live their lives in a way that will give glory to God and provide a living example of God’s love and truth.

Wherever God places you and whatever job, profession, ministry or Christian service you are called to, the Holy Spirit will strengthen and empower you. He will help you in your interactions with your family, coworkers, neighbors and friends, and your parenting, and all that goes into everyday living. “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25).

You can pray for the infilling of the Holy Spirit in your life by praying the following prayer:

Dear Jesus, please fill me to overflowing with Your Holy Spirit so that I can love You more, follow You more closely, and have greater power to tell others about Your love and salvation. Help me to develop a close relationship with You, to understand Your Word better, and put it into practice in my life. Amen.

Published on Anchor March 2026. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.

Revelation 1-7 (part 2)

Compiled from the writings of David Brandt Berg

1976-02-01

Chapter 6: Table of Contents of the Future

1st Seal: “And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, and one of the four beasts saying, Come and see” (verse 1).

“And I saw, and behold a white horse; and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer” (verse 2).

This is the first of the famous four horsemen of the apocalypse who ride forth here in chapter 6. “Apocalypse” is simply another name for Revelation, but it means the same thing in Greek: to uncover. God uses these four horsemen to “uncover” His own viewpoints on religion, war, and economics.

It doesn’t say here who the first horseman is, but we find another picture of “a white horse” in the 19th chapter of this same book: “And he that sat upon him (the white horse) was called faithful and true … and his name is called the word of God”—who of course is Jesus (John 1:14). And following Him are the armies of heaven (the resurrected saints), who are also riding white horses as they come down from heaven to defeat the forces of the Antichrist and take over the world at the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 19:11–14).

Jesus’ weapon is His bow or His Word (Psalm 7:12). And He is the one who has the “crown” or right to rule this world and will destroy His enemies who are resisting it and usurping His throne. Therefore this white horse could only be Jesus and His church, as they are the only ones in this world who are now conquering the world spiritually with the love of God. “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:5). All these other seeming conquerors are actually being overcome and conquered by the world and its “lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). And the church will soon, with Christ, physically conquer the world and rule it for a thousand years (Revelation 5:10; 20:4).

2nd Seal: “And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword” (verse 3–4). Who does this sound like? What takes “peace from the earth”? War! This red horse symbolizes war, the military and their war machines.

The horse’s color is very appropriate, representing all the blood shed in man’s hellish wars—wars for which God is not responsible, but which come from the pride, prejudices and avarice of man’s own greedy heart. “From whence come wars and fightings among you?” James asks, “Come they not hence, even of your lusts” (James 4:1). The “great sword” given to him certainly symbolizes the great “improvements” in war machines and the greater frequency and greater extent of wars since the prophecy was given.

3rd Seal: “And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny; and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine” (verse 5–6). The value of a penny in John’s day represented an entire day’s labor, as is seen in the parable of Jesus where all the laborers worked for “a penny a day” (Matthew 20:2). A “measure” equals about one quart, and ordinarily a penny could have purchased fifteen to twenty measures. Therefore, food being sold in such small quantities for an entire day’s wages indicates food shortage or famine, and also resultant poverty for the buyer, as it is costing him everything he has just to buy his daily bread. Even the color of the horse itself represents famine. “Our skin was black like an oven,” Jeremiah said, “because of the terrible famine” (Lamentations 5:10).

“Oil and wine,” however, are synonymous with abundance or luxury throughout Scripture. The fact that they were “hurt not” indicates a situation where wealth and luxury exist alongside famine and poverty; not an unusual situation, to say the least.

This inequality in the world’s wealth, however, was not created by God. True, there were times in the Old Testament when He stopped the rain or smote the harvest to scourge nations in order to get them to repent, but the majority of famine and its resultant poverty is created by man himself through his wars and greed.

Could this black horseman’s rider with the “pair of balances in his hand” symbolize rich merchants? Only one other verse in the Bible pictures a man holding balances in his hand: “He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress” (Hosea 12:7). Another prophet, Amos, also said that these merchants “set forth wheat, making the ephah (or measure) small, and the shekel (or price paid) great, and falsifying the balances by deceit … that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail” (Amos 8:4–6).

The black horse, then, represents famine and poverty maintained by the rich. This horse is responsible for today’s economic situation

4th Seal: “And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth” (verse 7–8).

In the original Greek the word “pale” also means a sickly yellowish-green color, like the very color of death itself, which is the Devil’s due, and hell follows it for all his children. According to God’s laws, because of the disobedience of all from Adam on down, we all have to die because of disobedience and sin. Death is the penalty of physical sin, and we all have to suffer the penalty of physical death.

The Devil is like the executioner; Paul said that Satan “had the power of death” (Hebrews 2:14). Although the Devil gets to fulfill the law to execute us and take our life physically, the moment we, as Christians, die we’re instantly freed spiritually. At death the Devil’s children go to hell to be with their father, and we go to heaven to be with ours.

The Devil, with God’s permission, executes death over all the earth, not only on land but in the sea and air. But here it says death and hell only had power over a quarter of the earth. So this must represent something more than literal death and the hell that follows for Satan’s followers. It becomes pretty clear what it represents, though, when you consider two facts:

1) that one quarter of the Earth consists of land, and

2) the land is where we find “all the kingdoms of the world,” which Satan said were “delivered unto me” (Luke 4:5–6).

This death and hell of the fourth seal must therefore represent not just literal death and Satan’s “underground” spiritual hell, but also his “surface” operation, or his control over the governments in this world—his hell on earth.

The Devil’s power over the kingdoms of this world and his relationship with its rulers are so close that Revelation pictures Satan and his kings as almost identical twins. The Devil is presented as a “dragon, having seven heads and ten horns” (Revelation 12:3,9), and the government as “a beast … having seven heads and ten horns” (Revelation 13:1; Daniel 7:17).

God would rather have Rome or Greece or Babylon or any kind of pagan government rule than have no government at all! Because when there is no government, then absolute iniquity and absolute horror of sin runs rampant, like in the days of Noah. So there has to be some government to keep law and order and to keep iniquity somewhat in check.

Jesus said Satan was “a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44). That is exactly how he runs his kingdoms: killing with “sword” (war), with hunger (famine), with death (all kinds), and literally with beasts of the earth, as Rome did in the coliseum, or spiritually through false prophets or politicians who devour you with lying words—“wolves (or beasts) … in sheep’s clothing,” as Jesus called them (Matthew 7:15).

5th Seal: “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled” (verse 9–11).

First comes the proclamation of the white horse’s message and the conquest of many souls. Then the open rejection by the unbelievers of the other three horsemen crystallizes into open antagonism, resulting in these “souls of them that were slain for the word of God.” This is the way it’s been all throughout history.

These martyrs, though, are actually God’s exceptions, just examples of the dedication of his witnesses. The majority of God’s children have usually lived to help carry on the work. But even they too must “die daily” as Paul said (1 Corinthians 15:31), because serving Jesus really kills your pride, your selfishness, your egotism, and may even cause some considerable physical sacrifice and strain.

This seal shows us that the powers that oppose God will continue to persecute and kill God’s children until the time ordained by God for the last saint to be slain is fulfilled. Then He will avenge and vindicate His prophets by pouring out His wrath upon the wicked, described under the next seal. (to be continued)

01: Introduction

A Study of Revelation

David Brandt Berg

1981-04-01

The passages in the Bible we are going to study in this series are some of the most thrilling in the entire book. It’s the grand finale, the last book in the Bible. The book is called the Revelation, or in the Catholic Bible, the Apocalypse, depending on whether you prefer Latin or Greek.

Revelation is the Latin term; Apocalypse is the same word in Greek. The New Testament from which this book comes, and with which it ends, was originally written in Greek, so that was the original Greek name of it. It’s called the Revelation of Saint John the Divine in the Protestant Bible. It’s called the Apocalypse of Saint John in the Catholic Bible.

The fact of the matter is that the book is neither one. It is a revelation, it’s definitely an apocalypse, but it’s not Saint John’s apocalypse nor his revelation, and I can prove it by reading you the first few lines of the text. In fact, the very first line of the first verse of the first chapter tells you whose revelation it really is.

So what does it say here in this very first line of the very first verse of the very first chapter of the very last book in the Bible? Whose revelation is it? “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” There it is. Who cooked up this other title, I don’t know. It says, “The Revelation of Saint John.”

Of course, He gave it through dear old apostle John, who by this time was nearly 90 years of age. Think of that! He survived all those years from the early days of Jesus’ ministry when he was just a young lad, a teenager about 16 years of age leaning on Jesus’ bosom at the Last Supper, John the Beloved Disciple. He’s called John the Beloved, John the Revelator, Saint John the Divine, John the Apostle. He’s got quite a few different names, but not John the Baptist.

John the Baptist was not one of the twelve disciples of Jesus; he baptized Jesus. John the Baptist was His predecessor, His herald, the one who introduced Him to the public when Jesus was about to begin His ministry and gather His disciples.

John the Baptist was a great prophet of God who came in from the wilderness to preach the truth of God and the soon-coming kingdom of Christ, to preach “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Jesus was already alive and well and 30 years of age and about to begin His public ministry (Luke 3:1–17).

When Jesus came down to the water, John the Baptist, humbly at Jesus’ request, baptized him according to the old Jewish custom of the Old Testament and the old Jewish traditions—not a requirement for today in the New Testament days. Now we are to be baptized with the Spirit of God, a much better, greater baptism than mere water baptism.

John the Baptist died soon afterwards in prison, beheaded at the hands of that cruel tyrant Herod, at the behest of his stepdaughter, a little teenage dancer. She pleased him so well that he said he’d give her anything she wanted, up to half of his kingdom. She asked her mother what she should ask for and her mother said, “Ask for the head of John the Baptist.”

The king couldn’t take back his promise then, although he liked John the Baptist. He feared him and he didn’t want to kill him, but he felt bound and obligated by his word and his vow to keep his word and behead John the Baptist. So he was killed during Jesus’ ministry here on earth. (See Matthew 14:1–12.)

But this John, John the Beloved, John the Revelator, who had been a teenager during Jesus’ ministry, is now about 90 years of age at the time of this glorious final Revelation of the Bible, his final, climactic, triumphant years after he had served the Lord for nearly 80 years.

They had tried to kill him and martyr him. They even tried to boil him in oil, but he wouldn’t boil, because he wasn’t done! He was too tough for the Roman Empire, because God was too tough for them. When they tried to boil him, he wouldn’t boil and they had to take him out of the oil perfectly whole, not a hair singed, not a bit of skin burned! What can you do with such a man?

They said, “Banish him to a distant island where he can’t cause any trouble preaching this dangerous radical revolutionary doctrine of love. It could destroy the Roman Empire.” And that’s exactly what it did. It finally reached Caesar’s house. Sad to say, Nero went crazy and tried to burn down the city of Rome and destroy all the Christians.

But thank God many still survived and have survived down through the centuries. John the Revelator, John the Beloved, John the Apostle who wrote that beautiful Gospel of John lived on to be 90 years of age, and clear up until about 107 A.D.

Since they couldn’t boil him, they exiled him to the Isle of Patmos, a beautiful island in the Mediterranean just off the coast of Turkey. There he spent his days in solitude and prayer and meditation, Bible study, writing letters to the churches to encourage them, until finally God began to give him this supernatural, miraculous, prophetic revelation from Jesus Christ Himself about the end of the world.

It’s a prophecy which actually begins with John’s time and continues through our time, through the endtime to the very end. In fact, it goes right on through the Tribulation, the wrath of God, the Millennium, and clear into heaven itself. It’s a marvelous book. I think you’re going to find it very fascinating, thrilling—and confusing, unless you understand it and you understand how beautifully God organized this book.

When John finally got to this time on the Isle of Patmos, he was beginning to draw close to the time of his departure from this earth and God was ready to give him the biggest job he’d ever done, to reveal to him the future of the world and the future of His church, His Christians, His children, those who love Jesus.

So there on that isolated island, far removed from the crowds and the multitude, God gave one of the greatest revelations that has ever been given to man, that has circled the globe for nearly 2,000 years and has given people warning for generations and given His children hope for hundreds and hundreds of years. This revelation showed that someday it was all going to come to an end and they were going to see the glorious, wondrous beauties of that Heavenly City coming down from God out of heaven to land on that heavenly earth, a New Earth and a New Heaven, and no more sea.

You think there’s not going to be enough room for everybody? There’ll be plenty. There won’t be any more sea. Today about 70 percent of the earth’s surface is covered by water, by seas, so when the seas are all dried up and the mountains are made low and the valleys filled in, we’ll have a beautiful rolling landscape, heaven on earth, heavenly flowers, trees, grass. We’re going to tell you all about it in the last chapter of this series, about that golden city like crystal gold, pyramid-shaped, 1500 miles wide and 1500 miles high.

I never understood the book of Revelation when I first read it, and I’ve known many preachers and theology students and philosophers and theologians who have read it and who haven’t understood it. Although I had known the Lord all my life and had studied God’s Word ever since I could remember, every time I studied the book of Revelation I got so confused I didn’t know what it was talking about.

There are parts of it that you can understand very clearly, and parts of it that you can certainly apply to yourself, which have a message for you and me today and have had messages for His church and all mankind for 2000 years. But it takes a little bit of the divine guidance of the Lord to really sort this book out right and understand what it’s talking about. You need the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God to guide you aright through this thrilling but confusing book.

When I became a young pastor and I had a congregation of my own, I felt responsible as their shepherd to teach them. I’d been teaching them Bible prophecy, and the prophecies of Daniel seemed very clear to me. But when I came to the book of Revelation and wanted to teach this to my people, I said, “Lord, I have heard so many interpretations of this book. I have read so many books on this book that I don’t know who to believe.”

So finally I climbed the ladder one day in my little adobe church to its belfry, and I knelt down by my little cot there in my study, between my cot and my desk, and I asked the Lord desperately, kneeling on those rough floorboards of that unfinished building:

“Lord, I’ve got to teach my people the truth. I don’t want to just teach them somebody else’s interpretation, and I’ve heard so many I don’t know which one is right. I have got to know what is the right interpretation of this book. Lord Jesus, show me what this book means. Please help me to understand it. Please show me how to teach them the book of Revelation. You must have put it here for some reason.”

I’ve heard some preachers say, “Well, it’s just an allegory, it’s just a kind of parable; it wasn’t meant for you to understand. It’s in sort of mysterious poetic language and you’re not really supposed to understand it. You can’t understand it; don’t try.” So I said, “Lord, how can I be expected to understand it? Some of these theologians who know the Bible better than I do don’t even understand it. But, Lord, I’ve got to know because I’ve got to feed my flock, which You commanded me to do, and I’ve got to be able to tell them the truth and what’s right about this book.”

Do you know what the Lord told me? He didn’t start telling me what all these different beasts and symbols mean. He didn’t start explaining these mysteries and telling me what every detail meant, and every word and verse. He said, “My son, sit down and read it as though you have never read it before. Just read it straight through and I will show you. I’ll reveal it to you.”

So I sat down right then and there and I think I spent a whole afternoon reading. I was preparing a day or two before Sunday what I was going to preach, another sermon on Bible prophecy about the book of Revelation. I’d already announced it and advertised it, and here I didn’t understand it myself.

I sat down and I read it straight through nonstop that afternoon. It’s possible, it’s only got 22 chapters. The reason it takes some people so long is that they get so bogged down in things they don’t understand that they stop and try to figure it out, and then they lose the whole meaning; they don’t get an overall grasp of the book.

I was sort of like a bird flying overhead viewing the scenery from a lofty height, from a vantage point far above, and I was watching the landscape passing rapidly beneath me as I read. It was so clear, it was so beautiful! The sights, the sounds, the scenes were so clear to me that I wondered why I’d never seen it so clearly before. The chapters just fell right in place so beautifully, and the continuity, the narrative, the chronological sequence, the harmony and beauty of it all became so clear as I read that I was astounded, I was amazed that I had never understood before.

You’re going to find out in this book of Revelation that John had help from the spirit world. Angels came and talked to him, Jesus came and talked to him, former saints of God came and talked to him, former prophets of God came and talked to him, those who had departed from this life into the spirit world talked to him and told him all these things that we’re going to find in this book.

It’s in the Bible and it’s true. Every word it ever said is true and has come true, and every prophecy it ever uttered has been fulfilled except the ones that are yet to come, and they’ll be fulfilled just as surely as the ones that have been fulfilled in the past.—God’s predictions of the future through this apostle John, the great revelator.

It was really Jesus who showed it to him. He’s telling us about the future, from the immediate future to the very far distant future: clear on up through the Antichrist reign, Tribulation, wrath of God, Millennium, and the New Heaven and the New Earth, the whole works.

I flew over Revelation and through Revelation like a bird, with the ease of a seagull floating above, floating on God’s divine currents of His Spirit and viewing the scenery below enrapt, enthralled in a rapture beyond description as God opened this book to me and I got a bird’s-eye view of the whole book, just as clear as anything I’ve ever read.

God willing, in the next lesson I’m going to try to summarize it for you. I’m going to give you a fast flight through the whole book of Revelation first, sort it all out for you in three marvelous parts composed of seven chapters each, each one on a separate part of history. So may the Lord help you understand this wonderful Word of God.

(Prayer) Jesus, help these who are sincere and hungry, who know Thy voice and hear it and follow Thee, help them to understand it. Help them to read this book. Help them to understand its words. Help them, Lord. Open their minds and their hearts and their understanding. Fill them with Thy Holy Spirit that You might speak unto them these worlds of life so they can know whereof they speak, and know not only what’s happening now but also the future, and know things that will help them in their everyday life to be joyous, to be healthy, and to lead a happy, fruitful life for You in helping others and sharing Your love with the whole world, in Jesus’ name we ask for Thy glory. Amen.

Finishing Well

February 27, 2026

A conversation with John Lennox

John Lennox discusses what it means to “finish well” in life from a Christian perspective.

Run time for this video is 20 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW7-4OgmrI0

The Sin of Unbelief

February 26, 2026

By Virginia Brandt Berg

Audio length: 10:03

Download Audio (9.2MB)

Our meditation today is from Deuteronomy 1:28, where it says, “Our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.”

Now someone will say, “Surely you aren’t going to talk about that much-used story about Joshua and Caleb and the spies that went to spy out the land of Canaan! We’ve heard it so much.” Yes, I am! We need it now more than ever.

I want to warn especially about letting others discourage you regarding any stand of faith you’ve taken. Don’t let anyone discourage you! Note again the words in this passage: “Our brethren have discouraged our heart.”

Yet, the spies did not initially bring back such an evil report, for on their return they said, “We came into the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it flows with milk and honey, and this is the fruit of it” (Numbers 13:27). For you see, they had brought back the fruit of the land—grapes, pomegranates, and figs—proving they had faithfully searched the land.

But God’s Word says they brought back an evil report because they enlarged upon the fact that the people of the land were like giants, in whose sight the Israelites were like grasshoppers, and the cities were great with strong walls (Numbers 13:31–33).

How great the sin of unbelief is here, for they did not put their emphasis on what God had promised to do. They put it on the wrong things: the circumstances, the condition, and what they saw. They did not talk about what God had promised at all, but about that which was contrary to what God had said.

God said, “I have set before thee this land; go up and possess it; fear not, neither be discouraged.” But the spies made God out to be a liar and said, “We be not able to go up against these people, for they are stronger than we” (Deuteronomy 1:21; Numbers 13:31).

God was not factored into the equation, and this evil report caused the hearts of the people to be discouraged, and they wept and murmured against God and against Moses, and they went on into further rebellion and unbelief until God had to punish them terribly.

You remember also that Joshua and Caleb, the two faithful spies who gave the good report and believed God, tried so hard to encourage the people, telling them that God was able to bring them into the land. Caleb said, “Let us go up at once and possess [the land]; we are well able to overcome it” (Numbers 13:30).

You know the rest of the story. Because they believed the evil report and did not trust God’s promise, He let them wander in the wilderness for 40 years (Numbers 14:26–35). And the ten spies that brought the evil report that discouraged the hearts of the people died by the plague before the Lord (Numbers 14:36–37).

I haven’t told you many personal experiences, except about the marvelous healing miracle that happened in my life when I was such an invalid. But I do want to tell you something this morning regarding this passage of scripture. I was en route to revivals in Cuba and the Bahamas, and had stopped over in a town not far from Miami.

Unexpected emergencies had left me without funds, and I needed money to reach my appointment. I was looking to the Lord, and I knew that it had to be a miracle. I haven’t time to tell you all the details, but because of the conditions and circumstances all around me, it would have to be a miracle of God if any funds came to me.

I got alone with the Lord and was claiming definite promises from His Word. I waited for His answer. Not only did I need the Lord to supply this need, but I also caught the flu on the trip down and I desperately needed healing for my body.

While alone, I read many promises and also had a heart-searching to see if all was well in my own heart, and if I had met God’s conditions. There were circumstances that did not make it easy to exercise faith, but I had to do all I could.

This particular evening, I attended a Bible conference, and there I received a small book by a learned Bible teacher who was well known for his great knowledge of the Scriptures. The little book explained why God no longer worked miracles. That book stated emphatically that nowhere did the Bible teach that miracles would continue after the days of the apostles.

His point of view was so clearly explained. He was so emphatic about it, and was such a great and learned man that for just a moment I was shaken, for the Devil took advantage of this writing and came against my faith with fiery darts unspeakable (Ephesians 6:16).

He was such a scholar. He taught the Word of God with such clarity and brilliance, and he knew the Bible from cover to cover. He had traveled far in the land of promise, but for me he had, like those spies, brought back an evil report and discouraged the stand of faith I had taken.

I left that auditorium, and in the quiet of my room I again read over many passages in God’s precious Word. It was there! I saw it in God’s Word, God said it! There were the verses saying He would supply my every need “according to his riches in glory,” and “whatsoever things ye desire, when you pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Philippians 4:19; Mark 11:24). It’s so because God said so.

“Let every man be called a liar, but God be found true” (Romans 3:4). Suddenly light broke through the darkness; faith flooded my soul. I asked the Lord to forgive me for wavering. I had gotten my eyes on this intellectual “giant in the land,” and for just a moment my simple faith was almost shaken. It is not uncommon for those who are seeking God for help to come under the power of unbelief in others who want to discourage them.

God’s Word was then quickened in my heart. “Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; … ye shall not be afraid of the face of this man; for the judgment is God’s: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it” (Deuteronomy 1:17). How wonderful that was!

My verse for that hour was “Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Have I not commanded you? Neither fear ye the people of the land” (Joshua 1:9; Numbers 14:9).

It inspired my heart, and all the fear departed from me. You know, it’s far better to stand alone and seem simple-minded than to seek help from leaders who weaken our faith by their discouraging words when we’re stepping out on God’s promises.

If you live in an atmosphere of doubt and unbelief, either in your home or your church, ask God to protect you, to hide you away in Himself. Refuse to accept any doubt, any discouragement, and He’ll fill you with His Spirit so that you can “take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13).

Now you wonder, was my prayer answered? Yes! I woke the next morning refreshed in body, almost entirely well, and that very day a large financial gift came from the most unexpected source I could have imagined. In fact, I would never have conceived of a gift from that source, for they knew nothing of my circumstances or my plans. It was God alone who had done this and answered my prayer. It was a miracle!

Don’t let anyone discourage you! God’s Word stands sure and steadfast. He will not fail you! Go in and possess the land and He will go with you. Stand your ground.

Father, we come to You, in Jesus’ precious name. We ask You, Lord, to keep faith and hope alive in these hearts. We pray that their trust would be strengthened in their day-to-day lives. We ask You, Lord, that morning shall break in the darkness for some of these who have been so hurt by the discouragers. Bless them, Lord, and encourage faith, for Your name’s sake, we ask. Amen.

From a transcript of a Meditation Moments broadcast, adapted. Published on Anchor February 2026. Read by Debra Lee.

What to Do When You’re Worried about Money

February 25, 2026

By Rick Warren

If you’ve ever wondered how you’ll pay your bills, you’re not alone. Financial stress is one of the most common burdens church leaders carry—and it’s one that can steal your joy and distract you from your calling. But God has made a powerful promise to you in Philippians 4:19: “God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

Look more closely at that verse. It doesn’t say, “God might meet your needs.” It says, “God will.”

It also doesn’t say “some of your needs.” It says “all.”

(Read the article here.)

Beyond Face Value

February 24, 2026

A compilation

Audio length: 12:13

Download Audio (11.1MB)

While moving to New York to work at a mission on the Lower East Side with my husband, I had made a detour through Boston while he went on ahead. After the bus pulled into the bus terminal in New York City, I stepped out on the street by a taxi stand, and realized it was getting dark. Fear began to set in as I hailed a taxi. When I gave the cabby the address of the mission, he asked gruffly, “Really?” He flicked on his meter and pulled away from the curb.

The analog meter seemed to spin faster than the tires as we inched our way through traffic. The fare displayed was rapidly approaching the amount of cash I had with me. I had thought when I jumped into the taxi that if I didn’t have enough money, I could run into the mission when we arrived and get the rest, but now I was having second thoughts.

I leaned over to get a better look at the driver in the glow of passing streetlights. His face had the hard, deep lines of an ex-con or a gang member. A very large scar went halfway around his neck. I flashed back to every creepy headline I’d ever read about cab drivers. I’ve made a horrible mistake!

Then I did something I should have done earlier. I prayed: God, I’m in a predicament! Please protect me, and show me if there’s anything I can do to help You get me safely to my destination.

The answer came clearly to my mind: Tell this man about Me. Before I could reason my way out of it, I took a deep breath and began:

“I need to make a confession. This taxi ride is costing more than I expected, and I don’t have enough money with me to pay for it. I’m on my way to a mission center, where my husband and I will be working. I’m not very familiar with New York, and I didn’t realize how long it would take. When we get there, I’ll have to run inside and get some more money. My husband and I try to live like Jesus did, preaching the gospel to everyone we meet, and we trust Him to supply our needs day by day.”

I went on to say, “Everyone needs to experience God’s love. He can heal every hurt, every heartache. He knows everything about us, and He loves us. Have you ever asked Jesus to come into your heart?”

There was a long, heavy silence, then a cough, then a sniff. I leaned forward and saw a tear roll down the cabby’s cheek.

“My grandma used to take me to church when I was a kid,” he said. “She would talk to me about Jesus. I even prayed with her. But then she died, and nobody has talked to me about Jesus since. You’re right. I need to be healed. I have led a horrible life. My grandma would be so ashamed of me for all the bad things I have done. I don’t think Jesus would forgive me now.”

It was my turn to choke back tears. “Jesus hung on the cross between two criminals. One of them asked for His forgiveness, and Jesus said, ‘This day you will be with Me in paradise.’ Jesus said that He didn’t come to preach to the good people or the people who thought they didn’t need His help. He preached to everyone—including the outcasts, the drunks and the prostitutes, the people who knew they needed Him. He will be there for you, too. All you have to do is ask Him to forgive you, and He will.”

I went on to say, “When we trust Him with our lives and accept that He knows what we need, He will answer our prayers in His perfect time.”

“Don’t worry about the money,” the cabby said. “I’ll take you wherever you need to go and pay for it myself. What you’re doing is really important, and the side of town you are going to is full of people who need to hear about heaven. I’ll pray more now, and I’ll try to be a better person. God sent you to me.”

We arrived at the mission, and he got out and helped me with my bags. I hugged him and told him Jesus would never fail him. He waited until someone came out to greet me, then he smiled and waved as he drove off.

When I pondered on this encounter, I realized that we had both been drawn closer to God and experienced His loving touch through it. God’s love never fails, and as we shine His love on others, we in turn experience His joy in our own lives. “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over” (Luke 6:38).—Joyce Suttin

In season and out of season

To say that Mick was a rough-looking character would be an understatement. He had long unkempt hair and beard, was missing fingers and teeth, wore numerous rings in his ears and elsewhere, and was covered in tattoos. My wife, Marianne, had gone to a local hospital to visit a friend. Mick and his girlfriend had been taken to the same hospital following a motorcycle accident in which they both suffered horrific injuries.

Marianne struck up a conversation, hoping to encourage Mick and point him to God in his time of suffering and distress. Mick was about to have his right leg amputated at the knee. Before the end of that first visit, Marianne gave Mick a gospel tract and prayed for him.

The next time Marianne and I visited, Mick was recovering from the amputation. We found him sitting up in his bed, broken in spirit. Moments later, a hospital caseworker brought news that further devastated Mick: His girlfriend’s parents had gotten an injunction to keep Mick from seeing her. He broke down crying, and we tried to comfort him.

Then Mick told us about his life. He had been born very hard of hearing in both ears. Some years later, he had been blinded in one eye by a bit of flying glass from a shattered windshield. He had left home at the age of 14 and had been jailed 17 times since then. He had been in almost every jail in Australia, he said matter-of-factly. His mother had committed suicide, and the rest of his family wanted little or no contact with him. We witnessed to him and left him some Christian literature to read.

Circumstances prevented us from visiting Mick again in the hospital. We wrote to him, but never received a reply. Two years passed, and Mick phoned. He had found a letter that Marianne had written him over two years before, and decided to try to call her. He had been in jail for nearly the entire time that had lapsed since we last saw him, as the court ruled that he had been at fault in the motorcycle accident.

We invited him to dinner at our home. Around the table, Mick shared with us more about his past—his heavy drug use, his times in jail, and riding with a motorcycle gang. He was a real character and made no attempt to cover up. What you saw was what you got! Eventually the conversation got deeper and turned to religion and the Bible. Mick affirmed that he believed there is a God.

We asked him if he would like to pray and ask Jesus into his heart. Mick thought for a moment, and then replied, “Yeah, okay.” He went on to pray, asking Jesus to forgive him for his past sin and wrongs, and to be his Lord and Savior.

We continued to see Mick, and to try to help him all we can, most importantly to come to know the Lord’s unconditional love for him, regardless of his past.

“People look at the outward appearance,” the Bible tells us, “but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). God looked beyond Mick’s rough exterior, his criminal record, and all the hurt he had caused himself and others to see a repentant heart in need of the Savior.—Michael Lanagan

Someone is watching

While rushing to an appointment, I passed a scruffy beggar with a baby in her arms. It’s a common sight in Caracas, Venezuela, where this took place.

Give her something. I recognized Jesus’ voice speaking to my heart.

But she looks like she would spend it on drugs, I protested as I kept walking.

Well then, buy her some food.

Just then I came to a hot dog stand. I hurriedly ordered a hot dog and took it back to the woman. As I handed it to her, I told her that Jesus loved her and offered to pray for her. She accepted, and we bowed our heads and prayed right there on the street.

Several days later I stopped for a hot dog for myself at the same stand, but the vendor wouldn’t let me pay for it. “I saw what you did the other day,” he said. “You not only bought a hot dog for that homeless woman, but you also prayed with her. I’ve been on this spot for 15 years. Thousands of people pass my stand every day, but I had never seen that!”

Through this experience, I learned that others are watching when we share God’s love and reach out to help those in need, even in small ways. We can never know how far our witness may go or how God can use us to encourage others to do the same.—Kevin Sosa

Published on Anchor February 2026. Read by Lenore Welsh. Music by Michael Fogarty.

The Story of Ruth—Part 1

February 23, 2026

By Peter Amsterdam

Audio length: 13:48

Download Audio (12.6MB)

The book of Ruth is one of the historical books in the Old Testament and one of the two books of the Bible that are named after a woman, the other being the book of Esther. In four chapters, the book of Ruth tells the story of how a Moabite woman came to be the great-grandmother of King David, the greatest king of Israel.

The story starts by telling us:

In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there (Ruth 1:1–2).

During the time of the Judges (1200 BC to 1020 BC) Elimelech and Naomi, an Israelite family from Bethlehem, moved to the nearby country of Moab to temporarily ride out the famine in Moab and return home when it was finished. Some time after immigrating to Moab, Elimelech died. Naomi and her sons remained in Moab, and the two sons married Moabite women. Around ten years later, the sons died, leaving the two Moabite wives, Orpah and Ruth, as widows, and Noami was left without her sons and husband (Ruth 1:3–5).

Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the LORD had visited his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah (Ruth 1:6–7).

Upon hearing that the famine in the land had subsided, Naomi decided to return to the land of Judah. On the way, Naomi, possibly reflecting on her experience of moving to a foreign country which resulted in her being in an alien land with virtually nothing, thought about her two daughters-in-law who would be entering a land that was foreign to them, just as she had done so long ago.

So Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me” (Ruth 1:8). Naomi sacrificially instructed the two daughters-in-law to return to their mothers’ homes in Moab, as it would be more likely that they would find new husbands among their own people. That was Naomi’s first blessing on the women.

Her second blessing was “The LORD grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” (Ruth 1:9). Naomi was releasing them from any responsibility they had to her as their mother-in-law. After pronouncing this blessing, Naomi kissed them, and they collectively wept together.

They said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me” (Ruth 1:10–13).

The daughters-in-law loyally stated that they would remain with their mother-in-law and committed to moving to Bethlehem, where they would be foreigners. Naomi, however, looked at things pragmatically. She was past childbearing age, and even if she weren’t, if she bore new sons, would the women wait until her sons were grown and then marry them?

Orpah decided to return to Moab to remarry (Ruth 1:14–15), while Ruth chose to stay with Naomi. Naomi tried to convince Ruth to return to Moab as well.

But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you” (Ruth 1:16–17).

Ruth committed to giving up her culture, language, family, and the possibility of a future family to stay with Naomi. From this point forward, she would be joined to Naomi’s people permanently. “When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more” (Ruth 1:18).

Upon hearing Ruth’s commitment, Naomi agreed that she could accompany her to Bethlehem. The story goes on to recount their journey to Bethlehem:

And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” (Ruth 1:19–22).

We don’t know how long their journey took nor how far it was, but it was probably a trip of 45 to 90 miles (72 to 144 kilometers), depending on the route they took. All we know is that they made the journey, and their arrival was the talk of the town. It had been ten years since Naomi and her husband had left Bethlehem, and now she had returned as a widow with a Moabite daughter-in-law. Naomi’s outlook upon her return to Bethlehem was despair. In her view, the Almighty had dealt bitterly with her, and she questioned why God had brought all this calamity upon her.

But the story doesn’t end there.

Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter” (Ruth 2:1–2).

The two women arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest, which would have been in late March or early April. The book of Leviticus commanded that when crops were harvested, some of the produce was to be left for the poor (Leviticus 19:9–10). Ruth suggested that she could go into the fields in Bethlehem to glean the grain in the field of someone who would allow her to do so. “So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech” (Ruth 2:3).

Boaz was a prominent man in Bethlehem and was from the same clan as Elimelech, described as a worthy man (Ruth 2:1). Boaz knew his workers and apparently those who gleaned the fields as well, and he noticed Ruth and recognized her as new.

Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers’” (Ruth 2:4–7).

Having gotten a good report from the foreman, Boaz spoke to Ruth directly.

Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn” (Ruth 2:8–9).

Referring to her as my daughter might have been a reference to how much younger she was than him. It could also reflect that she was now under his protection and was to work alongside his women workers.

Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” (Ruth 2:10–12).

Ruth, astounded by Boaz’s kind words, asked why he was showing her, a Moabite, such kindness. Boaz explained that he knew what she had given up and prayed that God would repay her for the sacrifices she had made. Ruth was deeply touched by what Boaz had said and how he had treated her, especially since she was a foreigner. “Then she said, ‘I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants’” (Ruth 2:13).

When it was time for the workers to eat, Boaz invited Ruth to sit with him and offered her bread, which was then dipped in wine vinegar, likely a sauce of some kind to soften the hard bread. “So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over” (Ruth 2:14). Ruth had some leftovers, which she took home to Naomi.

When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her” (Ruth 2:15–16).

Once Ruth went back to gleaning, Boaz told his harvesters to actively help her. They were also told not to insult, shame, or humiliate her. Ruth worked nonstop until it was evening. The day’s work yielded an ephah of barley, which was the equivalent of six gallons. This amount would last the two women for several weeks (Ruth 2:17–18).

And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers” (Ruth 2:19–20).

Naomi wanted to hear all the details about Ruth’s successful day working. After Ruth gave her the details and told her about Boaz, Naomi responded by praising the Lord for His kindness. Even though she had felt as if the Lord had stopped caring for her, she now realized that God’s kindness toward her and Ruth was being shown through the kindness of Boaz.

Boaz was one of their guardian-redeemers, a close family member who was responsible to buy back family land which might be or had been sold to ensure that it did not pass out of the family. (See Leviticus 25:25; Deuteronomy 25:5–10.) Over time it came to be understood that the redeemers ought to also take responsibility for caring for needy relatives.

Naomi went on to speak to Ruth about the benefits of continuing on with Boaz’s workers, where she would be safe, as she’d be working with his young women: “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted” (Ruth 2:21–23). So Ruth continued working until the barley and wheat harvests came to an end, which was about a three-month period.

Originally published October 2022. Adapted and republished February 2026. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.

Celebrating the Resurrection

A compilation

2013-03-25

The miracle of Easter is that because Jesus didn’t remain in the grave, we don’t have to either. We don’t have to suffer death, the payment for our sins in hell, or eternal separation from God. Jesus took that payment for us, and then rose in new life. And His new life can be inside us, giving us hope and peace, as we are filled with His love. He arose! And as a result, we were also born anew. Hallelujah!—David Brandt Berg

Easter gives us hope

Because Jesus was not claimed by death, not left in Hell, we also can escape death, and the awful feeling that we’ve done too many bad things, that there’s no way things can now turn out good for us. In a word, Easter gives us hope.

We can fly like a beautiful eagle or a peaceful dove, arching high over the confines of life and our own selves. We can leave behind the torture of our own failures, our own inadequacies, all that’s within us that holds us back. We can soar into the dreams of our hearts, making reality out of what some call illusion. We can aim for Heaven’s goals and, with God’s help, make it to heights unknown.

Because of Easter, the hope of man is no longer limited to the realm of human possibility. Jesus died and then rose from the dead, so anything that He can do is now possible for us, too. We only have to look into His eyes and believe, and the miracle of Easter can be ours too.—Karen Bradford

Let’s proclaim that we celebrate a living Savior, not a dead hero!—A living Savior, who was born on earth that He might die in order to rise again to rescue us from the evil kingdom of sin, death, fear, and loneliness. Let’s reach out to others with love and with broken hearts. Let’s try to feel their pain, their frustration, their despair. Try to see their darkness, their bondage, and their torment. Try to imagine their sorrow, their emptiness, their insecurity! And with all our hearts, let’s reach out with love to save and heal them.

As His Father sent Him, so He sends us. He’s called us to be Jesus’ hands, His feet, His eyes, His lips. To bind up the brokenhearted; comfort those that mourn; free the captives; cast out devils; feed the hungry with food that will last them forever; raise those who are dead in trespasses and sins; heal the sick in body and spirit; cleanse the lepers, the rejected, the alienated, the ostracized; give new sight to the blind by giving them Jesus the light; preach the Gospel to the poor; loose the bands of wickedness, undo the heavy burdens, let the oppressed go free. To give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Freely you have received, freely give.¹

Let’s make each day a witnessing celebration of Jesus’ birth, His death, and His resurrection which promises new life for all!—Maria Fontaine

Jesus died of a broken heart. What broke His heart was not our sins. He knew that we were going to be saved and be forgiven. What broke His heart was thinking that God could turn His back on Him. And at that time, feeling like the lost sinner, He went through an experience which, thank God, we will never have to go through; not just crucifixion, not just the agony of the body, but the agony of mind and heart and spirit, feeling that God had actually deserted Him. “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”² Had God forsaken Him? Yes, momentarily, that He might die the death of a sinner, without God.

Jesus loved us enough to give His own life for us and take the punishment of our sins upon Himself on that cross, so that we could be forgiven and be saved! Such love!—David Brandt Berg

I understand the trying of men’s hearts, the depths of despair, of discouragement, and of desperation. I understand the depth of forsaking, for first I had to forsake My Father to go to earth, and then I had to forsake those that I loved so dearly on earth to return to My Father.

I understand the depth of pain and affliction, for I screamed out in pain as the nails pierced My hands and My feet. I understand the feeling of being forsaken by those who loved Me, even My own Father, and thus I cried out, “My God! My God! Why hast Thou forsaken Me?”

I understand the depth of fear—fear of facing that which is ahead for the pain and the sorrow that it shall bring. And so I said, “Father, let this cup pass from Me!”

I understand the depth of the feeling of loss, for those who loved Me most forsook Me as I was carried away into captivity. I know the depth of hurt to see one that you love betray you, even as Judas betrayed Me with a kiss.

Though My Father did not let this cup pass from Me, and though I saw My loved ones flee from My side in time of trouble and this one that I loved betray Me, and though the nails pierced My hands and My feet, and though I was beaten with many stripes, and though I felt as if My Father had forsaken Me, and though I had to pass through the deepest of Jordans—the Jordan of death—yet it all brought about such great victory, such great renewal, such great salvation!

For though it looked like a defeat for Me to be whipped and to be scourged, to be crowned with thorns, to be nailed to the cross, yet My Father kept Me and brought Me forth in a great resurrection that changed the course of history and changed all eternity!

When life looks dark and you cannot see, know that I have My arms around you. I ask you to trust Me in the depths, trust Me in your heartache, trust Me in your forsaking, for you, too, shall have a glorious resurrection that will far surpass anything that you have known.—Jesus, speaking in prophecy

Let’s not just remember the death of the cross; let’s not always be seeing a Christ on the cross, the suffering and the death and the fear that it generates. We don’t have a Jesus on the cross. He’s left the cross. We have a bare cross. “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”³ We don’t have a Christ in the grave. We have a live Jesus living in our hearts.

He rose in victory, joy, liberty, and freedom, never, ever to die again, so that He could redeem us as well and prevent our having to go through it. What a day of rejoicing that must have been when He rose and realized it was all over! He had won the victory; the world was saved. He had accomplished His mission.—David Brandt Berg

When I was dying on the cross, I felt forsaken. But when I rose from the dead, everything was new, everything was different, all the pain was forgotten. There was no remorse or sorrow, because the anguish of dying was consumed by the joy of My resurrection. The pain of death was swallowed up by victory.

Easter is a holiday celebrating victory, triumph, and overcoming. So think about the good things I have brought your way. Think on the good, the positive. It’s a day to forget any sorrow or pain or discouragement, and to focus on the joyful and the victorious.

Remember the great love I have for you—the love that led Me to give My life for you, and the love that gave Me the power to rise up in new life, also for you.—Jesus, speaking in prophecy

Why the scars?

One detail in the Easter story has always intrigued me: Why did Jesus keep the scars from His crucifixion? Presumably He could have had any resurrected body He wanted, and yet He chose one identifiable mainly by scars that could be seen and touched. Why?

I believe the story of Easter would be incomplete without those scars on the hands, the feet, and the side of Jesus. When human beings fantasize, we dream of straight pearly teeth, wrinkle-free skin, and attractive ideal shapes. We dream of an unnatural state: the perfect body. But for Jesus, being confined in a skeleton and human skin was the unnatural state. The scars are, to Him, an emblem of life on our planet, a permanent reminder of those days of confinement and suffering.

I take hope in Jesus’ scars. From the perspective of Heaven, they represent the most horrible event that has ever happened in the history of the universe. Despite that event, though, Easter turned into a joyful memory.

Because of Easter, I can hope that the tears we shed, the blows we receive, the emotional pain, the heartache over lost friends and loved ones, all these will become memories instead of hurts, like Jesus’ scars.

Scars never completely go away, but neither do they hurt any longer. We will have re-created bodies, a re-created Heaven and Earth. We will have a new start, an Easter start.—Phillip Yancey ⁴

My resurrection life within you is more actual energy than you’ve probably ever realized or utilized. You have the Spirit of My Father which raised Me from the dead dwelling within you, and just as He raised Me from the dead, so can He quicken your earthen frames by His Spirit. That’s one of My wonderful truths and promises I’ve given to you‚ and this resurrection power that is within you through Me has given you the same power to rise above. Claim it as yours.—Jesus, speaking in prophecy

Published on Anchor March 2013. Read by Gabriel Garcia Valdivieso.
Music by Michael Dooley.

¹ Matthew 10:8, 11:5; John 20:21; Isaiah 58:6, 61:1,3.

² Matthew 27:46.

³ 1 Corinthians 15:55.

⁴ The Jesus I Never Knew (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995)

Celebrating Easter—Why the Resurrection Makes All the Difference

Peter Amsterdam

2022-04-11

As we celebrate Easter, we are celebrating God’s way of bringing salvation to us. In His love for humanity, God made a way for us to enter into an eternal relationship with Him, and the means was through His Son coming into the world, living as a human being, and laying down His life for us. Jesus did just that. He came into this world out of love, lived as we live, and gave Himself over to be crucified. His death made it possible for us to truly know God and to live with Him forever.

Jesus was God’s Son. We know this because of the account of Him given in the Gospels, and through the rest of the Bible. He did and said numerous things which spoke to the fact that He was God’s Son. His resurrection from the dead, which we celebrate every Easter, was proof that He was all that He said He was—that He was the long-awaited Messiah, and that He was God the Son.

Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of Man over seventy times throughout the Gospels. While on occasion He stated that He was the Messiah, He generally didn’t refer to Himself as such. The title of Messiah carried with it preconceived ideas in the minds of the people of His day and expectations of a political nature. Continually claiming to be the Messiah would most likely have prematurely brought Him problems with the Jewish leaders as well as the Roman government. It would also have brought up the stereotypical ideas about the Messiah which were prominent in those days—someone who would throw off the shackles of the Roman oppressors and physically free the Jewish people.

By referring to Himself as the Son of Man, a non-messianic title from the book of Daniel that the Jews of Jesus’ day were familiar with,¹ Jesus was using a title which allowed Him to speak modestly about Himself and to include aspects of His mission such as His suffering and death, which weren’t considered part of the Messiah’s role. At the same time, in line with what is said in Daniel, it enabled Him to express His exalted role, while avoiding the messianic misconceptions of the time. In using the title Son of Man, Jesus could speak of His mission on earth—which included His suffering and death, His second coming, His role in judgment, and His glorious future—without using the politically charged title of Messiah.

Within the Gospels, Jesus was the only one who used the title Son of Man in reference to Himself. He used the title to claim the authority to do what only God could do, such as forgive sins. “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.”²

He also referred to Himself this way when telling His disciples about His coming crucifixion and resurrection on the third day. He spoke about the Son of Man giving His life as a ransom, teaching that His death was a vicarious sacrifice, that He was laying down His life for the salvation of others. “As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.’ And they were greatly distressed.”³

Jesus foretold that as the Son of Man, He would lay down His life for us: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”⁴ And so He was crucified, died, and was buried—and then rose from the dead. Because He rose, we have affirmation that His heavenly Father set His seal upon Him, and that His sacrificial atoning death has given us eternal life.⁵

Another way in which Jesus used the phrase the Son of Man was when speaking of His second coming, when He will return to the earth to establish His rule and to pronounce judgment. The book of Daniel speaks of “one like a son of man” coming on the clouds of heaven. This reference to a human-looking figure with authority, glory, worship, and an eternal kingdom evokes an image of power normally reserved for God.

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.⁶

When Jesus speaks of His return, He refers to what Daniel saw in his vision. He explains that He will come “in the glory of His Father, coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, seated on a glorious throne, at the right hand of Power.”⁷

He also speaks of the time of judgment which He will preside over, as His Father has given Him the authority to execute judgment. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”⁸ These claims Jesus made about executing judgment are extraordinary—far beyond what any human could or should claim. However, Jesus, as the Son of God, has this authority, and His claims were validated by the fact that God raised Him from the dead.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus is referred to as the Son of God, both by Himself and by others. His Sonship is woven throughout the Gospels, especially in the things He said about Himself. From the Gospels we understand that He existed eternally with the Father before the creation of the world as the Logos, the Word of God, and that He made all things. The Logos then became flesh, in the person of Jesus, who through the life He led taught us about God and His love.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.⁹

We are told of His Sonship in the birth narratives, where His paternity comes directly from God through the conception of the Holy Spirit, and therefore He is called the Son of God.¹⁰ He was named Jesus, which means “Yahweh is salvation”—Yahweh being one of the names by which the Jewish people know God.

When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the River Jordan at the beginning of His mission, the voice of God stated that Jesus was His Son. “When Jesus was baptized, … He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’”¹¹ Close to the end of His mission, when He was transfigured, God once again declared that He was His Son.¹²

Jesus had a unique relationship with the Father through knowing Him as only His only begotten Son could. The Father has also “given all things into His hands.”¹³ When asked by the Jewish leadership if He was the Son of God, He answered in the affirmative: “The high priest asked Him, ‘Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?’ And Jesus said, ‘I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.’”¹⁴

The statements Jesus made about Himself and His relationship to God, claiming to be equal to God, at times accepting worship,¹⁵ and claiming to do the work of the Father were seen as outlandish and blasphemous. The Jewish religious leaders who considered Him a false messiah came to the conclusion that He needed to die so that the Romans wouldn’t destroy the nation because of Him.¹⁶ While the Jewish leaders didn’t have the authority to kill Jesus themselves, they were able to have Him crucified by the Roman authorities. The supposed false messiah who claimed to be God’s Son was crucified, and the problem was seemingly taken care of.

But then … He rose from the dead. And His resurrection proved that all He said He was, all the authority He claimed to have—the messiahship, the power and dominion, the judgment, and His Sonship—was genuine. He is who He said He was.

Had Jesus not risen, had there been no resurrection, then everything that God’s Word says about Him would be false. Our faith, as Paul said, would be worthless.¹⁷ But the resurrection proves that our faith is of inestimable worth. It proves that Jesus is God the Son.

Because of the resurrection, we are assured that through belief in Jesus we have eternal life. That’s what Easter is all about. That’s why it’s a day to praise and thank Him for His sacrifice, for laying down His life for us. That’s why it’s a day to worship God for the wonderful plan of salvation which He enacted. That’s why Easter is a wonderful day to make a personal commitment to share the good news that Jesus is risen and His free offer of salvation is available to all who will receive it. Happy Easter!

Originally published April 2014. Excerpted and republished April 2022.
Read by Jerry Paladino.

¹ Daniel 7:13–14.

² Matthew 9:6 ESV.

³ Matthew 17:22–23 ESV.

⁴ Matthew 20:28 ESV.

⁵ John 6:27.

⁶ Daniel 7:13–14 ESV.

⁷ Matthew 16:27, 24:30, 26:64.

⁸ Matthew 25:31–32.

⁹ John 1:1–3, 14 ESV.

¹⁰ Luke 1:31–32, 35.

¹¹ Matthew 3:16–17.

¹² Matthew 17:5.

¹³ John 3:35.

¹⁴ Mark 14:61–62 ESV.

¹⁵ Matthew 14:33.

¹⁶ John 11:47–50.

¹⁷ 1 Corinthians 15:14.

A Christian’s Happiness

February 20, 2026

By Timothy Keller

Tim Keller presents a study of Romans 8:28–30 and understanding the promise that God will work all things together for good within the context of these three verses.

Jesus tells his disciples that no one will take away their joy. Now that’s pretty amazing. He knows to whom he is talking. He is speaking to men who are going to be persecuted. They’re going to be robbed of everything they own. They’re going to be tortured. They’re going to be put to death.

The Bible says there is a joy that is not subject to circumstances, that the deepest troubles can’t put out, that can coexist and overwhelm the greatest grief. And these three verses in Romans 8 have the heart of it. In these three verses, you have three principles. This is the basis for joy. Your joy will be strong to the degree you understand and grasp these three things: (1) Our bad things turn out for good, (2) our good things can never be lost, and (3) the best things are yet to come.

Run time for this podcast is 40 minutes.

https://gospelinlife.com/sermon/a-christians-happiness/

Keeping on Fighting the Good Fight

February 19, 2026

By Maria Fontaine

Audio length: 8:44

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Dear Family,

One of the things that Peter and I love most about you is that you’re still faithfully fighting the good fight of faith. You’re still “holding tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses” (1 Timothy 6:12). You have fought long and hard ever since you made your commitment to love and serve Jesus, and you’re continuing to do so.

As we know, the life of faith can be a struggle, and we face battles of all kinds throughout our lives of service to the Lord. This is not surprising, as the early believers and apostles faced the same things, as this verse expresses: “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people” (Jude 3).

Fighting the good fight of faith is challenging, and I’d venture to say that nearly all of us have faced at least one battle that sorely tested our faith, or that made you think you just couldn’t cross that next mountain. Maybe you’ve faced severe discouragement or depression, a loss of a loved one, or ruptured relationships with family members.

Maybe you’ve grown weary with the responsibilities, sacrifices, and challenges of daily life, and this has weighed on you. Or perhaps you’ve faced some other serious problem or difficulty in your life or in the life of someone you love—such as health problems, marriage difficulties, financial struggles, legal issues, or accidents, to name a few.

I’m not just picking these examples out of a hat. These are real life challenges that many of us have faced or are currently experiencing. But you know what? We shouldn’t be surprised or shocked at this. The Bible warns us that we will all face the struggles and temptations and trials of this life: “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

The Apostle Paul clearly understood what it meant to face the challenges of life, as he encouraged the early followers to “not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” He then goes on to rally the believers to continue forging ahead by saying, “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone” (Galatians 6:9–10).

So don’t be discouraged by the struggles or feel bad about them. If you’re going through battles of some kind, trust that the Lord has a good reason for allowing them and will use them to strengthen you and enrich your life and spirit as you continue to hold on and be faithful.

We’re all in this together, and we need to support each other through prayer. If you’re struggling, ask for prayer and reach out to others for support. We can all make a commitment to pray for each other and to continue to fight the good fight of faith.

When you feel discouraged or disheartened, remember the Lord’s promises. Remind yourself of who you are fighting for—Jesus, who loved us so much that He died for our sins and the salvation of souls. We certainly know what we’re fighting for, and we all desire the end result—the gospel being preached in all the world so that the Lord will return, and “the kingdom of the world [will] become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15). We can hold that glorious result in front of us and let it spur us on in the good fight.

We can continue to remain focused on our witness and being faithful to fulfill the Great Commission—bringing as many people to Jesus as we can and helping them to grow in their faith. We can remind ourselves that the Lord is with us through everything we face in life, as the following message from Jesus points out.

(Jesus:) If everything was smooth sailing, that would be peacetime—but you’re engaged in the spiritual warfare for eternal souls, and war means battles. But My promises are sure and My plan will not fail, no matter what the circumstances are in the world around you or in your personal situation, no matter how you feel, and no matter how many problems you face.

There will be problems, failures, setbacks, and trials. But there will also be solutions, victories, and lives changed. The problems result in prayers that lead to answers. The failures result in lessons learned and beauty from ashes. The battles pave the way for My miracles and victories and spiritual growth in your life.

Let the problems and challenges always remind you that I’m at the helm, leading and guiding you. When you feel overwhelmed, when there’s more to do than you can ever do, when the problems and situations seem too complex to figure out—much less fix—come to Me with all your burdens and trust in Me to work on your behalf.

Faith isn’t perseverance when there are no problems or obstacles. Faith is fighting on in spite of the problems, obstacles, and battles. Faith knows that My promises will be fulfilled, and My Word will give you the faith to keep trusting in My great plan. The final outcome is assured: My kingdom come and My will done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).

(Prayer:) Dear Jesus, I pray for each of our Family members, that You will give them strength and Your Spirit will empower them to continue to fight the good fight of faith and to be Your faithful servants in whatever ways You have called them. Each one is needed in Your mission of reaching the world.

Thank You for their faithfulness over many decades in helping the gospel to be preached in every nation, in many languages and to many people. Help each one to continue to be Your shining light in the midst of the growing spiritual darkness in this world.

You said in Your Word that You will bless those who patiently endure testing and temptation, and they will receive the crown of life promised to all those who love You (James 1:12). Thank You for continuing to teach us humility, dependence on You, greater faith, and for helping us to have the willingness to fight on through everything we face.

Please help those who are passing through a time of testing and help their faith not to fail (Luke 22:32). Shield them and protect them and surround them with Your presence. Endow them with perseverance and faith and determination. Some of them may not feel like fighting right now, some are facing diminishing physical strength or health battles or other struggles due to circumstances beyond their control. Jesus, these dear ones need Your strength and Holy Spirit power to persevere and to keep fighting the good fight even when they don’t feel like it.

Help each one to feel Your presence, and surround them with Your love, care, and peace. We know that battles and tests are part of our lives for You, but You have promised to meet all our needs according to Your riches in glory (Philippians 4:19). I pray that You will provide the strength and faith for each of these dear ones, so that they’ll be able to fight on and stay the course You have set for them. You never fail in all of Your good promises, and we place all our hope and trust in You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Originally published September 2008. Adapted and republished February 2026. Read by Lenore Welsh.

Learning from Others’ Reflections

February 18, 2026

By Nina Kole

I’ve read a few interesting articles where people wrote letters to their “teenage selves” and gave advice that they wish they had listened to when they were younger. I collected a few points I found were a trend in these types of articles, and I looked up what the Bible had to say about them. I’ll list a few of the common reflections people shared.

Don’t worry too much about being or appearing cool. Being “cool” requires you to act “cool,” so you end up acting just like other people who are also acting “cool.” Eventually, everyone is acting like someone else, trying to be someone they’re not. Just be yourself.

Galatians 1:10 says, “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

It’s hard not to be affected by what others think and say. That’s a natural reaction. It’s important to focus on the things that make you who you are. Think about what you actually like, what’s important to you, what’s not okay for you, what goes against your faith—and then stick to your beliefs and morals.

Don’t worry about not being the most attractive or most popular person in your peer group. Work on your values and personality first, and the rest will come in time.

Proverbs 31:30 says, “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting.”

I would guess that we all know some people who may not fit society’s stereotype of what’s good-looking, but they’ve never lacked for friends, happiness, contentment, and in many cases, that special someone who adores them. The reason is often that they have a way of making you feel comfortable around them. They also often possess a great sense of humor, and they’re genuinely interested in the people around them. I don’t know if you ever met a ridiculously good-looking person who couldn’t get enough of themselves, but when I meet someone like that, it makes me want to run lest I accidentally get between them and their mirror.

If you find that you have a fair bit of free time, don’t spend most of it watching TV or playing computer games or only “chilling.” This might end up being one of your biggest regrets. Instead, put your efforts into learning or doing something constructive.

Proverbs 21:25 says, “The desire of the lazy man kills him, for his hands refuse to labor.”

Of course, I enjoy watching good TV shows or movies, and I think you can even learn something from them every now and then; however, the point made about not wasting too much of our life on something like TV or gaming is valid. Sometimes you hear about young entrepreneurs who made millions through creating a website or business idea that was successful, or of someone who became famous because of their extraordinary skills. The similar thread in each of these stories is that all these people were passionate about something; they worked hard at it and spent a lot of their free time learning and improving their skills. That’s time they wouldn’t have had if they had used too much of it watching TV or playing computer games.

Learn the piano or the guitar. You’ll thank me later.

Proverbs 12:24 says, “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.”

This verse might sound harsh, but back in Bible times, life was pretty difficult and Solomon wanted to teach his lineage to rule well. His advice still rings true today. Maybe music isn’t your thing, but if we choose a skill to focus time on daily, and perhaps eventually master, it will help to develop our aptitude for learning, which makes learning other things easier. Some skills, like learning another language fluently, could open interesting opportunities, such as going as a missionary to a country that speaks that language or getting a well-paid job where knowing that language is required. That’s not a bad idea.

Read a lot! The more you read, the smarter you get, and the better for it you’ll be.

Romans 15:4 says, “Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

That verse is speaking about God’s Word. But even from a more general perspective, reading good literature helps to develop our vocabulary and gain general knowledge, and studying God’s Word shapes our character. Reading and studying the Bible gives us God’s perspective on situations and relationships; it gives us wisdom and insight and a host of good and bad examples to draw from.

You’ll make some great friends over the years. Make an effort to be a good friend in return.

Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves at all times.”

I think we all want someone in our lives we can trust, whose company we enjoy, and who is a good listening ear when we’re discouraged, or who offers a helping hand when we need one. It’s important also to stop and think of how we can be a better friend. Let’s think about who might need our help or some cheering, and let’s be that friend that they can count on. A true friend is priceless.

It’s sometimes hard to look ahead or think about the future. I wish that I would have been aware of this great advice when I was young. But as most of us do, I learned mostly through trial and error. Learning from experience is not a bad thing, but if any of this sounds like good advice, give it a try. Take a few shortcuts and be that “wiser person” who learns from the mistakes of others, and hopefully that will open doors that are worth walking through.

Adapted from a Just1Thing podcast, a Christian character-building resource for young people.

The Reality of Eternity

February 17, 2026

A compilation

Audio length: 13:10

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People are obsessed with the future. In books and movies, the future is depicted in interesting ways. “The Matrix,” for example, shows a future where a giant artificial intelligence system takes over people’s minds and creates an illusion of a real world. Then there’s “WALL-E,” which shows future humans riding around another planet in hovering machines while being blissfully happy doing nothing.

The Bible tells us that the future extends beyond earth, but not in the way sci-fi films often depict. God created us to exist forever (Ecclesiastes 3:11). When we die and leave this earth, we will spend eternity somewhere. The Bible promises that everyone who asks Jesus into their life will spend eternity in heaven with Him (John 3:16).

While science fiction imagines all sorts of possibilities for the future, Jesus was much more concerned with helping us understand the reality of eternity. In John 14:1–3, Jesus describes heaven as a real place where He will live with His disciples:

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Jesus tells us we get to choose whether or not we’ll spend eternity with Him: “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24). Eternal life with Jesus starts the minute we ask Him into our lives. The life we start with Jesus on earth will continue into eternity. …

We often think we have to earn eternity in heaven, but Jesus showed us otherwise. While Jesus hung on the cross, He told one of the criminals next to Him, “I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). This man didn’t have a lifetime of good deeds to point back to, and he never got a chance to turn from his life of crime. He simply believed in Jesus, and that was enough.

When Jesus returned to heaven, His disciples continued to drive this point home, writing, “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). … Heaven isn’t reserved for a select few. It’s open to everyone who will put their trust in Jesus.—Newspring Church¹

Finishing well

The Bible reminds us often of the brevity of life and the certainty of death. … But the Bible also reminds us, as C. S. Lewis put it, that “there are better things ahead than any we leave behind.”

At a date certain, you are going to die and so am I. God knows exactly when and how, but we do not. What we do know is that when that time comes, it will be too late to go back and take care of things we overlooked, neglected, or postponed. And it raises the question: How can we be ready for our departure from this world, which is getting closer each day?

The apostle Paul’s example can stimulate our thinking and preparation for how to die well. … In his final letter, he said to Timothy,

I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing (2 Timothy 4:6–8).

Paul told the Philippians that his passion was “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Philippians 3:10). After three decades of knowing and following Jesus, Paul says that he longs to know Him more intimately and become more like Him.

But Paul is not yet where he wants to be with Christ, and he goes on to say:

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12–14).

Paul is telling us that he has not arrived at perfection, and he repeats himself to emphasize the point. Many—perhaps most of us—can identify with him on this. Neither have we arrived at the intimacy with Christ and the Christlike life to which God calls us. We fall short. …

There is a way forward, and Paul demonstrates it. He doesn’t let his past failures and defeats discourage and hold him back. Instead, like a marathon runner, he strains vigorously to press toward the goal. …

If we will heed Paul’s exhortation to faithfully pursue Jesus in daily discipleship and run the race ahead with perseverance, we will be ready to face the hour of our death as Paul did his, with confident hope!—Thomas A. Tarrants²

Sometimes I grow homesick for heaven
And the glories I there shall behold.
What a joy that will be
When my Savior I see
In that beautiful city of gold.

We’ll never pay rent for our mansion;
The taxes will never come due.
Our garments will never grow threadbare,
But always be fadeless and new.

We’ll never be hungry or thirsty,
Nor languish in poverty there;
For all the rich bounties of heaven,
His sanctified children will share.
—Frederick Martin Lehman (1868–1953)

Keeping our focus on eternity

When seeking Jesus for encouragement for any difficulties that we or one of our friends or loved ones or others around us may be experiencing, it’s important to not lose focus of the life to come. When we remind ourselves of the scriptures on the glory of heaven, compared to the pain, sorrows, and problems of this life, it’s a wonderful assurance to know that everyone who puts their trust in Jesus has a wonderful future ahead!

Let’s not get so focused on the difficulties of the present that we fail to keep eternity in mind. God knew that His children would need His assurances of a heavenly future to give them hope. His Word tells us to “think on the good things, the true things, the pure things, the lovely things, those things that are excellent and praiseworthy and of good report” (Philippians 4:8), which is a fitting description of heaven.

In Revelation, John described the new heaven and new earth, which is helpful to us to adjust our focus upward:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:1–5).

Eventually, we’re going to spend eternity in heaven, a place of eternal love and joy: “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has the heart of man imagined what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

We can make God’s promises about heaven a part of our foundation of faith, just as we have done with the knowledge of our salvation. We can stand on these promises during times when things look dark. God didn’t have to tell us in advance of the tremendous realities that await us in heaven. But He knew that this vision of the future would motivate us and help us to continue overcoming the struggles of daily life.

As blessed as we are by His salvation, and as vital as our place is in this world as His messengers, of course we can expect challenges, we can expect troubles, we can expect that there will be struggles. But, even in that, we are not alone. He showers us with His blessings as He guides us through the difficulties of this life. He is always greater than our troubles.

When you need renewal, when you feel weary, keep reminding yourself of the realities of heaven. Then, remind yourself of what He’s doing on this earth and the importance of your purpose and place as one of His children. Face your difficulties with faith and courage, knowing that through your example you can give others the opportunity to find hope in Jesus and the truth they hunger for.—Maria Fontaine

Published on Anchor February 2026. Read by Jerry Paladino. Music by Michael Dooley.

¹ “Nine times Jesus talks about eternity,” Newspring Church, https://newspring.cc/articles/nine-times-jesus-talks-about-eternity

² Thomas A. Tarrants, “Will You Be Ready?” C. S. Lewis Institute, October 23, 2024, https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/resources/will-you-be-ready/

Living the Walk of Faith

February 16, 2026

Words from Jesus

Audio length: 10:47

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When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you.—Isaiah 43:2

Life changes can be difficult, especially when they come at a time when you feel comfortable and safe with the way things are. Life-altering change will often challenge you and redirect you to a new way of doing things that will make your life easier in the end or that will better serve My purposes for you in the current season of your life.

But taking the first step can be a struggle, especially when it is hard to see the immediate benefits of the change you’re facing. It is important to prayerfully make wise decisions, committing every aspect of the situation to Me and seeking My guidance. Then trust in Me for the outcome and move forward by faith.

The priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant across the River Jordan had to take that first step into the waters by faith, trusting that the waters would part in front of them as Joshua told them. And the instant they stepped into the water, it dried up, and they had a clear path to walk on (Joshua 3:14–17).

When you are experiencing life changes, once you have made your decision, just take the first step, trusting that I will be with you and that if you face rivers of difficulty in the process, they will not overwhelm you. Put your hand in My hand and I will be more to you than a lamp and better than a known way. I have made you and redeemed you and called you by name. You are mine (Isaiah 43:1). I have a purpose for every stage of your life without exception.

Walking through loss

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.—Matthew 5:4

When you suffer the loss of a dear friend, someone who made you feel loved and special, it can be a difficult time and it is natural to grieve and feel sad. A true friend is understanding and cares about you and what you feel and what matters to you. They see the qualities in you worth loving and admiring, and they are forgiving of your faults and weaknesses.

I understand it can be difficult to move on with life when you lose a close friend. You miss them, and it is natural for you to miss the special times and moments together. There is a time to mourn and there will come a time to be comforted from your grief (Ecclesiastes 3:1–4).

There are other people around you who need you and your love and friendship. You may not experience the same kind of friendship or love that you had with that special person, but there is joy to be found in befriending others—getting to know them, helping them, and sharing part of your life with them.

You will still miss the ones dearest to you when they pass away, but you’ll be less lonely, and I will work through you to bless other people’s lives as you reach out by faith to build new friendships and relationships. True friendship is a blessing from My hand, and the love and kindness you share with others is a sign and a testimony to them of My love for them.

Staying tethered to God’s Word

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.—2 Timothy 3:16–17

At times it may seem like an impossible task to survive spiritually on this earth without being overwhelmed by the spirit of the world. Not only is the world all around you physically, but with modern technology, it is inside your home and workspace, and can easily invade your everyday life. So how do you maintain My call to be “in the world but not of it” (John 17:14–16) when the world has become so pervasive and seems to creep into every space and corner?

Picture yourself as an astronaut, on a mission in deep space. You have your space shuttle, which is filled with oxygen, but your mission is fraught with danger, and occupational hazards abound. There are millions of miles of space all around you. When you have to go outside your shuttle, it might seem like the odds of being swallowed up by that endless blackness are high.

But the reality is that you won’t be lost in space as long as the cord connecting you to your space shuttle is in place, which keeps you from floating away. Likewise, regardless of how seemingly all-present the spirit of the world is in the world today, it will not overwhelm you as long as you stay attached to Me and My Word.

While you are in the world, you have to filter what you allow of the world to enter into your thinking and mindset. You have to be intentional and not allow the icons and cultural trends, and the ideals and norms of the world conveyed through technology and the endless flow of information to become a part of you. Do not love the world or the things of the world. This world and all its desires will pass away, but everyone who does My will and follows Me will abide forever (1 John 2:15–17).

Through the wringer

Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.—1 Peter 4:12–13

Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial you are passing through, as it is part of the sanctification and purification process that all My followers endure. Everyone will go through the wringer at different points in life.

When your clothes are being washed in the washing machine, the machine jerks the clothes in one direction and then the other, and it is that back-and-forth motion that gets the clothes clean. Then after the rinse, they are spun around at high speed; the clothes are flattened against the sides of the washer until they are completely wrung out.

So don’t be surprised or think it strange if you feel like your life is being tumbled about and spun and wrung and even flattened. If it feels like the process has no end, trust that I love you and I am with you. Even if the “washing” process does not seem pleasant at the time, nevertheless, it will produce a harvest of righteousness and peace in your life (Hebrews 12:11).

Reaching the lost

Can you hear the heartcries and longings of the many lost people around you? They are poor in spirit, famished for My words of truth and life and for the answers to life’s tough questions. Will you take up the challenge to walk in My love and extend your hand to help those in need?

While everyone will face difficulties in life, many unsaved people have a much harder time with the ups and downs of life than it may seem on the surface. When you face life’s trials or loss or tragedy, you can be comforted with the knowledge that I love you and that no matter what you face, all things will work together for your good (Romans 8:28). But for many people in the world who do not know Me, there is little comfort—sometimes no comfort at all.

Be faithful to reach out and share My love with others today. As you do so, you will know the true joy of serving Me to the full. No earthly happiness can ever take the place of that joy.

Originally published in 2001. Adapted and republished February 2026. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky. Music by Michael Fogarty.

Dirty Dishes

David Brandt Berg

1976-10-01

I’m a saint—a sinning saint. We’re all saints, but we still sin sometimes, because we’re not yet perfect. Everyone who believes in Jesus is a saint. Saint comes from the same root word as sanctified. Most of us think that means to be made permanently holy, but it really means merely to be cleansed and separated and set aside for future use.

Maybe this will help you when you wash the dishes. Do you know what you’re doing? You’re sanctifying the dishes. You pull out a dirty dish and wash it—you sanctify it and set it aside for future use. So you’re performing a “ministry of sanctification.”

That’s what Jesus does with you: He takes you, dirty as you are with sin, and He washes you with His blood and the water of His Word. He washes away your sins with His blood and your evil thoughts with His Word, and He gets you all nice and clean and sets you aside.

But why do you wash the dishes anyway? You wash them to use again, right? God washed you, cleansed you, and set you aside for His use, whatever use He sees fit to make of you.

When you use the dish again, what do you do? You get it dirty again. But some Christians act like this: “Now I’m all nice and clean. I want God to set me aside on a nice beautiful shelf and never get me dirty anymore.”

Saving souls is sort of like going down into the dirty dishwater to wash and pull them out again. Every time you stick your hand back down into the dirty dishwater to wash a dish, what do you do? You get dirty again! That’s really an illustration of what you’re doing: We’re trying to retrieve those dishes from the dirty water and make them clean, wash them in Jesus’ blood and the pure water of God’s Word, and set them aside for His use.

But to make them clean, you have to get a little dirty. To make the yard so nice and neat, someone had to go out there and get dirty. To keep the house clean and make it look so nice, someone had to sweat and toil and work hard and get dirty.

To make you clean, Jesus had to get dirty. He had to bear your sins on the cross. He had to get dirty with your dirt on the cross.

We’ve always got this beautiful picture of Jesus hanging on the cross. But we don’t really see the pain and agony. You don’t see the dirt of your sins on Him as He dies. Jesus had to get dirty to make you clean. That’s the truth. That’s the Bible. “He bore your sins in His Own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24).

He had your sins on Him when He died. He had to let God turn His back on Him. He even had to think that God had forsaken Him, think of it! “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46).

Have you ever felt like you’ve had to go so far and get so dirty to save some sinner that you felt almost like God had forsaken you? Jesus stooped pretty low to save you. He went “all the way” for you, and He took your sins on Himself for you.

Every mother knows what this is as she takes care of a little baby. To make the baby clean, she has to get dirty. She has to clean the diaper, clean the baby’s bottom, and get all messed up with that milk that leaks all over her clothes, making everything stinky. She has to get dirty to clean and feed the baby. It’s a constant process of having to get dirty for the child to cause the child to be clean and to be fed. In a sense, when you’re cleaning that baby you’re taking that baby’s dirt upon yourself.

Jesus got dirty so that you could be clean. You have to get a little dirty so they might be clean. Jesus was willing to do it for you, so why shouldn’t you be willing to do it for them? You’re going through the same kind of sacrifice that Jesus went through. It says, “He learned obedience through the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8).

God’s Word says we are made “partakers of His sufferings” (1 Peter 4:13). We share His sufferings. Just as Jesus had to dirty Himself to save you, you have to go out and dirty yourself to save them.

You have to dip your hands into the dirty dishwater to pull them out, to make them clean. Jesus not only had to come down here among us, He had to be one of us. He had to take on this filthy vile flesh. He had to look like one of us and live like one of us. He had to soil Himself so that we could be made clean. Jesus had to come down here and live like a man and get dirty like a man so He could make you clean. Think of it!

You can’t get that dish clean without sticking your own hand into the dirty water. You can’t clean the dishes without scraping off the garbage. It’s a dirty job, but maybe you can get a real victory when you realize you have the “ministry of sanctification”—doing dirty dishes.

Every time you do a dish, just think, “This is what You did for me, Jesus. You got Your hands dirty too so You could wash me and make me clean. Thank You, Lord.”

Valentine’s Day Devotional

A compilation

2017-02-14

God’s box of chocolates

Everywhere I look near Valentine’s Day, there’s chocolate: boxes of chocolate in all the stores, chocolate on TV promising to be the only love you need, chocolate Girl Scout cookies—chocolate! I even saw chocolate Altoid breath mints in the grocery checkout aisle the other day! I think that’s what led me to remember the famous quote from Forrest Gump: “Life is like a box of chocolates … you never know what you’re gonna get.” (I even remembered it with his accent.)

In reality, that phrase can be true in many ways. We wake up every morning completely unsure of what the day may hold for us. We’ve made our plans. Sometimes they even happen the way we make them. But we never know for sure, do we?

The days that come with caramel in the middle are my favorite. The ones with the strawberry goo are just so-so—but the ones with coconut—yuck! I’d rather go back to bed. Then there are the days where tragedy or difficult times come out of nowhere, and the chocolate sits in the pantry untouched … there’s no sweetness to be had in those moments, it seems.

God knows that life as it pertains to circumstances is uncertain for us. That’s why He comforts us and reminds us so many times that He is our constant companion, our steadfast friend, our consistently loving God and Savior. He doesn’t keep promises the way we do:

“When people make promises, they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them so that if there is any question that they’ll make good on the promise, the authority will back them up. When God wanted to guarantee His promises, He gave His word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can’t break His word. And because His word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable.”—Hebrews 6:16–18, The Message

You see, no matter what chocolate we are “in the middle of” right now, He is there—with the certainty of His promise today as well as His hope of heaven in the future. Listen to how the verse above continues to encourage us:

“We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up His permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek” (verses 19–20).

I love the visual picture of grabbing on to Him with both hands as He runs ahead of me to the Father. That makes me able to get up today and praise Him for whatever comes my way. This faith, this confidence, this hope is our unbreakable spiritual lifeline—His love for us no matter what, when, how, or why. Let’s binge on His priceless box of chocolates today … the sweetest and most satisfying of them all.—LauraLee Shaw ¹

“Taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.”—Psalm 34:8

Love is a verb

Love is an emotion. No doubt about that. That’s part of love’s power. It can leap over our thoughts and capture our hearts. The exhilaration that comes with being swept up in the riptide of emotions is wonderfully terrifying!

On the other hand, love runs deeper than mere emotions. Its current cuts deeply into our thoughts and captures our imagination. When love ebbs, eddies, or hides, we deeply yearn for that feeling of being in love.

Love is bigger than emotions, thoughts, attitudes, and experiences. Love is a verb. The guts and grit of love are centered in our actions and deeds. We should not separate our understanding of love from the actions that must accompany it.

Love is seen, demonstrated, and expressed by what we do. We routinely get swept up in the demands of the holidays that dictate our formal expressions of love. That’s convenient and channels our love into appropriate and recognizable times and seasons. It may even be helpful to kick-start our love out of laziness.

However, real love, the genuine and lasting love God calls us to share, knows no boundaries, dates, or seasons. Sure, He wants the fire to be there in our love. He also wants the practical, compassionate, encouraging displays of love to be part of our everyday routine and not just saved for Hallmark-captured moments or florist-instigated holidays.

Love is from God. It is the environment in which He lives and is the blessing He graciously shares. (See 1 John 4!) Incredibly, the Bible rarely if ever simply says that God loves us. Instead, it tells us that God showed us His love by giving, doing, sacrificing, and forgiving.

In God’s world, love is no mere state of being. It is not simply a fleeting emotion based upon our performance or response to Him. Instead, it is a consistent set of gracious actions designed to show us His love and leave us touched with His redemptive grace.

So as we get swept up on both the seriousness and silliness of Valentine’s Day fever, let’s hear the call of God to do more than buy an overpriced card, snag a bouquet of flowers, or box of chocolates. Let’s make a commitment to make our love real with some very intentionally planned loving actions. In other words, pick up a calendar and space out some very specific things to do between now and next February 14. Love is a verb, so let’s get busy doing and not just talking, thinking, and feeling.—Author unknown

Our ultimate valentine

When I think about Valentine’s Day, a day that’s best known as a time when people give special love gifts to each other, I think most of all of God’s great, sacrificial gift to us in the form of His son, Jesus. Then I think of how all the love that we have to give to others on Valentine’s Day—and every day of the year—is possible because of His love. There’s no time for Him that isn’t a time to give. I want to follow His example as much as I can.

I found a poem that is very meaningful to me and expresses some of the gifts we receive from our great valentine every day of the year. When our love cups are overflowing with His gifts, it makes us want to share that love with others so they can experience it, too.

Here’s the poem:

He doesn’t send me roses,
For He is my Rose of Sharon.
Nor does He leave flowers at my door,
For He grows them in my garden.
He doesn’t kiss my lips,
For He caresses my entire being with the touch of warm sunshine and softly falling rain.
He doesn’t give me sparkling diamonds to wear,
For He set the sparkling stars in the night sky and made them mine.
He doesn’t whisper in my ear,
For His still, small voice fills my spirit and is ever with me.
He isn’t a Valentine who has pledged lifelong love,
For He is eternal love.
He isn’t limited to only sending gifts or making sweet promises,
For He Himself is the ultimate gift and fulfillment of promise.
He won’t fill my life by standing at the wedding altar with me.
For He placed Himself on the altar, that I may know life, that I may know Him,
That I may love Him forever.²

Our dear Jesus is our ultimate valentine, the one who has given us limitless love and who loves it when we help Him communicate that love to others, both today and always. Happy Valentine’s Day!—Maria Fontaine

Published on Anchor February 2017. Read by Carol Andrews.
Music by Michael Dooley.

¹ http://articles.faithwriters.com/reprint-article-details.php?article=5000.

² Adapted from a poem by Janice K. Lawrence.

No Service for Jesus Is Small

February 13, 2026

By Stephen Witmer

Most of us live most our lives doing mostly mundane things. We might experience a few pivotal, defining moments in life. But most days we don’t get married, receive a positive pregnancy test, or achieve a breakthrough in our field. Most days, we’re commuting, studying, parenting, working, doing the dishes, mowing the lawn, or paying the bills.

Do those activities count in God’s eyes? Does the mundane matter to him?

(Read the article here.)

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/no-service-for-jesus-is-small

Investing in Our Spiritual Life

February 12, 2026

By Peter Amsterdam

Audio length: 12:22

Download Audio (11.3MB)

He set himself to seek God, … and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper.—2 Chronicles 26:5

Investing in our spiritual life and growth takes time, commitment, and self-discipline. It also takes faith, as making your spiritual life a priority can take time away from other things on your plate, when your life already seems to be filled to overflowing and time feels scarce.

When we face obstacles or circumstances that pull from our commitments to our spiritual life and growth, it helps to remind ourselves that giving time to our relationship with God is of first importance and an investment for eternity. Jesus taught us to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” and that as we do so, everything else will fall into place (Matthew 6:33).

One of God’s great desires is for us to be in close relationship with Him. Even when we fall short in spending time with Him, we can rest in the sure knowledge of His love for us. He understands our frame, our circumstances, and every difficulty we face, and He meets us where we are at and is more than willing to help us as we endeavor to deepen our walk with Him.

Let’s look at some foundational principles for investing in our spiritual life and growth.

Connecting with God through His Word and spiritual input. Making time daily for godly input and spiritual nourishment is paramount to having a vibrant spiritual life. Jesus affirmed that God’s Word is our source of spiritual nourishment when He quoted the Old Testament verse “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

The Bible is the Word of God, and just as we need to eat physical food every day for sustenance and good health, we need spiritual nourishment every day. Reading God’s Word and spending time with Him is something we need to fit in daily, even if it’s only a short time. Jesus said, “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63). We can’t afford to miss our intake of His Word.

Needless to say, our source for spiritual nourishment comes first and foremost from the Bible. The Bible outlines God’s plan for humanity, from its beginning in Genesis to its promise of spiritual transformation through the resurrection, to its promises of immortality and everlasting life with God in the book of Revelation. The Bible teaches us about God and provides the principles and standards whereby we can make wise and godly decisions and act in a way that pleases God and serves others.

Another source for our spiritual growth is devotional, faith-building material (or media) authored by godly men and women. The inspired writings of other Christians can serve to strengthen our faith, open our understanding of the Scriptures, and help us to practically apply God’s Word to our current needs and challenges.

God desires to have a deep relationship with each of us, as our most trusted confidant and friend. As we build and maintain this privileged relationship with the loving God of the universe by spending time with Him, meditating on His Word, He will guide us and His Word will inform our decisions and actions. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6).

In today’s busy world, it can be a challenge to carve out time for building our relationship with God. But as Christians, we have to make our time devoted to God and His Word a priority. As we quiet our mind and spirit and meditate on God’s Word, He speaks to our heart and guides us on our life journey. This helps to strengthen our relationship with God, and we will experience the blessings which come from a closer walk with Him.

Developing an active prayer life. Prayer is a key component of our spiritual life; it’s how we communicate with God. We can speak with Him, praise and worship Him, and tell Him our concerns, troubles, needs, and ask Him for His help, intervention, strength, and guidance. Prayer is asking for the will of God to be done, as we reach out to our Father in heaven. We listen to His voice and seek His guidance, encouragement, comfort, and instruction.

Prayer is the means by which we intercede on the behalf of others, as we pray for those we love and care for, the needs of our community, and for people in any difficult or stressful situation. A strong spiritual life is one that incorporates daily prayer throughout the day, as the Bible teaches us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

God has given us prayer as a gift. Through prayer, we can cast all our earthly cares upon His strong shoulders. This life is rife with worries, fears, and anxiety, but Paul tells us to “worry about nothing” and to “pray about everything” (Philippians 4:6). Thankfully, we don’t need to worry about whether an issue on our heart merits prayer. If your heart is concerned about something, God is concerned too. As we learn to blend life and prayer, His presence is with us throughout the day.

We receive peace when we commit our cares and anxieties to God and trust that He will bring about the best outcome in the situation. We grow in our relationship with God through a consistent and committed prayer life, and we become more like Jesus as we spend time in prayer.

Keeping our heart right with the Lord. We all sin; we all make mistakes—every day. The Lord knows this, and He doesn’t condemn us for our lack of perfection or the times we stumble. Jesus knows all our faults and He understands our flaws and human weaknesses, as He experienced life as a human. He knows that we will never get everything right or do everything perfectly, no matter how hard we try.

If we walk in reverence before the Lord, we’ll be convicted to regularly confess our sins to the Lord and ask for His forgiveness. When you know your heart is right with God and there is no unconfessed sin in your life, you’re more apt to come to Him for times of worship and prayer, and you have more faith for Him to bless you and take care of you.

We can enter into that wonderful place of peace and forgiveness by confessing our faults, mistakes, and sins to the Lord. We can find peace in His forgiveness as we humble ourselves, acknowledge our faults, and run to His outstretched arms (1 John 1:9).

Walk in obedience to God. As followers of Jesus, we strive to know more about God and His Word. We study, research, and meditate on the truth of the Bible and other inspired Christian writings. We memorize Bible verses and study the Bible. We talk about God’s Word with other believers.

All this is good, but that’s not where our duty to God ends. Another foundational principle for spiritual growth is doing what God’s Word says to do. We are called to obey what God asks of all Christians, as well as His personal guidance and instruction to us as individuals.

We are called to take action and be living examples of His Word, and that comes from being doers of the Word and not hearers only (James 1:22). We are called to be active participants in His great commission to reach the world with the gospel (Matthew 18:19–20).

Our obedience to His commands comes with a promise of blessing, as Jesus said, “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them” (John 13:17).

Fellowship with other believers. The Bible tells us to “not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another” (Hebrews 10:25). As Rick Warren wrote: “God intends for us to experience life together. The Bible calls this shared experience fellowship.”

When we spend time with other Christians worshipping the Lord, reading His Word, singing and praying together, we come away stronger. We are refreshed, our vision is clarified, and we are better prepared for what the Lord will bring into our lives as we work for His kingdom.

It can be a challenge to carve out the time for quality fellowship or to build or find a Christian community where you feel at home. But it is important to make the effort to gather with a community of believers as often as you can. This is important not only for your personal edification and enjoyment; it also helps empower and motivate you to make a difference in the world.

As you evaluate your spiritual life and invest in your spiritual growth, let’s remember the wonderful promises from Scripture of God’s blessings on those who love Him, walk in obedience to Him, and keep His commands. As Christians, we have been called “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that we may declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).

Originally published July 2014. Adapted and republished February 2026. Read by John Laurence.

Stop Speaking Christianese, Please

February 11, 2026

By Alan Shlemon

Commercial airplanes are extremely safe these days. Still, sending 100,000 lbs. of metal into the atmosphere at 600 mph demands attention to safety. But when a flight attendant starts the safety briefing, I ignore it. All I hear is, “Blah blah blah blah.” I’m not the only one. People put on noise-canceling headphones, turn to chat with their neighbor, or scroll through their social media feed. Why? Isn’t the safety briefing full of vital information? Wouldn’t heeding its advice potentially save your life in an emergency? Yes. Then why does no one pay attention?

People have heard it before. They think they know it. Honestly, nobody cares.

(Read the article here.)

https://www.str.org/w/stop-speaking-christianese-please

What Does Love Mean?

February 10, 2026

A compilation

Audio length: 12:05

Download Audio (11MB)

According to Ephesians 5:1–2, we walk in love by imitating God just like Jesus did, offering our lives in sacrifice to God: “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

The “walk” of Ephesians 5:2 refers to our behavior and how we act. … When we behave like Jesus, we are walking in love. … The Greek word translated as “love” in this passage is agape. Agape is sacrificial, unselfish, unconditional love that proves itself through actions. … God’s nature, His essence, is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love. …

The apostle Paul gives a detailed description of how to walk in love: “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance” (1 Corinthians 13:4–7). …

Although we are free in Christ, we use our freedom “to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Galatians 5:13–14). … This wholehearted, sacrificial imitation of God’s divine agape is what it means to walk in love.—GotQuestions.org¹

How should followers of Jesus respond to all the anger we see erupting today? How can God’s family, the church, be the “peacemakers” and the “ministers of reconciliation” that Jesus commands us to be? How do we build bridges to each other instead of walls around our hearts and homes? We can begin by loving like Jesus loved.

Here are [some] important ways to do just that.

Dignity. Psalm 8:5 says, “God made people just a little lower than the heavenly beings, and he crowned us with glory and honor.” That means God created every person with dignity. To love others, we have to realize that we all have been given the same dignity. You can’t give it to someone. It comes from God. You can only deny or affirm it in others.

“Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you meet with dignity” (1 Peter 2:16–17).

Community. We need each other and we’re better together. God never intended for us to go through life alone, lonely, and without the support of other people. …

The church should be the place of unity and community where we model the love of Christ for the world. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are brothers and sisters. Our primary identity comes from God, and all other affiliations will not be carried into heaven. We only carry our relationship with God and each other into eternity.

Love. We were put on this earth to learn how to love. As Jesus says in the Great Commandment, it’s all about learning to love God and learning to love people. … We can be agents of love with people who are completely different from us when we listen to them, look them in the eye, learn from them, and laugh with them.

Reconciliation. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to be facilitators of reconciliation. … Matthew 5:9 says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.”—Rick Warren²

My love is constant and without end. It is rich and free and abundant (Psalm 103:8), and I manifest My love for you in a multitude of ways each day. Whether or not you see it or feel it or recognize it does not change the fact that My love is constant and abundant and unconditional.

You cannot deserve it or work for it or be worthy of it in yourself, for My love is a free gift. I will never stop loving you. I will always love you with perfect, unending, abundant love.

My love for you is forever love. My eye has been on you from the very beginning of your life. I have been with you every step of the way. I have watched you. I have cared for you. You have never been out of My sight.

I see your every tear. I hear your every cry. I understand your frustrations, worries, burdens, and desires. I know everything about you—all your wants, all your lacks. I see your heart and all that is in it, and I love you deeply.

Come to Me when you are weary and burdened, and I will give you My promised rest (Matthew 11:28–29). I will comfort you, and pour My balm of love upon your aching heart. As you bring every care and concern to Me in prayer, I will calm your worries, fears, tears, and frustration. I will blow away the clouds of confusion and soothe your frazzled nerves.

My love for you is from everlasting to everlasting—a love that will never end (Psalm 103:17). I will be with you always, through whatever deep, dark experience, whatever dense fog you find yourself in—because I love you.—Jesus

What does love mean to four-to-eight-year-old kids? Slow down for a few minutes to read this.

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of four-to-eight-year-old children: “What does love mean?” The answers they got were broader, deeper, and more profound than anyone could have imagined!

“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So, my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.”—Rebecca (age 8)

“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.”—Billy (age 4)

“Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.”—Karl (age 5)

“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.”—Chrissy (age 6)

“Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.”—Terri (age 4)

“Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is okay.”—Danny (age 8)

“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and just listen.”—Bobby (age 7)

“Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, and then he wears it every day.”—Noelle (age 7)

“Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.”—Tommy (age 6)

“During my piano recital, I was on a stage, and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore.”—Cindy (age 8)

“My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.”—Clare (age 6)

“Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.”—Elaine (age 5)

“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is more handsome than Robert Redford.”—Chris (age 7)

“Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.”—Mary Ann (age 4)

“I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.”—Lauren (age 4)

“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t think it’s gross.”—Mark (age 6)

“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.”—Jessica (age 8)

And the final one: The winner was a four-year-old child whose next-door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, “Nothing. I just helped him cry.”—Author unknown

Published on Anchor February 2026. Read by Lenore Welsh. Music by John Listen.

¹ “What does it mean to walk in love (Ephesians 5:2)?” Gotquestions.org, https://www.gotquestions.org/walk-in-love.html

² Rick Warren, “Loving Like Jesus in a Fractured World,” Pastors.com, https://blog.pastors.com/articles/loving-like-jesus-in-a-fractured-world/

Trusting in God for Healing

February 9, 2026

By Maria Fontaine

Audio length: 11:35

Download Audio (10.6MB)

For the longest time I tried to figure out the how-tos of divine healing. I had wanted to be able to boil everything down into a step-by-step, one-two-three healing formula so I could say, “If you need God’s supernatural healing, all you have to do is follow these steps.” But I finally reached the conclusion that it doesn’t work that way.

If two people followed the same steps, one might be healed and the other might not. The more I studied various cases, the more I saw that each situation was different. The Lord seemed to handle each individual differently and tailored their healing to their particular needs and His will and work in their lives. Every person is unique, and the Lord works differently in each of our lives—not only in the matter of healing, but also in our circumstances, the lessons He teaches us, the tests and trials of our faith that we endure, and the blessings He gives us.

Trying to give universal counsel on how to get healed is just not possible, because the Lord doesn’t follow a set pattern. That is why, if you read many accounts of people’s healing, they can be very different. In some cases, the Lord miraculously heals someone through His divine intervention, while in other cases He requires us to do our part, through changes in our lifestyle, diet and exercise, or through natural remedies. In other cases, God works through medical interventions, including doctors, medication, surgery, physiotherapy and other treatments.

When we realize that the Lord works differently in each of our lives, we can better understand why in some cases He heals and in other cases He doesn’t—at least not right away. If we can grasp this, it will help us to put our trust fully in Him and His work in our lives and to not fall into condemnation or discouragement if our prayers for healing don’t result in our immediate healing from whatever is ailing us.

When we understand that God doesn’t always heal every affliction of every Christian in this life, it also helps us to have compassion on those who are suffering long-term afflictions. He is the God of all comfort who loves His children unconditionally as this beautiful passage from the Apostle Paul expresses:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too” (2 Corinthians 1:3–5).

One Bible translation of this says that “God will shower us with his comfort through Christ” (NLT). What a beautiful picture to bear in mind when we are suffering any affliction or time of trouble!

Divine wisdom at work

It is important to bear in mind when pondering God’s healing that each of us is a complex physical and spiritual being. The Lord has bestowed on each of us different abilities, physical and spiritual attributes, and strengths and weaknesses. No two of us are alike. The Lord, our Maker, knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows everything about us—our every thought, our every weakness, our every joy, our every need. He knows exactly how to teach us the lessons He wants us to learn. He knows what tests and trials we need to endure to make us into what He wants us to be, and He measures these things out to us in the exact portion that He knows we need—never too much and never too little—and so it is with our afflictions and our healing.

Two people could have precisely the same affliction, they could both pray to be healed, and one could get healed immediately and the other could continue to be afflicted for years. Does this mean that the one who gets healed immediately is stronger spiritually or closer to the Lord than the other? Not necessarily.

The reasons the Lord allowed these two people to be afflicted in the first place may have been completely different. If His reasons for allowing the affliction are different, then His reasons for healing or not healing are different as well. Whatever the case, afflictions can be blessings in disguise because they have the potential to bring about spiritual growth and blessings in our lives.

Faith in times of affliction

Faith comes—and it grows—from hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). When we walk in faith, we know by His Word that the Lord is sovereign over our lives. We trust that the Lord has a plan and design for our lives, whatever that may be. Whatever we face is meant to draw us closer to God, and He has promised us that nothing in all creation can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38–39).

Those who suffer long-term illnesses or injuries have to keep the faith even when they aren’t healed. When the affliction persists month after month, they have to hold on and trust the Lord to either heal them eventually, or to give them the grace to continue to bear the affliction and grow and learn through it. They have to seek, find, and accept the Romans 8:28—“all things work together for good to those who love God”—in their situation. In each and every case, when they trust the Lord and hang on and don’t give up, it bears good fruit in their lives through the lessons they learn.

Who really has the most faith?—The person who is instantly healed of an affliction, or someone who has to bear that affliction and still carries on loving and trusting the Lord even though they may not understand why they haven’t been healed? They both have faith, but the one who has had to suffer long-term affliction has had to have enduring faith—not necessarily for healing, but faith to trust the Lord day by day to take care of them and bring them through.

In God’s time

If the Lord hasn’t healed you in answer to your prayers, or your infirmity is a long-term one or He’s made you that way from birth, should you feel condemned or discouraged? No, because whether you are healed or not, you are God’s beloved child and “there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Whenever we are tempted to fall under condemnation or discouragement, we can remind ourselves of the truths in this passage:

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us (Romans 8:32–34).

He wants to give you faith to endure the trials and tribulations you may face in this life—faith to praise and thank Him in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18), and faith to be a good testimony to others in your affliction. Then, when He’s ready to heal you, “the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up” (James 5:15).

If you’re doing your part, praying, trusting the Lord, and walking by faith and the Lord doesn’t choose to heal you, you shouldn’t feel condemned. Perhaps it’s not yet the Lord’s time to heal you because there are things He wants to teach you first or He is working in some way in your life through the illness. Or perhaps He wants to use you as an example of someone who perseveres in faith through the difficult times, because He knows that will help and encourage others. Whatever the case, faith means trusting in the Lord for your situation, trusting that He knows best, whether you get healed or not in this life.

Personal comfort in times of illness

One thing that can make your physical afflictions easier to bear is knowing that you can bring your every burden and care to the Lord and receive His love and encouragement. The Bible says to “give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (1 Peter 5:7). You can pour out your heart to the Lord in prayer and receive His help in your time of need, and His Spirit will pour out His comfort. He tells us to “call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me” (Psalm 50:15).

He can guide you in your time of affliction and help you to discern what He wants you to do about it, and how to go about receiving healing, whether through His supernatural healing, making lifestyle changes or seeking out medical assistance. He will guide you through His Word in the Bible, as well as through counseling with others and seeking His wisdom. “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:6).

Take your heartaches, burdens, and questions to Him. He said to “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). He wants to lighten your burdens and make your afflictions easier to bear (Psalm 55:22). He loves you and He will never suffer you to be tempted beyond what you are able to bear, but will always make a way to escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). That way of escape often comes through His personal words of comfort and love and encouragement that will lift you over the storm and bring you to the light of a brighter day.

Let Jesus bear your burdens, ease your pain, and lighten your load as He has promised to.

Originally published March 2004. Adapted and republished February 2026. Read by Debra Lee.

Salvation in the Spirit World

David Brandt Berg

1983-04-01

There are three different words which are translated in our English Bibles as either hell or the grave. The Hebrew word “Gehenna” is usually translated “hell,” meaning a fiery hell, and the other word usually translated in the English as “grave” comes from two different words: one in Hebrew, “Sheol,” and the other in Greek, “Hades.” But neither of the original words has the meaning of what we think of as a grave today—a hole in the ground. Both of them mean “Sheol”—the unseen state, the spirit world.

They are living spirits, existent and living in the spirit world, though unseen. Not buried in a hole in the ground. They’re not lying in some graves and holes in the ground nor all in hellfire, but they are there in the spirit world, active but unseen. In other words, every place it says “grave” in the Old Testament is “Sheol,” meaning “the unseen state,” and every place it says “grave” in the New Testament it’s “Hades,” meaning the same thing—the spirit world.

Only the word “Gehenna” really means “hellfire” in the Hebrew, genuine hellfire, the Lake of Fire. The two words most frequently used—the Hebrew “Sheol,” mostly translated “grave” but sometimes “hell,” and the Greek word “Hades,” usually translated “grave” but sometimes translated “hell”—neither one is hell or the grave as we think of it today. Maybe in the days of the King James translation, that’s what they meant. Maybe they thought of the grave as being the ghostly state or the spirit world or a world of ghosts and spirits, because they were so conscious of the spirit world and of ghosts, and believers in those things in those days. Maybe it meant the same thing to them.

Today, to you and me, modern people of the twentieth century, the word “grave” only means one thing—a hole in the ground that you bury a dead body in. But that is not at all what the original words mean. It means “the unseen state,” the invisible state of those spirits. They’re merely in an unseen state. They’re not all already in hellfire, neither are they stuck in a hole in the ground. So both “Sheol” and “Hades,” so-called hell and the grave, are neither one; they are the invisible, unseen state of the spirit world and the spirits of the departed dead.

Those poor translators who translated the King James Bible, words don’t always necessarily mean the same thing today that they meant in their day. And I can imagine that the church probably had something to do with that translation. Too many of these translations and interpretations are colored by the doctrine of their particular church, just as was the King James translation. Remember, it was translated, in a sense, by church men and by the church, and that is why a lot of those moot points and controversial definitions like “ecclesia” were translated “church” or “kirk,” meaning a building, instead of the “body of Christ” or the “congregation” or the “assembly of the saints.” The Archbishop of Canterbury insisted that the word “kirk” or “church” be used rather than “assembly.” He insisted on using a word that meant a building rather than the people, because he was afraid they’d lose their grip on the people if they weren’t tied to the church building.

Many churches don’t want to admit that there’s any place else to go but heaven and hell. And that’s been one of the things that has caught in the craw of many a sinner and many an unsaved and potential believer who just couldn’t believe in that kind of doctrine, that God would send everybody to hell who didn’t happen to go to heaven.

There are several words in three major categories where the King James translation does not stick to the original meaning of the word. With “ecclesia,” they insisted on using the word “church,” meaning a building, rather than the true meaning of “the people”; they used “everlasting” and “forever” instead of the literal meaning of the words or the phrases, meaning “age-lasting”; and they used these words for “hell” and the “grave” instead of “the unseen state” or the spiritual state or the spirit world, the invisible world of the spirits.

There’s an in-between state which is not yet determined and where many of these spirits are going to be until they are judged at the Great White Throne Judgment as to whether they deserve to go here or there or yon or wherever.—Not the already saved that are already in heaven, but the dead of all ages who are raised for judgment at the Great White Throne Judgment. “And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened”—several books, a lot of books, maybe millions of books, maybe their memories. “And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works” (Revelation 20:11–12). Obviously that’s the record God keeps of their words and works.

“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it.”—The ghosts and spirits which were in the sea in an unseen state, confined to wherever they sank as part of their punishment for not being godly and not being saints—but not hellfire. “And death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them.” “They were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the Lake of Fire” (Revelation 20:13–14).

The word “hell” used in Revelation 20:13 is the Greek word “hades,” meaning “the unseen world.” Not a hole in the ground, not hellfire, but the spirit world. In this case of the word “death,” we’re only given the Greek word “thanatos,” meaning death.—Death being a state of not being alive mortally in this particular world of the physical and the flesh. It could mean the very same thing in the spirit world, in the death state where the spirits dwell in the spirit world. We can assume that of course it means the nonfleshly state of the present, the opposite of being alive in a physical body such as we are today. So therefore death could very well mean, as all these other words mean, the unseen or the invisible state or the spirit world. And I’m convinced that that’s the clear meaning of what the Lord is talking about there at the Great White Throne Judgment when the dead were raised, in that state.

Now being a “state,” it’s not people. It is a state, a world in which they lived, a spirit world or an unseen state. So when He says that “death and hell are cast into the Lake of Fire,” it doesn’t necessarily mean all the people. It can simply mean that He is destroying that particular phase or state thereafter, that there will be no such state for the spirits of the dead to dwell in anymore—that invisible, unseen state—neither for the saved nor the unsaved. In other words, at the Great White Throne Judgment their fate is definitely decided and they’re no longer allowed to linger in Limbo somewhere in-between. They are sent to wherever they deserve to be sent—either into hellfire, as is obvious, or to heaven, the new earth or wherever.

In other words, I believe that their fate is not always completely sealed by death. This is the last chance as far as we now know for the day of grace and true salvation through Jesus Christ, although, who knows? Maybe people in the Millennium will get saved the same way. Who says they can’t?

According to the Word of God, they don’t have their final judgment until the Great White Throne Judgment, when all the deeds done in the body are going to be judged (2 Corinthians 5:10). Those who were saved in this age of grace during this life, their fate is settled. They are definitely saved and strictly going to heaven. And it’s possible that some of Satan’s followers who have finally and forever rejected Jesus Christ and are still rejecting Him in the spirit world and still serving the Devil, that their fate is pretty much settled as well—except for how bad and how much damage and evil they did, which they’re still doing. Therefore, they can’t get their final judgment until the Great White Throne Judgment when their cup of iniquity is full and they have finished all their God-damnable dirty work—including all the fiends of hell and devils.

Who knows? Maybe people are receiving Christ in the spirit world right now. Jesus went and preached to the spirits in prison who had died up till that time (Matthew 12:40; 1 Peter 3:19, 4:6; Ephesians 4:9). Of all the times they certainly would want to get saved—if they didn’t know the Gospel and hadn’t heard and really didn’t realize—it would be when they die and go into the spirit world and see it. Surely they would believe then.

If you can get saved in the Millennium, why couldn’t you get saved in the spirit world right after death? It seems there are going to be three classes of people in the spirit world: the definitely saved and bound for heaven; the unalterably reprobate, incorrigible evil spirits loyal to the Devil in the afterlife; and then there are people who are in-between and maybe are good but never heard the Gospel and never had a chance to get saved, but were not really evil.

Maybe that’s why He has to wait until the Great White Throne Judgment to judge them as to whether they will be saved or not, whether they’re written in the Book of Life or not. They stand at the Great White Throne Judgment and the Lord opens the book: “Ah, yes, he’s here. He believed on Me after he died. He received Jesus after he was gone into the spirit world, so he deserves to be saved.” In other words, perhaps some people can get saved in the spirit world into which they go at death.

So not necessarily everybody is going to heaven or hell, but some people are in that unseen world, that unseen state—so-called “grave” and “hell” in some places in the English Bible—and are simply in the spirit world then and perhaps have the opportunity to see and believe for the first time. And if it’s the first time they’ve heard the Gospel and they receive Jesus there, why shouldn’t they be saved just like anybody else? Why shouldn’t those spirits in prison that Jesus preached to have been saved like anybody else? If He took the trouble to go there and give them the Gospel Himself in person, certainly God was extending His mercy to them and giving them a chance to believe and receive and be saved.

Look at the patience and mercy of God, that even the people who never heard may have a chance to receive the Lord in the next life in the spirit world—even between now and the Great White Throne Judgment. I always wondered what they had that judgment for anyhow, if everybody that came to that judgment, all the unsaved dead, were being raised just to be cast into hell. Then what’s the point of the judgment? Why have a judgment throne? Why not just chuck them all into hell immediately like He did the Antichrist and the False Prophet and eventually the Devil? They never stood before the Great White Throne Judgment because their fate was settled—hellfire—along with probably a lot of other people like Dives, the rich man who ignored the poor beggar Lazarus at his gate (Luke 16:19–31).

Some people’s sins, as Paul said, “go before them to judgment” (1 Timothy 5:24). In other words, their fate is settled. The minute they die, they go straight to hellfire like Dives did, because of his wickedness and iniquity and selfishness and cruelty. And just so, those of us who have received Jesus in this life and are definitely saved, our fate is settled and we go straight to heaven. But there are millions of people who die who are not that wicked and evil to go straight to hellfire, but neither have they heard the Gospel in order to be saved, so therefore God gives them a chance in the spirit world.

Salvation in the spirit world. Why not? If there’s going to be another chance for the mortal humans who survive the Holocaust and live into the Millennium, why shouldn’t the dead who never heard the Gospel and were not the very wicked and evil and rebellious, have a chance? Jesus Himself said that “they that knew not their Master’s will would be beaten with few stripes” (Luke 12:48). They did things deserving of punishment, yes, but not forever, not with hellfire. They’ve learned their lesson, they’ve seen the truth, they’ve heard the Gospel, they’ve believed, they’ve received Jesus. Why couldn’t they be saved in the spirit world hereafter, between now and the Great White Judgment?

That explains the verse in the Bible about Jesus preaching to spirits in prison. What else would He preach to them but the Gospel of salvation? “He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life” (John 3:36). To tell them that had not heard to believe on Him so they could be saved.

If people can be saved in the Millennium, why can’t they be saved now in the spirit world when they wake up and see the facts and believe and receive it for the first time, hear the Gospel for the first time, see and hear and receive Jesus Christ for the first time? Why shouldn’t they be saved if it’s really their first chance? The Bible says, “Thy mercy is from everlasting to everlasting” (Psalm 103:17). Doesn’t that give you a picture of a loving God and an everlastingly merciful Jesus Christ?—That the people who never really had a fair chance here and now are going to get that chance?

We’re speaking of a different class of people, the departed dead being saved in the spirit world, the spirit realm, the unseen world, after death. When we’re speaking about salvation during the Millennium, we’re speaking about the mortal living human beings who have not yet died. So I believe there is going to be salvation for both the living and the dead. Everybody’s going to have a chance.

And this brings out another scripture: “This is the light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9). How much more so in the next world will they get that light, in the world of the spirit. Whether dead or alive, they get the light. Sooner or later they have a chance to be saved. Doesn’t that fit your picture of an all-loving, all-merciful God who will be not only merciful to the now-living, but also to the dead?—As evidenced very plainly by Jesus’ trip to the place of imprisonment in the heart of the earth to preach the Gospel—for what other reason than that they might believe and be saved and liberated.

I believe that God’s going to give everybody a chance—dead or alive, now or then—to hear the Gospel, to even see and believe and receive Jesus Christ as their savior. That fits the doctrine of universal reconciliation, that everybody’s going to get a chance, either now or then, here or there, in this life or the next life, or the Millennium. If we can believe that the people in the Millennium can believe and be saved when there’s still all those rebellious people around, why not in the spirit world now?

“Not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to the knowledge of salvation.” “The light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” “That all men might be saved” (2 Peter 3:9; John 1:9; 1 Timothy 2:4). So why not in the spirit world as well as in the Millennium?

But don’t think that gives you another chance, if you’re hearing the Gospel now today. Only those saved now go straight to heaven when we die. God help you to make your choice today. “Choose ye this day whom ye will serve.” “Today is the day of salvation” for you (Joshua 24:15; 2 Corinthians 6:2).

Out of This World (part 2)

David Brandt Berg

1977-11-01

—Holy Ghosts

Besides God the Father, the Creator and Lord of the universe, His Son Jesus, the King of kings, and the Holy Spirit, who together are known as the Trinity, there are many other good spirits, including the seven Spirits of God of Revelation 4:5, the seven stars or angels or spirits of the seven churches of Revelation 1:20, the four spirits of the heavens of Zechariah 6:5, and the multitudes of other celestial messengers, angels, or spirits of God mentioned in the Bible, which are obviously all good spirits.

To deny that they are good spirits is to deny all the angels and spirits of God, as well as all the spirits of the dear departed saints of God, including those who appeared or spoke to men of God throughout the Bible, like the souls under the altar in heaven in Revelation 6:9–11, and even your own personal spirit, saved by the grace of God, which shall join a heavenful of millions of the saved spirits of all the saints of God when you die or go to be with Jesus when He comes!

These are they of whom Paul speaks in Hebrews 12:1 as a great cloud of witnesses which compass us about—here and now. “Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses.” Paul saw them. He knew they were there. Thank God for His Spirit. Thanks be unto God for all the good spirits of God and His saints.

Thank the Lord for the many counselors and the multitudes he has given. Ask God to open your eyes as He did the young man to see the multitudes of His hosts. “And Elisha prayed and said, Lord, I pray Thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: And, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha” (2 Kings 6:17).

Thank God for these who work with us within the veil of the fifth dimension. Thank God for His angels, who are watching over us continually, even your personal angel, whose job is you. The Lord told us one time to thank Him for His angels that guarded and protected us.

“The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them.” “For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.” “The Lord … who maketh His angels spirits; His ministers a flaming fire … ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” (Psalm 34:7; 91:11,12; 104:4; Hebrews 1:14).

God has sent different “ministering spirits” to reveal His mysteries to us in the spirit, by the spirit, through the Spirit, of the Spirit and for the Spirit. They came this way in the Bible in many cases where angelic messengers were sent to convey a message to some prophet of God, or a man or woman of God. Time and again when the prophets revealed something, they said the angel of the Lord said it or was there showing them. Search the Scriptures and see if these things be so.

In the book of Revelation, for example, when the apostle John was so astonished by the great glad tidings and mysteries of God that were being shown to him, he wrote, “And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God” (Revelation 22:8–9).

A couple of departed saints even appeared and ministered to Jesus, God’s own Son. We’re told that, shortly before His crucifixion, “Jesus went up into a mountain to pray. And as He prayed, the fashion of His countenance was altered, and behold, there talked with Him two men which were Moses and Elijah: Who appeared in glory, and spake of His decease” (Luke 9:28–31). These two former prophets, Moses and Elijah, had departed from this life many centuries previous to the day Jesus was praying on the mount, yet God sent them to counsel and confer with His Son.

So God can use His servants who have already passed on from this life. These spirits, then, are on assignment. They don’t just drift around in space with no place to go, nothing to do, and not knowing what their specific duties are. They’re all busy. There’re a lot of places where they’re working, not only in this world but in the world of the spirit. The Holy Spirit uses these spirits, His angels and these spirit beings, these departed saintly spirits, to guide God’s children.

So God Himself and all these others dwell and operate in the glorious universe of good spirits to which His Word welcomes and introduces His born-again children: “Ye are come unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant” (Hebrews 12:22–24).

—Satan, the fallen archangel

So far, we have dealt primarily with the wonderful realm of God and His heavenly forces, but there is also a dark side of the picture, sad to say, which I don’t care to talk too much about, because I think it tends to glorify the Enemy too much, giving him too much credit. However, God’s Word does tell us not to be ignorant of the Devil’s devices (2 Corinthians 2:11).

It doesn’t pay to try to say that there’s no Devil or no demons or no such thing as evil, and just try to ignore the facts. Especially when God’s book, the Bible, warns us explicitly of such spiritual forces and tells us exactly how to overcome them.

These wicked spiritual powers are led by a fallen archangel, Satan, whom the Bible calls “the prince of the devils” (Matthew 12:24) and “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Speaking of him, Jesus said, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven” (Luke 10:18). And the book of Jude speaks of his forces as “the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation” (Jude 6).

Before becoming the Devil, Satan had been the light-bearer (translated in the King James Version of the Bible as Lucifer), a mighty archangel. But he wasn’t satisfied with that; he wanted to be God. He did not have to fall—he chose to, because of his lust for power. In the account of his downfall, God’s Word says, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. … I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit” (Isaiah 14:12–15).

He was the first would-be dictator, who didn’t want to listen to either God or the other angelic forces. Obviously the majority of them were opposed to his rebellion, for when he totally leaves heaven at the start of the Great Tribulation he’ll only take one-third of them with him. So he and his demons are in the minority, thank God. (See Revelation 12:4.)

The Devil, having refused to listen to either God or the majority of the angels, rebels and becomes the Devil, Satan, the wager of wars upon the world and all peoples and all governments and even God. He is the rebel of all rebels, the terrorist of all terrorists, the delinquent of all delinquents, and the criminal of all criminals and the worst monster of all ages!

He declares his independence from all righteous rule and people and goes about doing his dirty work among the whole universe as a dandy bad example of what not to be and what not to do. So we have hell on earth and even some hell at present in the spirit world, until God throws him out completely, and all his devils, in the coming Great Tribulation. (See Revelation 12:7–10.)

In the meantime, however, he’s still busy trying to be God and trying to establish his counterfeit kingdom on earth. You see, he’s not really a creator at all; he’s only an imitator and destroyer, a fake god. In fact, the Devil can’t do anything; he doesn’t know what to do, except to imitate God. He knows that what God does works, and so in everything he does he is trying to imitate the Lord.

Unlike God or Christ or the Holy Spirit, the Devil is not omnipresent; he’s limited. He’s limited in his scope of operation, because he is only one of God’s creations and limited to one personality in one place at any one given time. Therefore, he has to carry on most of his business through his demons, other evil angels—and through these, the various satanic princes of this world. Through these devils he manages to rule a good deal. This is why the Bible calls him “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). (See also Luke 4:5–7.) (to be continued)

God’s Nearness in the Pain of Losing a Child

February 6, 2026

Vaneetha Risner with Tim Challies

Losing a child is an unimaginable grief, and it was a reality my guest, Tim Challies, and his wife Aileen had to face when their son Nick, a college student, passed away unexpectedly. As a pastor and author, Tim shares his family’s journey of finding hope in the midst of their pain and offers insights on how to navigate the complexities of grief, granting ourselves grace and patience, and being authentic in our mourning.

Together, we explore the questions Tim and Aileen asked God during this time, and the temptation to allow feelings to dictate our beliefs. Tim shares how his trust in God has grown despite their tragic loss, emphasizing the importance of being grounded in the truth of God’s sovereignty and goodness.

We also discussed the challenges of navigating grief within a family and the importance of offering one another grace since each person’s grieving process can be different. Tim offers encouragement to those in the early stages of loss, sharing how his grief has changed over time.

Run time for this video is 47 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2F7croPQa0

Sharing the Good News—One Heart at a Time

February 5, 2026

Treasures

Audio length: 15:38

Download Audio (14.3MB)

Sharing your faith with people and pointing them to salvation through faith in Christ can be a challenging, though very rewarding task. Not everyone is interested in knowing about Jesus or discovering how to enter into a relationship with God. But when people do receive a witness and come to Christ—whether on the spot or later—it is a wonderful privilege to be a part of that or play a role in some way.

Some people you speak with or give a gospel tract to will be at a point in their lives when they are open and ready to receive the message, and want to learn about Christianity. Perhaps others already planted seeds of a witness to them, or perhaps God has worked in their lives in other ways to bring them to that point. Then the Lord places them in your path to help them to come to a saving knowledge of Christ and to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

But don’t be surprised if some people outright reject your witness or even denigrate your faith. It can be a bit disheartening when you reach out to people to share the truth that will set them free (John 8:31–32), only to have them brush you off, change the subject, look at you critically, or in some cases belittle or berate you. When that happens (as it does to everyone at some point), don’t give up. Our job is to plant the seeds of truth and faith in people’s lives—only God can cause them to grow in receptive hearts, as we see in the Parable of the Sower.

A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown. …

This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.—Jesus, Luke 8:5–15 ¹

Experience in gardening or farming teaches us that the person who plants the seed doesn’t have the final say in whether it grows or not. The gardener or farmer does his or her part to till the ground, plant the seed, and water and fertilize it. But only God can make the seed grow. No matter how effectively you share the gospel with others, the ultimate fruit or outcome of your witness is in the Lord’s hands, according to the response of the individual. One person may till the ground, another may plant the seed, and another may water, but it is God who gives the increase(1 Corinthians 3:6).
Some people’s first reaction to a Christian witness is negative simply because they were caught off guard. They weren’t expecting or prepared to get into a discussion on such a deep topic as faith in God or their ultimate destiny after this life. Others may have had bad experiences or heard arguments against Christianity that left them disillusioned. Some need to be won over by a personal example—the gospel bound in shoe leather—before they will listen to the sermon.

Some people may feel that if they receive Jesus as their Savior they would be betraying the religion in which their parents raised them or would be ostracized from their family and culture. Some people have yet to discover the futility of seeking ultimate truth, purpose, and meaning in the things of this world, or don’t want to be reminded of death and the afterlife, much less sin and their eternal destiny.

There are many reasons why people don’t open their hearts to Jesus the first time they have the opportunity. In non-Christian and secular cultures, it often takes time and patience to bring people to a saving knowledge of Jesus. In some cases, it takes friendship-building and being a good neighbor, friend, colleague, or fellow student. Some people are drawn to Christianity by a living example of what we believe—by the way we live and our love and concern for others.

If some people aren’t ready to receive a Christian witness, we shouldn’t try to force it on them—but neither should we give up on them. It may be that our encounter is just one step in their journey to Jesus. We can continue to pray for them and ask the Lord to keep working in their hearts and to water the seeds that we planted. We can make ourselves available for them, and let them know that we’d be happy to have a conversation with them. Perhaps we can encourage their faith by email or by giving them Christian literature from time to time.

Our job is to plant seeds of God’s Word and truth in the earth of people’s hearts. The sunshine of His love and the water of His Word will result in some cases in the miracle of new life for those who will receive Him. Our passion and desire are to share the good news of salvation and help other people come to faith in Christ, but only God can work in people’s hearts and lives. We can only share the truth of the gospel and show them God’s love; whether or not they choose to believe and receive and follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior is between each individual and God.

We can only do our part to prepare the ground, soften it with our prayers, and sow the seed. We may not always see the harvest ourselves, but we can trust that the Lord will work in the hearts and lives of the people who will receive Him. As we are faithful to share a witness, a gospel tract, a New Testament, or other Christian resources with people, we can trust that the Holy Spirit will work in their hearts and lives. Whether that person chooses to receive the message and come to Christ or not, we are being faithful to fulfill our calling to preach the gospel (Mark 16:15).

Tips for effectively sharing the good news

Our commission is to share the good news with all people—everyone, everywhere. In doing so, it is important that we look at each person before us as having intrinsic worth in the eyes of God and being loved by Him. We have to look past people’s outward appearance to see them as God does, as one of His unique creations.

Jesus gave us a living example of reaching out to people who would not be culturally acceptable in His day. He spoke to the hated tax collectors, such as Zacchaeus, and called one of them, Matthew, to be His disciple. He reached out to Mary Magdalene, the Samaritan woman He met at the well, and healed outcasts and “untouchables” of His day. “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Ask God to help you to see each person He sends your way as He sees them.

Some argumentative people will debate Christianity because they are skeptical and unbelieving and want to air their views. But not everyone who seems argumentative falls into that category. Some sincere seekers will argue or debate the Bible or Christianity because they are truly seeking answers; they want their objections to be overcome.

The ways in which Jesus answered the questions He was asked provide a helpful example. Some questions came from people who sincerely wanted to know the truth, like Nicodemus, who asked Jesus how one could be born again (John 3:1–21), and the Samaritan woman at the well who asked about the living water (John 4:5–15). Jesus answered their questions and pointed them to the truth of who He was and how they could enter the kingdom of God.

Other questions came from the religious leaders of His day, who were trying to trap Him in His words. When Jesus perceived that those questioning Him only wanted to cause trouble, He answered very carefully by in turn asking them questions that exposed them and their true intent. (See, for example, Matthew 22:15–22; John 8:6–9.)

The Bible teaches us to speak with conviction, but also with gentleness and respect. “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). The Apostle Paul wrote, “The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 2:24–25).

If you find that after spending some time attempting to relate to someone who is argumentative or hostile and trying to answer their questions or objections that they clearly don’t want to hear about God’s answers from the Bible, you can politely bow out of the conversation. In Colossians, we are instructed to “walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” (Colossians 4:5–6). Often the best way to handle points of disagreement is not by refuting what the other person says, but by hearing them out and then presenting the truth in a loving and positive way.

Sometimes if you try to witness to two or more people together, one person will be unreceptive and try to derail your witness to the group by making derogatory comments, asking insincere or belittling questions, or creating distractions to interfere. It is often more effective, when possible, to speak to people one-on-one, as many people feel awkward about talking about God and faith and spiritual matters in front of others, especially their peers. One-on-one, even those who may have seemed unreceptive while in a group can be more receptive.

A winsome witness

In 1 Corinthians, Paul declared his strategy for reaching people with the gospel: “I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. … I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings” (1 Corinthians 9:19–23).

When reaching people, we too can seek an approach that will relate to the person in their situation, background, and culture. We can approach and speak with people in a way that is friendly, understanding, compassionate, and sympathetic. We can seek to establish as much common ground as possible. When witnessing to people from non-Christian backgrounds, we can focus on the person of Jesus, the only religious figure who took human form and came to earth and lived a human life and gave His life for the redemption and salvation of humankind. We can talk about His great love for all humankind and His power to change, heal, comfort, and mend broken hearts and lives.

Jesus said that He had come to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). The Lord also warns us to exercise wisdom in how and when and to whom we witness. “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves,” Jesus told His disciples, “therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). We are called to share the message of God’s love and truth with everyone, but especially with those who will believe and receive it.

The rewards

As born-again Christians, we have been called and commissioned to be a witness for Jesus and to share the good news with people the Lord places in our path. “We are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, ‘Come back to God!’” (2 Corinthians 5:20). It is both our calling and our privilege to be His ambassadors.

Sharing the good news of the gospel is a wonderfully rewarding experience! It is a privilege to play a part in the Lord’s transformation of people’s spirits and lives, and to know that a loved one, friend, or someone we witnessed to has been brought to eternal salvation. “There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10), and we, as God’s instruments on earth, also partake of that joy. That alone would be reward enough, but there’s much more, as Jesus has promised bountiful rewards in heaven to those who serve as His witnesses. “Whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8).

It is not always an easy task, and there may be times when we face discouragement or frustration when our witness doesn’t appear to be bearing much fruit. In times like those, it helps to remember that every sacrifice we make in this life will be worth it all when we see Jesus. One day we will experience the joy of knowing that we played a part in the salvation of others and have been faithful to Jesus’ Great Commission.

Published on Anchor February 2026. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.

¹ The parable of the sower is also found in Matthew chapter 13 and Mark chapter 4.

Would You Like to See Jesus?

February 4, 2026

By Marie Story

An interesting study was done a few years back. Two dogs were given the command “shake.” Both raised their paw to shake hands; however, one dog was given a treat while the other wasn’t. After two or three rounds of this treatment, the dog without a treat quit obeying. The dog knew he was being treated unfairly, and he didn’t like it.¹

If dogs, as uncomplicated as they are, can understand when something isn’t fair, how much more do people know when they’re being treated unfairly, or when there’s a difference in the way they are being treated as opposed to how that person is treating someone else? While it’s unlikely that any of us would intentionally treat others unfairly, it can be an easy thing to fall into without even realizing it.

Deuteronomy 25:13–14 warns about this. It tells us, “Do not have two differing weights in your bag—one heavy and one light. Do not have two differing measures in your house—one large, one small.” This appears to be referring to business dealings. Very simply, it’s saying, “Treat others fairly in business and don’t cheat.” As I think about this command, though, I find the meaning to be a little broader than that.

How often do we walk around with different weights in our bags? How often do we measure out great amounts of kindness to those we care about, yet very little to those we might have a more difficult time getting along with? How often do we show partiality to some and indifference to others?

We offer a smile and a kind word to a friend, but a cold shoulder to that annoying classmate or coworker. We’ve got a ready helping hand for a buddy when he needs it, but our schedules are all booked up when the request comes from someone we don’t care for. We’re willing to give money to a friend in need, but we try not to see the homeless guy on the street corner.

While there are numerous (and sometimes valid) reasons why giving or helping or treating others fairly isn’t always possible in every situation, I think we need to be careful to not make excuses for partiality. Instead of asking ourselves, “Why should I help this person?” or “Why should I show kindness to this person?” we should be asking, “Why not?”

After all, isn’t that how Jesus treated people? While He obviously had a closer relationship with some folks than with others, He was loving and just to each person He came in contact with. What’s more impressive (and a million times more difficult) is that His forgiveness and kindness extended even to those who treated Him badly—those who abused and mocked Him, and those who killed Him.

In my case, I find it difficult to be impartial at times because it means that I have to forget myself and think unselfishly about others. Often we can (perhaps subconsciously) make calculations, weighing things up to see what returns we might get on each investment of ourselves. Our human nature is more inclined to be partial to those who are likely to return the goodwill, the favor, or the kindness. If we’re unlikely to get anything out of it, it’s easier to walk away.

In 1775, a man, who appeared to be a farmer or common laborer, tried to book a room in the fanciest hotel in Baltimore. The manager, afraid for the hotel’s reputation, denied the man a room. He left without a word and found a room elsewhere.

Not long afterward, the manager discovered that the man he had turned away was Thomas Jefferson (then vice president of the United States). Realizing his error, the manager sent a letter to Jefferson, inviting him to come back to the hotel as his guest. Jefferson sent a letter back, saying, “I value your good intentions highly, but if you have no place for an American farmer, you have no right giving hospitality to the vice president of the United States.”²

The manager of that hotel had no idea who he was turning away, and his prejudice ended up costing him. It’s rare that our actions have consequences this obvious, but as the story so aptly portrays, it shouldn’t matter how insignificant a person might seem. The Bible tells us to “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than ourselves” (Philippians 2:3). Clearly we are called to treat everyone with dignity and respect as a person made in God’s image.

Mother Teresa worked with the poorest of the poor—people who had nothing to offer her in exchange for all she did for them. She also mingled with celebrities and heads of state. What I find stunning about her life is that she treated each person with respect and love. She didn’t reserve better treatment for those that the world deemed more important.

One day she was visited by a bishop who had come to observe her works of compassion and love. She asked him, “Would you like to see Jesus?” She then took him to see a man lying on a black pallet. The man was sick and naked; his body was crawling with vermin. As the bishop stood there, stunned, Mother Teresa knelt down and wrapped her arms around the poor man. She held him close and said, “Here He is.”

“Who?” the bishop asked, puzzled.

“Jesus,” replied Mother Teresa. “Didn’t He say you’d find Him in the least person on earth? Isn’t this Jesus challenging us to reach out and love?”³

She considered everyone to be equally deserving of love, because she saw Jesus in each one. Mother Teresa said something beautiful that I think will always stick with me: “[Jesus] makes Himself the hungry one, the naked one, the homeless one, the sick one, the one in prison, the lonely one, the unwanted one, and He says: ‘You did it to Me.’”⁴

Jesus has told us that whatever we do (or fail to do) for even the “least of these,” we have done (or failed to do) those things to Him (Matthew 25:45). It’s rare that we will be called upon to love in such extreme physical conditions as Mother Teresa faced; more often, we are faced with the unkindness of others, or our own prejudices or indifference. No matter what challenges we face, unconditional love should be our aim so that when Jesus tells us, “You did it to Me,” He is happy about it.

Adapted from a Just1Thing podcast, a Christian character-building resource for young people.

¹ Dogs Understand Unfairness, Get Jealous, Study finds, NPR, December 9, 2008.

² John Barnett, “Godly Impartiality,” Sermon Search, https://www.sermonsearch.com/sermon-outlines/64720/godly-impartiality/

³ “32 Quotations from Mother Teresa,” http://www.wright-house.com/religions/christianity/mother-teresa.html

⁴ Mother Teresa, Nobel Prize Lecture, December 11, 1979, http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1979/teresa-lecture.html

Christians and Cremation

February 3, 2026

A compilation

Audio length: 12:02

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For most of church history, Christians never questioned whether to choose burial or cremation. In 1980 in Canada, only six percent of people opted for cremation—and most of them would have been non-Christians. Today, that figure is over 75 percent and is a popular option among people of all faiths. How should Christians think about this trend? Is this a question of faith? Is it wrong to cremate a body?

When reading the Bible, it’s important to distinguish between what the Bible merely describes and what it directly commands. The Bible describes Christians casting lots to make important decisions (Acts 1:26), sharing all things in common (Acts 2:44–45), and holding church services in homes (Romans 16:5), but none of these things are required of faithful Christians.

It was the practice of God’s people in the Old and New Testament to bury their dead. Abraham (Genesis 25:10), Moses (Deuteronomy 34:6), David (1 Kings 2:10), John the Baptist (Mark 6:29), Stephen (Acts 8:2), and Jesus Himself (1 Corinthians 15:4) were all described as being buried following their deaths. Burial practices varied, however, and John the Baptist and Jesus are specifically described as being laid in tombs rather than buried in the ground. …

Some form of cremation is described in Leviticus 20:14 and Amos 2:1, but it is not seen positively. What’s clear from the Bible is that burial is seen positively and cremation is seen negatively, but no commands or warnings are ever made regarding either practice.

While there are no commands to bury the dead, it can’t be denied that burial has been a distinctive of Christianity for most of the last 2,000 years. Since cremation is commonly practiced by people of other faiths, Oxford historian Diarmaid MacCulloch writes that “universally archaeologists are able to detect the spread of Christian culture through the ancient and early medieval world by the excavation of corpse burials oriented east-west.” Until 1963, the Roman Catholic Church explicitly forbade cremation.

Today, the consensus has shifted—not that there are strong Christian advocates for cremation—but it is viewed by most as an area of Christian freedom. John MacArthur is representative of many who feel that burial and cremation are both equally valid options for believers. He writes, “Obviously any buried body will eventually decompose (Ecclesiastes 12:7). So cremation isn’t a strange or wrong practice—it merely accelerates the natural process of oxidation. The believer will one day receive a new body (1 Corinthians 15:42–49; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; Job 19:25–26), thus the state of what remains of the old body is unimportant.”

The minority of Christians who argue for burial today do so based on its symbolism. They feel that the way we treat a dead body should reflect what we believe about death. … When believers choose to bury a body, they lay it down as if putting the person to rest. In fact, the word cemetery comes from the Greek word meaning “sleeping place.” It’s as if a graveyard is a resting place for bodies awaiting resurrection. The only problem with the symbolism is that it’s practiced by Christians and non-Christians alike.

While it’s good to hear people’s perspectives on burial and cremation, it’s important that we remind ourselves that this is an area of Christian freedom. The Bible never forbids cremation nor commends burial. God will raise a believer’s body, whether it’s been cremated, buried, or lost at sea. Let’s seek to glorify God in our death as in our life and understand that different people will do that in different ways.—Paul Sadler¹

Cremation and the Resurrection

The Bible does not give any specific teaching about cremation. … Cremation was practiced in biblical times, but it was not commonly practiced by the Israelites or by New Testament believers. In the cultures of Bible times, burial in a tomb, cave, or in the ground was the common way to dispose of a human body (Genesis 23:19; 2 Chronicles 16:14; Matthew 27:60–66). While burial was the common practice, the Bible nowhere commands burial as the only allowed method of disposing of a body.

Is cremation something a Christian can consider? Again, there is no explicit scriptural command against cremation. Some believers object to the practice of cremation on the basis it does not recognize that one day God will resurrect our bodies and reunite them with our soul/spirit (1 Corinthians 15:35–58; 1 Thessalonians 4:16). However, the fact that a body has been cremated does not make it any more difficult for God to resurrect that body.

The bodies of Christians who died a thousand years ago have, by now, completely turned into dust. This will in no way prevent God from being able to resurrect their bodies. He created them in the first place; He will have no difficulty re-creating them. Cremation does nothing but “expedite” the process of turning a body into dust. God is equally able to raise a person’s remains that have been cremated as He is the remains of a person who was not cremated. The question of burial or cremation is within the realm of Christian freedom.—GotQuestions.org ²

Ashes to ashes

If you are considering cremation over burial, because of national customs, circumstances, finances or other reasons, you should feel free to choose cremation if that is how the Lord leads you. As the Bible says, “According to your faith be it unto you” (Matthew 9:29). Our bodies are going to turn into dust anyway, so it makes little difference the manner in which it goes back to dust. It either goes to dust or ashes. “Ashes to ashes and dust to dust” (Genesis 3:19; Ecclesiastes 12:7).

Whether conventional burial or cremation is used is not going to make a difference to the Lord. After all, many of the martyrs were cremated, as they were burned at the stake, while their spirits were being received into heaven by Jesus! Praise the Lord!—David Brandt Berg

Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.—1 Corinthians 15:50–53

Is cremation a pagan practice?

Does the Bible have anything to say about cremation? My spouse and I have been discussing our final will and testament, including our personal preferences regarding funeral arrangements. I feel strongly that cremation is the best way to go, but my husband says that it’s a “pagan” practice. He claims that the Bible condemns it. In particular, he says it’s sacrilegious to destroy the body by fire since as Christians we look forward to the hope of resurrection at the end of the age. What’s your perspective? …

One reason for the growing popularity of cremation is financial. The cost is only about one-eighth that of a traditional burial. Cremation also offers more flexibility in planning memorial services. The funeral home can help with the cremation and death certificates, but the family can plan the service according to the schedule that works best for all concerned.

Not everyone is happy about this, of course. Many people are hesitant to cremate a loved one’s body. Some feel that it’s disrespectful or that it deprives the family of the sense of closure that comes from viewing the body in the casket. Some, like your husband, oppose cremation on biblical grounds. To a certain extent, they can make a strong case for their contention. Historically speaking, the practice of cremation does have pagan roots. What’s more, ground burial has been the established custom among Jews and Christians since time immemorial.

As for biblical support for the anti-cremation position, it’s often pointed out that Abraham purchased a burial site for himself and his wife Sarah (Genesis 23:9). Joseph commanded that his bones be carried out of Egypt (Genesis 50:25). The Lord Himself provided for the burial of Moses (Deuteronomy 34:5–6). The same practice continued in the New Testament with the burial of John the Baptist (Mark 6:29), the Rich Man (Luke 16:22), Lazarus (John 11:17–19), Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:6–10), and Jesus Himself (Mark 15:46). There are no recorded cremations in the New Testament. Some believers argue that it is inconsistent for Christians, who have been saved by faith from the coming judgment of fire, to burn the remains of their dead.

For our part, we don’t believe that cremation needs to be viewed as a spiritual issue. One could just as easily argue that the custom of burial in ancient Israel was nothing more than a reflection of the Bible’s cultural context. It’s true, of course, as your husband suggests, that the Resurrection of the Body is one of the most important aspects of salvation in Christ (see 1 Corinthians 15:42–57). Nevertheless, the fact remains that all physical bodies suffer disintegration, whether through decay or through fire (Genesis 3:19). The idea that God cannot resurrect them in the one case as well as in the other doesn’t hold water. He does not need our specific ashes and chemical components to bring about resurrection. Why not? Because the resurrected body is a new spiritual creation (1 Corinthians 15:44).

So what does the Bible say about cremation? Not as much as one might hope, but you can rest assured that God can resurrect all that believe in Him when the time comes.—Focus on the Family³

Published on Anchor February 2026. Read by Debra Lee.

¹ Paul Sadler, “Is It Wrong for Christians To Choose Cremation?” www.gracebc.ca, April 16, 2025, https://www.gracebc.ca/blog/2025/4/16/is-it-wrong-for-christians-to-choose-cremation

² “What does the Bible say about cremation?” gotquestions.org, https://www.gotquestions.org/cremation-Bible.html

³ “Cremation: A Biblical Perspective,” Focus on the Family, https://www.focusonthefamily.com/family-qa/cremation-a-biblical-perspective

The Call to Forgiveness

February 2, 2026

By Peter Amsterdam

Audio length: 15:22

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Within the Gospels we read of Jesus being whipped, beaten, and then nailed to a cross. As He hung there, waiting to die, some of His last words were “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34). Forgiveness was His response to an unjust trial, being lashed by a whip which lacerated His skin with unimaginable pain, the hammering of spikes through His hands and feet, and being left to die in agony. While on the one hand this is a very surprising reaction, it also makes perfect sense when we read what Jesus taught about forgiveness all throughout His ministry. He not only taught it, He embodied it, both in His life and in His death. He practiced what He preached.¹

Jesus’ forgiveness reflected His Father’s forgiveness. In the Old Testament, when God revealed Himself to Moses, He said of Himself, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6–7).

God was saying that forgiveness is one of His divine attributes, it is rooted in His character. This point is made again and again throughout the Old Testament, as we see in the following verses.

You are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (Nehemiah 9:17).

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love (Micah 7:18).

We’re also told that when God forgives our sins, those sins will never be held against us. “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:34). (See also Hebrews 8:12.) The magnitude of God’s forgiveness is seen in statements such as these: “You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19). And “As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).

God, by nature, is forgiving. And true to His nature, He made a way for us to be forgiven through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. In a sense we can say that Jesus’ sacrificial death was the embodiment of God’s forgiveness. And if we wish to follow the example set by Jesus, we need to forgive.

Jesus made it clear in His teachings that we are to forgive others, as we can see in the following verses:

Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21–22).

Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone (Mark 11:25).

“If he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him” (Luke 17:4).

Jesus also made the point that there is a correlation between our willingness to forgive others with God forgiving us, when He taught His followers to pray “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” And He went on to say, “If you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:12, 15).

In the parable of the unforgiving servant, Jesus told of a servant who had been forgiven an astronomical debt by his master, and after being forgiven his debt, refused to forgive another man who owed him a small amount of money (Matthew 18:23–35). The master then told the unforgiving servant, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you? And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.” Jesus then said to all who were listening: “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:32–35).

When we forgive others for things they have done to us, this reflects our understanding of divine forgiveness. We are to forgive others because we have been forgiven. Jesus died so that our sins could be forgiven, and we are called to forgive others when they sin against us or wrong us. That’s showing Christlikeness.

What forgiveness is and isn’t

When someone hurts us, whether intentionally or unintentionally, we are called by Christ to forgive them. In order to do so, it’s important to know what forgiveness is and what it isn’t.

Some hurt is done intentionally. We are assaulted in some way physically, verbally, or emotionally. We are betrayed by someone we love—a spouse, a family member, a close friend. Some hurts we experience are minor, but eventually become major if they are repeated over and over again.

Forgiveness isn’t denying the harm or wrongdoing someone has done to us. It’s not making excuses for why they hurt us, and it doesn’t minimize the seriousness of the offense. It doesn’t mean that the offense stops hurting, or that it is forgotten. Forgiveness is not resuming a relationship without changes; it’s not an automatic restoration of trust. Sometimes there are consequences to be faced even after the act of forgiveness.

Forgiveness looks at the wrong done to us, admits that it has wounded us, and then decides to forgive—which is actually a decision. It’s recognizing that the hurt was personal, unfair, and deep, and choosing to forgive the person or persons who hurt you. Forgiveness is making a conscious decision to let go of the inner negative feelings we have toward someone who has hurt us, to leave them behind so that the hurt no longer negatively affects us.

As Kelly Minter explains in her book, The Fitting Room: “Forgiveness is looking in the face of what our offenders have done, recognizing their wound for all that it is, and then choosing to forgive. It has nothing to do with denying the wrong of those who hurt us, but has everything to do with changing our hearts toward them.”

Sometimes we want to wait to forgive until the person who hurt us apologizes to us for what they have done. We want them to acknowledge that what they did was wrong, and to express sorrow for doing it. But if you wait for someone to ask for your forgiveness before forgiving them, you may end up carrying your hurt for the rest of your life. We’re not told only to forgive if we first receive an apology, nor is our forgiving contingent on someone else telling us they are sorry.

There are cases where we are hurt by those whose own problems spill over on to us in some way. For example, parents’ marital problems may hurt their children, but that isn’t intentional hurt on the part of the parents. Sometimes we’re hurt by those who make mistakes. At times someone may even be trying to do something they think will be beneficial, but in the end some people are hurt by the final outcome.

In such situations, it’s helpful to remind ourselves that just as others may hurt us unintentionally, we also do things which result in hurt to others which we didn’t mean to cause. When we do, and we realize what has happened, we of course hope that those we hurt will forgive us. And therefore we should also be willing to forgive others. As Jesus said, “Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them” (Matthew 7:12).

There is also the factor that not every hurt that we experience needs to be forgiven. Many of the injuries we feel in life are caused by the actions of others who mean us no harm. We live in a world where we regularly interact with people who often say or do things with no intent to hurt others, but sometimes these things do cause hurt unknowingly. Such encounters generally don’t cause us deep or lasting hurt. Forgiveness is personal. It’s one person forgiving someone else who has personally hurt them.

The act of forgiveness

Understanding that Scripture tells us to forgive others and agreeing that we should do so is one thing. But the act of forgiving someone who has deeply wounded us can be a difficult and gut-wrenching task. C. S. Lewis wrote, “Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.”

The Greek word most often translated as forgiveness is aphiemi, which is used to express letting something go, or canceling a debt. When we forgive someone for what they have done, we release them from a legitimate debt. We acknowledge that we have been injured or wronged, our trust has been betrayed, and our life has been marred by someone else’s hurtful actions. But we also understand that we, too, are sinners, that we offend and hurt others, and that we have been forgiven for our offenses by God. When we forgive, we make the decision to let go of our pain, our desire for retribution, our anger and negative feelings toward the person who hurt us. We put the person, and their actions, into God’s hands—and we move on.

Placing actions which have hurt us deeply and the people responsible for them into God’s hands means that we have entrusted them to Him and we can let them go. We no longer need to dwell on what happened or why, for we have committed it to God. Having done so, we are able to release our negative feelings toward the one who caused us injury, let go of resentment and anger, and allow our own emotional healing process to begin.

It can be natural to feel that if you forgive someone, it excuses them for what they have done. It doesn’t. Rather it sets you free to let go of the pain of the offense, to move on without your feelings of ill will toward the person who harmed you constantly plaguing you. When we forgive others, we generally begin experiencing a decrease in our negative feelings toward that person over time. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that we start to have positive feelings toward them, though that can and sometimes does happen.

If we wish to continue to have a relationship with the person who hurt us, the next step after forgiveness is reconciliation. Of course, sometimes it’s not possible to reconcile, because the other person is no longer in your life. It may also be the case that although you have forgiven the person, they are not someone you feel inclined to have a continued relationship with, or it is not beneficial for your spiritual life or emotional well-being. This doesn’t mean that you haven’t forgiven them.

While forgiveness can be complex and has many aspects, it’s clear that Jesus, by His example and His teachings, emphasized forgiveness. He instructed us as His followers to forgive, and He didn’t put caveats on that command. If we truly desire to be more like Jesus, then we are called to forgive others for their trespasses against us—as hard as it may sometimes be—because God has forgiven our trespasses against Him. “As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Colossians 3:13).

Originally published September 2017. Adapted and republished February 2026. Read by John Laurence.

¹ Points for this article were condensed from the book Forgive and Forget, by Lewis B. Smedes (New York: HarperOne, 1984).

Discerning the Signs of the Times

Peter Amsterdam

2023-10-23

We have certainly witnessed “times of trouble” for many people around the world in recent times—at an unprecedented level in some ways, due to modern technology that enables us to see events unfold in real time all around the globe. We have seen struggles related to racism, discrimination, and bias; questions about authority and violence; corruption in high places; and interrogations about the boundaries between personal freedom and civic responsibilities. We certainly are living in troublous times in many ways.

Of course, it is important to remember that every generation has experienced its own unique set of challenges, struggles, and growing pains. If we look through history, we see this constant pattern. This is not surprising to Christians, as we know that we live in a fallen world and that sin is a reality that must be confronted in every generation, as it manifests in the evils of poverty, oppression, war, and inhumanity. In that sense, as it was written in Ecclesiastes, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). We are not surprised by world conditions, as we know the cause: humanity’s broken relationship with God and the effects of that brokenness.

As Christians, however, our ultimate hope isn’t in this world or its political systems, as we know these are temporal and will pass away. We count ourselves amongst those described in Hebrews who have no lasting city on this earth but desire “a better country, that is, a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:16). We eagerly look forward to Jesus’ Second Coming, when all the pain, suffering, evils, and injustice will be made right and “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). Nearly 2,000 years have passed since John wrote at the end of the book of Revelation, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” and believers have wholeheartedly echoed this sentiment since then and continue to do so today.

Many Christians have been seeking to understand the relevance of current events and contemporary culture as they relate to the timetable for Jesus’ Second Coming. Are current world conditions—including modern technology, globalization, the widespread preaching of the gospel, the move toward cashless economies and worldwide digital currencies—signs that we have entered, or are entering, the final seven years that will precede the Second Coming of Jesus Christ? How are we to interpret current events in light of their relevance to the endtime, and what conclusions can we draw?

The answers to such questions are to be drawn first and foremost from Scripture and what the Bible cumulatively teaches us about the period immediately leading up to Jesus’ Second Coming. Of course, the exact details of how these events will play out are not as detailed as we would like, but the Bible does provide a clear outline of what we can expect to see, collectively referred to as “the signs of the times.” Let’s review some of these.

Signs of the times

“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains” (Matthew 24:6–8). The version in the Gospel of Luke also includes pestilences in the list of signs (Luke 21:11).

As we look through history, we can see that the “beginning of birth pains” have been occurring since the time of Jesus, referred to in the Bible as the “last days” to describe the period of time between Jesus’ first and second coming (1 John 2:18). There have been wars and rumors of wars, though in some periods of history much more so than today, such as during the world wars of the first half of the 20th century. There have been, and continue to be, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes. Jesus referred to all these as being only the beginning of sorrows.

When discerning the signs of the times, we need to look at the cumulative signs of the times, all these things, and not just one sign in isolation. These signs are found throughout the New Testament and Bible prophecy, primarily in the books of Daniel and Revelation, as well as Matthew 24, 1 and 2 Thessalonians.

However, the Bible describes some clear signs that we will see and thus know that the end is “at the very gates” (Matthew 24:33). Among other things, the Bible tells us that we will see the following:

Lawlessness will increase and the love of many will grow cold (Matthew 24:12).
The gospel will be preached in all the world (Matthew 24:14).
There will come a great falling away from God (2 Thessalonians 2:3).
A world dictator, known in the Bible as the Antichrist, will rise and will sign an agreement, referred to as the “covenant,” which will temporarily bring a measure of peace and security to the world and usher in the last seven years before Jesus’ Second Coming (2 Thessalonians 2:3–4).
People will be required to receive “the mark of the beast,” some form of electronic monetary system and identification with this world government, without which they will not be permitted to buy or sell (Revelation 13:16–18).
There will be a time of great tribulation and persecution of Christians for the final three and a half years before Jesus’ Second Coming (Matthew 24:21–22).

When we hear of various interpretations of current events and conditions, or that certain political events or cashless monetary systems indicate that we are now in the last seven years, such things can raise concerns. When considering such interpretations, our first step should be to measure these against what Scripture tells us about the period leading up to Jesus’ Second Coming. We need to look at the specifics concerning a particular sign that are described in the Bible. For example, what does Scripture say about the mark of the beast? Is it possible that it has already been instituted secretly?

According to the information we have been given in Scripture, the mark of the beast is instituted after the covenant is broken and is tied to acceptance of the Antichrist and his reign, and worship of his person (Revelation 11:13–18). Have we seen the signs that would precede the mark of the beast, such as the revelation of the “man of sin” [the Antichrist] who “exalts himself above God” and “takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God”? (2 Thessalonians 2:3–4)

We read in Revelation 14:9–11: “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God.” From what we can gather from the Scriptures about receiving the mark of the beast, it is clearly tied to worship of the beast and worship of his image.

Could the mark of the beast be administered when the Antichrist has not risen, his reign is not visible, and people are not being faced with a choice to worship the Antichrist by receiving his mark? These are the types of questions we must ask ourselves when considering different theories and interpretations. We must study and weigh the Scriptures to ensure that we are “accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

How to be prepared

There is no question that every day that passes brings the world closer to Jesus’ return, and as Christians, we await this triumphant event with eager anticipation, and we want to be prepared for it. Will we experience His Second Coming in our lifetimes? We can’t know that until we see the fulfillment of the definitive signs Jesus and others gave us in the Bible.

So what is the type of preparation that we should be concerned with as followers of Jesus? In Matthew 24, after describing what His followers will face during those final days, Jesus tells the disciples: “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” And Jesus, as if in answer to their unspoken question of how to live in that state of constant readiness, goes on to say,

“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions” (Matthew 24:45–47).

Jesus refocuses the conversation on faithfulness with this reference to the faithful and wise servant, who has been given a responsibility for the master’s household and performs his job diligently. He doesn’t know when his master is going to return, but that doesn’t matter to him; he is focused on being faithful in his work. When the master returns, that servant will be blessed.

May we all be faithful to pattern our lives according to God’s Word, to follow Him closely, and be faithful to share the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ with as many people as we can. Whether or not we will personally live to see the final seven years of world history in our lifetime, how we live our lives during the time God gives us on earth is what ultimately counts.

We are called to love God, love others, share the gospel, do our best to live the teachings of Jesus, and teach them to others. If we are faithful to do these things, we can trust that we will be prepared for whatever comes.

Originally published May 2021. Adapted and republished October 2023. Read by Jon Marc.

Amazing Grace

Compiled from the writings of David Brandt Berg

1984-09-22

In the beginning, God created man to freely and willingly choose to love and obey Him as His grateful, thankful children. That was His original plan. But as man became more and more disobedient and wicked, God had to give him more and more laws and rules and regulations. These laws were not made for the righteous, because the righteous person doesn’t harm or do wrong to his neighbor.

The laws were given for the people who do evil, unloving, harmful things. The Bible says that “the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers” (1 Timothy 1:9).

The Mosaic law makes every one of us a sinner, because not one of us can keep it. “For by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in God’s sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). In fact, it is impossible for anyone to be free of sin according to the laws of Moses. The scripture says that “God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). He far prefers that we willingly and cheerfully obey Him and do what He asks because we want to do what’s right and because we love Him and others, rather than just because it’s the law or because of fear of punishment or fear of judgment, etc.

The law was our teacher, our instructor or “schoolmaster” to show us that we’re sinners, to bring us to God for mercy, and to show us His absolute perfection and perfect righteousness, which was impossible for us to attain: “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24).

Then along came Jesus with His grace, mercy, forgiveness, love, and truth—our salvation: “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). He came and showed us that salvation and true righteousness was not by works, but by grace. That “the Lord is also Lord of the sabbath, and that it was made for man, not man for the sabbath” (Mark 2:27–28).

When the hypocritical religious leaders questioned Him, “Master, which is the great commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:37–39).

He then shocked them by continuing to say, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:40). They had thousands of religious laws, but Jesus said that on this one simple law, love, depends all the law as well as all the prophets! That’s pretty broad coverage! That takes in the entire Old Testament, “the law and the prophets.” Jesus said that’s the whole works, the whole Bible, that’s all the law—love! In other words, if you love God and you love others, you’re not going to hurt anybody, you’re not going to be selfish, you’re not going to do anything that will hurt anybody else.

Therefore Jesus’ Law of Love frees us from the old law and is all-encompassing, all-absorbing, all-fulfilling, and above and beyond any other law. The Bible says, “The fruit of the Spirit is love…, and against such (love) there is no law” (Galatians 5:22–23). Against the love of God, the unselfish, sacrificial love of God and your fellow man, there is no law.

Jesus said, “I am not come to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). And by fulfilling it, He ended it; therefore we are no longer required to keep the laws of Moses of the Old Testament. “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4). By the old law, God showed man that he couldn’t make it on his own. By His new Law of Love, God showed that now you must have more love, more goodness, more righteousness—more than justice, you must have mercy.

Jesus said to the self-righteous, hypocritical religious leaders of his day, “Go ye and learn what this meaneth: I will have mercy, and not sacrifice” (Matthew 9:13). In other words, God’s idea of righteousness is not the self-righteous, holier-than-thou hypocrite who tries to earn merit with God through dutiful keeping of the law. God’s idea of righteousness is the pitiful, helpless, lost, humble, loving, sinful sinner who knows he can’t make it on his own and knows he needs God and His grace and mercy.

Through God’s Law of Love we are freed from the bondage of the old law into freedom of life and liberty through love! It’s the liberating Law of Love that gives life—not the “letter of the law that killeth” (2 Corinthians 3:6). “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1–2).

God’s grace through Jesus’ Law of Love is the end of the old law. Paul preached sermon after sermon and wrote letter after letter showing that the old law was finished, it was done with, period. The Mosaic law is done away with for the Christian who is living under grace and under the Law of Love. “Now we are delivered from the law, that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law” (Romans 7:6; Galatians 3:13).

God’s law now, the law of Jesus, the Law of Love is “to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:36–39).

Of course, this infuriated the Jews of Jesus’ day and their religious leaders, who said of His doctrine, “This is against Moses and against the law” (Acts 6:13–14; 21:28). This was the most raging controversy between Jesus and the Jews. It was also the most raging controversy between St. Paul and the legalists, the “concision,” the converted Jews who said, “Yes, we now believe in Jesus, but we still have to keep all the old law. We still have to keep the Mosaic law, the Sabbath, etc.” (Galatians 3).

Thus the early Christians were liberated spiritually, they found spiritual freedom, but they were still somewhat in bondage to some of the old customs, traditions, and laws which were hangovers from their Jewish past and background that they couldn’t quite shake. Remember, the first Christian church was just coming out of the Jewish temple and they almost had to make a compromise, because some of them were still under the bondage of the old law and weren’t able to break completely free.

But according to Jesus Himself and every book of the New Testament, God’s children today are no longer under the laws of Moses. We are under grace and under love. For us the old law is gone forever. Thank God! “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Galatians 5:14). “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12). We are to “owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8).

There are no Mosaic laws any longer, as far as we’re concerned. They are only to regulate the ungodly, as He says in 1 Timothy 1:9, and by which the unrighteous who are violating God’s Law of Love will be judged. “For if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law” (Galatians 5:18). “If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well” (James 2:8).

“Whatsoever you do in word or in deed, do all to the glory of God” (Colossians 3:17; 1 Corinthians 10:31). That’s our rule, God’s rule.

We are delivered from the old Mosaic law and no longer bound by it. Knowing this, realizing this, and practicing this gives us a lot of freedom. But in another way, His Law of Love is the most binding law of all. Because God’s Law of Love not only says you can’t steal, can’t kill, can’t do this, can’t do that, but that you’ve also got to love everybody—which is one of the hardest things to do!

In many ways the Law of Love is even more strict than the Mosaic law. The Ten Commandments said that we were to do that which was just and righteous, but under Jesus’ Law of Love we are to do more than justice and righteousness; we are to have love and mercy.

Love is more than righteousness, and mercy is greater than justice. So the Law of Love is greater, and we are to be more kind and more forgiving. Jesus says, “Do unto others what you want them to do to you” (Matthew 7:12)—not just whatever they do to you, but what you want them to do to you. This is love. Jesus went right down the line in Matthew and said, “You have heard that it has been said, but I say unto you”—and told them something entirely different. He said, “But I say unto you, love your enemies, forgive them” (Matthew 5:38–44).

Jesus’ law is much stricter, much more difficult to keep—in fact, impossible! That’s why He says, “Without Me, ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). But He also says that we “can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth us” (Philippians 4:13). For “His grace is sufficient for us, His strength is made perfect in our weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

You can’t possibly keep his Law of Love unless you’re saved and you have Jesus in your heart, the Spirit of God’s love within you, to give you the power and the strength to love others more than you love yourself, to “love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).

We have to receive Jesus first, then His Spirit in us will cause us to do the humanly impossible: love God and man. We have a truly graceful salvation and a graceful life of love for the Lord—full of grace. It has nothing to do with our own sinlessness or any kind of perfection or self-works or law-keeping of our own. We all make mistakes, we all sin, and any righteousness we have is only the grace of God. It’s only His love and His mercy and His grace.

We have been freed from the bondage of the old law and the condemnation of sin by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. The Scripture says that Jesus “blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us (the law), which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross” (Colossians 2:14). It was on the cross, at the very end of His ministry on earth, that He proclaimed, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

However, the scripture also warns us that “whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). If you think something is a sin or you believe it is unlawful, then to you it is sin and unlawful. An awful lot has to do with your spiritual and mental attitude. It’s all in how you approach things and whether you do things by faith in love, “faith which worketh by love,” as the Scripture says (Galatians 5:6).

“Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth” (Romans 14:22). It’ll make you happier if you’re not doing things about which you feel condemned or guilty or have a guilt complex, things that you’re not sure are right. In fact, if you’re afraid maybe it’s wrong, then it is wrong for you.

Have you accepted God’s love in Jesus Christ as your own personal savior? Do you have God’s Spirit in your heart? Do you love Him and others as much as you do yourself? Do you do unto others as you would have them do unto you? If so, you are free from the old Mosaic laws. Now all you must do is keep Jesus’ Law of Love. But it is even greater and stricter than the old Mosaic law, because now everything you do must be done in His love. You must have mercy and love (Matthew 9:13).

But if you do not have Jesus and his love in your heart, you are still under the old Mosaic law, guilty of all its infractions and judged by the same. They are not passed away for you.

Choose ye this day whom ye will serve (Joshua 24:15). As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord Jesus Christ and His living Law of Love!

4 Reasons We Should Accept the Gospels as Eyewitness Accounts

January 30, 2026

By J. Warner Wallace

In the movie “God’s Not Dead 2,” I was asked to defend the historicity of Jesus and the eyewitness reliability of the Gospels. Many skeptics reject the eyewitness authority of the Gospel accounts, even though the early Church selected and embraced the canonical Gospels based primarily on the eyewitness authority of their authors. Some critics even argue the Gospels were never intended to be seen as eyewitness testimony, in spite of the fact the earliest students of the apostles (and first Church leaders) repeated the content of the Gospels in their own letters, affirming the eyewitness status of their authors. As a cold-case detective who examines eyewitness accounts every day, I investigated the accounts in my book, Cold-Case Christianity; A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels. My investigation led me to conclude the New Testament Gospels should be considered eyewitness accounts for four reasons.

(Read the article here.)

https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/4-reasons-we-should-accept-the-gospels-as-eyewitness-accounts

Eternal Wonders

January 29, 2026

Words from Jesus

Audio length: 8:53

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For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.—Romans 1:19–20

Where is God’s power today? people in the world wonder. My power is not found in shopping malls filled with icons to the false god of materialism. It is not found in much of what airs in television or is published on social media, which is designed to desensitize people to the godless ways and spirit of the world. My power is rarely found in the lives of the rich and famous, who are worshipped by their followers. It is not found in the big industries of movies, music, fashion, or politics.

My power is visible in creation, as the heavens declare My glory and the skies proclaim the works of My hands (Psalm 19:1). My power is visible in the wind and in the waves that meet the shore. When you witness a magnificent sunburst after a storm, as the sun shows its glory through the dark clouds, that is evidence of My power. People often strive to be self-sufficient and in control of the environment and of their lives, but they are dependent on Me for their very existence. Without air, the sun, water, land, and animal and plant life, humankind could not exist.

My power is manifested in My love and in My children who worship and praise Me, who seek Me in prayer and put their trust in Me. My transformative power is visible in you, as you are lights shining in the darkness that give glory to Me. I, the creator of storms and of waves, the ruler of the might of the ocean and the depth of the desert sands, work through you to demonstrate My love and truth to the world. So let your light shine brightly and My Spirit in you will empower you to reach people who are searching for meaning and the truth (Matthew 5:16).

The greatest mindbender

Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?—Job 38:4–7

My creation of the universe is one of the greatest mindbenders ever designed, with all its intricacies, complexities, and interdependences. The simplest forms of life and cycles of living cells have taken thousands of years for scientists to discover and begin to comprehend. Scientists continue to make new discoveries and attempt to replicate human cells, but they will never be able to breathe life into a human being—the breath that changes a mass complex of cells into a living soul!

My creation is a visible demonstration of My eternal intellect, and what you see and experience all around you is only a facet of My power and capabilities. Nothing man creates can compare to My creation, for My power and might are unmatched. The wonders of My creation will continue to thrill you for all eternity.

Humankind is My crowning creation, and it is My good pleasure to bring all who will believe into My kingdom (Luke 12:32). It gives Me great joy when you make choices day after day to place Me at the center of your life and to be a faithful reflection of My love and truth to others. Well done, My good and faithful servant! (Matthew 25:21).

Feeling unsettled?

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.—Ephesians 2:10

My precious one, when you feel discouraged with yourself or your situation, don’t despair. Discouragement happens to everyone at different times in life. When you find yourself battling discouragement, remember that I created you and you are Mine. You are a precious and beautiful creation in My sight. I see the real you—your spirit, your mind, your heart of love, and everything that makes up you—and I took great joy in creating you.

It is understandable that at times you will feel a bit unsettled. All humans experience times when they feel lost, or alone, and don’t see the way forward. There are times when you try to hide it inside until some crisis brings these emotions to the fore and you realize that you are facing something that you cannot carry on your own.

At such times, keep your eyes fixed on Me. Remind yourself that I am sovereign over the universe and I watch over your life with eternal joy. Remember who you are—My creation, called, chosen, and ordained to walk in My love and to be My witness.

Come to Me whenever you are weary, discouraged, or heavy laden with the cares of life and I will give you the rest, strength, and grace you need (Matthew 11:28–29). Whenever you feel unfulfilled or unchallenged, or in need of vision, you will find meaning and purpose by coming into My presence and entering into My joy.

Spiritual renewal

If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.—John 14:23

As you spend time daily in My presence, your spirit will be refreshed and your heart will be strengthened, which will give you the courage and endurance to keep running the race set before you. Even in difficult times, when the sun is hidden behind the clouds, you can always have faith that these times serve a purpose in your life. You can have faith that the sun will shine again, and you can rest in the sure knowledge that I am always with you.

When it is time to start a new chapter in life, you can turn the page by faith and enter into what lies ahead with anticipation. Trust that My presence is with you always and is as sure and unfailing as the rising and setting of the sun.

Anchor yourself in the sure knowledge of My love for you. Place your trust in My promises and My Word of My unfailing love for you. Place all your hope in the beautiful and eternal future I have prepared for you.

Originally published in 2001. Adapted and republished January 2026. Read by Jon Marc. Music by Michael Dooley.

On Roles and Callings

January 28, 2026

By Jorge Solá

I’ve been reflecting on the Anchor article “Blessed Are the Peacemakers.” It spoke to my heart and led me to examine my thoughts, because I often feel stirred when I hear about injustices or people’s cruelty, selfishness, or lack of compassion. And I have to make an effort to pity those who do evil, realizing that they themselves are victims of Satan—just as much in need of deliverance as the people they oppress.

The article also prompted me to think about our role in the world. Certainly, our main mission is to rescue souls and share the gospel. But should that be our only mission? Are we called solely to preach the kingdom of God, or might some of us also be called to earthly endeavors? And if so, are we allowed to take sides when we see something wrong? Are we supposed to?

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul lists different roles within the church, according to the gifts that each one has received from God: “God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts” (1 Corinthians 12:28–31).

Everyone has a calling, and notice that some of the roles mentioned are not particularly spiritual in nature. Administration, for instance—someone has to do it. The gift of helping suggests doing humble, practical tasks. Many missionary-minded Christians have devoted their lives to improving the physical condition of the poor and dispossessed. The Bible encourages us to consider the poor (Psalm 41:1). And Jesus taught that one condition for inheriting the kingdom of God is to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome strangers, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned (Matthew 25:34–40).

While we are to keep in mind Paul’s advice to Timothy—that soldiers of Christ should not get “entangled in civilian pursuits” (2 Timothy 2:4)—there are many matters in the physical realm that demand attention, correction, and sometimes even struggle. I think it’s legitimate to ask ourselves: What should I do in the face of injustice? Should I devote myself exclusively to preaching the gospel and praying for the matter? Or should I also take some other kind of action? Perhaps some of us are called to confront injustice.

Take, for instance, William Wilberforce, a British Parliament member and active Christian. It is said he had memorized the entire Psalm 119 and would recite it while walking through Hyde Park to his home. For 20 years, he fought tirelessly to abolish the British slave trade. Wilberforce was a follower of Jesus, yet he also boldly took a stand against slavery. He could have chosen to preach the gospel to the slaves instead, as some did, but his calling was different.

Gladys Aylward, a British missionary to China, is another example. For a time, she served as a “foot inspector,” ensuring compliance with the law that forbade the cruel custom of tightly binding young girls’ feet—a painful practice that caused lifelong disability. Christian missionaries in China challenged this practice through education and advocacy, helping bring about its end.

Were they right to act? I believe so. Before speaking out, they undoubtedly had to prayerfully determine in their hearts whether the practice was wrong. They judged that it was—and they acted in accordance. Jesus said, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment” (John 7:24). In other words, it’s OK to use our God-given judgment to condemn what is truly condemnable.

After years of doing our best to wash our hearts and minds daily with the Word of God, yield to His will, and listen to the Spirit that guides us into all the truth (John 16:13), we should be able to seek the Lord when something comes into question, and trust that He will speak to us and that our judgment calls will be rightly guided (James 1:5). Of course, we’ll make mistakes, and sometimes we won’t see eye-to-eye even with some fellow believers. Yet we must still exercise our judgment if we feel the Lord’s leading.

Paul reminds us: “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? … Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!” (1 Corinthians 6:2–3). In a sense, we are in training here. We should be practicing!

Jesus Himself condemned on occasion certain practices of His time that He considered unjust. He denounced the Pharisees for devouring widows’ houses (Matthew 23:14) and for laying heavy burdens on people’s shoulders (Matthew 23:4). He criticized the practice of Corban, which allowed people to dedicate money to the Temple and thereby avoid supporting their parents, even if they were needy (Mark 7:11–13). He censured self-serving leaders who prioritized power and status over service to others (Matthew 23:5–7). That was taking a moral stand against corruption, hypocrisy and harmful traditions.

Our silence in the face of injustice can easily be mistaken for indifference—or even condoning evil. I think it’s good to stand up for what is right and to hold firm convictions, as long as we ensure that our actions are guided by the Spirit and rooted in compassion and love. Certainly, if we take a stand and we take sides, we will make enemies, but that shouldn’t trouble us. Jesus warned, “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you” (Luke 6:26), and He also said, “Love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44). To have some enemies, then, is to be expected.

My conclusion? If the Lord calls you to preach the gospel and win souls as your primary ministry and focus, then do that. If He calls you to serve by meeting physical needs, making people’s lives easier or alleviating their suffering, do that—you are showing them God’s love and embodying the Christian gospel through your service to them. And if He calls you to stand against some injustice or wrongdoing, to do what’s in your power to contribute to put an end to it, don’t shy away. “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it” (Proverbs 3:27).

God may call us to different roles at different times, according to His purpose. There is so much work to be done, and the laborers—those willing and ready to do His will—are few.

Following God’s Lead

January 27, 2026

A compilation

Audio length: 11:54

Download Audio (10.9MB)

Like most people, I like predictability. Change can mean stepping into the unknown and losing my comfortable routine, and that’s frightening. It also means I have to give up some control. That’s scary too. Even when you prepare as well as you can, there are so many factors involved that you just can’t control them all.

“Change always comes bearing gifts,” wrote Price Pritchett, but I’m sure we’ve all sometimes wondered if those gifts were worth it, and if it might not be better—or at least easier—to forgo them instead of having to deal with the discomfort of change. Then again, we often don’t have a choice; changes have a way of coming upon us whether we want them or not.

One thing I’ve experienced recently, though, is that change is so much easier to go through with God than on our own!

God knows all things, including the future. He can prepare us in ways we couldn’t prepare ourselves, and He works all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). He’s never surprised by the bend in the road or the turn of events, and He is able to guide and equip us for what’s ahead, even if we don’t recognize what’s happening at the time.

God is in control. Knowing that the being who created us and will fulfill His purpose for us is on our side can be just the shot of confidence we need in order to face whatever happens (Psalm 138:8). “If God is for us, who can be against us?”(Romans 8:31).

Perhaps one of the most important realizations God leads us to in times of change is His unconditional love for each of us. When change is difficult, scary, or hurts, He remains by our side. His love never wavers, and He wants only the best for us. Even though we go through innumerable changes and experiences that shape and ultimately modify our character, He remains constant, supportive, and ever dependable. He’s the best friend we could have … and that’s one thing that’s not going to change: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).—Ronan Keane

Gauges and indicators

Last summer I killed our van. No one saw it coming. I was driving along at the peak of summer—and also at the peak of rush hour—completely lost. In the middle of crawling traffic, my air conditioner stopped working. I thought it was just bad luck that I was stuck in traffic and my car had no AC, so I did what I often do when things are going wrong: I powered through.

I finally got my GPS to work, finally got to where I needed to pick up my kids and started driving home with the windows open. On the last bit of my drive home, I started hearing a strange sound. I knew there was a gas station about two miles ahead, and so I pushed on to the gas station. By the time we pulled in, our car was smoking; the billows of oil-laced smoke announced our arrival to everyone around.

Within minutes, I was surrounded by several guys who had taken notice of my obvious “damsel in distress” situation. It didn’t take them a second to figure out that the radiator was dry, the car seriously overheated, and very likely the engine cracked.

One of the guys showed me the indicator on the dash called the heat gauge. It was flailing around at the high end, indicating that the engine was way too hot. The heat gauge was probably indicating the problem to me long before I pushed the overheated car to run for 60 miles in the middle of a blazing Texas summer.

If I had paid attention to the warning signs and checked the heat gauge, I would have noticed that it was getting too hot. I could have pulled over and figured out how to add some fluid to the radiator. That simple little action would have saved our car. The wisdom of hindsight!

I learned an important lesson through this experience that can be applied to life. God has implanted in each of us gauges that tell us what we need—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. When we start to feel weary and worn out, we need to pay attention and take time to replenish our spirit and spend time in communion with God and His Word.

Sometimes it’s so hard to resist the desire to “power through,” and in doing so, we can ignore the danger signs. Jesus understands this temptation and taught us how to manage our stress points:

“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30).

According to Jesus, we aren’t always supposed to be feeling like we need to take control and “power through” situations. When we feel heavy laden—which basically means weighed down, overburdened, overwhelmed, or stressed—we are supposed to go to Him and He will give us rest.

Learning to listen to our gauges and pay attention to our indicators helps us to tune in to what our body, mind, and spirit need to survive and thrive. Taking time to commune with God and seek His guidance will equip us for whatever comes our way in a day. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these [other] things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).—Mara Hodler

Living a life worthy of His calling

One of the central questions that philosophers and theologians have struggled with for millennia is the mystery of what gives life meaning. Everyone wants to be happy and fulfilled, but how can we tell what true happiness is and where it comes from?

The ancient Greeks believed that the source of happiness was internal and could be cultivated by living a worthwhile life. They called this state eudaimonia, which Aristotle described as taking part in activities that draw on our talents and challenge our abilities, acting in ways that benefit others, and guiding our lives by principles and virtues. It isn’t enough to simply possess an ability or disposition—eudaimonia requires it to be put into action with deeds.

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he urges the Christians there to live a life worthy of their calling (Ephesians 4:1). He goes on to explain that this is done through being humble, gentle, patient, loving, and peaceable toward those around them (Ephesians 4:2–3).

Living a virtuous and principled life sounds good. Unfortunately, as humans, our imperfect nature often makes us unable to achieve this on our own. As believers, however, we can draw on God’s power to help us go further in transcending our limitations. “It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect” (Psalm 18:32).

Solomon, supposedly the wisest person who ever lived, also discovered the futility of a life lived only for self and this world, but he hit on the solution. At the end of his search for meaning and happiness in the book of Ecclesiastes, he concludes, “Here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear [honor] God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

The more we learn to put God and the well-being of others at the center of our thoughts and actions, the more meaning and purpose our lives will have.—Ronan Keane

Published on Anchor January 2026. Read by John Laurence. Music by Michael Fogarty.

The Habits of a Godly Life—Part 1

January 26, 2026

By Maria Fontaine

Audio length: 17:53

Download Audio (16.3MB)

Several years ago, the Lord drew my attention to some of the teachings of Charles Stanley. His simple ways of expressing many basic principles from the Bible impressed me. So, when he passed on to his heavenly reward at the age of 90, I decided to look into his life even more. As I did so, I discovered that he never gave up telling others the truth of his amazing Savior.

I hadn’t realized that Dr. Stanley had a worldwide ministry, and his sermons were translated into a hundred or so languages, and he also published numerous books. I was inspired by his love for Jesus and his desire to share God’s truth with anyone who would listen.

There are often points of doctrine that are interpreted differently amongst Christian pastors and teachers, and it’s not unusual to find differences in opinion and interpretation of some things in the Bible. But I don’t think that should stop us from benefiting from the teachings that we can be fed from. We take what is inspiring and what the Holy Spirit shows us to apply, and we learn from that.

Growing up poor in the back country of Virginia, Charles Stanley was no stranger to difficulties. However, despite the many hardships he and his mother had faced, she had committed him to the Lord when he was young and did her best to teach him the principles of loving others.

Another example of faith in his life was his grandfather, George Washington Stanley (G.W.), a Holiness Pentecostal preacher. Charles was only able to visit his grandfather a few times when he was growing up. Nevertheless, those visits left a lasting impression on him. He had many questions to ask about faith and about his grandfather’s past.

In one of Charles’ last visits before launching into his preaching career, G.W. told him many stories of the Lord’s provision and protection, and he emphasized the importance of trusting that God is always in control. Here are a couple of the many stories that Charles recounted about his grandfather’s background:

In many communities when G.W. was growing up, schools were only open for three months out of the year, at best. Where he lived, there were no schools at all, and G.W. grew up without the opportunity to learn to read or write.

Finally, when he was 18, a school was set up nearby. G.W. tried to learn to read and write, but because he was so embarrassed at being an adult in a classroom with children, he finally gave up in discouragement. He had felt the Lord’s call at age 17 to become a preacher, but it seemed impossible for him to ever pastor a church.

However, when he poured out his heart to the Lord, Jesus told him that He would make a way for it to happen. So, G.W. told the Lord, “If You want me to preach, You will have to teach me how.” And slowly, but surely, the Lord taught him, as day by day he laboriously struggled to read his Bible.

G.W. reminds me of some of the things I’ve heard about our own brave pioneers as well as other missionaries, who needed to learn a language or to teach or to sing or dance or do skits or some other tool through which they could have the opportunity to reach others.

G.W. persevered, and after quite a bit of struggle, he was ready to begin his first church. He went on to establish 18 churches. G.W. expressed his determination to do whatever the Lord told him to in one of the first things that he taught Charles. He said, “If God tells you to run your head through a brick wall, you head for the wall, and when you get there, God will make a hole in it.” Charles then went on to explain, “In other words, as you obey God, and leave the consequences to Him, He will do whatever it takes to keep you.”

In those days, small towns usually didn’t have large places for people to meet together that didn’t cost a lot of money to rent. The best way to provide shelter where you could tell people about Jesus was to have a tent where people could come to hear the message. The problem was that a tent was very expensive. It cost around 400 dollars (roughly 10,000 dollars in today’s money), which was way beyond anything G.W. could afford. He got a job, but the pay was so little that he knew he would never be able to earn even a small portion of the cost of a tent.

He prayed desperately, despite the discouragement that threatened to defeat him, and the Lord showed him a picture of a house in a nearby town that had roses in the front yard and a fence around it. God told him if he would go there, he would have what he needed. So G.W. began walking up and down the streets of the town until he found that house.

He knocked hesitantly on the door, and the woman who answered said, “Oh, Mr. Stanley, I’ve been wanting to see you. I’m so glad you came by!” After talking for a little while, the woman got up and returned with a plain paper bag. Handing it to him, she said, “God told me to give this to you.” Inside the bag were 400 one-dollar bills!

There were many other such stories of protection, provision, and supernatural leadings that Charles’ grandfather told him. As Charles listened to his grandfather’s stories of faith, his own faith to trust the Lord for the impossible grew. The principles he learned were to become a large part of the foundation for his life’s work. The power of a true-life testimony can never be overestimated in its ability to touch the lives of others.

* * *

The following are seven habits that Charles Stanley believed were necessary for a Christian to live a godly life. These habits were the topics of numerous sermons that Charles Stanley gave in which they were expressed in a variety of ways. I have tried to encapsulate the basic points and I have also included some of my own comments throughout.

What is a habit? A habit is a recurring, often-unconscious pattern of behavior that is acquired through frequent repetition. It’s something we do over and over again.

What is a godly life? It’s a life that exhibits the principles of God’s nature as accurately as you can.

Note: The quotes labeled with “CS” are from a variety of videos by Charles Stanley.

Habit #1: Having Faith and Trust

CS: “When you and I are trusting Jesus, it builds intimacy with Him. And intimacy means you are close to His heart and also His thinking. You and Jesus understand each other, the way you think, the way you feel. You talk together. He guides you and you obey Him.”

CS: “Trusting God is knowing that He is in charge. It doesn’t make any difference what happens, how it happens, when it happens, for whatever reason it happens. I know that God is in charge, and I can trust Him for whatever He allows in my life.”

CS: “The greatest lesson I’ve ever learned is to trust God. Don’t try to figure Him out, just trust Him and watch Him work. God never comes up short, He never comes up late. He’s always on time to do whatever needs to be done.”

Habit #2: Having a Prayer Life

CS: “You can’t live a truly godly life without a prayer life, because your prayer life keeps you connected to Jesus, sensitive to His will, His purpose, and His plan.”

Maria: Prayer is seeking what Jesus knows will be best. We may not know all the details, but prayers that express our desire for Him to do what will work for the greatest good is a key to the prayer of faith.

CS: “Whatever you accomplish in life, you’ll accomplish on your knees. Not by intelligence, not by your schooling, not by your training, but only on your knees.”

Maria: These other elements are helpful, but without that connection that prayer creates between us and the Lord, they won’t accomplish anything worthwhile.

Habit #3: Meditating on Jesus

“When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches, for You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.”—Psalm 63:6–8

Maria: When meditating on a Bible verse, an inspired quote, or something that the Lord has spoken to your heart, you are sitting at His feet, hungry to learn whatever He chooses to reveal to you. Charles Stanley summed it up this way:

CS: “It means that I read it, I think about it, I search my heart in light of what God is saying to me. I ask Him whatever questions I have, and I surrender my will to whatever He shows me.”

Maria: It reminds me of something David often told me, “The first step in finding the will of God is to have no will of your own.” We still have free will, but we choose to put what the Lord shows us first.

CS: “Your focus is on Him. And when you begin to focus on God, here’s what happens. Worries drift away, concerns drift away, your mind is no longer contaminated with all kinds of things that do not do you any good at all. Meditation is an absolutely essential part of living a godly life.”

Habit #4: Obeying God

CS: “The wise way to live is to obey God, then leave all the consequences and circumstances to Him. I can do that if I’m praying; if I’m trusting, if I’m meditating upon Him. There’s nothing that can keep you from obeying and walking in these habits, nothing, except a choice you make.”

CS: “God is faithful to direct us in any situation or circumstance if we’ll listen to Him. Obeying God, listening to Him and trusting Him about everything is what life is all about.”

CS: “The weight, the effectiveness of my prayers for others is going to be determined by the time I spend with Him by myself, hearing from Him about what He wants to do in my own life.”

Habit #5: Depending on the Holy Spirit

“I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it. However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you.”—John 16:12–14

CS: “You’re never alone. You’re indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who is there to empower you, help you, encourage you, strengthen you, heal you. The Holy Spirit is there because we need God in our life, and He knew we would.”

Habit #6: Giving to God and Others

“Give, and it shall be given to you… Good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”—Luke 6:38

Maria: The Bible says that God loves a cheerful giver. It’s logical to think, “What could possibly make us feel cheerful when we’re giving up something that we might need someday? Besides, even if we wanted to give to God, how do we give to a God who already has everything?”

CS: “The only way that we can be a cheerful giver is when we have developed a relationship with the Lord, a trust in His love that He will always care for us and bless us for giving to Him.”

Maria: Faith has a way of contradicting some of our reasoning, because our reasoning and logic can only rely on what we can grasp with our minds. But faith sees the fuller reality of God’s love, the fact that He is in control and that everything is His. When we see things through the eyes of faith, it may override what logic and reason are telling us.

How do we give to God? Jesus said, “As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40).

Habit #7: Forgiving

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”—Ephesians 4:31–32

CS: “It is never excusable, it’s never defendable to have an unforgiving spirit towards anyone, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ. … You cannot have a good prayer life when there is unforgiveness in your heart.”

Maria: This was a major strength in Charles Stanley’s life, as is evidenced in a talk given by his grandson Matthew, which I will summarize in part two on this topic.

“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Christ Jesus might display His perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life.”—1 Timothy 1:15–16

CS: “When we realize that He has stamped ‘paid in full’ on our account, then we must never dare to side with those who would have us believe otherwise. ‘For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things’ (1 John 3:20).”

Maria: One of the most difficult people to forgive is often ourselves. But have you considered that even when Jesus forgives us, we still cannot fully experience the joy and wonder of it all unless we forgive ourselves?

Continuing to carry guilt is like having been imprisoned, and now the door is unlocked and open, but instead of bounding out into the sunshine of His love, thankful for His wondrous gift to us, we choose to remain in our prison cell. We don’t get to enjoy the full freedom and growth in the Spirit that has been given to us, because we choose to remain a prisoner to guilt.

Perhaps the saddest thing about it is that we then lack the full joy of the Lord that could be an example to others of God’s forgiveness. If you won’t forgive yourself for your own sake, do it for the sake of many others who need to see your example to give them hope.

In part two of this post on Charles Stanley, I plan to share more illustrations of a life that saw the good in everyone around him, regardless of outward appearances, failings, sins, or faults.

Until then, I pray that you will find the encouragement and positive applications that Jesus has waiting for you, as you continue each day to make loving Him your greatest habit of all.

Originally published May 2023. Adapted and republished January 2026. Read by Lenore Welsh.

Prayer for Persecuted Christians

A compilation

2022-09-29

Remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.—Hebrews 13:3

It may be surprising, but Christian persecution around the world is one of the biggest human rights issues of this era.

A woman in India watches as her sister is dragged off by Hindu nationalists. She doesn’t know if her sister is alive or dead.
A man in a North Korean prison camp is shaken awake after being beaten unconscious; the beatings begin again.
A woman in Nigeria runs for her life. She has escaped from Boko Haram, who kidnapped her. She is pregnant, and when she returns home, her community will reject her and her baby.
A group of children are laughing and talking as they come down to their church’s sanctuary after eating together. Instantly, many of them are killed by a bomb blast. It’s Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka.

These people don’t live in the same region, or even on the same continent. But they share an important characteristic: They are all Christians, and they suffer because of their faith. While Christian persecution takes many forms, it is defined as any hostility experienced as a result of identification with Jesus Christ. …

In just the last year (see 2021 World Watch List), there have been:

Over 340 million Christians living in places where they experience high levels of persecution and discrimination
4,761 Christians killed for their faith
4,488 churches and other Christian buildings attacked
4,277 believers detained without trial, arrested, sentenced, or imprisoned

These numbers are heartbreaking. And yet, they do not tell the whole story. James 1:2–4 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” That joy is what we see when we hear and work with Christians all over the world who suffer because they serve Jesus. God cares for His people, and He will never leave or forsake them.

When we read headlines about people groups being persecuted for their faith, it may seem—at first glance—that there’s nothing we can do. After all, in many cases, we live thousands of miles away and we often feel overextended in just managing our own families and responsibilities. Nevertheless, our hearts yearn for a way to ease the hardship of Christians who are discriminated against, harassed, unjustly arrested, beaten, imprisoned, or even killed by regimes who oppose Jesus Christ. …

One of the most powerful ways to support Christians facing hardship, of course, is prayer. In Ephesians 6:18, for example, Paul instructs believers to be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. In the next 2 verses, Paul requests more specific prayer for himself as he faces persecution. “Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”—Open Doors¹

Sadly, relatively few people are aware of just how severe and widespread the opposition to Christianity is. But regardless of how the world does or doesn’t respond to such reports, we as Christians should be concerned for our brothers and sisters in Christ who face persecution. The author of Hebrews reminds us, “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.”²

One important way we can “remember” those who are persecuted is by praying for them. We may not know most of their names or their stories, but we share a bond with them in Christ that is stronger and more profound than our closest relationships with unbelievers. …

We should pray that persecuted Christians will continue to cling to Christ and to follow Him regardless of the cost. Gratefully, the perseverance of God’s people is not ultimately dependent on their power or their faithfulness. It is God’s power and faithfulness that keeps them secure.³ We want them to be confident that nothing can separate them from God’s love, not even death.⁴ …

We should pray that [persecuted] Christians would be “prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”⁵ It may be that the Lord will use the persecution of His people as the dark backdrop that makes the light of the gospel stand out all the more. What better way to put on display a Savior who suffered faithfully for the salvation of His people? …

Jesus invites us to continually come to God asking for justice.⁶ Surely we ought to pray this way for our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world, asking God to put a stop to the cruelty and injustice of their persecutors. … God’s people can love their enemies and seek to win them to Christ, even as they look forward to the day when God vindicates His people. This is, after all, part of what it means to pray “Your kingdom come”⁷ and “Come, Lord Jesus!”⁸—David Burnette⁹

Because the New Testament was written to persecuted believers, it is filled with examples of how to pray for our brothers and sisters under attack. Here are five examples from Ephesians:

Please pray persecuted believers would know the hope God gives.¹⁰
Pray the Holy Spirit would strengthen them.¹¹
Please pray persecuted believers would know how much God loves them.¹²
Pray they would know how to share the gospel.¹³
Please pray persecuted believers would fearlessly tell others about Jesus.¹⁴

Along with the example prayers in the Bible, there are some practical needs that persecuted believers would love your prayers for:

Please pray persecuted believers would have access to a Bible.
Pray they have the courage to remain in their homeland.
Please pray for believers who have been rejected by family and friends. Pray that God would surround them with a new Christian “family” who loves them and supports them emotionally and physically.
Pray for God to be an advocate for women who are socially vulnerable or have lost the custody of their children because of their faith.
Please pray that God would provide persecuted believers with jobs and safe places to live.—Evangeline Vergo¹⁵

As for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you.—1 Samuel 12:23

Most of us can practice our faith in peace, but that is not the case for many believers around the world. According to one organization which ministers to persecuted Christians, as of 2021 there were over 300 million Christians who experience high, very high, or extreme levels of persecution. This means that 1 in 8 Christians live where Christianity is illegal, forbidden, or punished. Our suffering brethren need our support in prayer.—Peter Amsterdam

My people in many countries are truly suffering and paying a high price for their faith. I do answer prayer, and I will use your prayers to give them the strength, grace, and wisdom to overcome during their hour of great trial. So much can be done as My followers around the world unite in spirit, utilizing My power and love to support your brothers and sisters in their time of need. Please don’t neglect to pray.—Jesus

Promises for the persecuted

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world,”¹⁶ and the Bible tells us, “His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.”¹⁷ “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end … to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever.”¹⁸ God’s kingdom never did a wrong thing or fought a wrong war or persecuted the poor or oppressed the weak or polluted the earth. His kingdom is trying to save the world, stop the wars, relieve the poor, feed the hungry, heal the sick, and liberate the captives who are bound.

But Jesus warns us that “in this world you will have tribulation,” and “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.”¹⁹ “All who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”²⁰

Jesus was terribly persecuted and finally crucified for telling the truth and showing God’s love to the world, and He warns us to expect the same: “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.”²¹ But He also tells us: “Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets which were before you.”²²

“If we suffer for Jesus’ sake and the gospel’s, we shall also reign with Him.”²³—David Brandt Berg

Published on Anchor September 2022. Read by Carol Andrews.

¹ https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution.

² Hebrews 13:3.

³ Philippians 1:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:24; 1 Peter 1:5; Jude 24–25.

⁴ Romans 8:31–39.

⁵ 1 Peter 3:15.

⁶ Luke 18:1–8.

⁷ Matthew 6:10.

⁸ Revelation 22:20.

⁹ https://radical.net/article/pray-for-persecuted-christians/.

¹⁰ Ephesians 1:18.

¹¹ Ephesians 3:16.

¹² Ephesians 3:17.

¹³ Ephesians 6:19.

¹⁴ Ephesians 6:20.

¹⁵ https://www.cru.org/us/en/train-and-grow/spiritual-growth/prayer/pray-for-persecuted-church.html.

¹⁶ John 18:36.

¹⁷ Daniel 4:3.

¹⁸ Isaiah 9:7.

¹⁹ John 16:33; Matthew 5:10.

²⁰ 2 Timothy 3:12 KJV.

²¹ John 15:20.

²² Matthew 5:12.

²³ 2 Timothy 2:12.

The Old and New Covenants

Peter Amsterdam

2021-08-16

As Christians, we understand that Scripture teaches that we are to live in alignment with God’s Word. We’re called to be “filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”¹ The clarion call expressed here is that we apply our knowledge of God’s wisdom and understanding to our lives and bear fruit, further our knowledge of God, and live a worthy life which pleases Him.

Understanding what God teaches through His Word and applying that teaching is what a life that pleases God is all about. But how do we apply the teachings of the Bible to our daily lives? How do we know if our choices align with the teachings of Scripture?

While Christians are not required to live according to the Old Testament law, the Ten Commandments provide a framework for addressing moral and ethical standards for Christians. The apostle Paul wrote, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”² Even though Jesus’ life and death fulfilled the Law of the Old Testament,³ Paul considered it to be useful to instruct Christians.

Paul affirmed this point when he wrote: “For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”⁴

While love fulfills the law, that love is manifested by avoiding murder, theft, envy, and all the other applicable moral dos and don’ts found within Scripture. As such, we can look to both the Old and New Testaments for moral and ethical guidance on how to live a life that is pleasing to God.

Scripture teaches that the Bible’s moral and ethical standards are based in the moral character of God, and we are to imitate God’s character. God is good, just, loving, holy, faithful, truthful, merciful, and more. He is morally perfect, and He rejoices to see His moral qualities reflected in us: “As he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.”⁵ “You have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”⁶

We read in the Old Testament that a new covenant would come: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”⁷ The New Testament explains that the Mosaic covenant which began when God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses was terminated upon Jesus’ death, and that since then, Christians live under a new covenant.

The night before Jesus died, He spoke to His disciples about the new covenant. In Luke’s Gospel we read:

“He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’”⁸

The old covenant was terminated and the new covenant came into effect when Jesus died on the cross.⁹ The book of Hebrews speaks of the “new covenant,” a better one, with a new high priest, Jesus. “This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.”¹⁰ The old covenant, which included the Laws of Moses, has been replaced and is no longer in effect for Christians. Paul made that point when he said: “Now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.”¹¹

Throughout the New Testament we find further passages which specifically state that Christians are not bound by certain Old Testament laws. Christians don’t need to be circumcised.¹² Christians don’t need to offer animal sacrifices at the temple. Rather, we “offer up a sacrifice of praise to God,”¹³ and we “present [our] bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is [our] spiritual worship.”¹⁴ We don’t need to observe the Sabbath or other special religious days.¹⁵ We are also not bound by the Mosaic food laws, which declared some foods unclean and not to be eaten. Jesus abrogated the food laws and declared all foods to be clean.¹⁶

We are also no longer bound to following the Old Testament laws which regulated the civil government of Israel. The Mosaic covenant established the Jewish people as a nation distinct from other nations of the world. God gave them rules for courts, judges, enforcement of laws and penalties for breaking them. Christians are not under those laws; rather, we are called to obey the civil governments in the lands in which we live.¹⁷

Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament Law so that it is no longer binding upon Christians. And yet, while the New Testament writers understood that the Mosaic Law had been fulfilled in Christ and Christians were not legally bound by it, they still referred to it as an important source of valuable wisdom and guidance for living in a godly manner.

The apostle Paul wrote: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”¹⁸ He pointed out that “Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”¹⁹ “These things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.”²⁰

Throughout the New Testament, we find teachings which quote or allude to the Ten Commandments, with the exception of the fourth commandment about keeping the Sabbath:

First Commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.”²¹ Paul affirmed this when he wrote about people sinning when they “worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator.”²²

Second Commandment: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God.”²³ On this point, Paul wrote: “Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”²⁴

Third Commandment: “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”²⁵ The apostle Peter wrote: “These, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction.”²⁶

Fourth Commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work.”²⁷ The command to rest on the Sabbath is not repeated as an obligation for Christians.

Fifth Commandment: “Honor your father and your mother.^”²⁸ Paul quoted this commandment in full in Ephesians 6:2–3. Elsewhere he makes reference to those who dishonor their parents as sinning.²⁹

Sixth Commandment: “You shall not murder.”³⁰ A number of times in the New Testament, murder is included in a list of sins. For example, in the words of Jesus: “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.”³¹

Seventh Commandment: “You shall not commit adultery.”³² This commandment is quoted in the book of Romans as well as in the book of James.³³

Eighth Commandment: “You shall not steal.”³⁴ Paul quoted this command in the book of Romans (Romans 13:9), and throughout the Epistles, we find other verses teaching this commandment.³⁵

Ninth Commandment: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”³⁶ This commandment is not quoted in the New Testament, but there are several verses which speak against lying and falsehoods. “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices.”³⁷

Tenth Commandment:“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”³⁸ When Paul wrote about specific sins, he said: “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: … evil desire, and covetousness.”³⁹

While the New Testament teaches that the Mosaic Law has been fulfilled and Christians are not bound to follow the Law, it also teaches that the principles found within the Ten Commandments are useful as teaching tools to show what kind of conduct is pleasing and displeasing to God.

Originally published October 2018. Adapted and republished August 2021. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.

¹ Colossians 1:9–10.

² 2 Timothy 3:16–17.

³ Matthew 5:17–18.

⁴ Romans 13:9–10.

⁵ 1 Peter 1:15.

⁶ Colossians 3:9–10.

⁷ Jeremiah 31:31.

⁸ Luke 22:19–20.

⁹ 2 Corinthians 3:10–14.

¹⁰ Hebrews 7:22.

¹¹ Romans 7:6.

¹² 1 Corinthians 7:18–19.

¹³ Hebrews 13:15.

¹⁴ Romans 12:1.

¹⁵ Colossians 2:16–17.

¹⁶ Mark 7:14–15.

¹⁷ Romans 13:1–2; 1 Peter 2:13–14.

¹⁸ 2 Timothy 3:16–17.

¹⁹ Romans 15:4.

²⁰ 1 Corinthians 10:11.

²¹ Exodus 20:3.

²² Romans 1:25.

²³ Exodus 20:4–5.

²⁴ Romans 1:22–23.

²⁵ Exodus 20:7.

²⁶ 2 Peter 2:12.

²⁷ Exodus 20:8–10.

²⁸ Exodus 20:12.

²⁹ 2 Timothy 3:2.

³⁰ Exodus 20:13.

³¹ Matthew 15:19.

³² Exodus 20:14.

³³ Romans 13:9, James 2:11.

³⁴ Exodus 20:15.

³⁵ James 5:4, Titus 2:9–10.

³⁶ Exodus 20:16.

³⁷ Colossians 3:9.

³⁸ Exodus 20:17.

³⁹ Colossians 3:5.

Emotions in the Face of Suffering

January 23, 2026

Joni Eareckson Tada

In this lesson we hear the testimony of Joni Eareckson Tada. Joni shares what life is like with quadriplegia and chronic pain. This talk focuses on her emotional experiences in the face of suffering, and how God used Scripture to shape her experience. Joni shares biblical truth and personal wisdom that she has gained throughout her life.

Run time for this video is 39 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3Oswe6Sbic

The Effects of Christianity: Work and Scientific Discoveries

January 22, 2026

By Peter Amsterdam

Audio length: 10:30

Download Audio (9.6MB)

This article covering some of the effects Christianity has had on the world will touch on two ways in which Christianity and/or individual Christians significantly helped change the world—by changing the way physical labor is viewed and through making various scientific discoveries.¹

The dignity of physical labor

The ancient Romans, along with the Greeks before them, had a very low view of physical labor. The way they saw it, only the lower classes and slaves performed manual labor. Christians, like the Jews, had a much more positive view of work. As a first-century Jewish man, Jesus labored as a carpenter (skilled laborer), and the apostle Paul worked as a tentmaker. In the book of 2 Thessalonians, Paul wrote: “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Jesus’ and Paul’s examples of working caused Christians to view labor and work as being honorable and God-pleasing.

In monasteries during the Middle Ages, work was seen as honorable, while slothfulness was considered one of the seven deadly sins. The sixth-century Benedictine monks saw labor as “an integral spiritual part of their discipline [that] did much to increase the prestige of labor and the self-respect of the laborer.”² Work was also seen as an antidote to the sin of laziness. St. Basil of Caesarea in the fourth century said: “Idleness is a great evil; work preserves us from evil thoughts.^”

During the Reformation (1517–1648), the idea of valuing work and manual labor received further support. Martin Luther considered work a calling, a way to serve God. This led to the understanding that there was no low-status or high-status work, nor was there good work and bad work. No matter what type of work a Christian did, it was seen as honorable, something the person did for the glory of God and to serve humanity (1 Corinthians 10:31). It was noble and was considered a Christian duty, a calling, a vocation.

Science

The ancient Greek and Roman polytheistic cultures believed in gods who were jealous and irrational, which was not conducive to the concept of scientific investigation of the world and how it functions. However, Christianity, along with Judaism, teaches that God is a rational being. Because humans are made in His image, we too are rational beings who are able to use rational processes to study and investigate the world in which we live.

For 1,500 years, the concept taught by Aristotle (384–322 BC) that knowledge could only be acquired through using the mind in deductive reasoning was prominent. In the 12th century, some Christian philosophers such as Robert Grosseteste (1168–1253), a Franciscan bishop and the first chancellor of Oxford University, proposed the inductive, experimental method as an approach to gaining scientific knowledge.³

Three hundred years later, Francis Bacon (1561–1626), a devout Anglican, propelled the concept of inductive reasoning forward by means of keeping a written account of his experiments and their results. He promoted the concept that science involves careful and methodical observation along with rigorous skepticism about what is observed. He is known as the father of the scientific method.

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) was raised by his uncle, a Catholic priest. He received a doctor’s degree and was trained as a physician. He also studied theology and canon law, and for a time was part of a religious order, but he didn’t become a priest. He introduced the heliostatic theory, which states that the sun is the center of our solar system and that the earth rotates around the sun. Until that time, people thought the earth was the center of our solar system. He was hesitant to publish his theory, because the Catholic Church at the time often considered new scientific discoveries heresies and persecuted their authors as heretics. However, two Lutheran friends persuaded him to do so shortly before his death.

Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) studied for three years to become a Lutheran pastor. When he was assigned to teach mathematics in Austria, he took up astronomy. His mathematical calculations proved that the planets orbit the sun elliptically and that they do not move at a uniform speed. Moments before he died, when asked by a Lutheran pastor where he placed his faith, he responded, “Solely and alone in the work of our redeemer Jesus Christ.”⁴

Isaac Newton (1642–1727), building on Kepler’s planetary laws, discovered the laws of gravity. Newton’s Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy is considered one of the greatest single contributions in the history of science. Although some historians contend that Newton was not a Christian, some of his writings clearly express belief in God. “God governs the world invisibly, and he has commanded us to worship him, and no other God … he has revived Jesus Christ our Redeemer, who has gone into the heavens to receive and prepare a place for us, and … will at length return and reign over us … till he has raised up and judged all the dead.”⁵

Alessandro Volta (1745–1827) was a physicist, chemist, and a pioneer of electrical science. He was the inventor of the electric battery and was a devout Catholic throughout his life. It’s from his name that we get the terms volt and voltage.

Robert Boyle (1627–1691) was considered to be the “father of chemistry” and one of the pioneers of modern experimental scientific methods. Besides his focus on science, Boyle wrote in defense of the existence of God and the resurrection of Christ. He believed people should access the Bible in their own language, and helped to finance translations of the Bible or portions of it into various languages.

George Washington Carver (c. 1864–1943) was born into American slavery. When he was a week old he, his sister, and mother were kidnapped, taken to another state, and sold as slaves. Their original owner, Moses Carver, hired a detective to find them, but he was only able to find George. When slavery was abolished, Moses and his wife raised George as their own child. They encouraged George to pursue his education. After being accepted at one college, they rejected him upon arrival because of his race. Later he attended Iowa State Agricultural College as its first black student. He went on to earn a Master of Science degree.

He then joined Tuskegee University, a university for African Americans, as a teacher and researcher. He became America’s top authority on peanuts and sweet potatoes, and developed over three hundred byproducts from peanuts, ranging from instant coffee to soap and ink. From the sweet potato, he developed over one hundred byproducts, including flour, shoe polish, and candy. He convinced Southern farmers to grow peanuts, sweet potatoes, and pecans instead of only cotton, which diversified the agriculture of the South. He received numerous awards for his work, and his name is on many buildings, schools, and parks. Carver became a Christian at age ten. Author Henry Morris writes that Carver was “a sincere and humble Christian” who never hesitated “to confess his faith in the God of the Bible and attribute all his success and ability to God.”⁶

While there have been many notable Christians throughout history whose achievements have greatly influenced our world, there have also been billions of Christians who we know nothing about who have also positively impacted the world. There are the moms and dads who taught their children about Jesus and who, through their example of living their faith, helped their children decide to become Christians. Teachers, caregivers, missionaries, godly employers, Christians in every walk of life, in every profession, who have shared their faith with others have helped to change people’s lives.

Each of us, every single day, can positively affect our part of the world through loving others, being kind, fair, understanding, generous, positive, and helpful. We can be inclusive, respectful, forgiving, humble, meek, patient, and kind. As we do our best to live our faith, to emulate Jesus, to love God and others, we too will help to change our part of the world for the better.

Originally published April 2019. Adapted and republished January 2026. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.

¹ Points from this article were taken from Alvin J. Schmidt, How Christianity Changed the World (Zondervan, 2004).

² Lynn D. White, “The Significance of Medieval Christianity,” in The Vitality of the Christian Tradition, ed. George F. Thomas (Harper and Brothers, 1945), 91.

³ Roger Bacon, Opus majus, trans. Robert Belle Burke (Russell and Russell, 1962), 584.

⁴ Max Caspar, Johannes Kepler (W. Kohlhammer Verlag, 1948), 73

⁵ Isaac Newton, “God and Natural Philosophy,” in Newton’s Philosophy of Nature: Selections from His Writings, ed. H. S. Thayer (Hafner Publishing, 1953), 66–67.

⁶ Henry Morris, Men of Science—Men of God (Creation-Life Publishers, 1982), 104–5.

The Story of the Watchmaker Who Forgave Her Enemies

January 21, 2026

By Jennifer T. Kelley

As a watchmaker, concentration camp survivor, teacher, and author, Corrie ten Boom experienced the fears that rise from an uncertain tomorrow. Yet through her life, she learned to walk confidently into each new day. She often said, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” … And she taught crowds of people all over the world that—despite their doubts, questions, and uncertainties—they, too, could entrust their deepest aches and unknowns to a knowing, faithful God.

(Read the article here.)

Embracing God’s Timing

January 20, 2026

A compilation

Audio length: 12:49

Download Audio (11.7MB)

I was in a dry season, praying for answers but witnessing no change.

Over coffee one day, a friend casually mentioned a Bible verse about trusting God’s timing. It wasn’t a big revelation, but her words felt like a flicker of hope—a small reminder that God was still at work.

This moment didn’t fix everything, but it served as the first signal on the horizon, proof God hadn’t forgotten me. Sometimes that’s all we need—a glimpse of hope to remind us that God is moving, even when we can’t see the entire picture.

In 1 Kings 18, the prophet Elijah was standing on Mount Carmel after a long drought, waiting for rain. Elijah prayed fervently and sent his servant six times to check the horizon, receiving the same report each time: nothing. It wasn’t until the seventh time that the servant finally spotted something:

“Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea” (1 Kings 18:44).

It wasn’t much, but it was enough. This tiny cloud signaled the end of the drought and the beginning of God’s promised downpour. A small cloud became the symbol of a massive blessing.

This story teaches us that sometimes we only catch a hint of what God is doing. We may be praying for big breakthroughs or waiting for unmistakable signs, but instead, God often sends a nudge, a quiet reminder of His faithfulness. It could be a conversation with a friend, an act of kindness from a stranger, or a sense of peace settling over us unexpectedly amid chaos. These moments are like that cloud—small, but filled with the promise of something greater.

God’s provision often starts in humble ways. The rain ending the drought didn’t begin with a thunderstorm; it started with a small cloud. What little clouds are forming on the horizon of your life right now?

Perhaps you’ve been waiting on God to move, and you’ve caught glimpses of grace—subtle shifts, gentle promptings, or small blessings that seem insignificant. What if those things are the beginnings of something far greater than you imagine?

Waiting is hard. We crave immediate answers, significant results, and clear direction. But faith often requires patience and trust in God’s work behind the scenes. God calls us, like Elijah, to hold on to hope even when the evidence seems minuscule. Those little clouds of hope—whether they’re moments of peace, unexpected opportunities or shifts in our hearts—are whispers of His promises. Embracing God’s timing can uplift our perspective and allow us to see the signs of His incredible blessings just around the corner, reminding us that God is near and His plan is still unfolding.

Dear Lord, thank You for the clouds of hope You send to remind us of Your faithfulness. When our hearts grow weary, help us trust that You are working. Strengthen our faith, and give us patience as we wait for the downpour of Your blessings. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.—Gladys Childs ¹

How long, O Lord?

Learning to trust God’s timing is not easy, to say the least. … Since we can’t calculate God’s time, his timing often doesn’t make sense to us.

That’s why after Peter described one God-day as being like a thousand years for us (2 Peter 3:8), he went on to say, “The Lord is not slow … as some count slowness” (2 Peter 3:9).

It’s also clear, however, that such a being as God operates on a very different timeline than we do—if timeline is even the right word. For God is not constrained by time. He is the Father of time (Genesis 1:1; Colossians 1:16). He is “the Ancient of Days” (Daniel 7:9), existing “from everlasting to everlasting” (Psalm 90:2). …

So, when the speed of God seems slow to us, or when his timing doesn’t make sense, we must “not overlook this one fact”: God-time is different from man-time. … And God, according to his wise purposes, makes everything beautiful in its time—the time he purposefully chooses for it.

Time for everything. “Everything beautiful in its time.” I get that from Ecclesiastes 3:11.

One clear way he reveals the wisdom of his purposes is how he has created, in our frame of reference, “a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1):

a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance (Ecclesiastes 3:2–4).

God “made everything beautiful in its time.” The Hebrew word translated “beautiful” means appropriate, fitting, right. God’s “invisible attributes” can be “clearly perceived” in the created order we observe and experience (Romans 1:20). They reveal the wisdom of his purposes—a wisdom far beyond ours. And God intends them to teach us that his “beautiful” timing can be trusted, even when we don’t understand it. …

Trust the speed of God. “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward [us], not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Yes, we must frequently help each other remember:

God-time moves at different speeds than ours.
God works all things, at all times, in all places, in all dimensions, after the counsel of his will to accomplish all his purpose.
God has a purposeful time for everything, and he makes everything beautiful in its time.
However God chooses to use our times, it’s critically important that we learn to trust his timing over the relative and unreliable earthbound perspective that shapes our expectations.

Our times, like all times, are in God’s hand (Psalm 31:15). This is what it means to live by faith in relation to time. In choosing to trust the speed of God, we humble ourselves under his mighty, time-holding hand.

According to 1 Peter 5:6–7, the amazing reward of choosing to embrace such joyful, peaceful, childlike trust in God is that he will exalt us at the proper time.—Jon Bloom²

Master plans and waiting for awesome

There’s something personally awesome that each one of us needs to understand: every human put on earth was an intentional act of creation. King David affirms, “Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:16).And Job says to God, “You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer” (Job 14:5).

If the point of plans is that they prepare for a desired end, and if God has plans for you, that means there’s a desired outcome He had in mind when He created you. But keep in mind that the full scope of a plan doesn’t unfold on the first day. Take Moses, for example.³

Imagine God planning out Moses’ life. Chapter One doesn’t have Moses parting the Red Sea. It actually doesn’t even start with Moses receiving God’s directives at the burning bush on Mount Horeb. There are roughly 80 years’ worth of chapters and pages that come before either of those events.

When studying Moses’ life, it’s easy to marvel at the 40 years Moses spent tending sheep. Think of how patient he must have been at the end of that. I’m realizing now that it was really God who had patience in this story. Imagine creating a character and knowing that they’ll only be ready to do what you want them to do 80 years after their creation. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t display the kind of patience that God had for Moses.

I’m comforted at the realization of God as a planner. Here’s why: Even if you feel like nothing is happening for you right now, and it’s hard to wait, it could be that you’re on page 200 of your book of life, and the best stuff begins on page 492. Or perhaps your “awesome” is a life simply filled with days lived well and to God’s glory. Whatever the case may be, the great thing about God’s plans is that even when nothing seems to be happening on the surface, He has all these intricate plans going on. He’s at work even on ordinary days. He’s working in your life toward helping you reach page 492 of your book, and beyond that as well.

In a letter to the Romans, Paul calls God “the God of patience” (Romans 15:5). God is described as patient and longsuffering in the Bible; it’s one of the characteristics attributed to Him. God waited 80 years for Moses’ awesome; so however long our wait may be, if God believes we are worth the wait, then we should, too.—Roald Watterson

Published on Anchor January 2026. Read by Lenore Welsh. Music by John Listen.

¹ Gladys Childs, “A Small Cloud of Hope,” Proverbs 31, March 24, 2025, https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2025/03/24/a-small-cloud-of-hope

² Jon Bloom, “My Times Are in Your Hand,” Desiring God, August 9, 2021, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/my-times-are-in-your-hand

³ The biblical story of Moses can be found starting in the book of Exodus.

Communicating with God

January 19, 2026

Treasures

Audio length: 13:47

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Throughout the Bible, we read of how God seeks to communicate with His people and to provide guidance, encouragement, and instruction. God communicates with His children through His written Word in the Bible, which is “alive and active” (Hebrews 4:12). He also speaks directly to the hearts of those who love and seek Him wholeheartedly. “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). God continues to speak to His followers today and to impart His message and words of spiritual direction and counsel.

Why would the great God and Creator of the universe want to communicate with us and be a close presence in our lives? God loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins so that we could become His redeemed and beloved children. “To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1).

When we believe in Jesus and receive Him as our Lord and Savior, our sins are forgiven and we receive God’s gift of eternal life in heaven. From that point onward, our lives begin to change, as we are transformed by His Holy Spirit, who takes up residence in our lives and helps us to grow into mature Christians whose lives glorify God (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). As we study God’s Word, we learn how to live a life that pleases Him and to walk in love and harmony with Him and others. God’s Word in the Bible is a constant source of faith, comfort, encouragement, instruction, wisdom, and strength of spirit.

God is present in the lives of all who sincerely seek Him. He isn’t exclusive. But often when we are at low points in our lives, God can seem distant from us, and we can feel unworthy of His love. Or perhaps we can be tempted to feel that He has forsaken us due to our failures and sins. This is why it is so important that we are grounded in His Word and the promises in the Bible of God’s unconditional love for each of us, manifested by Jesus’ death on the cross for our redemption, and the eternal life in heaven that He purchased for us.

God’s love, power, and faithfulness to each person who loves Him and believes in Jesus are unchanging, regardless of past, present, or future circumstances. Jesus’ love, friendship, and close relationship with His disciples is the same for His followers of today. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

God loves His children so much that He not only wants to communicate with us through His written Word, but He takes a loving personal interest in us and wants to be involved in our lives and decisions. He knows that we have questions, concerns, and problems, and He wants to help and guide us as we bring every care and decision to Him. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6).

He is also present in life’s challenges, and the tragedies and losses, and speaks words of love and encouragement to our hearts. The Apostle Peter wrote, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). In some of His final words to His followers, Jesus promised to be with us. “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

In His infinite wisdom and boundless love for us as beings created in His image, God seeks to communicate with us and guide us in our lives. He wants to help us to grow into a closer relationship with Him and a greater understanding of His will and ways. Jesus said that “the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). His Spirit dwelling in us will guide us into truth and help us to make godly decisions. “When the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13).

God speaks to His people first and foremost through His written Word in the Bible, which teaches us about Him, His moral laws, His will for humankind, His plan for our salvation, and the principles that should guide our lives. As we read the Bible, He may cause a particular passage to stand out to us and show us how it applies to our current situation or how it answers a question we may have. He may not even use words—He may just give us an impression or inner conviction or an intuitive knowledge about a particular situation, what is referred to in the account of God speaking to the prophet Elijah as a “still small voice” or a gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:11–12).

He has also spoken to His followers through vivid dreams or visions, as we read in the books of Daniel and Revelation in the Bible. Christians throughout history have testified of times the Lord gave them a warning in a dream to avoid danger or alerted them to something important.

God also may speak through others—godly counselors who have a gift of wisdom and whose experience we can benefit from. We also learn from the words or writings of gifted teachers, who help us to better understand the Scriptures and apply them to our lives. Teaching is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, to be used to help others to grow in their faith and relationship with God, and “to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:11–12).

Another way that God speaks to His children is through the gift of prophecy, by which God can provide guidance and encouragement. Prophecy is listed as one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (see Romans 12:6–8), and refers to a “divinely inspired message” received from God. We read in 1 Corinthians 14 that prophecy is a gift that “speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation” (1 Corinthians 14:3–4).

While the Apostle Paul encouraged the exercising of the gift of prophecy, He also instructed the believers to “weigh what is said” (1 Corinthians 14:29) and to “test everything and hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:20–21). The Bible is the standard by which messages received in prophecy are measured. The messages that God gives are scriptural, edifying, instructive, encouraging, and uplifting. They result in the fruits of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control(Galatians 5:22–23). Even when God corrects us or points out the error of our ways so that we “may share in His holiness,” He gives us hope and makes us feel loved, like a father encouraging his children (Hebrews 12:10–11).

Seeking God’s guidance

When we open our heart to Jesus, we begin a personal and intimate relationship with Him as not only our Savior, but as our friend, teacher, and counselor. Prayer is the means by which we communicate with God. Prayer is not merely a religious ritual, but a living relationship with our heavenly Father, who understands and loves us as no other can. He wants us to bring our every concern to Him in prayer and trust that He will hear and answer according to His perfect will. “The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” And as we do so, we can experience the promised “peace of God, which transcends all understanding,” that will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:5–7).

We can tell God our deepest thoughts, our innermost feelings, and the desires and longings of our hearts. We can bring every weight and burden to Him and commit it to His loving care. The Bible says that when Jesus was on earth, He was tempted in the same way that we are—yet He did not sin, so we can rest assured that He’s heard and seen everything. For “we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus is our intercessor before God: “He is able to save them to the uttermost that come to God through Him, because He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

The Bible tells us that faith is the confident assurance of things hoped for and the evidence of things that we cannot see right now (Hebrews 11:1). It is believing in God and His power, even though we can’t actually see them. The author of Hebrews goes on to write, “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (Hebrews 11:3). Biblical faith is not just wishful thinking but confidence that what God has promised will come to pass according to His Word. It is not blind trust, but rather the conviction that God, who has revealed Himself to us through His Word and through Jesus, will fulfill His promises to His children.

If your faith feels deficient, take the time to study God’s Word and grow in your understanding of it. The Bible teaches that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). Reading about all the times God has spoken to His children in the past, as well as becoming familiar with His many promises to us in the Bible, will strengthen your faith that God will also communicate with you and lead and guide you in His paths of righteousness (Psalm 23:3).

When you are seeking God’s guidance and are in need of His help, bring everything to Him in prayer. You can start by finding a quiet place and taking a few minutes to talk to the Lord. Tell Him what’s on your heart. Tell Him how much He means to you. Thank Him for His love and for all that He has done in your life. Count your blessings. “Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name” (Psalm 100:4).

The Lord wants us to involve Him in every area of our lives, and to seek His will and guidance in the decisions we make. As you get quiet before God and wait on Him in reverence, quietness, humility, and patience, trust that He will guide you and speak to your heart. Sometimes He may communicate with you by bringing to mind a verse, a story, or a passage from the Bible that you have read. Perhaps His Spirit will speak to your heart, giving you the conviction that “this is the way, walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21) as a confirmation of a decision you are facing. You can also ask Him for His wisdom for decision-making, which He has promised to grant us: “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (James 1:5).

The Lord has promised in His Word that if we ask Him in faith, we will receive: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7–8). There are times, though, when He answers differently than we expect according to His perfect will and knowledge of our lives and situations, or His timetable is different than ours, so we need to trust in Him even when things turn out differently than we had anticipated.

Jesus once asked the rhetorical question, “Which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?” He went on to reply that if we as sinful human beings “know how to give good gifts to [our] children, how much more will [our] Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:9–11). We can always trust that our loving Father will work in our lives and answer our prayers in the way He knows will be best.

Published on Anchor January 2026. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.

The Five Wars of the Antichrist (part 1)

David Brandt Berg

1983-05-10

In Daniel 11, after describing the rise of the Antichrist, it says, “And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army.” That sounds like a war. “And the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army. And many shall fall down slain” (Daniel 11:25–26). And the 28th verse: “Then shall he return into his land”—this is the king of the north returning to his north land, likely Russia—“with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant.”

Here is another proof that this is about the time of the end, because in the 27th verse it says: “For yet the end shall be at the time appointed.” It starts talking about the end, showing that these events are at the end, contrary to the historicists and preterists who claim that all these events occurred long ago in ancient history at the time of the Greek and Roman invasions. This cannot be, because, beginning with the 21st verse, it’s talking about the same Antichrist king all the way through to the very end, clear through the Tribulation to the Resurrection—the king of the north. It’s talking about the king of the north at the time of the end, who can be no other than the Antichrist.

Daniel 11:25: “And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle”—against him, in other words—“with a very great and mighty army; but he”—the king of the south—“shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him. Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him”—the king of the south. “And his army (king of the north) shall overflow; and many shall fall down slain.” In other words, the king of the south is defeated by the king of the north.

There’s only one area south of the north spoken of in the Bible, and the invasion by the king of the north is spoken of by Jeremiah and other prophets, meaning an invasion of Israel and Israel’s allies. Only the Mideast is south of Russia, and Israel is the king of the south. So it’s apparently a war between Russia, the king of the north, and the king or kings of the south, which can only be the Mideast, led by Israel. “A very great and mighty army,” he says. In spite of this very great army the king of the south musters up, the king of the north wins.

Two great armies. One’s called a great army and the other’s called a very great and mighty army. And it says that many fall down slain. These are obviously kings of the end, because it says, “for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.” It starts talking about the end right here, and the story continues right up to the end. Then it says in the 28th verse that this king of the north returns into his land with great riches, but his heart is against the holy covenant.

Verse 29: “At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south, but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.” In some way it’s going to be different when he comes back. But again it is going to be some kind of a war, because it says in the 30th verse: “The ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation”—anger—“against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.” He’s very angry with Israel and its allies, Chittim, which symbolizes both Cyprus and Greece.—The second war.

Apparently his heart’s not in the holy covenant from the beginning; it’s just a farce and hypocrisy. It’s a compromise he only makes in order to have a temporary peace to get into a stronger position of power. He goes home very rich, but then he comes back again in fury against the covenant. Obviously it’s not working, at least not working his way.

The word “covenant” is mentioned six times in these passages. The first mention of this covenant is in Daniel 9:27 when it is made: “He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week”—or seven years—“and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations, he shall make it desolate.” This is a verse virtually quoted by Jesus in Matthew 24:15. So first, according to Daniel 9:27, he makes the covenant. Second, according to Daniel 11:22, he is the prince of the covenant, again confirmation that he has made this covenant. Third, his heart is against the covenant, Daniel 11:28. Fourth, he has indignation against the covenant, Daniel 11:30. Fifth, he works against the covenant, also Daniel 11:30. And sixth, he corrupts with flatteries those who do wickedly against the covenant, Daniel 11:32.

He is already the prince of the covenant and has made the covenant before this big invasion, but it doesn’t give you any idea how long it is from then until his invasion of Israel. But there are all kinds of things going on between the time he’s called the prince of the covenant and the invasion. “After the league (covenant) made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up and shall become strong with a small people, he shall enter peaceably,” etc. (Daniel 11:23–24). All those things about the rise of the Antichrist occur between the covenant and this big invasion.

Then in the 25th verse: “He shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army.” After he has made the covenant and he has become strong, then he makes war on the king of the south and invades Israel and wins. The covenant is still in existence; he hasn’t actually broken it yet. But it says in the 28th verse that his heart is against it, and in the 30th verse that he works against it, has fury or indignation against it, and he works with those that work against it! Apparently, it was only a treaty of necessity, a pact for temporary peace until he could do away with the whole thing.

It is not completely broken yet, but he’s working against it. But then in the 31st verse he must finally resort to force, because it says: “And arms [forces] shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.” That sounds like another war, or certainly a threat of war! In other words, he has the greatest arms strength and is able to enforce his will now. Whether he uses those arms and this is another war or not, it doesn’t make very clear, except for the fact that if ships of Chittim come against him, it certainly sounds like another forceful invasion of Israel! Maybe not as big a war, but a second invasion.

The first one is definitely a major war after the covenant has been made. Yet after this war, he comes down and works against the covenant and breaks it, with what sounds like another war, a second invasion of Israel. It talks about arms, it says that he returns, comes toward the south and the ships come against him, but the arms stand on his part.

At this time, the covenant is definitely broken and the abomination of desolation is set up, which is specifically mentioned by Jesus as the beginning of the Tribulation (Matthew 24:15, 21). Everything that follows that second invasion of Israel is the Tribulation, because the Tribulation begins with the breaking of the covenant and the abomination of desolation. Then it goes on and talks about the Tribulation in the next few verses and how he makes himself to be god, rules over many, divides the land for gain—the total description of the Antichrist.

Then Daniel 11:40 sounds like a third war: “And at the time of the end”—pinpointing the very end—“shall the king of the south push at him.” It must be toward the end of the Tribulation because the Tribulation is already in progress, according to what’s said here. Apparently there’s a rebellion, no doubt instigated by his enemies. Not everybody submits willingly and not everybody worships him, and there are powers and countries and even kings who rebel against him. It could even be people who might already have the mark, but they finally recognize that he’s not the Messiah, so they rebel. The king of the south is epitomized by Israel, because this is spoken of other places in the Bible about the invasion of Israel from the north.

“And the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots and with horsemen and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.” He totally conquers the south. “And he shall enter into the glorious land”—obviously Israel—“and many countries shall be overthrown.” This is a third major invasion of Israel and the surrounding countries by the northern country.

“He shall enter into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand”—and it says those that are going to escape, apparently because they didn’t fight against him, are Edom, Moab, and Ammon, which constitute Jordan today (Daniel 11:41).

Verse 42: “He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.” In other words, the other countries who sided with the king of the south or Israel, including Egypt. “But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps” (Daniel 11:43). He not only conquers Israel this time, he invades Egypt and takes over Egypt too, apparently with the help of the Libyans and the Ethiopians.

“But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him. Therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many” (Daniel 11:44). Now he has invaded Israel for the third time, left Jordan alone, but this time conquered Egypt with the help of the Libyans and the Ethiopians. But there’s trouble in the north, back home, and trouble in the east, coming maybe from China or Japan. So he goes forth “with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.” That sounds like either another war or a continuation of the same war.

Verse 45: “And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain.” He obviously wins this war! How else could he set his tabernacle up there? He has already set himself up in the temple and the abomination of desolation and all of that, at his second return when he breaks the covenant. It also seemed as though that would be the logical thing, that at the same time he sets up his image in front of the temple and sets himself up on a throne in the temple declaring himself to be god, that would be the time when he also makes Jerusalem his palace and his headquarters. But it doesn’t actually say that happens until after this third war, 11th chapter, last verse: “He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain.”

That’s the end, because the next thing that comes is the Resurrection, right after it says he finally sets up his palace in Jerusalem and makes that his world headquarters of his world government.

So after the covenant and any period of peace which follows—and which from Daniel 11:23–24 obviously for a while does follow—there is another war; there is an invasion. Despite the covenant, Israel, the king of the south, rises up against him, so the Antichrist comes down and defeats him. But it’s still not the end of the king of the south. The next time the Antichrist comes back against the holy covenant, the king of the south along with the ships of Chittim rise up against him. But he again wins, breaks the covenant, sets up the abomination of desolation, puts himself in the temple, calls himself god, and that’s the Tribulation!

It sounds to me like after the covenant is made, there’s peace for a while—according to the 21st through the 24th verses—but then beginning with the 25th verse there’s obviously a big war, following this temporary period of peace. And quite obviously this big war occurs before the Tribulation, during the first 3½ years, because the Tribulation doesn’t begin until the abomination of desolation occurs in the 31st verse. The abomination doesn’t even occur until after the second invasion, beginning in the 29th verse.

And then after the Tribulation is in progress, once again the south rebels: The king of the south “pushes at him” again (v.40). So he comes down “like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, many ships, and he shall enter into the countries and overflow and pass over, and enter into the glorious land.” Here’s the third invasion of Israel during the seven-year period.

It sounds like three separate invasions of Israel during the seven years—one invasion during the first half of the seven years, another invasion right in the middle at the breaking of the covenant, and another invasion during the Tribulation. Then, having conquered the whole world, including Babylon, he sets up his palace “between the seas in the glorious holy mountain,” which means Jerusalem, and makes that his world capital. He has conquered the world, he has established his world religion, the worship of himself, and now he makes Jerusalem specifically and definitely his world capital of his world government (Daniel 11:45). (To be continued)

His Desire, His Plan, Our Happiness

Mara Hodler

2013-06-13

There are numerous verses in the Bible that use the analogy of traveling along a path in life.

The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.1

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.2

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.3

This is kinda what I hear in these verses: You are on a journey, and you don’t really know where you are going or what path to take. But God does, and you have the option of using God’s Word as a guide and asking God to lead you, or you can sort of figure it out on your own.

We all need to make decisions and navigate this thing called “life.” Just the fact that we are alive requires us to participate in all the choices that involve us. Depending on our nature, though, we might love figuring it all out or it might terrify us. I think for most of us, it’s a bit of both.

Personally, I don’t like making decisions. I have twice in my adult life broken down and cried in a food court because there were just TOO MANY choices of what to eat for lunch. Lunch! How sad is that?! If my husband would let me, I would eat the same thing every day simply to avoid having to decide what to eat. And this says nothing for the bigger choices in life like where do we want to live? What career do I pursue? How should I spend my money? And many other things.

At the end of the day, my life will be a collection of my choices and the resultant consequences, good and bad. For me this realization highlights two things:

I really need God’s help.
I also need a plan.

The beauty in all of this is that God has promised to be an active participant if I will allow Him to. He says that if I acknowledge Him, He will direct my path. If His Word is in my heart, none of my steps will slide. If I hold up His Word, it will be a light to my path and show me the way to go. God’s got His part squared away, so what about mine? Or yours? We know there isn’t an actual “path” we are walking along or a real “lamp” that we can hold up, so how do we get this whole “God’s help” thing to work?

A good place to start is to know and understand God’s Word and the standard He has given us to live by. God’s Word is a lot like reflectors on a dark road. As you’re driving along, the reflectors show you the divide in the road so that you don’t veer into oncoming traffic, and they show you the edge of the road so that you don’t drop off into a ravine. Knowing God’s Word gives you a set of boundaries and provides guidance to help keep you on course.

Sometimes it’s really simple: I know God’s Word tells me to be loving and kind, and so asking a question like “What is the loving thing to do?” can reveal the obvious choice. But sometimes it’s more complicated, like when all options fall within God’s will, or when I have a strong personal feeling about a situation which affects my decision-making process. I’ll be the first to acknowledge that it can be difficult to come to a decision that we can be at peace with. But remember that God said He would direct our paths if we acknowledge Him. It’s a promise, so we can expect His help and guidance if we ask for it.

Then there’s the part of having a plan. Have you heard the saying “the man whose destination is ‘nowhere’ is sure to get where he’s going”? Well, it’s true. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”4 This verse has a lot to do with making your life plan. It tells you to be happy making God happy, and He will put into your heart His desires for you.

There might be other theories out there, but this is what I’ve found to be true: Determine that you want your life to please God, and then once He puts a dream or desire in your heart, take it as His plan for you and go for it! Pursue the plan. For example, if you would like to join a volunteer mission trip to somewhere, but don’t have the money (or are short), and you are sure that God also has an interest in you doing so, take it to the next step and plan for how you will get that money—by asking your parents, family, or church if they would be interested in giving toward such a venture, or you could get a temp job, etc.

God really wants us to be happy and to succeed. He knows that in order for us to be happy and successful, He needs to have us learn and experience things along the way. Just because something is God’s plan for our lives doesn’t mean that it will materialize instantaneously, or without struggle or challenge. If your path is anything like mine, it’s not a straight shot. Having a general plan, goal, or destination helps me to move along the path; it helps me as I make daily choices.

When I come to a fork in the road, understanding God’s plan for me helps me to know which path to take. When I feel alone in my journey, it helps me to remember that I chose this path because of where it would take me. When other paths seem easier, or for some other reason entice me, I remember that this destination is the desire of my heart.

God has a unique plan for each of our lives. Since God created us in His image with free will to make decisions, we get to be active participants in determining and pursuing that plan. If you already know where you’re going, stay close to God’s Word and let it guide you along the path. If you aren’t sure where you’re going, focus on living as God’s Word teaches us to, and God will put His plan in your heart. Once His plan, His desire, is in your heart, you know what to do.

Footnotes
1 Psalm 37:31 NKJV
2 Psalm 119:105 NKJV
3 Proverbs 3:6 NKJV
4 New International Version

The Story of Elijah

January 16, 2026

By Rick Warren

You don’t realize God is all you need until He’s all you’ve got. In this message, Pastor Rick Warren shares timeless lessons from the life of Elijah, revealing how God uses seasons of lack to deepen our trust, grow our faith, and prepare us for miracles.

Run time for this video is 30 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgQytjgW8l0

The Standard

January 15, 2026

By Virginia Brandt Berg

Audio length: 6:58

Download Audio (6.3MB)

There is a precious old song that has been ringing in my mind and bringing back many memories. My mother used to sing it when I was a child.

Sing them over again to me,
Wonderful words of life;
Let me more of their beauty see,
Wonderful words of life.

Words of life and beauty
Teach me faith and duty;
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of life.¹

Of course, the song is about the Word of God, the Bible. And nothing could better describe the blessing of that precious book. They are indeed wonderful words of life! I have a friend who is so very frail that it just seems a miracle that she lives on, but she has a secret: She draws her life and strength from reading God’s Word. When she feels her strength is failing, she takes her Bible and gets alone and reads on and on until some verse gives her fresh courage, and some promise gives her faith to hold on. So, day by day she literally finds life in God’s Word, the wonderful words of life.

And I am going to say that I do the same. I can understand this, because it was through the reading of the Bible to me that I had life and strength restored when I was a hopeless invalid for years. That was years ago, but it’s still the same today. If I get down in spirit or tired or the Enemy tries to discourage me or my strength fails, I find strength and blessing in the Word of God.

If only those people who are so troubled and discouraged and defeated could realize that in the Bible they will find the help and comfort they need, what a different world this would be. How many problems would be solved! And if our nation would go back to the faith of our fathers in the Bible and live by its standards, what a difference there would be now in these crisis times also.

I’m reminded me of a story I heard about a llama that had been shipped to this country to a zoo. But upon arrival at a certain station, the agent at the freight depot was questioned about where the animal was being shipped. He responded, “Well, she don’t know where she’s goin’; she done chawed her tag!” Well, I think society has done the same, and people don’t know where they’re going. There’s so much confusion and contention, and people are so divided in opinion because there is no definite standard.

I wish it were possible for me to tell you of the lives I have known that have been utterly transformed by reading God’s Word. Some of them were raised to the greatest heights from the lowest depths. Indeed, there is life and power in the Word of God!

Some of you who are reading this right now know this, yet you neglect to read the Bible. And you wonder why you get down in spirit and so lacking in Christian graces and lose patience. Everything else in your life is given time and considered more important, and just a few ragged minutes are given to reading the Bible that would have made the day beautiful and would have made the problems so much easier to face.

Nations, as well as individuals, have to have a standard by which to live. The question is: What is right, what is wrong? There must be a standard. There has to be a foundation of truth.

I was in a Christian home some time ago when the mother started excusing the actions of her teens, and said, “But you know how young people are today. And the standards are so different today, aren’t they, Mrs. Berg?” Well, it was a question and so I answered it. “No,” I said, “they are not different for a Christian or for a Christian home. The standard is the Bible for Christians, and that has never changed.”

Yes, there must be a standard, and this is what God has given us in His Word. If you don’t know what to do, if you can’t decide what’s right, go to your Bible. It makes every path plain. The Bible contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the path of believers. Its doctrine is holy, its precepts are binding, its history is true, its decisions immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be blessed.

It contains light to direct you and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s comfort, the soldier’s sword, the Christian’s character. Therein heaven is opened and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is the subject and the glory of God its end.

Please fill your memory with it! Let it rule your heart and guide your feet. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth and health to the soul, and a river of pleasure. It is established forever. If you are troubled today, read your Bible and claim a promise. Put your finger upon the promise and say, “Lord, You are no respecter of persons; this promise is for me.” Read on and on until you find in His Word the truth that satisfies the hunger of your heart. God means it for you.

God bless you. He’s still on the throne and He answers prayer.

From a transcript of a Meditation Moments broadcast, adapted. Published on Anchor January 2026. Read by Debra Lee.

¹ “Wonderful Words of Life,” by Philip P. Bliss, 1874

Worth Forty Thousand Men

January 14, 2026

By Nina Kole

Ralph Waldo Emerson ¹ once said, “Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.”

There are two opposite attitudes you’ll come across in life. One type of people I’ll call motivators. People who have a motivational attitude seem to have something that inspires them to want to work harder and be better. They appear to be a little taller and a little smarter. They also have a knack for inspiring others to be the same.

The opposite attitude is held by people I’ll call “de-motivators.” People with this attitude tend to have the opposite effect. You may end up feeling inept and negative about yourself when around them, and perhaps their “lectures” or “helpful” advice intimidates rather than inspires.

Some people say that all motivation comes from within and others can’t really determine your level of motivation, but I think many people can look back to a time they succeeded at something and can pinpoint a person who played a role or was a key influence in helping that success happen. It might have been a teacher, a friend, a family member, or a mentor.

True, it is first and foremost in your court to motivate yourself. But sometimes it takes loads of willpower and determination to accomplish something you set out to do, and having someone to back you up and help motivate you can make a huge difference. It was said that having Napoleon on the battlefield was like fighting against an extra 40,000 men. That’s how much his presence inspired his troops and made a difference for them.

One of the factors experts point to as being motivational is expecting good from others. If people know we expect good things from them, they will in most cases try to live up to our expectations. If we expect the worst, many times they will, unfortunately, meet those predictions as well. Of course, it’s unrealistic to expect the best outcome based simply on our expectations, but as Christians it’s our role to be our brother’s keeper, and to support and promote their well-being. When people feel genuine concern coming from someone, it inspires them to give back in the same way.

Dr. Alan Loy McGinnis,² author of Bringing Out the Best in People, once gave a lecture to an executive club in Toronto. An elderly, well-dressed gentleman came up to him afterwards and introduced himself. He was 74 years old and had just retired from a lifetime of making lead pencils. Dr. McGinnis thought it must be a terribly boring way to make a living and asked him if he was glad to finally be getting out of that business.

“Oh no,” he replied. “In fact, I’m going to miss it like crazy. And you know what I’m going to miss most? The friends I’ve made in this business. Some of my suppliers and customers have been my best friends for 40 years. Several of our upper-level managers are guys I hired right out of college. I’ve had a lot of satisfaction helping them succeed.”

As they talked, Dr. McGinnis learned that this man had built his business into a multimillion-dollar company and had recently sold it for a big profit. One of the keys to his success was his inherent belief in people. He had learned how to find the good in everyone he worked with and helped them build their success. In the process of helping others succeed, he benefited as well!

One of my favorite teachers was a great example of this. He knew how to interest his students in learning, and always made school seem like an adventure. Once, he decided we could do our lesson out in the park next to the pool as long as we made it a point to focus and learn. We were all happy to get out of the classroom, so that was great already. Later on, in the middle of reading to us, he dropped the book, stood up, and jumped into the pool—sneakers, glasses, clothes, and all—and told us to jump in too. We were thrilled and all followed suit and swam around in our clothes before going back inside to clean up for lunch.

It wasn’t anything big or special, but I bet most of the kids in my class will remember that teacher forever. We respected him a lot, and if he got serious because we were misbehaving, we all felt as if we had let him down and were sincerely disappointed in ourselves. I think all of us kids felt that we were important to him, and that he was interested in each of us and our success. He looked at our individual potential and expected great things from us, rather than just seeing us as “a bunch of kids” he had to teach and get through the day with.

De-motivators can also be manipulators, and the difference between a manipulator and a motivator is simple: Manipulators get you to do something that primarily benefits them, whereas motivators inspire you to do something that benefits a greater cause, both of you, or in some cases only you.

Nehemiah was an excellent motivator. He wasn’t a king or anyone important at first; he was actually the cupbearer for a foreign king. Imagine having a career where you follow the king around, carrying his cup and giving it to him whenever he wants it. Not really what I would call the pinnacle of success.

Maybe he was also the guy who had to taste the wine first to make sure it wasn’t poisoned, but that wouldn’t make the job any more glamorous, just more dangerous. Still, I think the Lord set it up so that he would be in the palace at the right time to have a chat with the king, who then gave him permission to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls that had crumbled.

Nehemiah inspired people to help him and get things started, but the Israelites had a lot of enemies who didn’t want the walls of Jerusalem rebuilt and constantly threatened them.

People got discouraged, saying, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.” Their enemies were also taunting, “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.” The people who lived near the construction site kept warning them, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”

So Nehemiah set up a guard system to protect the builders and he gave them a pep talk, saying, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” (See Nehemiah 4:10–14.)

His enemies even tried to trick him into leaving the work by calling him for a meeting or telling him to hide from a death threat, and every time he replied, “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” (Nehemiah 6:3).

I think that part of what made him effective as a leader is that he didn’t sit on the sidelines barking orders; he built and guarded right alongside his men. Their fears were his fears. Their concerns were his concerns. Their triumphs were his triumphs.

Nehemiah later became the governor of Judah and ruled for 12 years. During that time, he never took taxes from his people, which all the previous governors had done, along with demanding food and wine from the people. He chose not to do this because he knew how much the people were struggling already. The food that people did give him, he shared with 150 others! It’s obvious that he cared for his people and was more interested in them rebuilding their lives than in his own success.

Dale Carnegie ³ wrote books on how to get along well with others and how to build good relations with people in your work. His advice helps on every level, whether you’re trying to sell someone on a product or manage a big company.

One of my favorite examples is one he used in How to Win Friends and Influence People about an employee who was always mixing up price tags in a store. Customers would get the wrong price and constantly complain, causing big headaches for the manager. No matter how many warnings or reminders or even confrontations, she didn’t do any better. The manager finally tried one last solution. He called her into his office and told her he was promoting her to supervisor of “price tag posting” for the entire store, and that she was now in charge of keeping all the items properly tagged. The title and responsibility paid off, and she changed her attitude completely to where she took pride in getting it right. That’s the effect of a good motivator.

You may not think you’re in a position to motivate others, but you can always start with something. Cheer on a friend who’s putting in a good effort at their sport or encourage your sibling about something they’ve accomplished. It’s wonderful what a little encouragement can do for someone, and it’s even better when you’re the one doing the motivating.

As Anne Frank said, “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

Adapted from a Just1Thing podcast, a Christian character-building resource for young people.

¹ Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet.

² Alan Loy McGinnis (1933–2005) was an author, Christian psychotherapist, and founder and director of the Valley Counseling Center in Glendale, California.

³ Dale Carnegie (1888–1955) was an American writer and lecturer and the developer of famous courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills.

Crossing the Finish Line

January 13, 2026

A compilation

Audio length: 12:35

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Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.—Hebrews 12:1

What kind of race do believers run? … The “race” is the Christian life. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and we are called to stay the course and remain faithful to the end. Paul used this same imagery near the end of his life: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). …

The race is “set before us”; we did not select the course, for it is God who established it. This race we run for Christ. We stay the course in spite of trials and persecutions (Hebrews 12:4–11). As we run, we must “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). Because He perfectly finished His race, He is the focus of our lives. We look away from all distractions because He is already at the finish line. …

No matter how long the race may be, we keep our eyes on Jesus, “the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). There is joy awaiting. In the words of songwriters Twila and Starla Paris, “Runner, when the race is won, you will run into His arms.”—GotQuestions.org ¹

Finishing well

In Acts 20, the apostle Paul talked about finishing the race of life well. He said, “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God” (Acts 20:24).

When we’re young, we may think that we’re just starting our race. But we don’t know how long our lives will be. That is why we want to run the race of life well. And the objective is to finish well too.

In the New King James Version of this verse, Paul says that he wants to finish his race “with joy.” Some Christians have lost their joy. They may have started off their race with joy, but then something happened to them. Maybe they lost interest in the things of God or other things crowded out their relationship with the Lord. … They need to pray, like the psalmist David, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you” (Psalm 51:12).

For the Christian, the race of life is not a sprint; it’s a long-distance run.

As Hebrews encourages us, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (Hebrews 12:1–2). …

Here’s how to run the race well and finish it well: Run it for Jesus. Don’t run it for people. Don’t run it out of mere duty. You have an audience of one. Jesus Christ Himself is watching you. So run for Him. Don’t just start your race well. Finish it well. And finish it with joy.—Greg Laurie²

The goal

The race of faith has one goal: to be with Jesus Christ in his glory. Let us not be stopped or delayed by anything that could interfere with this race: difficulties, worries, and sin. There will be moments where we are fighting worry, anxiety, stress, sickness, or spiritual warfare. It is in those moments that we use God’s Word to fight back with all the promises that God has given to us (Matthew 16:19).

God’s desire is that we all finish the race of faith; he equips and sustains us so that we can achieve our final destination, to cross the finish line to be forever in His presence.—Abner Galvan³

A pilgrim’s journey

My favorite railway in the world is Australia’s Indian Pacific. The line runs between Sydney on the east coast to Perth on the west coast, traversing a whole continent and connecting two oceans, the Pacific and the Indian. It spans a distance of 4,352 kilometers (2,704 miles) and crosses three time zones.

For most of the 65-hour journey, the train travels through some of the most rugged and barren landscapes in the world. One section crosses the Nullarbor Plain, which is an arid, treeless plain with a moon-like landscape.—Nothing but parched, infertile limestone soil surrounds the track and stretches endlessly into the horizon. For one stretch of 478 kilometers (297 miles) there are no bends at all in the line; it is the longest stretch of straight railway track in the world.

After a seemingly endless journey, the train reaches its final destination—the city of Perth. It feels like arriving in another world altogether. Seeing the wealth of the city, glittering buildings, parks and open spaces, a river flowing into the sea, it is hard to believe that just a little while before we only saw dust and scrub all around us. We arrive at a shining new city, but only after a seemingly endless stretch of vast emptiness.

What an analogy of the Christian’s journey! As a pilgrim passing through this transitory world, we will face stretches of difficult terrain and at times even inhospitable conditions. And yet, we are called to press on and continue walking the path God has prepared for us, just as that train travels across the straight track laid out for it. Aided by God’s Spirit, we can pass through the desert of this world in the peace and comfort He gives.

A shining new city also awaits us at the end of our journey—a city not built by the hands of men, but by God the Creator Himself. As Revelation 21 describes, it is a city unlike any on earth, prepared for His own children who love Him and abide in His love; a city in which, unlike the cities of men, goodness dwells and evil cannot enter; a city where we shall leave the heat, dust, and scrub of this world behind us. “The former troubles are forgotten … and shall not be remembered or come to mind” (Isaiah 65:16–17).—Uday Paul

Stay in the race

The movie Rudy tells the story of Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger, whose only dream was to play football at Notre Dame—even though he didn’t have the grades to get into the college or the football skills to make the team. And yet, through persistence, hard work, and endurance, he managed to join the team as a walk-on and suit up for the last game of the 1975 season.

In the mostly fictionalized ending of the movie, for the last play of the game, the players on the sideline start chanting his name until the whole stadium takes it up: “Rudy, Rudy, Rudy!” And Rudy is carried off the field by his teammates to wild cheering and clapping and chants of his name.

It’s an incredible scene. But it’s nothing compared to the reception you are going to receive one day when you complete your race and cross the finish line into eternity to the applause of heaven. Just imagine Jesus greeting you, and all the saints cheering your name.

You ought to be living for the applause of heaven, because that’s what’s going to matter for eternity. One day you will have the thrill of standing before God, your Creator, and having him say something like, “You did it! You finished the race. You didn’t get sidetracked or drop out. Well done. Let’s celebrate for eternity.”

The apostle Paul anticipated that reward. In 2 Timothy 4:7–8 he says, “I have done my best in the race, I have run the full distance, and I have kept the faith. And now there is waiting for me the victory prize of being put right with God, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that Day—and not only to me, but to all those who wait with love for him to appear.”

Maybe you accepted Christ and started your race strong, but you have drifted into apathy. You’ve gotten sidetracked or wounded or discouraged. Don’t wait another day to get back in the race. Start by saying this prayer to God:

“Dear God, I don’t want to sit on the sidelines for the rest of my life. I want to finish the race that you put me on earth for. Help me to stay focused on eternity and the rewards that lie ahead. I want to live for your eternal purposes and make the rest of my life the best of my life. Please help me to finish well. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”—Rick Warren⁴

Published on Anchor January 2026. Read by Jerry Paladino. Music by Michael Dooley.

¹ “What does it mean to ‘run the race set before us’ (Hebrews 12:1)?” GotQuestions.org, https://www.gotquestions.org/run-the-race-set-before-us.html

² Greg Laurie, “It’s How You Finish,” Harvest.org, November 2, 2023, https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/its-how-you-finish-2/

³ Abner Galvan, “How to Finish Strong in the Race of Faith,” Coastalchurch.org, https://coastalchurch.org/how-to-finish-strong-in-the-race-of-faith/

⁴ Rick Warren, “It’s Time to Get Back in the Race,” Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope, January 6, 2025, https://pastorrick.com/its-time-to-get-back-in-the-race/

Biblical Interpretations and Doctrinal Priorities

January 12, 2026

By Peter Amsterdam

Audio length: 9:32

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Something I have been made keenly aware of while researching to write series on the Gospels and Epistles is the extent to which Christians have varying interpretations of Scripture. I consult about 50 books when researching for these series, and while these authors agree on much, they often have differing explanations. There are brilliant Christian authors, theologians, teachers, preachers, evangelists, and Bible commentators who are tops in their fields, who disagree with one another’s interpretations on certain passages of Scripture. While they agree on the core beliefs of our Christian faith, they may have different outlooks on what this or that passage means.

Thankfully, many Christians understand that everything in Scripture isn’t “mission critical” to the fundamental message of the Bible. There are some things which are of lesser importance, and how you interpret these parts of Scripture has no effect on the fact that Jesus died for the sins of humanity and that through His death salvation is available to everyone who receives Him as their Savior. While some Christian speakers spend time castigating other Christians with whom they disagree, and teach others to do the same, for the most part, Christians today generally recognize that beyond the basic creeds that all Christians believe, there will be differing interpretations of some parts of Scripture, and that’s okay.

I have a Christian friend who believes in predestination. I disagree with him on this issue. I believe that individuals have been granted free will to make the choice of whether to accept or reject Jesus as their Savior. For his part, he believes that God has chosen those who will be saved, and those who have been chosen can’t refuse while those not chosen can’t be saved. This is basic Reformed theology, and he has shown me from Scripture why he believes as he does, and likewise I have shown him from Scripture why I disagree.

However, despite our differing theological views on this point, I consider him to be a dedicated Christian who loves the Lord, witnesses, and does his best to live according to God’s Word. I think he feels the same way about me, so we simply agree to disagree on this one matter. Regardless of the differences in interpretation of Scripture, the fact remains that salvation comes through faith in Jesus. Our differing opinions of how to interpret certain scriptures don’t make a difference regarding the core of what we both understand—that those who believe in Jesus and receive Him as their Savior will be saved.

There are various other examples of points of doctrine which Christians differ on, such as whether you have to be baptized, and if you need to be baptized, do you have to be fully immersed or just have water sprinkled over your head? Does one become filled with the Holy Spirit upon getting saved, or only when one specifically prays to receive the Holy Spirit? There is the difference between cessationist and continuationist belief—with continuationists believing that all the gifts of the Holy Spirit are in operation, and the cessationists believing that the miraculous gifts—such as tongues, healing, prophecy, and miracles—have come to an end.

Even among continuationists there are disagreements, such as regarding the gift of healing. While continuationists believe that the gift of healing functions within Christianity today and that God miraculously heals, there is some difference in belief regarding whether God will miraculously heal in every instance. There are also differences between new and old earth creationist views as to the age of the earth and whether the days of creation in Genesis are literal 24-hour days or represent lengthy periods of time. Clearly, between Bible-believing, Jesus-loving Christians who are dedicated to the teachings of Scripture and faithful to the Great Commission, there are differences of opinion on some points of doctrine.

In particular, there are differences of interpretations about specific points regarding the endtime and how and when it will unfold. Ultimately, however, in the overall picture of living according to Jesus’ teachings and following Him and sharing the gospel message with others, I don’t think that some of these details matter much. We cannot know for certain or be dogmatic about details regarding the timing of Jesus’ Second Coming, the events surrounding it, and other details of the prophecies and how these will play out.

What we know is that the Bible tells us that Jesus will return, the dead in Christ will rise first, and then those who are alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). The exact timing of when this will occur and the interpretation of how the events will unfold are secondary to the biblical truth that Jesus will return.

While we ourselves may or may not be alive to witness the events of the endtime, we know that when our own life comes to an end, we will stand before the Lord and give account for how we lived (Romans 14:12; 2 Corinthians 5:10). So, while trying to understand biblical prophecies regarding the future, the Antichrist, Christ’s return, the Millennium, and the new heaven and earth can be intriguing and interesting, ultimately that is secondary to fulfilling the Great Commission and doing our best to live our faith in our daily lives.

We may feel strongly about a certain doctrine, as my Reformed friend does about predestination, or as I do against that doctrine. But if we were to speak negatively of each other because we don’t agree on this point of doctrine, we would be acting in a very un-Christlike manner. When such things happen, as we see too often on social media, it hurts the cause of Christ and is a poor example of Christianity to unbelievers. When we act in that way, it brings into question whether we are truly living in accordance with Christ’s teachings.

This of course is different from speaking up when someone is preaching outright false doctrine; though, when it is necessary to speak up, this still should be done with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15). In this case, I’m referring to positions regarding interpretations of passages in Scripture that are not core to Christianity, on which Christians may have differences of opinion. Dogmatism can breed intolerance and judgment, which are the opposite of Christlikeness, and can push people away rather than drawing them close. When we are dogmatic, it can lead to being critical of those who don’t agree with us. It creates a “them versus us” scenario that can hurt the cause of Christ.

When we find ourselves spending time in heated discussions of interpretations on issues that are not core to Christianity, it can distract us from the more important aspects of our faith, such as applying Jesus’ teachings in our day-to-day lives or making our lives a living example of Christ to draw others to Him. It damages our testimony as Christians when we exhibit a lack of love and tolerance.

As Christians, it’s important for us to walk humbly, to realize that some of our personal beliefs will differ from those of other believers. As Christians, we believe the same things regarding the core of our faith, and we should show love and respect for those who may interpret some scriptures in a different way than we do.

As the Apostle Paul wrote in the beautiful chapter in 1 Corinthians on love:

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing…

As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. … For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:1–2, 8–10, 12–13).

Originally published May 2015. Adapted and republished January 2026. Read by Jon Marc.

Don’t Look Back! Keep Your Eyes on the Finish Line!

A compilation

2024-05-28

The apostle Paul challenged himself and all Christians to keep moving forward in the Christian walk of faith (Philippians 3:13–14). When Paul said he was “forgetting those things which are behind,” he referred to not looking back at past relationships, memories, failures, temptations, or anything that might distract from a single-minded focus on “the upward call of God in Christ.” To inspire his audience, Paul drew on the image of an athlete running a race with uncompromising determination to reach the finish line and win the prize. …

“Forgetting what is behind” is Paul’s way of saying, “Don’t look back! Stop dwelling on the past. Don’t let anything behind you interfere with your present progress or future efforts.” … In 1 Corinthians 9:25, Paul compared an athlete’s crown to the believer’s eternal prize: “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” …

When it comes to forward motion, our bodies tend to move automatically toward the place where our eyes are directed. A runner who keeps turning back to see what is behind him will lose his race. Understanding this phenomenon, Paul urged believers to stop looking back at the past and stay focused on the future goal.—GotQuestions.org¹

The Apostle Paul made it a habit to forget about the past and instead focus on what’s ahead. Forget means to cease or fail to remember, be unable to recall, or omit or neglect unintentionally.

Paul wrote about the finish line of our faith, eternity with Christ. The English Standard Version reads: “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” The ESV Global Study Bible explains: “The Greek word for a goal can mean either the finish line in a race or an archery target. The prize for Christians is the blessings and rewards in the age to come.”

God blessed me with incredible distance [running] coaches. They taught me to focus on the finish line, helped me learn how to pace myself and break the bad habit of looking back. It takes a lot of faith to put your head down and exhaust every ounce of energy in your body, trusting someone to pick your wobbly, passed-out self off the ground at the finish line. Coach’s voice still rings in my ears today, layered with more belief in me than I ever had.

Jesus is calling us. Listen and look for Him in the present and the future. Look back briefly enough to remember how important it is to keep running forward. We’d look ridiculous if we ran backward at full speed. Let’s pray for the focus to keep moving forward.

Father, thank You for faithful servants like Paul! Through his divinely inspired words and life story, we can learn what it means to keep running forward into the future You have planned for us. … We tend to cling to things that have already happened, wishing they would have gone another way. …

Father, we pray for Your divine strength today to help us focus on the present. What do You have for us to do today, God? Help us to focus. This is the day You have made, Lord! Let us rejoice and be glad in it and in what’s to come—Jesus’ return and eternity with You in heaven. For all who claim Jesus as their Savior, this is what we have to look forward to.

Father, we pray Your voice echoes in our minds like my coach’s voice still rings in mine! Sometimes we need someone to believe in us more than we believe in ourselves! Jesus, You are always that person for us. You are our Savior, Messiah, Living Water, and Friend. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.—Meg Bucher²

“Be not weary nor faint in your mind” (Hebrews 12:3). It can be a struggle to keep going when things get tough. It takes faith and courage and a lot of fight! The trouble with some of us is that we stop trying in trying times. Some people faint in their minds. They give up mentally, they give up spiritually.

But the Bible says, “Men ought always to pray and not to faint” (Luke 18:1), and “Be not weary in well doing, for in due season ye shall reap if you faint not” (Galatians 6:9).

The will is powerful! “The spirit of a man will sustain him … but who can bear a broken spirit?” (Proverbs 18:14). Strong faith and a strong will have many times overcome seemingly insurmountable handicaps and obstacles!

When you’re weak and incapable and insufficient, then God has a chance to be strong and capable and sufficient in you. So don’t give up too soon; don’t get rescued prematurely; don’t quit just before the finish line. Anything wonderful can happen in that little margin of time when you don’t look back, you don’t give up, you don’t quit, but you keep on believing and keep on fighting! You’ll never be sorry you trusted Him. You’ll be glad throughout all eternity that you held on and kept on keeping on for Jesus!—David Brandt Berg

The Race

Whenever I start to hang my head in front of failure’s face,
my downward fall is broken by the memory of a race.
A children’s race, young boys, young men; how I remember well,
excitement sure, but also fear, it wasn’t hard to tell.
They all lined up so full of hope, each thought to win that race
or tie for first, or if not that, at least take second place.
Their parents watched from off the side, each cheering for their son,
and each boy hoped to show his folks that he would be the one.

The whistle blew and off they flew, like chariots of fire,
to win, to be the hero there, was each young boy’s desire.
One boy in particular, whose dad was in the crowd,
was running in the lead and thought “My dad will be so proud.”
But as he speeded down the field and crossed a shallow dip,
the little boy who thought he’d win, lost his step and slipped.
Trying hard to catch himself, his arms flew everyplace,
and midst the laughter of the crowd he fell flat on his face.
As he fell, his hope fell too; he couldn’t win it now.
Humiliated, he just wished to disappear somehow.

But as he fell, his dad stood up and showed his anxious face,
which to the boy so clearly said, “Get up and win that race!”
He quickly rose, no damage done, behind a bit that’s all,
and ran with all his mind and might to make up for his fall.
So anxious to restore himself, to catch up and to win,
his mind went faster than his legs. He slipped and fell again.
He wished that he had quit before with only one disgrace.
“I’m hopeless as a runner now, I shouldn’t try to race.”

But through the laughing crowd he searched and found his father’s face
with a steady look that said again, “Get up and win that race!”
So he jumped up to try again, ten yards behind the last.
“If I’m to gain those yards,” he thought, “I’ve got to run real fast!”
Exceeding everything he had, he regained eight, then ten…
but trying hard to catch the lead, he slipped and fell again.
Defeat! He lay there silently. A tear dropped from his eye.
“There’s no sense running anymore! Three strikes I’m out! Why try?
I’ve lost, so what’s the use?” he thought. “I’ll live with my disgrace.”
But then he thought about his dad, who soon he’d have to face.

“Get up,” an echo sounded low, “you haven’t lost at all,
for all you have to do to win is rise each time you fall.
“Get up!” the echo urged him on, “Get up and take your place!
You were not meant for failure here! Get up and win that race!”
So, up he rose to run once more, refusing to forfeit,
and he resolved that win or lose, at least he wouldn’t quit.
So far behind the others now, the most he’d ever been,
still he gave it all he had and ran like he could win.
Three times he’d fallen stumbling, three times he rose again.
Too far behind to hope to win, he still ran to the end.

They cheered another boy who crossed the line and won first place,
head high and proud and happy—no falling, no disgrace.
But, when the fallen youngster crossed the line, in last place,
the crowd gave him a greater cheer for finishing the race.
And even though he came in last with head bowed low, unproud,
you would have thought he’d won the race, to listen to the crowd.
And to his dad he sadly said, “I didn’t do so well.”
“To me, you won,” his father said. “You rose each time you fell.”

And now when things seem dark and bleak and difficult to face,
the memory of that little boy helps me in my own race.
For all of life is like that race, with ups and downs and all.
And all you have to do to win is rise each time you fall.
And when depression and despair shout loudly in my face,
another voice within me says, “Get up and win that race!”

—Attributed to Dr. D. H. “Dee” Groberg³

Published on Anchor May 2024. Read by Jon Marc.

¹ https://www.gotquestions.org/forgetting-those-things-which-are-behind.html

² https://www.ibelieve.com/devotionals/your-daily-prayer/a-prayer-to-stop-looking-back.html

³ http://holyjoe.org/poetry/anon3.htm

Running the Race Set Before Us

Treasures

2025-04-10

Since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.—Hebrews 12:1

In Hebrews chapter 11, which has been referred to as the “Faith Hall of Fame,” the Bible recounts the stories of the heroic men and women of faith of the Old Testament. Starting with Abel, the chapter gives a brief summary of the faith and obedience of renowned biblical characters such as Abraham and Sarah, Moses, Rahab, David, and the prophets. In Hebrews 12, the picture is painted of a stadium where the runners are set to run a race, and these heroes of the faith are depicted as the cheering section in the heavenly stadium, eagerly watching as present-day believers run the same race that they once ran.

Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we are then exhorted to “lay aside every weight” (Hebrews 12:1)—the things that slow us down or hinder us from running the race that God has set before us. Sometimes runners wear weights while training, in order to build up their muscles, and at times the Lord allows us to wear a few weights to test us and strengthen our spiritual muscles. But when these have served their purpose, we are told to lay them aside and run the race.

We are also told to lay aside “the sin that so easily entangles us,” or ensnares or clings closely to us. What is sin? The New Testament uses a variety of words when speaking of sin, which are translated as transgress, miss the mark, failure, wrongdoing, deviate from the right path, unrighteousness of heart and life, ungodliness, unbelief, disobedience, and falling away. In short, sin is turning away from God, His Word, and His will. So, “let us lay aside the weights and the sins”—anything that holds us back from doing our best to be what God wants us to be and pursuing His will and ways in our lives.

Then, after laying aside all these weights and distractions and sins, we are called to “run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Not only do we have to believe in God, but we have to do His will and His work. As long as you are striving to walk in His will and His ways, you’re running the race.

We can only have the endurance and perseverance to run the race by putting our faith and trust in the Lord. If we don’t have our eyes fixed on God, we can be tempted to lose heart and quit when challenges arise and we grow weary. But the Apostle Paul points out what’s at stake and the high calling we are pursuing: “I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us” (Philippians 3:14).

We have each been called to run a race that has been marked out for us by the Lord, and we’re to run with perseverance the race that is set before us, being faithful to follow the Lord however and wherever He has called us. The only way we can have the endurance we need to run and finish this race is by “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” We have to keep our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus and consider all that He endured for our salvation so that we don’t “become weary and discouraged in our souls” (Hebrews 12:2–3).

Keeping the faith

In his first epistle, the Apostle Peter writes about the eternal gift we have been given in Jesus of being “born again to a living hope” and “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” that is being kept in heaven for us (1 Peter 1:3–4). He then goes on to speak about the trials and tests that all believers will face in this life: “Though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6–7).

The Bible teaches us that the Lord will sometimes allow us to go through times of trials and tests to grow our faith and draw us close to Him. The story of Job in the Old Testament provides a good example of this.

We read in the Bible that God spoke about Job to Satan, saying “There is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil” (Job 1:8). But Satan challenged God, saying, “No wonder he fears You! You have hedged him about on every side to protect him and You have blessed the work of his hands and given him many possessions. Let me work him over and we’ll see if he remains faithful!” (Job 1:9–12).

So God allowed Satan to inflict many tests and afflictions on Job. Job lost his family, his wealth, and his health (Job 1:13–19). His initial reaction has resounded throughout history, as “Job fell on the ground and worshiped.” And he went on to say, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:20–21).

Despite the terrible losses on every front that Job went through and struggled to make sense of, the Lord won a great victory out of what looked like a terrible defeat in the making. When things couldn’t have been going worse for Job and his future couldn’t have looked darker, he declared, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15). This is a beautiful testimony of sustaining faith in the face of great suffering, defeat, and discouragement.

The Lord rewarded Job for his faith, and we read at the end of the story that “the Lord restored the fortunes of Job … and gave him twice as much as he had before, and … blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning” (Job 42:10–12).

While some experiences we face may be very painful at the time, we have God’s promise that “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).—Not some things or certain things but all things.

One thing is certain: God knows what He’s doing, and He loves us and cares for us as our heavenly Father. Whenever we don’t understand why He allows something to happen in our lives, we have to continue to trust Him, and bring every care, concern, worry, and anxiety to Him, knowing that He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). We can’t always know why God allows certain things to happen, and in some cases, we may never know till we get to heaven. His Word says that just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9).

One of the great questions of this life is why God allows seemingly bad or evil things to happen to people, and specifically to Christians, as His children. We can see part of the answer to that question and understand some of the reasons, but we won’t fully comprehend this until the next life when we can see the whole picture. As Paul wrote: “All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

In the meantime, we have to trust God no matter what we face, even if we don’t understand why some things happen. It could be that God permits some things to happen in our lives that we don’t understand, as Job experienced, to test our faith as we learn to trust Him no matter what. We can recite to ourselves, as Job did: “Though I have been facing tough times and I don’t understand why, yet will I trust Him! Though I face the loss of a loved one or affliction threatens me or someone close to Me, yet will I trust Him. Though I can’t make sense of what is happening in my life or the world around me, yet will I trust Him.”

The Bible even tells us to “count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:2–3). That’s the greatest victory of all, when you face overwhelming challenges that seem impossible to overcome, and yet you still persevere in your faith and unwaveringly trust the Lord. That pleases the Lord greatly when you choose to trust Him in the face of loss, tragedy, disaster, or agony.

After Hebrews 11 commemorates the martyrs and saints of the past, the chapter goes on to say that “these all died in faith” (Hebrews 11:13). That is the greatest thing that could be said of them. They died without receiving all that God had promised them—some were even martyred—but they never lost faith; they never lost heart. They died trusting God, in anticipation of the promise of a heavenly country to come, which God had prepared for them (Hebrews 11:14–16).

Despite the trials and challenges of life we as Christians will face, we can “rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” because we know that we will “obtain the outcome of our faith—the salvation of our souls” (1 Peter 1:8–9). We can count our blessings even in the midst of our trials and struggles, as we keep our eyes on the promised prize waiting for us at the end of the race. We stand on the Bible’s promise that “blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12).

Paul’s reflections as he neared the end of his life journey offer great encouragement to all who love the Lord. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7–8).

May God bless you as you continue to keep the faith, run the race, and fight the good fight of faith, with your eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).

Writing Your Story with God

January 9, 2026

Dr. David Jeremiah’s New Year Message of Faith and Purpose

Start your year with direction, hope, and purpose. In this powerful message, Dr. David Jeremiah explores how your life is part of God’s unfolding story—and how you can navigate your personal journey with faith, growth, and spiritual clarity.

In this message, you’ll discover:

What it means to “write your story” with God
Why life is best understood as a spiritual journey
How to face difficult paths without losing faith
What the Bible teaches about your divine purpose
How to prepare for the “perfect day” promised in Scripture

Based on Proverbs 4 and other key scriptures, Dr. Jeremiah offers timeless encouragement for anyone seeking to walk more closely with God in the year ahead.

Run time for this video is 28 minutes. The sermon starts after an ad at the 2:50 mark and ends at the 24:53 minute mark.

https://youtu.be/pS_IkGBVniA

When Attitude Determines Altitude

January 8, 2026

By Maria Fontaine

Audio length: 12:32

Download Audio (11.4MB)

We are now into the new year, and you have likely been thinking and praying about the future. The beginning of a new year is an appropriate time to review the past year and pray about the coming year. Doing this is good when it results in positive plans and goals, but sometimes it can also bring a sense of dread or anxiety about the future. We know that each year of our lives is different in many ways, and there’s much that we can’t anticipate or prepare for, so we need to trust God.

The following is a message from Jesus with some good counsel on how to approach the year ahead. (If you feel so led, you might want to send it to a friend or family member.)

(Jesus:) Major changes that result in challenges can either weaken you or bring you closer to Me. If you give in to fear rather than faith, these things can hinder your growth, but if you use the circumstances you face to bring you closer to Me, you can come through with greater faith, wisdom, compassion, and determination to place yourself even more securely in My hands. Dark times are opportunities for you, My children, to shine!

Some of you are facing very challenging situations. However, it’s not what you will face that is as important as how you choose to face it. Battling anxiety or the temptation to fear is not a sign of weakness but rather an opportunity to show that I count you worthy to team up with Me in order to turn those fears into overcoming faith!

Each of you will encounter many challenges, and I know those circumstances can benefit you. But whatever you will face in the coming year, know that I can cause all things to work together for your good in the end. (See Romans 8:28 and the Anchor post “Counted Worthy.”)

If you are facing financial concerns, you can trust in Me when I say that you don’t need to worry. I’ve done miracles to meet your needs in the past and I will do whatever it takes to keep you in the future. What matters most is your foundation of faith and our bond that continues to grow. As you seek Me and follow My leading, all the things you need will be added in My perfect time.

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). How do you seek My kingdom?—By reaching out to others who need the truth. How do you seek My righteousness?—By sitting at My feet and learning from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and in doing so, you will find rest to your souls (Matthew 11:29).

Then, all these other things will be added unto you: the provision you need to fulfill your tasks in this life, the greater faith to hold on to Me through anything, the peace that passes the understanding of your mind, and the love and compassion to reach the hearts of those who need Me.

If, as you read this, you take it to heart, then I will give you the strength, faith, determination and endurance you need, and you will come through as even finer gold. (End of message from Jesus.)

We have suggested in the past that it may be helpful at the beginning of a new year to find a verse or several verses that speak to your heart and write them down, read them often, and claim them throughout the coming year, so that they can strengthen your faith and help you to walk through the new year with the assurance that only Jesus can give.

I was excited to get rolling with this challenge! My only problem was that the Lord was showing me so many verses that I wanted to use in this way. With my poor memory and bad eyesight, it was going to take a miracle for me to do this. But it was what the Lord wanted me to step out to do, and I knew that if I was challenging you to do something, I should be willing to do it, too. So, I said, “Okay, Lord, I’ll give it my best try. It’ll have to be You.”

We each will discover specific verses that Jesus shows us to implant in our hearts (Proverbs 7:3). But to give you an idea of some possible verses that might be a blessing to you, I thought I would share a few that the Lord has given me to memorize and review often as I walk through this year.

The first verse the Lord gave me for the new year was “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Other verses that the Lord gave me to review were: “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us: And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desire of him” (1 John 5:14–15)

I also felt it was fitting for me to memorize, review, and apply what Jesus told the Father when facing what must have been the toughest challenge of His life on earth in the garden of Gethsemane: “Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me: nevertheless, not My will but Thine be done” (Luke 22:42).

After each prayer, I try to tell the Lord, “This is what I think is going to be best, but if You know this isn’t what is best, then, not my will but Thine be done.” And you know, that’s more difficult to say to the Lord and really mean it than you might imagine. Why? Because doing this requires unconditional trust in His love.

Through the years, God has given each of us wisdom that comes from Him. As James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

We know that when we ask for wisdom, God gives it to us abundantly. We could say to the Lord, “Why do we have to say ‘Thy will be done’? You’ve already given us so much of Your wisdom. Shouldn’t we know what is the wisest thing much of the time by now?” But in answer to this question, the Lord said to me: “I’ve given My children some wisdom in areas where they have sought it and were willing to accept it, but My wisdom is still infinitely greater than yours. I see things that you don’t see.”

Wisdom is not something that we simply ask for and presto, we are all-wise. He often gives us that wisdom through the experiences He allows us to go through. Like that poem by Hazrat Inayat Khan:

I asked for strength and God gave me difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for wisdom and God gave me problems to solve.
I asked for prosperity and God gave me brawn and brain to work.
I asked for courage and God gave me dangers to overcome.
I asked for patience and God placed me in situations where I was forced to wait.
I asked for love and God gave me troubled people to help.
I asked for favors and God gave me opportunities.
I received not what I wanted but everything I needed.
My Prayer Has Been Answered.

And so, I told Jesus, “I’m ready to put the business of knowing what is best in Your hands. You can bring good out of anything. That’s what all my prayers are asking You for. My faith can stretch that far.”

However, just when we feel like the Lord has stretched our faith as far as it will go, He sometimes has a little more stretching for us! Someone wrote me and said: “If you’re going to memorize a verse (or several), something that can help is to record the verses or have someone else record them or even use a text-to-speech program. And then you can listen to them over and over as often as you like. I have done that when working to memorize something and it’s been helpful. Eventually, it sticks in your mind almost without your realizing it.”

That sounded a bit unrealistic in my specific situation because my day is often filled with a wide variety of things that leave few periods of time to sit and listen to such a recording. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a try. A very beautiful song that I have wanted to remember the words to came to mind. You’ve probably heard it, and you may even know it very well. It’s called “Whom Shall I Fear—God of Angel Armies” by Chris Tomlin.¹ I suppose most people could remember the lyrics fairly easily, but I have to do a lot more before I can get them down pat.

So, to help me remember the lyrics that speak to my heart in this song, the Lord showed me a way to make it work. I have a set of wireless headphones so that I can have it playing over and over with the “repeat” setting on as I go around the house. If I need to focus on something else for a few moments, I can turn the headphones off. The song keeps playing and I can get back to it when I am available, simply by switching my headphones back on.

If you don’t know this song already, I think it would be worth listening to it. Here are some excerpts of the words.

You hear me when I call
You are my morning song
Though darkness fills the night
It cannot hide the light.

And then it goes on to say:

You crush the enemy
Underneath my feet,
You are my sword and shield
Though troubles linger still.

I’m so glad that the songwriter put some of these points in that are so important.

The one who reigns forever
He is a friend of mine.

How beautiful is that?!

Whom shall I fear?

I know who goes before me
I know who stands behind.
The God of angel armies
Is always by my side.

My strength is in your name
For you alone can save.
You will deliver me,
Yours is the victory.

And nothing formed against me shall stand.
You hold the whole world in your hands,
I’m holding on to your promises.

You are faithful.
You are faithful.

As a final thought on this topic of facing the future with an attitude of faith and trust in Jesus, and the need to keep our eyes on the Lord rather than circumstances or people, I want to share a parting thought from Pope John XXIII: “Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.”

With Jesus, nothing shall be impossible!

Originally published January 2023. Adapted and republished January 2026. Read by Lenore Welsh.

¹ Hear the song with lyrics (4:28) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOkImV2cJDg

5 Ways to Improve Your Christian Walk with a Daily Devotional

January 7, 2026

Jordan An

Are you looking to grow in your faith and improve your Christian walk? Consider establishing a daily devotional habit.

A daily devotional serves as a guide to help you engage with Scripture, reflect on God’s truth, and apply biblical wisdom to your life. Whether you’re just beginning your faith journey or have been walking with God for years, making devotional time a regular part of your routine can strengthen your spiritual life in profound ways.

Here are five practical ways to improve your Christian walk with a daily devotional.

(Read the article here.)

https://todaydevotional.com/blog/5-ways-to-improve-your-christian-walk-with-a-daily-devotional

Embracing Life’s Seasons

January 6, 2026

A compilation

Audio length: 14:18

Download Audio (13.1MB)

As humans, we all have to undergo many changes in our lives. From getting married, having kids, starting a new job or business, losing a loved one, and more are all indicators that we are about to undergo a season of transition and change.

Seasons of transition and change can be confusing, overwhelming, and just plain scary sometimes. The possibilities of what’s ahead may seem endless and cause great worry when you don’t know what the future holds. Although these times of transition and change may cause great worry, we must remember that our God is the one who holds our future. … We serve a God who knows the beginning and the end.

We must remember that our God is walking alongside us as we undergo these many changes in our lives and is well aware of our concerns. One of the greatest ways to remind ourselves of what God has to say during these times of transition and change is reading His Word. God has left us with His Word to help give us peace during these seasons where everything around us or in us is changing.

Here are [some] scriptures to meditate on during seasons of transition and change:

“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland” (Isaiah 43:19).

“Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you” (Deuteronomy 31:8).

“The Lord says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you’” (Psalm 32:8).

“For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

“For I hold you by your right hand—I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you’” (Isaiah 41:13).

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7).—Crystal Monroe¹

Times of transformation

It is often the times of change, hardship, and transition that God uses to transform His people into His likeness to be a people who declare His praise. A simple truth about transition is that life is one big transition as God changes us to be conformed to Christ (Romans 8:28–30). Much of this time of growth isn’t pretty, but is filled with hard days marked by persevering faith that God provides. And as He is with us, draws near, and changes us, He produces character and hope in Him through the Spirit (Romans 5:3–5). …

Here are some truths we can cling to as we find our hope in Jesus, in the gospel, and in God’s goodness amidst the changing seasons of life.

—Seasons of change grow our trust in God and ability to rely on Him. … This can be so hard as we wait for what’s next, as we settle into a new rhythm of life, or as our lives are in a bit of upheaval. But the truth that God is fully trustworthy is one that we can cling to and rely on as He builds our trust in Him in the unknown. Knowing He is sovereignly in control can bring peace and dependence on His plan and goodness in all of life. …

—Change is a time to actively give thanks to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith who is with us every step of the way! No matter what season we’re in, we can have confidence that God is present with us, cares, and can bring us His perfect peace. For that we give Him great thanks and praise!

—Prayer is a key to allowing God to work in these times. In all the waiting, unknown, and change, we must give each moment over to the Lord, trusting in His goodness along the way and surrendering our own plans to Him.

—God is our complete satisfaction and fulfillment. These times bring us to our knees reminding us that Jesus is our true satisfaction; He is all we need. It is not our home, our schedule, our comforts, or our own securities that keep us secure, it is our good Savior who is with us, loves us, cares, and fully satisfies every longing of our hearts. …

We have a God who is faithful, He is with us, and He is always working in every season of life to transform and redeem His creation to display His glory.—Gospel in Everyday²

Searching for the treasures

In the Bible, King Solomon described the cycle of life in Ecclesiastes 3 by seasons—seasons of birth and of death, of planting and of harvesting, of trying and of giving up, of gaining and of losing, of grieving and of laughing. He prefaced this by declaring, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

One thing that is certain in life is that we all go through seasons, which will often require navigating change and new challenges. Some seasons of life we will look forward to and embrace with gratitude and joy. Other seasons of life may be difficult ones, with loss, tragedy, or health challenges. In every season, we know that God is with us and working in and through our circumstances for our good (Romans 8:28).

There are seasons where God is at work in our lives to shape something new in our hearts. We experience seasons where blessings abound, and seasons where the blessings are hidden and we have to search for them, and in the process we grow closer to Him. “And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness—secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name” (Isaiah 45:3).

No matter what season we’re currently living in, we can search for the treasures this time holds for us—even during the trying seasons of life.—Ronan Keane

Trusting the God of all seasons

“I am the Lord, and there is no other. I create the light and make the darkness. I send good times and bad times. I, the Lord, am the one who does these things” (Isaiah 45:6–7).

Life is full of seasons. Some are bright and joyful, filled with blessings and clarity. Others feel dark and heavy, marked by pain, uncertainty, or loss. In this passage, God reminds us that He is Lord over every season—both the light and the darkness, the good times and the bad.

The world offers many explanations for why things happen—chance, luck, human power—but God declares: “I am the Lord, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:6). There is no rival. No one else shapes history or holds our future. This truth anchors us when life feels unstable.

God says He creates both light and darkness. Light symbolizes joy, truth, and blessing. Darkness often represents confusion, trial, or hardship. Both are realities of life, and both fall under His rule. We can take comfort that darkness never has the final word—because even in it, God is present and working.

When Isaiah’s words were spoken, Israel was in exile. They needed to hear that Babylon and Persia weren’t in control—God was. The same is true for us. Our lives are not shaped by random chance or hostile forces but by a God who rules with wisdom and love.

Because the Lord is sovereign over every season, we can rest when life feels chaotic. We can worship with confidence, knowing His rule never changes. We can endure trials with hope, believing God brings purpose out of pain.

Seasons change, but God remains the same. Whether you are walking in sunlight or shadow today, take heart: the Lord of every season holds you in His hand.—Mark Cole³

A purpose for every season

Life is made up of different seasons—some pleasant, others painful; some filled with joy, others with challenges. Just as nature experiences spring, summer, autumn, and winter, so also do we face various seasons in our spiritual journey. The writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us that “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” This truth calls us to recognise that God is sovereign over every moment of our lives.

Whether you are in a season of abundance or lack, laughter or tears, growth or pruning, one constant must remain: our trust in God. Trusting God in every season means acknowledging His perfect timing, surrendering to His plan, and walking by faith even when the path is unclear. [We can] embrace every season as a divine appointment rather than a setback, knowing that God is always working behind the scenes for our good and His glory.—Samuel Arimoro⁴

Published on Anchor January 2026. Read by Debra Lee. Music by Michael Fogarty.

¹ Crystal Monroe, “10 Scriptures to Meditate on During Seasons of Transition and Change,” confidentwomanco.com, July 17, 2022, https://confidentwomanco.com/2022/07/17/10-scriptures-to-meditate-on-during-seasons-of-transition-and-change

² “The Gospel and Transitions in Life,” raisingeverydaydisciples.com, https://raisingeverydaydisciples.com/the-gospel-and-transitions-in-life

³ Mark Cole, “Trusting the God of All Seasons,” www.markcole.ca, September 29, 2025, https://www.markcole.ca/trusting-the-god-of-all-seasons

⁴ Samuel Arimoro, “Trusting God in Every Season,” samuelarimoro.wordpress.com, June 2, 2025, https://samuelarimoro.wordpress.com/2025/06/02/trusting-god-in-every-season

Spreading the Good News

January 5, 2026

By Peter Amsterdam

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The Bible declares that this world, and our lives within it, are not all that there is, and that this life is only a portion of our existence as our spirits continue to live after the death of our bodies. God’s Word also teaches that it’s only possible for us, as humans, to be in God’s presence in the afterlife if we are first reconciled with Him. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

In His great love for the world and each of us in it, God made it possible to bridge the gap between us and Him through Jesus, who gave His life for our sins. Because of this great act of love, our sins are forgiven when we receive Jesus as our Savior, and therefore we will live in God’s presence in the life to come (Ephesians 2:4–6). This is the profound truth that we, as Christians, believe. What a tremendous comfort to know that, because of Jesus’ sacrifice, everyone who receives Him will live with God eternally in the life to come!

There is also a sad part to this story, which is that not everyone has heard the truth of God’s plan of salvation, and many people don’t know or don’t understand or haven’t accepted that eternal life with God is available to them through faith in Jesus. Most of us didn’t know this either, until we heard it from another Christian, either personally or through Christian publications or via the media. Because we were told, we believed, and we inherited eternal life. “For by grace you have been saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8–9).

I came to faith because my high school friend witnessed to me, patiently answered my questions, and kept the explanations simple enough that I could understand. He showed me some key Bible verses, which spoke powerfully to me. He showed interest, patience, concern, and understanding as he answered my questions and explained God’s deep love for me. My life was completely changed because when I was searching and seeking for answers, someone took the time to witness to me and share their faith.

Perhaps you have a similar story. Someone told you about Jesus or perhaps you heard about salvation from a preacher, or someone witnessed to you at school, or on the street, or in a restaurant. Perhaps it was a friend, a relative, or someone at work, or someone sitting next to you on a bus, train, or plane.

The ways in which we manifest Jesus’ love, acceptance, and compassion for others in our everyday lives—the lives we lead, the love we show, the light of God’s Spirit radiating from within us—is an important part of drawing people to the Lord. But words of explanation are also necessary. We need to talk about the Lord, salvation, and faith to those with whom we interact. As the apostle Paul wrote: “For ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them?” (Romans 10:13–14).

People telling others about the gospel is key to conveying the understanding that there is life beyond this life, and that because of God’s deep love for humanity, He has given us the gift, the opportunity, of living with Him forever through Jesus’ death on the cross. If Christians don’t do the “telling,” then many people will miss the opportunity to hear this wonderful news and be saved. No matter what our situation, the call to share this news is always before us. Jesus said: “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit” (John 20:21, 15:16).

Each of us has received the free gift of salvation—free for us but costly for Jesus. He gave all of Himself to redeem humankind, but He depends on us and has commissioned us as Christians to share the message with others. And if we fail to do so, there is no guarantee they’ll hear it some other way.

The apostle Paul succinctly expressed how important sharing the gospel with others is when he stated, “For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16). Other Bible translations of this verse translate this as “An obligation is laid on me” (NRS), “I am compelled to preach” (NIV). Another version expresses it like this: “I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News!” (NLT).

As Christians, we have been given the greatest gift anyone can ever receive. We have found the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45–46). We have the privilege of entrance into the kingdom of heaven. Multitudes yearn for what we already know and have received, whether they realize it or not.

Because of God’s love and mercy, we are privileged to know the truth, the purpose and meaning of life. We have a relationship with God, our heavenly Father, that will extend into eternity. Others are seeking for the answers and purpose and to understand the meaning of life, and God, in His love, wants them to have the opportunity to know the way, the truth, and the life that can only be found through Jesus (John 14:6). How sad, how deeply regrettable it is, when we as Christians, who are so richly blessed, don’t share the truth with others, when Jesus’ directive to share the good news with others is ignored.

It most definitely can be a challenge to do this with the busy lives we all lead. Yet Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross for each one of us, and another Christian sacrificed time and effort to share the good news with us. As has been said, Christ alone can save this world, but Christ can’t save this world alone. Someone has to tell people about Jesus and salvation, and when God brings a person across our path, we are that someone.

If we truly recognize the deep love and concern God has for each person, and that Jesus gave His life so they can possess eternal life, then we will feel compelled to tell those whom the Lord leads us to or brings across our path—even if it’s inconvenient, difficult, costly, or humbling.

We are directed by the Savior of our souls to present the opportunity to know Him to others—to bring the awareness of the great gift that was freely given to us to those who have not yet heard or understood the gospel message. Are we willing to do this? Do we pray for souls, and then put feet to our prayers? Do we pray for laborers who will share the message with others, and are we willing to be those laborers ourselves? Do we pray for the Lord to bring those who are searching across our path? Do we ask the Holy Spirit to lead us to those who will respond to God’s love? Are we willing to give some of our time, effort, thought, prayer, and action toward the commission Jesus has given us? When faced with someone in need of eternal life, do we take action by sharing the message of salvation with them?

We have been commissioned to be His witnesses and to proclaim the gospel through our lives, our words, and our actions. “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

If we’re committed to doing what Jesus has asked of us, we will do our part to share the good news with others. If we realize the eternal effect it will have on someone’s life and future, we will be faithful to His great commission. If we love our neighbors as ourselves, as Jesus taught us to, then we will be compelled to let them know how deeply God loves them, and to show them how they can enter the kingdom of heaven through believing in Jesus.

Let’s each do our part to spread the good news and help others to come to faith in Jesus and to receive His gift of salvation and eternal life.

Originally published April 2013. Adapted and republished January 2026. Read by Jon Marc.

What Everybody Needs Is Love!

1984-01-01

No matter what country you’re from, what religion you believe in or what color your skin is, your heart is the same as other people’s hearts all around the world.—There is no difference! Our desire and need for love and peace and happiness is made by God, and the same in everyone the world over.

Whoever we are and wherever we are from, the simple answer to all of our problems is the same as it has always been for every age and every generation: love.—True love, real love, God’s love!

What everybody needs is love! This is God’s answer to all the problems of today as well as to all the problems of the past.—An answer which has always been so simple and childlike that many people find it hard to believe! But this is still God’s solution, even in such a confused and complicated world as we live in today.

It’s just that simple: If we love God, if we have His love in our hearts, we will love and care for each other. We will then follow His rules of life, liberty and happiness, and all will be well and happy as we follow Him.

For it is man’s rejection of God’s love and His loving laws that causes most of the evils and troubles in the world today. If people would love God and each other, they would not be mean and selfish. The rich wouldn’t rob the poor, those with plenty wouldn’t let their neighbors suffer hunger, disease or overwork without helping them, and they certainly wouldn’t fight cruel wars in which they kill and wound each other.

This is why Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love.—To first of all love God, and then to love your neighbor as yourself. In fact, He said that these two simple laws fulfil all the laws of God (Matthew 22:37-39). In other words, love fulfils all the law!—God’s only law is love!

Of course, a lot of people say, “Oh, I don’t believe in God!” But if you were to ask them if they believe in love, they’d probably reply, “Of course I believe in love!” Well, if they can believe in love, then they can believe in God.—Because the Bible says, “God is love!” (1 John 4:8). So real love, God’s love, is all the religion you need, because God is love, and love is God!

God is not only love, but Jesus also said that “God is a Spirit!” (John 4:24). He is the Great Spirit of Love that created you and me and this beautiful world and the entire universe! He is so big and so great that He is far beyond our human understanding. But God loved us so much that He wanted us to somehow know and love Him, so to show us His love and to help us to understand Himself, He sent His Own Son to Earth in the form of a man, Jesus Christ.

Jesus was like a picture of God, to show us what God Himself is like.—And that picture is a picture of love, because all Jesus did was talk about love and show love and live love. Then finally, in love, He gave His life for you and me, so that we could have God’s love, forgiveness and free gift of eternal life if we would just receive Him into our hearts.

So if you feel that you don’t have enough love, maybe it’s because you haven’t yet found God’s love by receiving His Son Jesus!—There is a hollowness, an empty spot that He has placed in each of our hearts that only He can fill, and that nothing else will ever truly satisfy. So if you’d like Him to fill that spot in your life, all you have to do is open your heart to Him.

To receive God’s love is so simple that Jesus said you must become as a little child to enter His spiritual Kingdom of love and joy! He said, “Unless you humble yourself and become as a little child, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:3).

All you need to do is confess that you’re not perfect, that you have made mistakes and that you need God’s forgiveness. The Bible says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). In other words, we’ve all done wrong, so we all need to be forgiven, because without forgiveness of sin, we’d be separated from God’s perfect Love.

But you cannot save yourself! The Bible tells us, “By grace (God’s love and mercy) we are saved through faith, and not of ourselves or our own good deeds. It is the free gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8,9). No matter what good things you do or how religious you try to be, it’s impossible to save yourself.—It’s a gift of God! And the gift God gave is JESUS!

“For God so loved the world (you and me), that He gave His Own Son (Jesus), that whoever believes in Him should never die (be separated from God’s love), but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). God loved you so much that He gave Jesus to die in your place, to take the punishment that you deserve for your sins.—And all you have to do is believe and receive Him!

Jesus promised that if you open up your heart, if you ask Him to come in, He will come in. He says, “Behold, I stand at the door (of your heart), and knock: If any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him” (Revelations 3:20).

You can receive Jesus right now by praying this simple prayer: “Dear Jesus, please forgive me for all my sins. I believe You are the Son of God and that You died for me, and I now invite You into my heart. Jesus, please come in and help me to love others and tell them about You so they may find You too. In Jesus’ name I ask, Amen.”

If you prayed and meant this prayer, Jesus is now in your heart. And you have love that you will never lose, that will never let you go, for you are His child forever!—”For he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life” (John 3:36).

We hope these words of love have helped you to find the love you need to make you happy!—And that others will find happiness through your love too! God bless you and make you a blessing with His love.

If you’d like to find out more about how His love can change hearts, read the beautiful story of Jesus in the Gospels of the Bible, We love you!

A Millennial Second Chance?

David Brandt Berg

1982-10-01

People don’t realize how down to earth the Millennium is going to be. You’ll still be dealing with physical kingdoms and people. We’re going to have one monumental job of reeducation to do! I think that’s what the Millennium is about: to give people a second chance.

That was one of the great controversies of the church, as to whether anybody was going to get saved during the Millennium, and if not, what was it for? I’m inclined to agree with the side that believes that if those who will be alive then are not saved like us, at least they will be somehow improved and certainly have a better chance. He says, “More blessed are they that having not seen, yet have believed” (John 20:29). In the Millennium they’re going to see and believe. They won’t rate A-plus-number-ones like us, because we were willing to believe without seeing, but they will believe having seen, as Thomas did. The Lord didn’t completely condemn him for it; He let him see, and he believed.

The Millennium must be for some kind of improvement and for accomplishing something. If it’s not going to accomplish something and if the burn-up at the end means that the Millennium was a flop—it was a failure and accomplished nothing, and the Lord finally had to burn up everything and everyone anyhow—what good is that?

About the only comfort I ever got out of it before was what the Bible says, and what I heard one preacher say: “At least we will have shown that though mercy be shown to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness” (Isaiah 26:10). But do we have to spend a thousand years just showing that the wicked are still going to be wicked after so much time? Why waste all that time, a full thousand years, when it’s not going to do any good and God will have to burn up the whole works in the end anyhow?

I think there is going to be a chance for some people who didn’t know any better. What about all the people who never really heard the Gospel, who never had a chance to receive Christ? We have missionaries running into people in China all the time who have heard the name of Jesus but don’t know anything about Him. They haven’t really heard the Word, the Gospel, or how to get saved.

I believe the Millennium is a second chance for people who didn’t get a chance under present circumstances. They won’t be saved like us, because we had to have a lot of faith to believe having not seen. Whereas the people who live in the Millennium will actually see the kingdom of God on earth and angels and maybe even have a chance to catch a glimpse of Jesus. Who knows? They can see the literal, physical kingdom of God on earth run by the saints and the angels and the Lord—and they’re bound to believe.

I believe there are going to be a lot of people who will not only believe it, but will also receive, who probably didn’t have a chance to hear the Gospel before or really understand, believe, or receive. The Lord’s plan is not going to be defeated. They’ll be another class, who having seen have believed. They’re going to receive and believe and be willing to be reeducated, retrained, and learn all the things that they need to know.

I don’t believe everything’s going to be magical and supernatural and you’ll suddenly know everything. I don’t think God is going to let some people get by with it that easily, for one thing—not the human survivors. It’s going to be another testing period, another trial period for them. Maybe for us too, in a way, to see what good rulers we’ll make, just like the movies you may have seen about novice angels and apprentice angels.

I think it’s going to be another period of learning for us, learning leadership. We’re going to rule earthly cities and countries, nations, continents, and train physical people just like we are now. Only they will be the people who have survived the Tribulation, the wrath of God, and Armageddon.

The Lord does not annihilate everybody at His coming, nor even in the wrath of God that follows, nor Armageddon when we return and wipe out the forces of the Antichrist and his followers; otherwise there would be no Millennium. Where would the Devil get his followers who rebel again at the end of the Millennium? There’s been no resurrection of the wicked yet. The resurrection of the wicked doesn’t occur until the Great White Throne Judgment, after the destruction of the world at the end of the Millennium.

Where are all these people and nations we’re going to rule over in the Millennium if they died in Armageddon? It’s obvious that there are going to be lots of survivors. So who is the Lord going to let survive? Probably the most worthy and deserving, and maybe a few of the most unworthy just to show that they’ll never change.

But I believe a lot of people are going to change, and I think it’s going to be part of our job to reeducate them. They’re going to be just as human as you and me; they’re not going to be any more supernatural in their intelligence or their mental capacities or their learning capacities than we are right now. We will be there to help them and enlighten them, but they’re still going to have to learn, in a sense, the hard way just as we did.

I’m just trying to show you that we’ll have a lot to do in the Millennium; it’s not over just because the Lord’s there. It’s going to be one grand job to straighten out this world, and to clean it up in the first place. Think of the mess it’s going to be in after the Tribulation, the wrath of God, and Armageddon! In Israel alone they’re going to spend seven months burying the dead and seven years getting rid of all the junk—in one little country (Ezekiel 39:9,12). And it’s going to be worldwide.

It’s going to take a thousand years to clean up the world, to clean up the people and to see who can be salvaged and who can’t. If you don’t want to use the term “saved,” let’s say “salvaged.” By the time we’ve got those salvaged who can be salvaged, when they finally do hear the Gospel, gladly receive it, and obey and follow and learn and study and progress and deserve something better than hell, then God’s ready for the new heaven and the new earth. We’re going to enter the Heavenly City and they’re going to enter the new earth.

But there will still be those who are so incorrigible and rebellious and unregenerate—the people who follow the Devil right at the end of the Millennium—that they’re going to merit hell. After all that, they are going to really get what they deserve, and everybody is going to know they really deserve it. They had every chance to repent and change and receive and believe and obey, and yet they rebelled against Christ’s visible kingdom.

In the scriptures it doesn’t sound like we’re going to have to wait until the end of the Millennium to be in the Heavenly City. That’s where we’re going to enjoy the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and I think that’s where we’re going to come down from to wipe out the Antichrist and the Devil and his forces in the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 19:11–21). It’s the only safe place to be with all those wicked still around, nations still rebelling in the Millennium. It’s described in the Old Testament, in Zechariah and in other places—they obviously rebel, and it says so in the New Testament in Revelation 20:9.

Some people are going to obey and be blessed for it, and some people are going to disobey and be cursed for it—all during the Millennium. It’s another trial period, another testing period, another chance to repent. God’s giving them a second chance and He is going to manage to somehow salvage some who are a little more worthwhile than others. God had to make it a little easier for some of the weak people who are going to live through the Millennium and still give them a chance. He’s going to work with faithful Christians who were diligent and sincere and did their best.

The Millennium is almost like a repeat of this era, but there will be quite a few differences. For one thing, we’re going to be running the world instead of them, and we’re going to have a lot of advantages. And the people who suffered from ignorance in this phase, in this next phase during the Millennium they’re all going to be enlightened. “No man shall say, Know the Lord, for all shall know Him. Righteousness shall cover the earth as the waters cover the seas.—To the uttermost parts of the earth, with the heathen for our inheritance” (Jeremiah 31:34; Habakkuk 2:14; Isaiah 11:9; Psalm 2:8).

It’s going to be a whole new kettle of fish in some ways, but it’s going to be similar, except with a lot of advantages. We’re going to have supernatural bodies and wisdom, skill, power, and protection, and we’re going to run the world. And when we’ve done the best we can and salvaged all those we can for a thousand years, then He’s going to let the Devil loose for a little while to go out and deceive the ones that are left, to sift them again to see who would be stupid enough to try to rebel against the kingdom of God after all that (Revelation 20:7–9).

I believe we’re just getting ready for the really big job ahead. The Bible talks about resting from your labors (Hebrews 4:9–11). If so, maybe that will be for a little while when we go to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and have a little vacation. But obviously the Battle of Armageddon isn’t going to be a rest. That’s a big fight, that’s work, as is running the Millennium.

And what about those people outside the Heavenly City in the new heaven and the new earth? If they still need healing from the leaves from the Tree of Life, they probably still need a lot of other things (Revelation 22:2). What kind of healing do they need the most? Mental healing, spiritual healing, reeducation. Maybe that’s going to be a new phase of their continued education and their continued edification and instruction and learning how to live for God.

Obviously God is not done. If we’ve got to take leaves off the Tree of Life that grow along the sides of the river in the Heavenly City, and we’ve got to go out and heal the nations, there must still be something to do. I don’t see us just sitting around doing nothing. I don’t think God has any such idea. He’s always busy, He’s always working. He takes a little rest now and then, maybe once a week, I don’t know.

I believe each of these eras, or ages as He calls them in the Bible, is a new stage in our development and their development and our helping them to develop in education, and then reeducation and further improvements and developments. You talk about the underdeveloped nations. They’re all underdeveloped compared to what they’re going to be in the Millennium, and much more so compared to what they’re going to be in the new earth! So we’ve got a long ways to go and a lot to do.

(Prayer:) Lord, thank You for this little time together to unite our hearts and encourage each other and inspire us with greater unity of the spirit. “For where two or three are gathered together in Your name, there are You in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). Here You are, Lord, and we believe You have inspired us and encouraged us to go on, in spite of our upsets, disappointments, discouragements, and mistakes. “All things work together for good to them that love Thee, Lord, that are called according to Thy purpose” (Romans 8:28).

We have no idea how great Thy purpose is, but we’ve answered Your call, so help us to do the best we can and not less. Help us to do our job faithfully and diligently and completely, wholly and fully, to get as much done as we can, Lord, since we don’t know how long we’ll be able to continue to do it. Help us to “work while it is yet day, for the night cometh when no man can work” (John 9:4), to get this work done while we can before the end, in Jesus’ name.

Let’s get as much done as we can now while we can. Remember: This may be someone’s last chance!

How Healthy Is Your Soul?

January 2, 2026

Six Questions for a New Year

By Scott Hubbard

Let’s stop to take some spiritual vitals. How healthy is your soul?

This article looks at the following six questions:

Your heart: Do you desire God?
Your habits: Do you draw near to God?
Your hope: Do you live heavenly minded?
Your enemies: Do you let nothing dominate you?
Your friends: Do you practice the one-another commands?
Your neighbors: Do you make Christ known?

(Read or listen to the article here.)

How Healthy Is Your Soul? Six Questions for a New Year | Desiring God

What Can a New Year Bring?

January 1, 2026

A compilation

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As we stand before the new year, we don’t know what’s in store for us. But there’s one thing we do know, and that is that we can leave the past, with all of its cares, pains, heartaches, and mistakes, behind. We can’t undo one single act or unsay one single word, but if we will give our grief and regrets to God, He can make this new year a fresh start.

Every day of the past year is beyond our reach, and we should leave it there. God has the past in His keeping, and we should not go back and be tormented with regrets. It’s sad how some people say they’re trusting God, yet they worry about the blots and stains on the pages of their past.

Once we have turned to God and confessed our mistakes and wrongdoings and asked for forgiveness, then there’s no need to go picking around in the past and bringing up those things again. God says of your past sins, “I will blot out your sins and will never think of them again.”¹ If God doesn’t even remember them, why should we?

The Bible also tells us, “There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Rather than going back into the past and regretting this and that and weeping over things that we can’t change, we should remember God’s comforting promise, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Isaiah 1:18).

I once read a poem that went something like this: “If I could find the road to yesterday, I’d write the page with cleaner pen and wipe out yesterdays.” Well, I don’t want to find the path to yesterday, because I can’t wipe out anything! Only God can cover the mistakes of the past. Thankfully it isn’t God’s way to make us relive the past. Who would want to when the future is as bright as the wonderful promises of God?

When I think about the year before us, I think about all the promises in God’s Word and how those promises are unfailing, unchanging, and meant for each of us personally. With all of those promises of the eternal future that awaits us, why would anyone want to go back and retrace the past, to walk the road to yesterday?

Jesus has already paid the penalty for our wrongdoing, so we can say with the apostle Paul, “I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us” (Philippians 3:13–14).

Forget those things which are behind. Press onward and upward toward the goal and the prize. What a pity if we carry the burden of the past when the Lord paid such a price to lift that burden and set us free!

Is there anything more wonderful than the miracle of forgiveness and the assurance of having our mistakes forgiven? This wonderful forgiveness is for all of us. Jesus died for all of us. All we have to do is accept His forgiveness and receive Him as our Savior. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). That’s His unbreakable promise to you.

May the Lord bless you and make you a blessing and use you in His service. May you have a wonderful new year, with a fresh revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ to your soul, and may God bless you every step of the way!—Virginia Brandt Berg

We begin a new year with a certain hope—another year, another chance, a new day. But we carry with us the same fears, the same longings, the same resolutions.

When the past or present seems so broken that its shards seem to reach well into the future, new days are often filled more with fear than with promise. I remember a time myself when I could see the end of a difficult situation, but I could not see a beginning unmarred by the residue of the past. ”Is there really such a thing as a new day?” was the question I considered. A friend gave me the following words and asked me to hold them instead:

“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him’” (Lamentations 3:21–24).

Spoken in a time of exile, the ancient writer held fast to the assurance of things new, even in the midst of a situation that blinded him from any vision of what that could possibly mean. In all of the suffering and sorrow surrounding him, it would not have been unreasonable for him to admit that he saw no way out … no one would have blamed him for seeing new mornings as nothing but a cynical promise of more of the same.

But this was not the lament on this writer’s lips as he said: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end. What the writer was able to see in the midst of his own lamentation is that only an all-powerful God can truly make a beginning.

This day is new because it is a day made by the God of visions and beginnings, the God who came to live among mortals, the God who offers Himself as a new portion every morning. This is the Christian hope of newness.—Jill Carattini, adapted

A new year is here,
a time to sigh . . .
and wish the old one
a fond goodbye.

A time to put,
the past behind
for the new one
God has designed.

A new year has come,
a fresh new start . . .
one to receive
with an open heart.

A time for God,
to reveal to us
why this one to Him
we must trust.

A new year is here,
a time to sing . . .
for all the wisdom
God will bring!
—Deborah Ann Belka

I have brought you through this year, a year of change, a year of new challenges, a year of tests, a year of growth. As you now stand on the threshold of a new year, I will strengthen you and provide My grace and prepare you for what is ahead.

I am pleased with the progress that you have made over the past year. I am pleased with all the times that you came to Me and praised Me, that you listened to My voice speaking to your heart, that you sought Me.

I know that you have also struggled this past year. But hold fast to your crown; let no man take it from you! Be as My faithful servant Noah, who in the time of his preparation built his ark. Build your ark by faith by drawing nigh to Me, by seeking Me at every turn, by committing your life and works to Me‚ by reaching out to those I place in your path, and in doing so, this will be a year of growth.

Do not be afraid of the size or the power of the waves you face in the year ahead. Be immovable, unwavering, full of faith, trusting in Me. Know that I am with you always and will uphold you.

In times of darkness, I will be your light. In times of sadness, I will be your joy. In times of struggle, I will be your deliverance. In times of weakness, I will be your strength. So do not be discouraged or disheartened. Do not agonize over the past or fear the future. Come to Me, and you will find forgiveness, comfort, strength, and love.—Jesus

Published on Anchor January 2026. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky. Music by John Listen.

¹ See Isaiah 43:25.

Rolled Away!

December 31, 2025

By Eva Marianne

I would like to share with you a little experience I had the other day while sitting by my window in the kitchen, reflecting on the days that had just passed.

After Christmas, we had a few days of rain, fog, and gray skies. It was a little sad and gloomy, I would say. This morning, while looking at the sky, I noticed that the light was trying to come through again. It was the day before the New Year. The clouds were still there with stripes of white, gray, and yellow. It looked quite beautiful, like a giant striped carpet covering the sky. I kept on looking at the sky, admiring this beauty before me.

Then, suddenly, the clouds all rolled away, giving place to a blue sky with beautiful sunshine, and this little song came to me:

Rolled away, rolled away, rolled away,
Every burden of my heart rolled away.
Every sin had to go,
’Neath the crimson flow, HALLELUJAH!
Rolled away, rolled away, rolled away,
Every burden of my heart rolled away.

That was so sweet, like a breath of fresh air filling my heart with joy and thankfulness. All the gloom of gray skies and the sense of sadness were completely gone! What a wonderful display! What a show I got to see. It was like I was the audience and the Lord put on a great performance. So beautiful!

I have often noticed that nature can teach us so many important and valuable lessons about God. We are surrounded by His creation and it is a big part of our lives. Many times, the interaction is so loud and clear, but then it can also be soft and gentle and noticed only when we are still and quiet and take the time to enjoy it.

To explain further, for a few days we had been feeling a bit under the weather; we were kind of tired and achy in our bodies and needing extra rest and sleep. Maybe because we had had a very busy Christmas, with a few gatherings and dinners. All of those were an extra blessing and brought joy to our lives, but now we were in need of rest, reflection, and refilling. A couple of times we went for walks to get some exercise, but it was a struggle with the strong wind and rains.

We also felt burdened by world situations and the sad news of wars and sufferings. We were praying for peace to come to the different countries that were affected.

Being so close to the New Year, we wanted to let go of the past and to welcome the new. The past year carried a few personal lessons for both of us, but also many victories and joys to be thankful for.

This morning, when all the clouds rolled away to give place for the sun to shine, brought new hope, strength, and joy to our hearts. Looking up and seeing the light made all the difference.

At times in my life I just need to sit still and to wait. When I am in the midst of troubles and darkness, I need to remember that I don’t need to carry the weight or solve the problems. But I do need to pray and give any troubles to the Lord, as He is able to take care of everything. He is big enough and strong enough to bring beauty back again.

The Lord is in control of our lives and nature and all of His creation. He is so good to His children, and He knows how much we treasure and appreciate the light and the good after a time of feeling down and maybe a little discouraged.

He will roll away the clouds and make room for the sun and the light to come through and to bring new hope and joy to our lives.

It was such a simple little illustration, but the Lord reminded me that He is faithful and He cares about everything in our lives. My part is to be still, to look up and receive His sweet and loving encouragement and message.

Here are a few inspiring quotes and verses to reflect on:¹

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.—Psalm 19:1

Clouds are the poetry of the sky, painting a canvas of natural beauty that reminds us to look up and appreciate the world around us.—Unknown

Never lose hope. The darkest clouds precede the loveliest rain.—Avijeet Das

The sun always shines above the clouds.—Paul F. Davis

The sky and the sun are always there. It’s the clouds that come and go.—Rachel Joyce

If clouds are blocking the sun, there will always be a silver lining that reminds me to keep on trying.—Matthew Quick

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.—John 1:5

Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.—Attributed to Victor Hugo

I hope you enjoyed this little message of encouragement. The next day the ground was covered with lots and lots of snow. Like a big soft blanket removing all the past and bringing even more light to all His children. What a wonder and beauty! He makes all things new.

The Lord is watching over us today, tomorrow, and forever. He is faithful! Happy New Year!

¹ Drawn in part from “40 Inspirational Cloud Quotes to Brighten Your Day,” Walk My World, March 27, 2021, https://www.walkmyworld.com/posts/cloud-quotes.

Grace for the New Year

December 30, 2025

A compilation

Audio length: 14:20

Download Audio (13.1MB)

The beginning of a new year can spark goals and vision, but sometimes it can bring exhaustion, discontentment, and fear.

Three years ago, I started January in a tiring job, pursuing goals of professional success and financial stability that seemed impossible. Exhausted from work, from the effort of trying to fit in, and from unmet expectations, I wished for a year when things finally would go my way.

I confided in a friend about my resentment toward the previous year and my desperation for drastic change … preferably overnight. She listened, nodded, and even reflected on her own recent hardships.

Then she said, “I used to care about life giving me a ‘break,’ but honestly, I know this adversity will be an opportunity to lean on God more. Now I just ask that God gives me His strength.”

At first, I pushed back. I wanted God’s strength … and also a break. But was I really asking God to give me His strength and to make me more faithful as much as I was asking Him to make my life better?

It’s not wrong to ask God for relief and deliverance. We serve a Savior of miracles who can part the sea, give sight to the blind, and remove whatever hardship we face. But the Lord can also give us His strength to get through a disappointing day or to grow through a hard season. Our hardest trial might be an opportunity to see God’s power.

Habakkuk 3:17–19 says, “Though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food … The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.”

This year may hold hardships, but let’s remember these four truths:

God’s strength is available to us if we simply call on Him.
God is already in the future we are worried about. His Word can give us wisdom and remind us good things are coming.
Trouble is promised in this broken world. But God uses all things for our good and His glory (John 16:33). So even on our worst day, we can trust He is working, even if we don’t understand how until heaven.
Our trial can become our testimony. We serve a God of redemption who can redeem our past years and this year.

Remember that while last year had its challenges and this year may include hard moments, your Savior will always give you His strength when you ask for it. With Jesus, there is joy in the morning and strength in the struggle.

Dear Jesus, this year, use the difficulties I experience to make me wiser, better, and more faithful. May I see them as opportunities to lean on You. I do wish life looked different, but I also know You’re a good God who can give me strength. I ask for Your strength right now… In Jesus’ Name, Amen.—Grace Valentine¹

New year, same God

As we approach the New Year, there has been a recurring thought in my mind that may seem simple, yet it is a powerful truth: “New Year, Same God!” That brief statement reminds me of the beautiful scripture in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

In writing to the Church at Philippi, Paul said, “Brethren, … this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13–14).

With family, church, political and technology changes coming at us so quickly, it is comforting to know that God never changes! God doesn’t “adapt” to the times. The Word doesn’t change according to cultural pressures or crushing life situations. God doesn’t need to change because He is already the King of kings and Lord of lords! We only need to “press on.”

As we begin a new year, it is natural to reflect on the past and set goals for the future. But as Christians … our goals mustn’t be just about achieving personal success or financial well-being, but rather about honoring God and aligning our lives according to His will.

One way to begin setting godly goals is to prayerfully seek God’s guidance. Listen to His voice and ask for His direction this coming year. The psalmist says in Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” When we seek God first, He will lead us and give us the desires that align with His will for our lives.

So, as we start the New Year, let us remember, “New year, same God!”—Chaplain Allen ²

Looking to tomorrow

As we stand at the cusp of a New Year, we naturally tend to think of what awaits us in the year to come. Through this journey called life, we experience good, bad, ups, and downs, and often we haven’t got a clue what’s ahead. As Christians, we try to make the best choices we can and to live caring, honest lives that will be pleasing to God and bless the lives of others, but every day, we make decisions that could affect our future, and it’s not always clear how.

That’s not easy even in simple times, but the times we live in now are anything but simple. We can safely assume this is an interesting age for scholars of culture and history, but the reality for those of us who are living it is that each new year seems to introduce new uncertainties and risks.

One thing that we can hold on to as a sure anchor and refuge in life is God’s love and care for us, even in the darkest, most difficult times. “God has said, ‘I will never fail you. I will never abandon you’” (Hebrews 13:5). So “we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Hebrews 6:18–19).

In 1939, a young preacher and musician named Ira Stanphill married Zelma Lawson, a minister’s daughter who had a lovely voice and played the piano. Unfortunately, that marriage ended in 1948, and his ex-wife was killed in a car crash not long after. During the years between their separation and divorce, and then her death, Stanphill is said to have sunk into a deep depression.

He was driving one night when he began to hum a song about not knowing what the future held and trusting God under circumstances he didn’t understand. Upon arriving home, he rushed to his piano and jotted down the words to the song “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow,” which have resonated over the years with so many who face an unknown future.

Many things about tomorrow,
I don’t seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow,
And I know who holds my hand.

I don’t worry o’er the future,
For I know what Jesus said,
And today I’ll walk beside Him,
For He knows what is ahead.—Ira Stanphill

God doesn’t promise that walking with Him will be easy, but what He does promise is that every day of our lives is in His hands! As we enter into a new year, what a comfort it is to realize that the one who loves us the most knows the way and will walk through every day with us.—Ronan Keane

A prayer for the new year

Our Father and our God, as we stand at the beginning of this new year we confess our need of Your presence and Your guidance as we face the future.

We each have our hopes and expectations for the year that is ahead of us—but You alone know what it holds for us, and only You can give us the strength and the wisdom we will need to meet its challenges. So help us to humbly put our hands into Your hand, and to trust You and to seek Your will for our lives during this coming year.

In the midst of life’s uncertainties in the days ahead, assure us of the certainty of Your unchanging love. In the midst of life’s inevitable disappointments and heartaches, help us to turn to You for the stability and comfort we will need. In the midst of life’s temptations and the pull of our stubborn self-will, help us not to lose our way but to have the courage to do what is right in Your sight, regardless of the cost.

And in the midst of our daily preoccupations and pursuits, open our eyes to the sorrows and injustices of our hurting world, and help us to respond with compassion and sacrifice to those who are friendless and in need. May our constant prayer be that of the ancient Psalmist: “Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end” (Psalm 119:33). …

As we look back over this past year we thank You for Your goodness to us—far beyond what we have deserved. May we never presume on Your past goodness or forget all Your mercies to us, but may they instead lead us to … a new commitment to make You the foundation and center of our lives this year.

And so, our Father, we thank You for the promise and hope of this new year, and we look forward to it with expectancy and faith. This I ask in the name of our Lord and Savior, who by His death and resurrection has given us hope both for this world and the world to come. Amen.—Billy Graham³

Published on Anchor December 2025. Read by Debra Lee. Music by Michael Dooley.

¹ Grace Valentine, “Four Truths To Remember About God’s Strength at the Start of 2025,” proverbs31.org, January 1, 2025, https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2025/01/01/four-truths-to-remember-about-gods-strength-at-the-start-of-2025.

² Chaplain Allen Thyssen, “Reflections—New Year, Same God,” nations.edu, January 4, 2024, https://nationsu.edu/reflections-new-year-same-god.

³ “Billy Graham’s Prayer for a New Year,” billygraham.org, January 1, 2024, https://billygraham.org/articles/billy-grahams-prayer-for-the-new-year-4.

Blessings for the New Year.

December 29, 2025

By Maria Fontaine

Audio length: 6:55

Download Audio (6.3MB)

As we prepare to ring in the new year, Peter and I want to say how much we thank God for you, and for your faith and dedication, and your love for the Lord and for others. You are His faithful servants who have shone His light to the world around you and shared His good news of salvation with people in every corner of the world.

Following is a message from Jesus, which I pray will be an encouragement to you.

Because of your faithfulness to Me, many have come to Me and received My gift of salvation, and many have been drawn closer to Me. In this year ahead I will continue to pour forth My blessings, and I will lead you and guide you into green pastures and by the still waters. Even when you walk through the darkest valley, I will always be with you (Psalm 23:1–4).

I am the Good Shepherd, and I go before My sheep. I walk before you and I guide you in the way. So continue to follow Me each day and to shine My light and share My love with others. I will be with you to direct your path and strengthen you each step of the way. My goodness and mercy will follow you every day of your life until you come home to dwell with Me forever (Psalm 23:6).

Thank You, wonderful Jesus, for Your love and Your words of commendation. We know we have only done that which was our duty to do. You’ve given us such spiritual riches and have blessed and provided for Your children. Thank You for the gift of Your love and Your life that You freely gave for our redemption and salvation. May we be faithful to share what we have freely received with others.

Help us to continue following You closely and to walk in Your will and ways throughout this new year. We give You all the glory, praise, and honor, for You are worthy of all these things and so much more! In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

We have so much to be thankful for, even when we experience difficult times! Perhaps this last year has been a struggle for you, but as you come to Him in prayer and praise, and stand on the promises in His Word, you will see yourself being strengthened by faith. He will bring you through the struggles. If you’ll just hold on and keep your eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, things will get easier. He will fulfill His promises to you in His Word in His perfect time.

The Lord knows your limitations, your weaknesses, and your frailties. He knows you can only do so much. God is faithful, and He won’t ever give you more than you can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). Sometimes we are the ones that make the load too heavy for ourselves by taking on more than we should or expecting more of ourselves than the Lord does. You are only expected to do what you can do. As Jesus once said, “She has done what she could” (Mark 14:8). We just need to be faithful to the Lord and to what He asks us to do.

Just be reassured that Jesus and His love are always with you. So, if you’re struggling in your life, remember that it’s well worth it to hold on and to keep fighting! Keep your eyes on the goal, so that even though things around you may be in turmoil, you will have the confidence that it won’t last forever. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel. Keep the faith and keep fighting the good fight of faith and keep your eyes on the crown He has promised to all who love Him and long for His coming (2 Timothy 4:7–8). If you keep the faith and hold on tight to His Word, even when it seems all is lost, you will eventually see the fulfillment of the blessings and promises of His Word. He loves you, and even these difficulties you face will work together for your good, because you love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). He will use everything you experience to draw you ever closer to Him.

Think daily on all the gifts that He gives you, because He loves you! He loved you enough to give His life for you. He is at the right hand of God, always interceding for us (Romans 8:34). Jesus is our Advocate (1 John 2:1), and “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for us” (Hebrews 7:25).

His joy, love, compassion, and His anointing, strength, and help, and all His gifts and blessings and His wonderful, life-giving Word are all there for you—priceless treasures above all that you can ask or think! He loves you more than life itself, for He gave His life for you. He is with you; He watches over you every moment of every day. Jesus knows your every thought, your every desire, and He always hears your every prayer and answers according to what He knows is best.

In Him we experience the greatest love that we have ever known, from the Lover of all lovers, the Friend of all friends, the One who is always with us, who will never fail us or forsake us. He is the One in whose loving arms we can always rest safely without worry or fear or condemnation, with perfect peace and trust. How richly blessed we are, above all people on the face of the earth! How very much we have to be thankful for!

As we look forward to the year ahead of us, let’s praise Him for all His wonderful works and thank Him for His many gifts. The Lord daily loads us with His abundant blessings and benefits (Psalm 68:19)—and we have to do all we can to share it with others so they can also partake of His riches in glory in Jesus (Philippians 4:19). And the more we share it, the more He’ll pour back into our lives. So let’s keep giving, keep loving others, keep sharing the good news, and we’ll continue to be amazed at all the Lord will do—infinitely more than we could ask or think, through His mighty power at work within us (Ephesians 3:20)!

Originally published January 1996. Adapted and republished December 2025. Read by Lenore Welsh.

4 New Year’s Resolutions You Should Consider

Kenny Luck

2021-12-29

It’s inevitable and universal, as soon as Christmas winds down and December 31 appears on our phones, we all face a new year with new opportunities. Many are resolving to lose weight or gain greater income or set some other goal, typically requiring willpower and time management skills—both of which often fade within a few weeks.

If God were writing our resolutions, what do you think He would come up with?

I think God wants us to make “time for a change.”

Throughout the Bible, we see that God is a God of change. He’s the ultimate game-changer, a change-agent that changes things, people, hearts, and minds.

But it requires a slight, but powerful, paradigm shift of the rudders steering our energies and expressions. We’re all given the same amount of time, and as hard as we try, our calendars often have more control over our schedules and lives than we realize. We get caught trying to do more within our allotted days, leading us to fatigue and frustration when we can’t check off the items on our list.

God doesn’t have the same time management problem we do. He’s “omni-everything.” He is The Great I Am, who was and is and is to come. He’s the Alpha and Omega. What really matters if we look through His lens, which is not restricted to a clock? How should we use our time in His mind? What does God consider effective use of our time?

From His vantage point, life is more of a question about priority and perspective, not time—a life of meaning, not efficiency.

The Bible says our lifespan is like a “vapor” that vanishes quickly.

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.—James 4:13–14

After reading that, you can feel that God is way more concerned about meaning rather than urgency or efficiency. He wants us to do the meaningful things now, because we may not have time tomorrow.

Instead of making a list of resolutions and trying to cram more into your day, consider making just one. Make time for a change. Here are a few suggestions:

Look for Jesus’ Interruptions.Be like Mary, who stopped everything to sit at Jesus’ feet to be with Him, instead of Martha, who got caught in the busy trap (Luke 10:38–42). In fact, Jesus gave us in verse 42 the only resolution necessary, and Mary chose wisely. Being with Jesus changes your perspective on life, but you have to recognize His interruptions and respond, instead of carrying on with your busy life.

Make time with Jesus daily, and you will benefit all other areas of your life.

Look for Opportunities to Love Others.I think we often lose touch with opportunities to love others while scurrying to scratch off our to-do list. Being busy is not a badge of honor. We all know where the time goes, we just don’t like the answer. Looking back, what were the most significant moments of your life? Were they planned and executed? Perhaps a few. But the moments of true meaning are when we stopped the world to attend to a relationship.

Be available for loved ones going through crisis, large or small, to create moments of meaning.

Look for What is Unseen. In 2 Corinthians 4:18, it says, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” What does that mean? Be aware of God’s eternal plan and adjust your temporary plans to accommodate. The Living Bible translation of Proverbs 19:21 says that “Man proposes, but God disposes,” referring to our plans versus His.

Make time for a change in your vision and look to accomplish eternal purposes.

Look to Create Rich Relationships.I think we all could use a little reframing on this one. We spend so much effort earning money, instead of investing in relationships with those right in front of us—our kids, spouse, family, neighbors, and friends. I doubt your accountant will give your eulogy. There are no U-hauls in heaven. Relationships are eternal. Since relationships require communication, take time to learn to ask better questions and listen. The old saying is true, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

It takes wisdom to make time for a change and adjust your calendar to do what is really important. This year, when you look at your calendar, what will really shape your life?

https://www.christianpost.com/news/4-new-years-resolutions-you-should-consider-131929/

A Different Kind of New Year’s Wish

A compilation

2020-12-29

No one knows what the future holds. We’re quick to wish a “happy new year” on January 1st, but we actually have very little control over how things will play out. “You do not know what a day may bring,” the Bible cautions.¹ Over the past year, people the world over have been through some very trying times, and typical New Year wishes for happiness and success now feel slightly hollow.

It’s good to plan ahead and lay solid foundations in our personal and professional lives, but we know from the start that the year is going to be full of events and circumstances that we haven’t foreseen and that we will have limited ability to influence.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though, if it reminds us that when all is said and done, the happiest and most secure place for us and our loved ones is in God’s hands. Perhaps rather than wishing the outward manifestations of happiness to those we care about, we should wish for them to be connected to the source of those blessings, the loving Father who promises, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”²

Whether this year brings prosperity or hardship, health or sickness, love or loss, we can be assured of God’s love and presence, His ability to answer our prayers, and His standing resolution to make all things work together for good in the lives of those who are His children and who love Him.³ God never forgets His promises and He’s never unable to keep them. As Paul observed, “All of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding ‘Yes!’”⁴

May God bless you with His presence and care in the coming year.—Samuel Keating

Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to You.—Psalm 143:8

A New Year’s prayer

As I begin this New Year, I am reminded of that popular song of the 1970s: “Day by day, day by day, oh, dear Lord, three things I pray: To see thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, follow thee more nearly, day by day.”⁵

To see You more clearly… The Bible tells us that God is Spirit.⁶ He is invisible, and yet we can see Him—in Jesus, in the love shared amongst believers, in the beauties of His world.⁷

Love You more dearly… “Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving.”⁸ I can show God my love by thanking Him for His blessings. Psalm 118:24 says: “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” I will try to maintain an attitude of gratitude each day in this coming year.

Follow You more nearly… This can be the hardest part, but if I look to Him, and love Him, I will feel His caring presence gently guiding me where He wants me to go. And I can sing with the old refrain: “My Lord knows the way through the wilderness, all I’ve got to do is follow. Strength for the day is mine always, and all that I need for tomorrow. My Lord knows the way through the wilderness, all I have to do is follow!”⁹

And last, but not least, I will ask for peace of mind. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.”¹⁰ And Paul gives us the recipe in detail: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”¹¹—Rosane Pereira

Because the world needs a Savior

Christmas and New Year. Seasons of love, joy, hope, and cheer. For many of us, it is a favorite time of the year. Sadly, though, in all the hustle and bustle, fun and frolic, we seem to forget the sobering realities of the ones around us and perhaps even among us who might dread the dawn of another day, let alone another year. All is not well for those mourning the loss of a loved one, for those battling chronic illnesses, for those struggling to repay debts, for those whose marriages are breaking.

At a global level, it is even more disturbing. There are wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, forest fires, epidemic outbreaks, drought, poverty, global warming, and on and on. The lofty promises and feeble attempts of geo-political messiahs, economic wizards, and health-care champions are so disproportionate to the magnitude of the crisis.

As mere mortals struggling to fix cosmic problems with earthy interventions, we do well to admit aloud that we need a sort of help that is far bigger than anything we are able to create with our own hands or minds. We need help from the Maker of the cosmos, who has the wherewithal to remedy this god-sized, human cosmic catastrophe.

The Apostle Peter, writing in the thick of intense persecution, suggests to the fledgling early Church struggling under the tyranny of an eccentric Nero to set apart and to revere Christ as Lord, the one born in Bethlehem of a virgin, the child and king foretold by the prophets. … The antidote to hopelessness and despair, says Peter, is to recognize the God-sent Savior, Jesus Christ, and to revere him as Lord. The Son of God became the Son of Man, so that the sons and daughters of humankind could become the sons and daughters of God.

Christ Jesus is the one who unlocks the possibility for hope in this otherwise hope-impoverished world. Jesus Christ is the all-sufficient hope for us. And he is a hope the size of every agony and death, the size of all of humankind and all creation.

Peter then carries this thought outward. If Christ is Lord indeed, those who follow him ought to be agents of hope in this world that is so desperately searching for hope. … Can we present Christ as light and life in a dark world? Can we multiply hope in a world that needs a savior? Christ is the gift of hope in whom these questions find their answer.—Charles Premkumar Joseph¹²

His unfailing presence

Another year I enter
Its history unknown;
Oh, how my feet would tremble
To tread its paths alone!

But I have heard a whisper,
I know I shall be blest;
“My presence shall go with thee,
And I will give thee rest.”

What will the New Year bring me?
Will it be love and rapture,
Or loneliness and woe?

Hush! Hush! I hear His whisper;
I surely shall be blest;
“My presence shall go with thee,
And I will give thee rest.”
—Author unknown

Climbing the New Year

Taking on the challenges of the New Year is often likened to climbing a mountain: Although it’s a lot of hard work and potentially dangerous, it holds special rewards for those who rise to the challenge and don’t quit till they reach the summit.

But sometimes we may become too self-confident and feel that we can go it alone. If we’re smart, we’ll realize that we need the help of a mountain guide, and of course there’s no better guide than Jesus, who the Bible calls the “Chief Shepherd” of our souls.¹³ He knows where the green pastures are, as well as where the dangers lie. If we stay close to Him, He will help us to reach our goals for the coming year, to conquer the summit and experience the peace of His presence.

The new year is a good time to reflect on the past twelve months, to thank God for the blessings He’s brought our way, and to open our hearts and minds in anticipation of what He has for us in the year ahead.—Curtis Peter Van Gorder

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”—Jeremiah 29:11¹⁴

Published on Anchor December 2020. Read by Jon Marc. Music by Michael Dooley.

¹ Proverbs 27:1.

² Hebrews 13:5.

³ Romans 8:28.

⁴ 2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT.

⁵ Stephen Schwartz in Godspell (1971).

⁶ John 4:24.

⁷ Colossians 1:15; Romans 1:20.

⁸ Psalm 95:2.

⁹ Sidney E. Cox (1887–1975).

¹⁰ John 14:27.

¹¹ Philippians 4:6–7 NLT.

¹² https://www.rzim.org/read/a-slice-of-infinity/because-the-world-needs-a-savior.

¹³ 1 Peter 5:4.

¹⁴ NIV.

A New Year Blessing

December 26, 2025

By Max Lucado

Happy New Year, friends. If you’re feeling anxious about the future, you’re not alone. As we say goodbye to one year and hello to the next, I urge you to face the future with faith.

Run time for this video is 14 minutes.

https://youtu.be/L9mmXGUnS7k?si=bSZ1p5cFBmz1xz3E

Immanuel: God with Us

December 25, 2025

By Peter Amsterdam

Audio length: 8:39

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Christmas represents one of the most significant events in human history—when God physically came into our world in the form of His Son, Jesus. In telling the story of God’s entrance into the world, Matthew’s Gospel says of the events leading up to Jesus’ birth that “all this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us)” (Matthew 1:22–23).

In the Old Testament we read of God’s presence among His people. We see this in the story of the Garden of Eden, where God conversed with Adam in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8), in the pillar of cloud and of fire that led Moses and the children of Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land (Exodus 13:21–22), and in the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies (Exodus 25:22). God also assured His people that He would be with them when they went into battle (Deuteronomy 31:6; Joshua 1:9), as well as when they were fearful or facing times of great trials and challenges (Isaiah 41:10, 43:2).

Then in the New Testament God’s presence took on a whole new meaning in the incarnation with the physical embodiment of God in the birth of Jesus. His conception was like no other before or after in history. His mother, Mary, was a virgin, betrothed—but not yet married—to Joseph, a Jewish carpenter, when she received a visit from an angel who announced to her:

“Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:31–33).

When Mary questioned how this could happen, since she was a virgin, the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). Nine months later, the unique person who was both God and man was born—Immanuel, “God with us.”

Some of the manifestations of “God with us” were seen through Jesus’ actions and reflected the attributes of God, such as:

His compassion in healing people with leprosy, blindness, epilepsy, fever, deafness, and other illnesses. “And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick” (Matthew 14:14). Jesus “went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people” (Matthew 4:23).
His care and provision for all of humanity and concern for the poor and hungry, manifested by feeding the crowds of 5,000 and 4,000. “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). “Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way’” (Matthew 15:32–39).
His power over death in raising the only son of a widow (Luke 7:11–16), a twelve-year-old girl (Mark 5:22–23, 35–43), and His friend Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1–44). “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25–26).
His mercy in granting the forgiveness of sins. “‘Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.’ And he said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven’” (Luke 7:44–50.)
His love manifested by His willingness to suffer and die on the cross for our redemption to make it possible for us to enter into an eternal relationship with God (Ephesians 2:13–19). “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (Colossians 1:19–20).

Through His actions Jesus taught us about God’s nature, and through His teachings, He taught us about the character of God. This is seen in particular in the parables, which portray various aspects of God’s nature, such as the loving and forgiving father in the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–32). We see the example of the one who loves and cares for those in need, no matter who they are, in the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37).

Jesus, “God with us,” showed us the lengths to which God would go in order to reconcile humanity to Himself—by ordaining that He Himself, in the form of God the Son, would take the punishment of the sins of humanity, so that we might live with Him forever. A continuation of “God with us” is seen in that after His death and resurrection, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in believers (John 14:16–17). “Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Galatians 4:6)

Christmas is the celebration of “God with us,” the birth of God’s incarnate Son, who lived and died to make it possible for us to enter into relationship with God and for the Spirit of God to dwell within us. What a joyful reason to celebrate!

At Christmas, and every other day of the year, all of us are in a sense an extension of “God with us” in our community—to our friends and neighbors, our colleagues and coworkers, the people who serve us in shops and restaurants, and strangers whom the Lord brings across our paths. The love we share through our interactions with others, the words we speak and actions we take, the kindness and generosity we show, the helping hand we offer, reflect God’s Spirit dwelling within us.

As we touch the lives of others with God’s love, it provides an opportunity for us to share the good news and explain that God is with us and can be with them as well. And in so doing, we each do our part to share the ultimate reason of Christmas. This is a wonderful time of year to share the gospel with others, to let them know that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

We are each called to do all we can to share the news of “God with us” with those who need Him. May your Christmas be blessed today and always as we celebrate His presence and share the good news of the gospel with others.

Originally published December 2015. Adapted and republished December 2025. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky. Music from the Christmas Moments album, used by permission.

Finding Joy in a Complicated Christmas

December 24, 2025

By Elizabeth Laing Thompson

On Christmas night in 2005, I watched my father hold my daughter, his first grandchild, for the first time. Only an hour old, she blinked bright eyes up at him, and his eyes filled with tears. I felt a riot of emotions: transcendent joy, heart-bursting gratitude, and lurking underneath … a shadow of fear. Watching Dad, I couldn’t forget his announcement two nights earlier: “I have cancer.”

We’d spent years praying for our miracle baby, and here on Christmas night, God had given us the greatest gift of our lives. Our joy should have been complete, but a fearful voice kept whispering, This joy is fragile. What if Dad’s not here next Christmas? I couldn’t help but ask God, Tonight of all nights, why can’t we just be happy?

Maybe you know the feeling of a complicated Christmas. For one day, we long to feel peace and to celebrate unhindered—but a chair at Christmas dinner sits empty. Work and finances are overwhelming. A relationship feels distant. We might sing “joy to the world,” but the joy in our world is incomplete.

Two thousand years ago, celestial music—the first Christmas carols—rang out to celebrate Jesus’ birth…

(Read the article here.)

https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2024/12/25/finding-joy-in-a-complicated-christmas

Christmas, the Season of Giving

December 23, 2025

A compilation

Audio length: 12:09

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One Christmas, when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. Finally, there was only one family between us and the ticket counter. That family made a lasting impression on me.

There were eight children, all under the age of 12. From the way they were dressed, you could tell they didn’t have much money, but their clothes were clean. The children were well-behaved, standing in pairs behind their parents, holding hands.

They were so excited about the clowns, the animals, and all the acts they would see. From their excitement, you could tell they had never been to a circus before. It was going to be a highlight of their young lives.

The father and mother stood proudly at the front of their little group. The mother was holding her husband’s hand, looking at him as if to say, “You’re my knight in shining armor.” He was smiling, enjoying seeing his family happy.

The ticket lady asked how many tickets he wanted, and he proudly responded, “I want eight children’s tickets and two adult tickets.” Then she announced the price.

The wife let go of her husband’s hand, her head dropped, and the man’s lip began to quiver. He leaned in closer and asked, “How much did you say?”

The ticket lady repeated the price.

He didn’t have enough money. How was he supposed to turn around and tell his eight kids that he couldn’t afford to take them to the circus?!

Seeing what was happening, my dad reached into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill, and dropped it on the ground. (We weren’t rich by any means.) My father bent down, picked up the $20 bill, tapped the man on the shoulder, and said, “Excuse me, sir, this must have fallen out of your pocket.”

The man understood what was happening. He looked straight into my father’s eyes, took my dad’s hand in both of his, squeezed the bill tightly, and with trembling lips and a tear streaming down his cheek, he replied, “Thank you, sir. This means so much to me and my family.”

My father and I went back to our car and drove home. The $20 my dad gave away that Christmas season was what we had planned to use for our own tickets.

Although we didn’t see the circus that night, we felt a joy inside us that was far greater. That day, I learned the true value of giving.

If you want to be great, learn to give. Love has nothing to do with what you expect to get, only with what you expect to give—everything.

The importance of giving and blessing others cannot be overstated because there is always joy in giving. Let’s make someone happy this Christmas through acts of giving.—Dan Clark¹

Oswald Golter was a missionary in northern China during the 1940s. After ten years of service he was returning home. His ship stopped in India, and while waiting for a boat home he found a group of refugees living in a warehouse on the pier. Unwanted by anyone else, the refugees were stranded there. Golter went to visit them. As it was the Christmas season, he wished them a merry Christmas and asked them what they would like for Christmas.

“We’re not Christians,” they said. “We don’t believe in Christmas.”

“I know,” said the missionary, “but what do you want for Christmas?” They described some pastries they were particularly fond of, and so Oswald Golter cashed in his ticket, used the money to buy baskets and baskets of the pastries, took them to the refugees, and wished them a Merry Christmas.

When he later repeated the incident to a class, a student said, “But, sir, why did you do that for them? They weren’t Christians. They don’t even believe in Jesus.”

“I know,” he replied, “but I do!”—Author unknown²

I gave my adult kids a gift of money for Christmas so they could buy whatever they wanted or needed. I put no disclaimers or conditions on the gift I gave them. I didn’t say, “You’ve got to spend this wisely.” I didn’t say, “You’ve got to use this for something you really want but can’t afford to buy.” I didn’t say, “Use this money to pay your bills.” I left it wide open. That’s why we call it a “gift.” It’s up to the receiver what they will do with what they’ve been given. … Yes, the one who receives a gift can use it foolishly, if they so choose. They can squander it. They can choose not to use it at all if they want to. So when we decide to give a person a gift, a risk is involved, even a gamble at times.

With all this in mind, think about the tremendous risk God took when He gave the gift of His only begotten Son to the world on the very first Christmas morning. He knew there would be those who would reject the gift, those who would not see the value in it, those who’d exchange the gift for something that this world offers instead.

Even on Christmas Day, on the day of His Son’s birth, there are those who don’t even recognize the gift at all. It lays on the ground like an unopened Christmas present. Imagine the rejection you’d feel if you gave your very best gift to someone and they didn’t even open it! How painful that would be. Yet this is what God, in His great love, did for the whole world.

A gift was given to you and me. We weren’t commanded to receive it. … Even the most unworthy of us is still eligible to receive and open the gift. Some have opened the gift and received it with gratefulness, only to later toss it aside in pursuit of worldly gain. Yet, the gift still remains available to all.

God loves you so much that He took a risk. He gave you His greatest gift of all. I hope you see its value and receive it this Christmas season.—Greg A. Lane³

What could we give Jesus for His birthday? You’re not just giving a few Christmas presents to the Lord, you’re not just giving baskets to the poor one time a year, you’re not just taking an offering for the poor, but your love and labors have gone out as “bread on the waters,” and the Lord has multiplied it until it has fed many!

When you share Jesus’ love with others, you are giving Him a Christmas present every day. When you share the gospel, God’s Word, with others, you are giving people the opportunity to receive the good news of salvation for their souls.

What shall I give Thee, Master?
Thou who didst die for me!
How can I give less than give of my best,
When Thou hast given all to me!

What shall I give Thee, Master?
Thou who didst die for me!
How can I give less than all of my best,
I must give all to Thee!⁴ —David Brandt Berg

My Prayer for You This Christmas

Dear one,

It is not within my power to give you all the special things you need and deserve, so this Christmas I’ll offer a prayer for you, asking God to give you His very best.

First, I pray for your happiness. The Bible calls it joy. My prayer for you is for joy that lasts even when things don’t go just right.

Next, I pray for peace in your heart—a sweet knowledge that God is in control and that He won’t let anything happen that He won’t give you the grace for.

And I pray for you to have faith—strong faith based on the most wonderful realities of all: God and His love and His promises to everyone who loves Him.

Last but not least, I pray for you to experience love—great love, overflowing love, patient love, purposeful love, abiding love, strong love, encouraging love, God’s love in all its wondrous forms.—Chloe West

Published on Anchor December 2025. Read by John Laurence. Music from the Christmas Moments album, used by permission.

¹ Dan Clark (adapted), “The Circus,” in A 2nd Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul (Simon & Schuster, 1993).

² “Oswald Golter and Unconditional Love,” storiesforpreaching.com, https://storiesforpreaching.com.au/category/sermonillustrations/generosity

³ Greg A. Lane, My Morning Walks with God (Inspired Design & Graphics, December 12, 2016).

⁴ Homer W. Grimes, adapted.

Christmas Hope

December 22, 2025

By Maria Fontaine

Audio length: 10:41

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I was contemplating Christmas and everything that it means. Over the years, Christians have considered the wonders of Jesus’ birth and how it has influenced the world. It’s a beautiful message.

Jesus brought to mankind a clearer comprehension of the power and greatness of the love of God. He existed before creation and time began. He is the great “I AM,” yet He humbled Himself and took on a form that we could understand, and He manifested His love in a way that we could grasp and receive.

The things that our minds can fully understand seem to be few and far between compared to the wonders that science and faith tell us are all around us. We can only imagine the full reality of the many things that touch our lives every day, because so much of even this physical world is beyond what our senses can detect and comprehend.

We only hear a small range of sounds. We only see a small portion of the spectrum of light, and many other forms of energy are being discovered that, until recently, only a few people theorized about.

With that in mind, let’s consider what we actually know about Christmas and what led up to Jesus’ coming into this world.

We know that Jesus is both the Son of God and God, as expressed in many prophecies throughout the Bible and by Jesus’ own words.

We know that He existed before creation and before time began.

“Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”—John 17:5

We know that He is the radiance and precise representation of God’s glory and nature.

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.—Hebrews 1:3

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.—Colossians 1:15–17

We know that the Spirit of God is love.

Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.—1 John 4:7–9

We know that Jesus rules over all creation.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”—Revelation 22:13

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.—Isaiah 9:6

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. … And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.—John 1:1, 14

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.—Hebrews 11:3

We know that Jesus chose to take on human form and to live a life within the bonds and restrictions of time and the flesh, and to face all that we as human beings face.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin.—Hebrews 4:15

We know that all that Jesus chose to do for our sakes is a manifestation of the nature and glory of God.

No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is truly God and is closest to the Father, has shown us what God is like.—John 1:18

God chose, out of love for us, to make the utmost sacrifice in order to rescue us. He allowed His Son Jesus to die for our sins. He did this despite our rebellion against Him. His rescue of us was the ultimate act of pure love.

Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.—Matthew 20:28

“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”—Luke 4:18–19

Then He rolled up the scroll, returned it to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him, and He began by saying, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”—Luke 4:20–21

But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him.—Romans 5:8–9

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.—Hebrews 4:16

Jesus’ coming to earth was the most selfless act we could comprehend. And if that was not amazing enough, He made the ultimate sacrifice and gave up this life for our sakes through a cruel and painful death on the cross, taking the wages of our sin on Himself. Through this ultimate sacrifice of love, God offers us eternal life with Him.

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.—Romans 3:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.—Romans 6:23

He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began. And now He has revealed this grace through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has abolished death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the gospel.—2 Timothy 1:9–10

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.—John 1:12

Christmas might seem to some to simply be the celebration of a little babe who was special, but this birth was a demonstration of the all-encompassing power of God’s love.

Christmas was a singular event that occurred in a small country, in a tiny town, two thousand years ago. But through that one event, the light of the love of God poured into the hearts and understanding of humankind.

If you can begin to imagine the depth of love behind the Christmas story and all that it represents, I pray that you will accept Jesus’ gift of salvation if you have not already done so. You can do this by simply praying and asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins and come into your heart. If you have already accepted Jesus as your Savior, I pray you will find the opportunity to share this wonderful news with others so that they too can share in God’s plan.

Originally published November 2022. Adapted and republished December 2025. Read by Debra Lee. Music from the Christmas Moments album, used by permission.

22: The Millennium—Old Testament Millennial Scriptures (part 3)

A Study of Revelation

David Brandt Berg

1981-05-01

“The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; He will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. If thy children will keep My covenant and My testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore. For the Lord hath chosen Zion; He hath desired it for His habitation. This is My rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it” (Psalm 132:11–14). Zion, His church. Or you can take the holy hill of Zion in Jerusalem if you wish, because it seems that’s going to be His capital during the Millennium, not after the Millennium. After the Millennium Jerusalem will be the new city come down from God out of heaven, the Heavenly City.—1500 miles high, 1500 miles wide, that gorgeous golden city encrusted with diamonds and pearls and jewels and pearly gates and all kinds of beauty!

“I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread. I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy” (Psalm 132:15–16). What a beautiful picture! Isn’t that worth living for and dying for and living for Jesus for?

Let’s skip over to Isaiah, the first chapter. “Therefore saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease Me of Mine adversaries, and avenge Me of Mine enemies. And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin. And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counselors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city. Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.” Whether you take that as literal Zion or Jerusalem or spiritual Zion, His church, it’s true. “And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed” (Isaiah 1:24–28).

Second chapter of Isaiah: Here is one of the most famous and beautiful passages regarding the coming thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ with His saints:

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains”—these mountains symbolizing governments, God’s government over all—“and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

“And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks.” Final disarmament. That will be the real genuine disarmament, beating their weapons into instruments of peace. “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isaiah 2:2–4). That’s a beautiful inscription also written on the wall of the garden of the United Nations in New York City. Yet all around it rages controversy and evil and war and crime.

“Enter into the rock and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty.” God’s speaking of the unregenerate, when Jesus comes. “The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan.

“And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, and upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, and upon all the ships of Tarshish. And upon all pleasant pictures. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols He shall utterly abolish.”—Including the Image of the Beast.

“And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth” (Isaiah 2:10–21).

God’s kingdom has already begun upon earth today in Christians who love Jesus—in you if you have Christ in your heart. He said, “For the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). You’re a member of His kingdom that’s already begun upon earth.

“In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy. When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning” (Isaiah 4: 2–4). God is going to burn it out if it takes His judgments to drive the iniquity out.

“And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud of smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain” (Isaiah 4:5–6). The Lord Himself is going to be your tabernacle and protect you.

The eleventh chapter of Isaiah: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of His roots: and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; and shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears.

“But with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth.” That’s going to be the rod of iron, the truth of God that’s going to rule the world then. “And with the breath of His lips shall he slay the wicked.” There is nothing that curbs the Devil and His crowd like the truth, the Word of God. Jesus is going to be here then. “And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins.

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:1–6). You have never heard of a wolf lying down with a lamb nowadays, have you?—Unless the lamb was inside of the wolf! Or a leopard lying down with a kid, a little baby goat. They usually lie down with the kid inside too. Neither have you heard about a little child leading them all nowadays.

There was a day before the Flood when men and the animals were at peace with each other. They didn’t fight and they didn’t kill and they didn’t eat each other as they do today. That day is coming again when there will be peace between man and the animals. Even your little child will be able to play with them.

“And the cow and the bear shall feed.” Feed together, think of that, cows and bears! “Their young ones shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox” (Isaiah 11:7). “Now you’ve gone too far, telling me lions are going to eat hay! I don’t believe that.”

I have such confidence in the Word of God and every chapter and every book—I have proven so many of them to be true and none of them to ever fail or be false—that I believe every word in it, and I believe it means exactly what it says and that’s what’s going to happen. If they’re not going to eat each other or eat us anymore, they’re going to have to graze like the ox and the calf. So the lion will eat straw like the ox.

“And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp.” A little baby that’s not even weaned yet can play right on top of the hole of this poisonous little serpent called an asp, and yet not get stung or bitten. “And the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den” (Isaiah 11:8). Children will be able to put their hand into a nest of scorpions and what are today poisonous insects. Or in another place it says adders’ den, meaning a poisonous snake. The child can put his hand right into a nest of adders and play with the snakes then, like toys.

What a wonderful place to be! All the curse removed, the viciousness gone, all the killing and hurting each other gone. “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). We won’t have to be worried about witnessing anymore. We won’t have to say, “Know the Lord,” for He says “all men everywhere shall know Me” (Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 8:11). But I do believe we’ll still be teaching people the ways of the Lord.

“And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people”—Jesus—“to it shall the Gentiles seek: and His rest shall be glorious” (Isaiah 11:10). This is a wonderful picture of the final glorious days of this earth.

The earth will blossom as a rose, curse removed, enmity between man and the animals and the insects and the vipers removed, so that all God’s creation is in perfect peace and harmony, and man at peace with man. No longer will there be man’s cruelty toward man, no longer man’s inhumanity to man, but all will be peace and beauty—heaven on earth once again as it was in the beginning, because we’ll have Jesus.

I think Adam and Eve had Jesus then too. Who else could walk with them in the Garden in the cool of the day like a man but Jesus, the Son of God (Genesis 3:8).

“Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously” (Isaiah 24:23). “And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things.” Here is that wonderful Marriage Supper of the Lamb. “A feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.” The vineyards and wineries aren’t going to go out of business.

“And He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.”—The vail of misunderstanding, the vail of unbelief, the vail of non-comprehension of spiritual things. “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.

“And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation. For in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest” (Isaiah 25:6–10).

22: The Millennium—Old Testament Millennial Scriptures (part 1)

A Study of Revelation

David Brandt Berg

1981-05-01

I’m going to read some verses which are my favorite passages in the Bible, some of the most beautiful scriptures in God’s holy Word.

The reason I am particularly fond of them is that they’re about the “happy ending” of the story. In much of the past chapters of this particular study of Bible prophecy in the book of Revelation, it seems as if it’s been a lot of bad news about the horrors about to come upon this world. The Bible admonishes us to be prepared for these days, and to be forewarned is to be forearmed. (See Matthew 24:33, 44.)

We’re just strangers passing through; this is not our home. We’re strangers and pilgrims, and this is why God says He’s proud to be our God. He’s not ashamed to be our God, for we confess that we are only strangers and pilgrims here. We seek a city whose builder and maker is God, which someday will come down out of heaven from God to this earth (Hebrews 11:13–16).

At the end of that mighty Battle of Armageddon, of the forces of God against the forces of Satan on earth, we, the saints of God, along with our King Jesus Christ, will take over this world as it is now—this present world—and we will organize it and rule it and run it the way it should have been run if man had yielded to God. But this time, yield or no, God’s going to run it with a rod of iron (Revelation 2:27).

Whether man likes it or not, God is going to be supreme and Jesus shall reign from shore to shore, and we shall rule and reign with Him with that rod of iron. Then the unsaved who remain will be forced to do what’s right and to obey for a thousand years. They will have the amazing blessing of being able to live at all during this millennial period in which the earth, though it is this same earth upon which we live today—not the new heaven and the new earth, but the present earth—it will be relieved from the curses that have beset it. The thorns and the thistles and the briar and all kinds of beasts and critters and creatures that are poisonous, even poisonous flowers and grasses, will be sanitized and made harmless.

Even the unsaved who have survived the Tribulation and the wrath of God and the Battle of Armageddon—and it’s quite a survival to manage to survive all three of those—will be allowed to live during this beautiful paradise-on-earth, millennial period.

The Devil will be bound in the heart of the earth in the bottomless pit for a thousand years, and we will rule and reign with Jesus on this present earth for one thousand years to try to teach the survivors righteousness, to try to show them where they failed, to try to point out what the mistakes were, to try to show them how much better it would have been if they had yielded to Jesus and let Him rule and reign in their hearts as we do today.

We already have the Garden of Eden in our hearts. We already have paradise restored in our hearts, those of us who have received Jesus Christ as our Savior and our Lover and our King and our God, who has forgiven us our sins and brought us peace and love and happiness such as we have never known before. We already have the Garden of Eden in our hearts, but then we will have the Garden of Eden worldwide—the curse removed, even a measure of death removed. People will live for a thousand years as they did before, and if you die at a hundred years of age, they’ll consider you just a child (Isaiah 65:20). Think of that.

This is a part of the beautiful happy ending. The Bible is full of descriptions of that beautiful millennial period. It says more about the second coming of Christ and His rule and reign on the earth as its King, its Messiah, than it does about the first coming.

This is the purpose of it all, the marvelous happy ending of it all! This is our reward for loving Him, receiving Him, believing in Him, and preaching Him, telling others about Him, spreading the Good News of His love everywhere.

Jesus was the one responsible for it all, who loved us enough to give His own life for us and take our punishment, the punishment of our sins on Himself on that cross, on that tree, so that we could be forgiven and restored and become citizens of His kingdom, the kingdom of God on earth of the King of kings in the heavenly kingdom.—First of all, the Millennium, and later the new heaven and new earth.

What are the two books that are the most messianic books in the Bible?—The ones that talk more about the Messiah and His kingdom, that marvelous millennial kingdom on earth and the kingdom that goes on forever after, than any other books? We have to go back to the Old Testament to find them: Psalms and Isaiah, by two great prophets. “Prophets?” you say, “I thought David was just a king.” David was a king, but he was also a priest of his people. Foremost and above all, he was a prophet of God who wrote the beautiful Psalms of David. In the Psalms, he describes time and again the marvelous coming kingdom of Jesus Christ.

First, he starts with the Antichrist kingdom and the Battle of Armageddon, the forces of good against evil. (This could also apply to the Battle of Gog and Magog at the end of the Millennium.)

Psalm 2: “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.” That’s what they will say during the Great Tribulation. “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.” God gets the last laugh! “Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.”

Despite all they can do, He has set His king upon the hill of Zion. Jesus will someday return to this earth and He shall stand first upon Mount Zion. God’s Word says it will cleave in two when He stands there, like a great earthquake, and cause a very great rift or very great valley (Zechariah 14:4). That great hill that the Jews and the Muslims are fighting over, guess who’s going to get it?—Jesus. And when He does land on it, it’s going to split wide open.

“I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me”—speaking now to Jesus—“Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” He’s going to give us the entire earth, all of it. “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

“Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.”—If you don’t want to be broken. “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.” Do you put your trust in Jesus? Then you’re going to be safe. Don’t worry, everything’s going to be all right with you.

“The Lord is king for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of His land” (Psalm 10:16). That’s what’s going to happen then. “Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion. When the Lord bringeth back the captivity of His people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad” (Psalm 14:7). The true Israel of God, those who have received Jesus the Messiah, the Christians.

“I have set the Lord always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.” There’s going to be a resurrection. “For Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt Thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption” (Psalm 16:8–10). There are many prophecies regarding the first coming of Jesus, but these are the ones about His second coming.

“I will declare Thy name unto my brethren: and in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee.” Before this, they were worshipping the Antichrist; now they’re going to have to worship Jesus, whether they like it or not. “They shall come and shall declare His righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that He hath done this” (Psalm 22:22,27,31).

The good news! We had to tell you the bad news first, all about the Antichrist and his reign of terror and the Tribulation and the judgment and Babylon and the horrors, and then Armageddon. But now comes the victory, the heaven on earth.

“Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle! Lift up your heads, O ye gates: even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah” (Psalm 24:7–10).

The Muslims have a prophecy that when Jesus returns, He will come through the gate called “Beautiful” and take over the city of Jerusalem and reign as the Messiah and King of kings. Therefore one Arab ruler many years ago didn’t want Jesus to come and take the kingdom away from him; he was afraid He might come during his day. So he walled up the gate “Beautiful” there in Jerusalem.

To this day it is still sealed, because God prophesied that no man should go through that gate again. A prophet prophesied this centuries ago when at that time it was one of the most popular gates of Jerusalem on a well-traveled highway that ran through that gate into the city. But God prophesied by His prophet Ezekiel many centuries earlier that it would be closed and never opened again until the Lord of hosts Himself, the King of kings, Jesus, would come and pass through that gate (Ezekiel 44:2; 43:1–4).

Praise God, the day is coming when “He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; He burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:9–10).

“O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For the Lord most high is terrible; He is a great King over all the earth.”—In the Millennium. “He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet. For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding. God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of His holiness” (Psalm 47:1–3,7–8). All of these marvelous predictions of the coming kingdom of Christ upon earth.

“I will make Thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise Thee for ever and ever” (Psalm 45:17). For “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the scepter of Thy kingdom is a right scepter. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows” (Psalm 45:6–7). What wonderful prophecies of the coming kingdom of Jesus! I turn the pages here in the Psalms and on almost every page I find another prophecy about this marvelous millennial kingdom of Christ. (to be continued)

Christmas: The Wisdom of God

December 19, 2025

By Charles Stanley

In this message, Dr. Stanley walks us through the events of the Christmas story, where Scripture affirms how every detail of the Messiah’s arrival was wisely and meticulously fulfilled by God. He also places each of us in the story, as it was part of the Father’s plan to redeem us through the life and sacrifice of His Son, which is at the heart of the Christmas story.

Run time for this video is 24 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=6ooC3Wn7wek

Christmas Joy

December 18, 2025

A compilation

Audio length: 12:37

Download Audio (11.5MB)

What is Christmas to you? To many people it’s the biggest holiday of the year—a time when they don’t have to go to work or school and are able to take a vacation. Of course, to many others the Christmas season is also a lot of work—a hectic time for shoppers and shopkeepers alike, as people frantically try to find the right gifts for relatives, friends, and acquaintances. Christmas is also a sentimental time when people tend to reminisce about past holidays spent with loved ones.

Ironically, Christmas Day itself gets sort of lost in the days and weeks surrounding it. Many cards and decorations nowadays say “Season’s Greetings,” with no mention of Christmas at all. Christmas trees, lights, presents, snowmen, jingle bells, candy canes, etc., all play their part in defining what many people associate with this festive season, while all but forgetting its true meaning.

There’s much more to Christmas than trees, decorations, presents, and parties. If these distractions are set aside, then the real beauty and wonder of Christmas can be realized and appreciated. Christmas is the time to celebrate the day that the Creator of the universe sent His Son Jesus—His greatest gift to the world—in the form of a weak and helpless baby. With that baby came a message of love, hope, and salvation for all people everywhere.

This holy child was born to a humble girl, who conceived miraculously. And though He was ordained to be a king—in fact, the King of kings—He was not born in a plush palace with prestigious members of the court in attendance. There was no honor and praise accorded Him from the establishment of the day. Instead, He was born in a barn, amidst the cattle and donkeys, and then wrapped in rags and laid to rest in the animals’ feed trough.

His birth brought no great fanfare or official recognition from the institutions and governments of man. But that night on a nearby hillside, lowly shepherds were awestruck as an angel appeared and said to them, “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10–11).

Then a brilliant light burst upon them as a multitude of angels filled the night with their heavenly declaration and song: “Glory to God in the highest! Peace on earth to men of good will! For unto you this day is born a Savior, Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:14, 11).

Jesus Christ is God’s Christmas gift to the world. He is not merely a prophet, philosopher, teacher, rabbi, or guru; He is the Son of God. Though many great teachers have spoken and taught about love and about God, Jesus is love and He is God. He is also the only one who could die for the sins of the world. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). May we live in His joy this Christmas and always.—Activated Magazine

The grand story

From his humble birth to his despicable death, the exalted King, though unrecognisable by his own people, as was foretold, came and bore our human experience to usher us back to his Kingdom. What a grand story Christmas is!

From the dawn of time, God has always intended to dwell with his creation (Genesis 3:8), and thankfully, at the end of time, he will do so (Revelation 21:4). Due to the disobedience of the first family, consequentially, all of humanity became estranged from God (Genesis 3:22–23, Psalm 51:5).

When God unfolded his redemption plan, he graciously offered his nearness to a specific people for his mission through covenants. This was the case for Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and then later with the nation of Israel. The Jews understood this perfectly, that unless God was among them, they would perish. Moses’ famous prayer for God to show his glory revealed this sentiment (Exodus 33:12–18). The nearness of God was always a huge celebration point for the Israelite nation, unlike its pagan neighbours (Exodus 13:21–22, Exodus 40:34–38).

“From his humble birth to his despicable death, the exalted King came
and bore our human experience to usher us back to his Kingdom.”

This is precisely why the birth of Jesus is magnificent. The God of the universe not only chooses to redeem us himself, but also uses means least expected! He does not save us from a distance but comes to share our whole experience with us. God, who had only spoken and revealed himself through a few, had now chosen to dwell among us, and so, rightly fitting is his name: Immanuel (Matthew 1:23). Moreover, this name would not only remind Matthew’s Jewish audience of how God resided among their descendants in the tabernacle and the temple, but also allude to Isaiah’s prophecy about the birth of a baby whose name would be Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14–17).

Israel longed for her Saviour, who has now appeared amidst darkness. The darkness is still a malady that grips us today through our sins and sorrows (Isaiah 9:1–2, Matthew 4:15–16). But in contrast, the scriptures offer us good news, that the light has come (John 1:9).

And since God has worked through several millennia to bring us this gift of his Son, we do well to have a proper understanding of who Jesus is and what his true mission is to rightly honour him. Seize the season, wait no more, and join the greatest story ever told. Turn to Jesus, the exalted King.—Daphne Byamukama¹

Christmas grace

Father Josef Mohr pastored the small church of Arnsdorf, near Salzburg, Austria. The congregation, like the village, was comprised of simple people. They were farmers and woodworkers. There was more poverty than affluence. They worked long hours and endured harsh winters. Christmas was one of their few respites. The pastor did his best to make the holiday service special for his flock.

But this year, 1818, he had a problem. The organ had become unfit for use. It was old. Mice had eaten at the bellows. The church needed a new one. But they didn’t have the money. Father Mohr went to his organist and expressed his chagrin, “We must have something special for midnight mass.”

What is Christmas, they wondered, without music? On the day before Christmas Eve, the Father was called to administer last rites to a dying woman. By the time he returned to Arnsdorf, the hour was late. The valley and the village lay in darkness. The priest paused on a height overlooking the town. The events had left him sad: the useless organ, the death of a parishioner, the cold night and long journey.

His heart, like the valley, was lost in shadows. But then he saw a faint light of a distant home. Against the black curtain of night, it shone even brighter. The priest pondered the light, then thought to himself: It must have been something like this—that silent, holy night in Bethlehem.

Suddenly inspired, he hurried home, sat over his desk and wrote:

Silent Night, Holy Night,
All is dark, save the light,
Yonder where they sweet vigils keep,
O’er the Babe, who, in silent sleep,
Rests in heavenly peace,
Rests in heavenly peace.

Silent night, peaceful night,
Darkness flies, all is light;
Shepherds hear the angels sing.
Alleluia! Hail the King,
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born.

Upon arising the next morning, he took his lyrics to Franz Gruber, his organist. Within moments, Gruber imagined the perfect melody. When he sang the song to his wife, she told him, “We will die, you and I, but this song will live.”

It has. Christmas is not Christmas without the song, “Silent Night.” We cherish its promise. The world still sits in shadows. Death casts its shroud. Misfortune silences the organ. Yet, whatever the generations bring, the light of Jesus still shines.

Thank God for Christmas. Thank God it’s Christmas.—Max Lucado²

Published on Anchor December 2025. Read by Jerry Paladino. Music from the Christmas Moments album, used by permission.

¹ Daphne Byamukama, “When Waiting for Christmas Was Over,” africa.thegospelcoalition.org, December 25, 2022, https://africa.thegospelcoalition.org/article/when-waiting-for-christmas-was-over.

² Max Lucado, “We Need Some Christmas This Christmas,” maxlucado.com, https://maxlucado.com/we-need-some-christmas-this-christmas.

Rediscovering Wonder

December 17, 2025

By Brandon Gilliam

The Christmas story is filled with breathtaking moments that remind us of God’s extraordinary power and love. A star guiding wise men across the desert. Angels singing in the skies. A virgin giving birth to the Savior of the world. These moments dazzle us with their wonder, but they can also feel distant from our everyday lives. I mean, when was the last time a bunch of wise kings dropped off some gold on your front steps?

How do these miraculous events relate to the steady rhythms of work, errands, and family responsibilities? The truth is, the same God who orchestrated the extraordinary events of Jesus’s birth is at work in the everyday details of our lives. This Christmas season let’s uncover how the awe of the Nativity can inspire us to see God’s hand in our daily moments.

(Read the article here.)

https://becomenew.com/rediscovering-wonder.

Are You Lonely This Christmas?

December 16, 2025

A compilation

Audio length: 13:03

Download Audio (11.9MB)

Over the years, Christmas has taken on different meanings for me. When I was a young child, it meant a special family holiday, reading the Christmas story at Sunday school, walking home in the snow, and a new book to read.

After receiving Jesus as my Savior, Christmas took on the meaning of sharing the message of His birth and “good will to men” with others.

Still later, after I got married and had children, it meant making new family traditions, which included decorating, giving gifts, and preparing Christmas dinners together in a bustling and cozy home atmosphere.

All of these past Christmases evoke warm memories, and as Norman Vincent Peale so aptly said, thinking about them waves a magic wand over my world and makes everything seem softer and more beautiful.

However, when my family dynamic changed with divorce and children leaving home, I came to experience what it means to be an empty nester—and alone at Christmas. It wasn’t an easy adjustment.

That first Christmas morning alone in a small apartment, I woke to a decorated but silent home. I was heading to see my son and his family later that day, and got up to prepare a side dish for the dinner they were hosting. The presents under my tree would also be taken to their home for distribution. It was the first time for me to not host an event at Christmas and to not be surrounded by kids and grandkids, and I had to fight against the forlorn and lonely feelings that started to overwhelm me.

The time spent together later that day was lovely, and I enjoyed the time I had with my son, grandson, and his wife’s family very much—until it was time to go back to my empty flat. Driving home alone was miserable, and once back home, I shed some lonely tears.

Sitting in my silent living room, I picked up a Christmas-themed gift book on my coffee table, and leafing through the pages, I reflected on how Jesus left His home in heaven to bring love and hope to the world. I realized that I undoubtedly wasn’t the only lonely person that Christmas, and after drying my tears, I picked up the phone and dialed the number of an elderly woman I had befriended some time ago. Talking with her, I learned that she also had been home alone, and she was so grateful for our chat. I also called my children whom I hadn’t spoken with yet that day, and some relatives abroad, and found that some of them hadn’t had the “perfect” Christmas either. I felt better after reaching out to others, and I determined to remember this for next Christmas, and all the ones after that.

Each of my Christmases since then has been different. One Christmas I volunteered and spent time helping a few elderly people decorate their trees or homes, as it can be hard for them to do it on their own. I’ve also baked cookies with my grandchildren and taken them around to neighbors who don’t get many visitors. And a phone or FaceTime call never failed to make a difference and bring smiles to my face and the faces of those who lived too far away to go see.

Life happens, and you, too, may find yourself alone at Christmas because of children moving out, divorce, or bereavement. It’s not an easy adjustment to make, and lonely tears may flow at times. Still, although circumstances may be different, being alone at Christmas doesn’t have to be a negative experience. Even when we’re alone, we’re never completely alone, because Jesus is always with us, and when we reach out and give of ourselves to others, fulfillment and joy come back to us.—Lilia Potters

My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?—Bob Hope

Being alone and being lonely are two different things. One can be alone without being lonely, and one can be lonely in a crowded room. Loneliness is, therefore, a state of mind, an emotion brought on by feelings of separation from other human beings. …

No one felt loneliness more keenly than David… His own son had risen up against him, the men of Israel went after him, and he was forced to flee from the city and leave his house and family. Lonely and afflicted (Psalm 25:16), his only recourse was to turn to God and plead for mercy and God’s intervention (Psalm 25:21) because his only hope was in God…

Whatever the cause of loneliness, for the Christian the cure is always the same—the comforting fellowship of Christ. That loving relationship with our Master has reassured and encouraged countless thousands who languished in prisons and even went to their deaths for His sake. He is the friend who “sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24), who lays down His life for His friends (John 15:13–15), and who has promised never to leave us or forsake us but to be with us until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).—GotQuestions.org¹

I’d been trying not to think about Christmas, dreading the day, hoping against hope that some angel would come into my life and make everything okay. I even tried pretending that it was just a normal day, nothing special, in hopes that would make the loneliness go away.

But I couldn’t avoid it: Christmas was all around me, and I was alone. No one to talk to, no one to laugh with, and no one to wish me a happy Christmas. With each minute that passed I was getting more depressed, and that’s what I dreaded the most!

To cheer myself up, I searched for happy memories to occupy my mind. One that popped up was about my Sunday school teacher. He was an easygoing, friendly man who spent a lot of time with us kids and had a knack for making things fun. He had said that Jesus was the joy of his life. His words ran through my mind as I thought back to those childhood days when he said, “Just take Jesus with you.”

Would that work? I thought about it. I was alone—no one would know the difference. So, I decided then and there to make Jesus my friend for the day.

We did everything together: drank hot chocolate by the fire, walked the streets together, talked about how pretty the world was, laughed, and waved at passersby. I could almost feel His arm around me everywhere I went and hear His voice talking to me. In whispers beyond the realm of audible sound, He told me He loved me—yes, me—and that He would always be my friend. Somehow I knew I would never be alone again.

As I lay down to sleep that Christmas night, I felt so happy, so peaceful, so content. It seemed odd, but then again it didn’t. I’d spent the day with Jesus, and I just hoped that others had had as happy a Christmas Day as me.—Vivian Peterson

“And you can be sure that I am always with you, to the very end.”—Jesus, Matthew 28:20

How do we fight so hard to create fun holiday memories, only to feel like failures? … It’s supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year. So how do we evict the Grinch-like grumpiness and Charlie Brown sadness to recapture the joy of Christmas?

I’m encouraged by the story of the wise men preserved for us in Scripture. As they followed a shining star for hundreds of miles, looking for Jesus, they stopped by King Herod’s Jerusalem palace.

But King Herod had to tell them Jesus wasn’t there—He was in Bethlehem.

“After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed” (Matthew 2:9–10).

Overjoyed.

That word gives me pause. When the wise men saw the star, the ESV Bible says “they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy” (Matthew 2:10).

That is what I want for us this Christmas season: to recalibrate our holiday disorientation and set our sights on the shining Light of the world. Then we’ll rejoice with jubilation and celebration—as the Magi did so long ago.

I offer this prayer for Christmas joy as a simple path to turn our attention back to King Jesus. May you find its words guiding you into His presence again and again:

Lord, how creative You are to use even the stars above to guide people into Your presence! Draw us close to You this Christmas season. Turn our disappointments into prompts for prayer and our festive celebrations into channels of adoration.

You alone bring true joy to the world, so help us slow down, quiet our hearts, and fix our eyes on You, Jesus—the Light that shines brighter than any star. As the wise men were filled with great joy, fill us up to overflow with the wonder of Your birth, Jesus.

Restore the sparkle to our eyes and the joy of salvation to our hearts as we seek You, today and every day. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.—Asheritah Ciuciu²

Published on Anchor December 2025. Read by Jerry Paladino. Music from the Christmas Moments album, used by permission.

¹ “What does the Bible say about loneliness?” GotQuestions.org, https://www.gotquestions.org/loneliness.html

² Asheritah Ciuciu, “A Prayer for Christmas Joy,” Proverbs31.org, December 2, 2024, https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2024/12/02/a-prayer-for-christmas-joy

Sharing Hope This Christmas Season

December 15, 2025

By Maria Fontaine

Audio length: 8:23

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It’s almost the Christmas season once again! This is the perfect time of the year to highlight what Jesus did for every person and bring Him into the picture front and center. People in most countries don’t usually question why we speak about Jesus during the weeks that lead up to Christmas. Even many of those who prefer the expression “Happy Holidays” know that the “reason for the season” is a celebration of Jesus’ birth. This is why Christmas is such a great opportunity to tell others about Jesus and why He is called the Prince of Peace.

Christmas cards and greetings can be wonderful ways to share a short message with people. When sending a Christmas card or a text message or email, a note along the following lines can provide a summary of the meaning of Christmas:

“May you enjoy this Christmas season, the celebration of the birth of God’s Son, Jesus. He is the Prince of Peace. He came into our world as a little baby. He suffered persecution, pain, crucifixion, and death for our sakes. He understands what you’re going through. When you feel that no one knows or cares, He does. You are not alone. You can know God’s love, comfort, and peace by asking Jesus to come into your heart.”

This is a simple but impactful message, especially if followed up with a personal conversation or additional devotional publications. People need to know that Jesus loves them and that He can bring light in the midst of the darkness and confusion of this world. By telling them the story of Christmas, you can give them hope and guide them to His truth.

Christmas is also a great time to share tracts with people you encounter throughout your day, who you may not have the opportunity to speak with in depth. Many people are more open to reading a tract about Christmas, which is generally understood to be a season of goodwill and peace. (You can find Christmas tracts in various languages here.)

I have included below some of the most well-loved Bible verses (NIV) for Christmas that you might want to share via email or as you read the Bible with others. These are especially helpful for people who do not know the true meaning of Christmas.

God bless you with a wonderfully fruitful Christmas season!

* * *

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.—Isaiah 9:6

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.—Galatians 4:4–5

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.—Luke 1:26–38

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).—Matthew 1:18–23

And she [Mary] gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”—Luke 2:7–14

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.—John 1:14

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.—John 3:16

Originally published November 2022. Adapted and republished December 2025. Read by Lenore Welsh. Music from the Christmas Moments album, used by permission.

05 – More Like Jesus: Fellowship with God (Part 1)

More Like Jesus

Peter Amsterdam

2016-03-15

When we desire to become more like Jesus, it’s helpful to find foundational principles we can build on. While Christlikeness is manifested in the decisions we make and our outward actions, it stems from who we are internally. Christlikeness develops within us as we are continually transformed into His image.

We, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.¹

The key to such transformation is the gift of salvation, which we have received through Jesus’ death on the cross. It is through His sacrifice that we have the power to become new people, new creations in Him.² The reason salvation is the key is that due to the fall of humanity through Adam and Eve’s sin, there was a rupture in the original fellowship that God had with humankind. The original intent was for people to be in fellowship with God, but sin made a break in the fellowship they had at first. God, however, made a way for that fellowship to be renewed. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, fellowship has been restored, and those who have entered into that fellowship will remain in it for eternity.

God, through the sacrifice of His Son, made it possible for human beings to be reconciled with Him. Reconciling is defined as the ending of conflict, or the renewing of a friendly relationship between those who have been disputing. In Paul’s epistles, he speaks of reconciliation, of our being brought back into the family of God.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.³

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself.⁴

You, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death.⁵

When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”⁶

The sin of Adam and Eve (and our individual sins) brought about a separation between God and humanity, but He made a way for us to once again enter into fellowship with Him. The cost of reestablishing that fellowship was huge: the suffering and death of His own Son, who took the punishment for all the sins of humanity upon Himself. When we think of the price God was willing to pay to bring us back into fellowship with Him, we should respond with awe at how important this must be to Him.

Understanding the importance of our fellowship with the Lord is one of the foundational principles for becoming more like Jesus. The Creator of everything wants to fellowship with us and was willing to go to great lengths to make it possible.

The apostle John wrote: Indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.⁷

The apostle Paul wrote: God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.⁸

The Greek word koinōnia is translated in Scripture as “fellowship,” as well as “communion” (in KJV), “communication,” and “to communicate.” Some synonyms for fellowship are companionship, friendship, partnership, cooperativeness, solidarity, and community. As Christians, we are called to be in fellowship with God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Being companions, friends, and partners with God means relationship. We have the blessing, honor, and privilege of having a personal relationship with God, and we are called to cultivate it.

Jesus set the example of taking time for His relationship with His Father.

Rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.⁹ Now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.¹⁰ He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.¹¹

The time Jesus spent with His Father was His source of spiritual strength. Even amidst the busyness of ministering to crowds, He made time to fellowship with God, listen to God, and receive instruction. I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.¹²We too are called to spend personal time with the Lord, and it should be a priority for us, as it was for Jesus.

True fellowship with God begins with being God-centered, recognizing that our most important relationship is with Him. (We have other relationships, but He is our primary one.) Considering all that God has done for us, bringing us into His family and making it possible for us to be in relationship with Him, we should delight in making our relationship and fellowship with Him a priority in our daily life.

This fellowship (companionship, friendship, partnership, and solidarity) entails spending time in His presence, communicating with Him, worshipping Him; having two-way communication with Him by speaking to Him in prayer, reading His Word and listening to what He has to say to us through it, and listening to His voice as He speaks to us personally.

If our aim is to be more like Jesus, it is vital to give priority to our fellowship with Him. If not, we can’t be healthy Christians who are growing and maturing spiritually. Just as we can’t be physically healthy without eating each day, or can’t stay clean without regular bathing, neither can we stay spiritually healthy or clean without being in regular fellowship with our Creator. It’s just not possible.

Of course, fellowshipping with the Lord means devoting time to it, and finding time in our busy lives is never easy. There are myriad duties, events, responsibilities in caring for others, daily life chores, commitments, and recreation and sleep, which all need to be fit into our schedules. These things need to be done, but if we are to live a God-centered life, then setting aside time for fellowship with God should be our top priority.

To give our relationship with the Lord the priority it deserves requires commitment and personal discipline. He laid down His life for us, making it possible to live with Him forever, so giving some part of each day back to Him in love and gratitude is the least we can do. It can feel like a sacrifice for me to set aside time to fellowship with the Lord, but when I compare the benefits between spending time with Him and staying up an extra hour at night watching TV or reading or browsing online, there’s simply no comparison. I might be entertained for an hour, but that comes and goes; whereas if I go to bed an hour earlier so that I can wake up an hour earlier for fellowship with the Lord, it has a noticeable positive effect on my life. Carving out time in our day to spend with God, no matter how difficult that may be, should be a permanent commitment for anyone who wants to live in communion and fellowship with the Lord.

Rather than looking at our time with the Lord as a chore or something we have to do, we should see it for what it really is—a wonderful privilege. We are granted access to God, our Father in heaven; to Jesus, who laid down His life for us; and to the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us. It’s a time with the one who is supposed to be our primary relationship. It’s a time to praise and thank Him for who He is and what He’s done for us. It’s time to connect with our Creator and Savior who sustains our life, who loves us, and has established a personal relationship with us.

When speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus told her: The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.¹³ We see that same concept in a verse that is often used in witnessing (and rightly so), although in its original context, it was said by Jesus to lukewarm Christians: Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.¹⁴ Jesus desires fellowship with us.¹⁵

We take time daily with God because we love Him, because He deserves our praise, thankfulness, and devotion. Of course, there are benefits for us. When we take time in fellowship with the Lord, He responds. When we stop other activity and enter into His presence, we put ourselves in a position to listen to Him and receive His direction. He is able to guide us with His counsel,¹⁶ to teach us to do His will.¹⁷

As we spend regular time with God, we grow spiritually and we become more like Him. This is especially true when we spend time reading, meditating on, and applying His Word.

Jesus prayed:

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.¹⁸ Through living the truth of the Bible, we are sanctified, or made holy. If anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.¹⁹ As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”²⁰

As we spend time with the Lord in His Word, we are challenged to grow and change. His Word teaches us, points out our faults and sins, corrects us, changes us, and causes us to grow in right living.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.²¹

As we grow in our faith, we stop doing things that are in conflict with what His Word teaches; as we put off our old self and our sins, we become more godly, more like Jesus.

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.²² Now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.²³

Fellowshipping with God is a priority in the lives of those who wish to be more like Jesus. Prayer, reading and absorbing God’s Word, praising and worshipping Him, talking with Him about our life—our hopes and dreams, triumphs and failures, confessing our sins, asking for His help, telling Him we love Him, listening to what He tells us—are all part of that fellowship, friendship, companionship, and partnership we are meant to have with Him.

(Part 2 of Fellowship with God will touch on ways to have meaningful time with God.)

Note

Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptures are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

¹ 2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV.

² 2 Corinthians 5:17.

³ Romans 5:10–11.

⁴ 2 Corinthians 5:18–19.

⁵ Colossians 1:21–22.

⁶ Galatians 4:4–6.

⁷ 1 John 1:3.

⁸ 1 Corinthians 1:9.

⁹ Mark 1:35.

¹⁰ Luke 5:15–16.

¹¹ Luke 22:39.

¹² John 5:30.

¹³ John 4:23.

¹⁴ Revelation 3:20.

¹⁵ Rick Warren, Rick Warren’s Bible Study Methods (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006), 235.

¹⁶ Psalm 73:24.

¹⁷ Psalm 143:10.

¹⁸ John 17:17.

¹⁹ 2 Timothy 2:21.

²⁰ 1 Peter 1:14–16 NIV.

²¹ 2 Timothy 3:16–17.

²² Ephesians 4:22–24 NIV.

²³ Colossians 3:8–10.

The Countercultural Call of Christianity

Treasures

2025-06-05

When Pilate asked Jesus if He was a king, He replied that His kingdom “is not of this world” and it is not “from the world” (John 18:35–36). Jesus told His followers: “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world” (John 15:19). Christians have been born again into His kingdom, which is “not of this world,” and “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20).

As Christians, we are called to be “in this world,” even though we are “not of it” (John 17:14–15), so that we can shine His light to those around us. Through our lives, our witness, and our actions, we want people to perceive that we are “different” so that they will be drawn to God and His love and truth shining through us (Matthew 5:16).

The greatest sermon ever preached—the Sermon on the Mount—that changed the world forever, taught truths that were contrary to the ways of the world. It was delivered to His disciples by Jesus, who would later climb His final mount—Mount Calvary at Golgotha—to die for the sins of the world. Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to His disciples, commissioning them to preach to the people and to testify of Him sharing the good news that everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins through His name (Acts 10:40–43).

After Jesus’ disciples heard His Sermon on the Mount, they were never the same, as they heard the voice of God teaching them truths in fulfillment of all that had been recorded in the Scriptures up until that time. Jesus’ teachings stood in stark contradiction to the world of their day under the powerful empire of the Romans, whose conquests swept their part of the world.

On the mount, Jesus taught: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). Everyday ordinary people, at least four of whom were fishermen, heard a carpenter tell them truths of a kingdom that will be greater than the Roman Empire and will rule the universe.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). More blessed to have problems and sorrows than power and prosperity? Yes, because those who live for God’s kingdom will be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). Those who are meek and don’t retaliate with violence, but rather endure hardships in this life for their faith will be blessed in the world to come. “If we die with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure hardship, we will also reign with him” (2 Timothy 2:11–12). The poor in spirit, the meek and those who mourn will inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Everyone who hungers and thirst for the truth, goodness, and justice will be filled when they seek for God, as these can only truly be found in Him. “He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty” (Luke 1:53).

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:7–9). Jesus is the Prince of Peace, whose arrival was foretold long before His birth (Isaiah 9:6). He is our peace, and “He came and preached peace” to everyone—to “those who were far off and to those who were near” (Ephesians 2:14–17). His followers are called to share “the gospel of peace” with others (Ephesians 6:15), as “those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness” (James 3:18).

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10). You may find that as you plant the seeds of the gospel you will face opposition and even persecution from those who reject the truth. “In this world you will face tribulation, but take heart, for I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

So “rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven” (Matthew 5:12). You may not be rewarded in this life for being a faithful follower of Christ and a witness to your faith, but the Lord has promised that you will experience His peace and joy (John 14:27; 15:11).

Only one way

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Jesus made it clear that He is the only way to salvation, the only truth and path to eternal life. He also said, “Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it: because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13–14).

History has shown time and again in every age man’s ability to wreak havoc and destruction on his fellow human beings and on the earth. As the German philosopher Hegel once said, one thing we learn from history is that we never learn from history. And the inhumanity, inequality, and destruction we read of throughout history continue to repeat themselves.

When those in power are exposed for their sins of corruption, deception, greed, and the oppression of the exploited, they often furiously endeavor to claim that wrong is right and attempt to shout down and drown out the voice of truth. The early Christian martyrs were vilified and executed by Nero, who proclaimed them a threat to the Roman Empire and attempted to stamp them out. But the Roman Empire eventually crumbled, while its citizens were conquered by the truth, love, and peace of the persecuted Christians, and many were converted to Christianity.

History is full of those who dared to challenge the status quo of their day, who defied the politically correct mores and values of their day, who championed an unpopular cause, or did something beyond the call of duty. They took a stance for truth and for what was right, no matter what the popular narrative or norms of their day. The Bible says, “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:3).

Empires rise and empires fall, and the grandeur that was once Greece will tumble into ruins and the glory that was Rome will fade into oblivion, but whoever does the will of God will abide forever (1 John 2:17). We know that “whatever God does, it shall be forever, and nothing can be added to it or taken from it,” that He who is eternal may be made manifest, and the beauty of His creation and the glory of His power will be known (Ecclesiastes 3:14).

All over the world, we see vestiges of once great buildings and structures, now in ruins, as one power rose only to fall and to be replaced by another in the ever changing face of history.—One constructing and another destroying, one building and another tearing down, one creating and another demolishing. Each new kingdom or empire has been washed away except for the vestiges of the past—the debris and wreckage of centuries, often cleared away to build a new monument. They eventually end up in the grave of oblivion, reminders of man’s transitory tenure on this earth—in stark contrast to the eternality of God and His kingdom.

Setting our eyes on the eternal

God is continually working in the universe and effecting change in every sphere of creation. He is never static, except for Himself: “I am the Lord: I do not change” (Malachi 3:6); and except for His Word: “Forever, O Lord, Your Word is settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89); and except for the future—His promises to His children of eternal life in His presence. “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:40).

No matter how much the world around us or our personal circumstances change, whether we abase or abound, in times of war and peace, in life and in death, “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). As the words of the beloved hymn express:

Abide with me, fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide…
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
—Henry Francis Lyte, 1847

The Bible tells us to set our minds and affections on things above—the kingdom of heaven—not on things on the earth (Colossians 3:2). We are called to fix our eyes “not on what is seen, but on what is unseen,” for the things which are seen are only for a time, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Since the beginning of time, God’s children have been looking for an unseen world, a “city which has foundations”—eternal foundations—“whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10). Not having received all that God had promised them but having seen those promises from afar, they remained strangers and pilgrims on the earth because they sought a better, that is, a heavenly country. “Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city” (Hebrews 11:13–16).

This is the hope of all ages: the kingdom of heaven where we will dwell with God forever, described in the last two chapters of the Bible, Revelation 21 and 22. Jesus instructed His followers to pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10), and we continue to look forward to the day when “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).

Therefore, “seek first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33). Not the ephemeral things of this world, but the kingdom of God whose building we are, living stones in a spiritual house not made with hands, but eternal in the heavens (1 Peter 2:5; 2 Corinthians 5:1).

The eternal creations of God—the souls of human beings—will outlast all of the empires, the world powers, the buildings, technologies, and scientific advancements of humankind. The touch of the divine in His creation, every immortal human soul ever born is His handiwork. Every Christian is “His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). We, in turn, are called by Jesus to “go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone” and urge them to come into His kingdom (Mark 16:15; Luke 14:23).

Published on Anchor June 2025. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.

God’s Love Defines Us

December 12, 2025

By Jeff Griffin

Is God’s love just a warm sentiment, like a Hallmark card? Or is it the kind of love that has the power to change your life and the world? The apostle John proclaimed that God’s love comes first, and through it, everything can change.

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1 NIV).

Run time for this video is 33 minutes.

Stand Out for Jesus

December 11, 2025

By Virginia Brandt Berg

Audio length: 9:56

Download Audio (9.1MB)

I received a letter that touched my heart. It was from a mother who wrote about how her son seemed to be slipping. He was in the service overseas. His letters showed that he was slipping away from the family moorings and from the Word of God; he was not like the young man who left home; and she begged for prayer. It’s not easy to be where the soldiers are encamped together, at the battlefront together. There are lots of temptations.

Some of us as Christians are not willing to come out for the Lord, and to be so deeply dedicated and absolutely surrendered to the Lord that we speak boldly for Him. We ask our young soldiers to be bold about their witness and their testimony when they are in camp, but I wonder if we always are so bold?

The Bible says: “Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised and we esteemed him not” (Isaiah 53:1–3).

But we’re not willing to be the least bit despised for Him, though, are we? What I mean is speaking out when we should for the Lord, and not being afraid of man, daring to take a stand for what is right and for God’s Word. But He was despised.

“Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4–5).

Oh, this wonderful passage in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah! You might be quite familiar with it, but I wanted to draw attention again to what Jesus suffered for us and yet how little we are willing to suffer for Him.

Jesus died that we might have liberty. He was poor that we might be rich in spiritual things. And yet we are not willing to sacrifice for Him. I say, dearly beloved, that to be a secret disciple and make no personal, public testimony is not being a dedicated, consecrated Christian.

Some of us are so afraid that it would make us seem peculiar or different from the crowd. Isn’t that so? We have heard so much about the dedicated communists and their cause; and they are certainly dedicated, super-sacrificial, super-determined, and super-active, that’s true. Too many of us, however, are passive, and our senses are somehow dulled about our duty to stand out to speak boldly for the truth.

The sixth chapter of Ephesians talks about this boldness. “And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:19–20).

Oh, that God would give us boldness that we might stand out for the Lord Jesus Christ and take such a definite stand that we’re utterly fearless about what people say and think about us!

I think we’re just dulled by luxury and prosperity and all our gadgets. Our senses are dulled by what we see and hear of crime and sex and the world on TV. Our conscience is dull because we have become hardened by constant contact with it all and we don’t do anything about it.

But when I think of Jesus, wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him. (See Isaiah 53:5.) And as it says in 1 John 3:16: “He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

How I pray that God will raise up more people who will acknowledge God as sovereign, the Bible as our guide, and who are free from the fear of man, that they might be willing to die for some of their convictions!

You know, among professing Christians today there isn’t this boldness. So many try to figure out just how far they can go and yet not hurt their reputation; how far they can stand for Jesus Christ and yet not in any way make themselves seem peculiar. They don’t want to be real outstanding Christians for fear of being called fanatics or fools for Christ’s sake. (See 1 Corinthians 4:10.) They want to be very dainty and aloof in their Christian walk and not disturb anybody, unlike those who walked with Paul, of whom it was said, “These are they that turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6).

They were called disturbers, all right! But their names live to this very day and their influence is still felt, while the passive compromisers that are drifting around today are just drifting into oblivion.

I believe the Christian life is a devoted, dedicated life. You know where the power lies in a Christian life? In that very thing—in the depths of its devotion, in the height of its consecration. That’s where the power lies, in the extent of its dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Such a dedicated life doesn’t figure on moderation. It doesn’t figure on saving his reputation. He doesn’t say, “I’ll just partake a little of this and that, but I will be moderate.” Instead of that, he sets the force of his entire life towards that which is the world’s hope through the Lord Jesus Christ, and he won’t compromise. I know people like that, folks who take that kind of stand for the Lord, and my, they are brave souls!

The issues of Christian living need to be more sharply defined than the world defines them; they have to stand out sharp and clean-cut and be clearly defined. There is a tendency today on the part of Christians to cut corners and bend rock principles to make them fuzzy and uncertain. But the kingdom of God is founded on absolutes—absolute truth, absolute candor, and absolute sincerity. “Thus saith the Lord” is what a Christian stands on.

So far as Christ is concerned, the Christian must face the question of whether his allegiance is one and undivided, completely surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ. Therein lies the power of the Christian life. Its influence and its blessing lie there alone.

The greatest cause in all the world is this precious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. There isn’t any place for a chameleon character that changes color with every crowd and melts into their surrounding world without any convictions or moral courage.

Of course it will cost something! The espousal of every great cause has cost something. Some of the greatest of men have risked everything, even their heads, to courageously declare their allegiance to Jesus Christ.

I want to close by asking, Do you have the moral courage to take your stand openly for Jesus? And at every opportunity give expression to your Christian conviction no matter what the cost in popularity or position?

There is a heroic element that is necessary today. When the opportunity arises, do you come up with that heroism? The cause of Christ is suffering today because of halfhearted Christians. The great army of God is engaged in a life struggle. So, what will you do?

“And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:19–20).

From a transcript of a Meditation Moments broadcast, adapted. Published on Anchor December 2025. Read by Lenore Welsh.

Stepping Out of Darkness

December 10, 2025

By Simon Bishop

I thought to share a very personal experience with you, but I want to preface this by saying that I am not an expert on this subject and am just sharing this from a personal perspective. In case you are suffering from something similar, I encourage you to take whatever steps God might lead you to and also to seek professional help if needed.

Many years ago I experienced a period of deep depression. This was around 2011. I wasn’t really aware of what I was experiencing at the time. I just felt a complete lack of energy, with no desire to enjoy life, no anticipation or hope for the future, and it was as if each day was a monumental hurdle to overcome. Often, I would wake up at night with feelings of deep sadness, or at other times with crushing worry or anxiety.

At this time almost all my children were still young, and I needed to care for them. I also had my daily responsibilities to fulfill, and I needed to continue with my mission work. So, although I felt exhausted in every way, giving up or lying down were not options. Sometimes I would be on my knees at the edge of my bed, not really praying, other than saying over and over again, “God help me, God help me,” until I felt enough strength to get up and go out each day.

I had to fight through each day. I cannot say that I did this well, and now looking back, although I felt I was doing rather well in concealing my state of mind from my friends and supporters, Bible study groups, etc., I think many people were at least aware that something was amiss. Some of my friends showed extra concern and care and went out of their way to be kind, encouraging, and supportive, offering help and checking up on me. This was a blessing, although sometimes I felt puzzled at their efforts to check up on me, because I was unaware of how much the depression was affecting me on the outside as well.

Many people helped me to make it through this period that lasted over two years, even if they didn’t know everything I was going through. I also learned some strategies and methods that helped me cope, and I still use these now whenever I feel discouragement or depression threatening to overwhelm me. I wanted to share these here in case they might be of help to you.

One very important tactic is physical exercise and outdoor activity. I found that spending from 30 minutes to one hour each day in some form of vigorous exercise had a remarkable effect on my mental state. Often on the weekends, if I was able to ride my bike for several hours, I found I was much happier and more relaxed afterwards for an extended period of time. I have since discovered that many doctors say that exercise has the same effect as anti-depressant medication, but without the negative side effects.

Another thing which was a great help is that my work involves interacting with and caring for others, ministering to people, praying for them, and generally focusing on others. Although this seemed like a huge challenge each day, it was actually one of the best therapies I could have had. Interacting with and caring for others always left me with a feeling of happiness and fulfillment.

I had a longtime fellow missionary friend who often collaborated with us on mission projects. She was a great blessing, as a few times when I felt completely overwhelmed and in a very dark place, I was able to talk with her, and she prayed with and for me. Just knowing that I had another person who knew my inner state and was willing to be present in the circumstances with me was such a blessing.

Another thing which helped was to avail myself of God’s Word, specifically the Psalms, to encourage myself. During the day I would read and reflect on them. And at night, when I would wake up and feel crushing anxiety or sadness, I would quote over and over a few Psalms that I know by heart and would feel God’s peace slowly surround me, and most nights I was able to go back to sleep.

Here are a few of the Psalms and other verses which I often read or quoted:

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked came against me
To eat up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.
One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.
—Psalm 27:1–5

You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.
I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
I cling to you;
your right hand upholds me.
—Psalm 63:1–8

For which cause I suffer also these things: yet I am not ashamed; for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed unto him against that day.—2 Timothy 1:12

During this time, I listened to a sermon by Tim Keller about Elijah,¹ specifically about his breakdown after calling down fire from heaven, defeating the prophets of Baal, praying for and receiving abundant rain, and even outrunning the king’s chariot. He then heard that Jezebel was going to have him killed, and he fled and basically gave up. Tim Keller talked about when Elijah was exhausted and slept, and an angel came to him.

And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.—1 Kings 19:3–8

The main point that Keller made was that it’s not all spiritual. Yes, Elijah needed and eventually received encouragement and instruction from God, but first he simply needed rest, companionship, and food. With my tendency to overspiritualize situations, I found the concept eye-opening and very helpful that God sent an angel, not with a message or instruction, but simply to minister to his physical needs and to encourage Elijah during his time of despair. This helped me find a balance in my own life as well.

Thankfully, eventually I was able to come out of this difficult time, and I’ve regained happiness and joy and a zest for life, as well as a greater appreciation for the joy that comes from the Lord.

I learned that the solutions were both physical, psychological, and spiritual. I needed:

Rest, exercise, a good diet.
Stimulating activities, encouragement from friends, outgoing interaction.
God’s Word, prayer, and faith.

I pray that my experience can be an encouragement to you if you are going through any hardships in your life at this time, and that you can also find strength in God and His Word to carry you through.

¹ Tim Keller, “Elijah and the Voice,” OnePlace, May 10, 2023, https://www.oneplace.com/ministries/gospel-in-life/listen/elijah-and-the-voice-1060455.html

We Need Each Other

December 9, 2025

A compilation

Audio length: 10:42

Download Audio (9.8MB)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of all mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.—2 Corinthians 1:3–4

The worst kind of loneliness for me is being surrounded by people and yet still feeling utterly alone. … The world is spinning, people are connecting, music is playing, and there I am in the middle of it all—smiling on the outside but crying on the inside. …

Never have I understood this feeling more than when I’ve hit rough seasons in my life but didn’t know who to turn to for help. Because I wasn’t sure what to say or who was safe to talk to, I just walked through my days pretending to connect with others … but feeling so very isolated.

I’m astounded by the number of [people] who feel the same way. They’ve slipped me notes in person or through social media that admit how very alone they feel, often because of hurt they haven’t been able to talk about or process.

[We can become] so consumed with hurt and so convinced it will never get better that we miss one of God’s greatest gifts: God made us to do life in a community of believers where we can stand on someone else’s faith when our own gets shaky. These are people who can help us see hope amid our hurts. Friends who pray more words over us than they speak to us. Fellow journeymen who can share their testimonies of heartbreak-turned-healing so we don’t get swallowed up by the pain of our similar circumstances.

We need each other.

God designed us to help each other. … Throughout the Bible, we see our need for each other clearly communicated.

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). …

Who do you need to share your tears with? Who needs to know they aren’t alone?

I know how hard it is to open up about our deepest disappointments. I understand how terrifying vulnerability can be. But I also know there’s someone else in the world who would drown in their own tears if not for seeing yours. And when you make one other human simply see they aren’t alone, you make the world a better place. …

Father God, I’m so grateful You don’t waste any of my tears. I want to take these lessons I’m learning in my brokenness and use them to help someone else feel less alone, less broken, less hopeless. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.—Lysa TerKeurst¹

“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17). We are to sharpen one another—in times of meeting, fellowship, or any other interaction.

The proverb indicates the need for constant fellowship with one another. Man was not made to be alone, for did not the Lord God say this, even before the Fall (Genesis 2:18)? How much more, then, after the Fall of Man, do we need to come together with our brothers and sisters in Christ for seasons of fellowship and prayer? …

The Lord Himself promised—where two or more are gathered in His name, there He is among them (Matthew 18:20). … Iron sharpening iron is an opportunity to fulfill the Law of Christ. … This is the same “royal law” mentioned in James 2:8, where we are exhorted to love one another. … Let us therefore be encouraged to spend more time together, exhorting, encouraging, praying, admonishing, sharing God’s Word, praying over God’s Word and the needs of our local church, that we become sharper in the ministry that the Lord has assigned to each of us.—GotQuestions.org²

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24–25).

With all the technology we have today, we are more connected than we’ve ever been in human history. At the same time, we are more disconnected than we’ve ever been. I read recently that Millennials would rather text other people than speak with them personally. So sometimes we don’t talk to each other at all.

Someone has said, “Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, thinking together is unity, working together is success.”

God has given every Christian gifts from the Holy Spirit. These are not necessarily talents, which are the natural abilities we are born with. These are gifts that are supernaturally given to us from God—spiritual gifts.

We find these listed in Romans 12:6–8: “If God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”

We believers need to put down our phones and talk together, pray together, and work together because we are all part of the body of Christ. We are all part of the church. We are all part of the family of God. We have to find our places in the body of Christ and do the jobs that God has called us to do.—Greg Laurie³

In our life for the Lord and service to Him we have learned that He wants us to give of ourselves. However, truly caring for others takes time and effort, prayer, and continued interest. Time is precious, and when we show our willingness to take our time to help another person, it can have a profound impact—whether you put your time into prayer, or thinking about what kind of appreciation you can offer, or what you can do to help another person in practical ways that they need and appreciate. Whatever the Lord might show you to do, it will not go unnoticed. Even small acts of kindness can have a big impact on someone’s life.—Maria Fontaine

A worker was employed at a frozen fish factory. One day, while doing his job, he accidentally closed the refrigerator door while he was inside. He began shouting for help, but the workday had ended, and no one was left in the factory. Realizing this, he understood he was about to freeze to death.

However, at some point, the factory guard opened the refrigerator door and saved him from a terrible and certain death.

The factory manager asked the guard:

“How did you know the worker was still inside and hadn’t left?”

The guard replied:

“None of the workers ever greets me except for him. He always smiles at me and asks how I’m doing. That day, at closing time, I neither saw nor heard him. I knew—I was sure—he was still in the factory, so I searched for him until I found him.”

The worker’s kind words ended up saving his life. Kindness leaves an imprint on minds and hearts, melts even ice, opens iron doors, and can save lives.—Author unknown

Published on Anchor December 2025. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky. Music by Michael Fogarty.

¹ Lysa TerKeurst, “Your Tears Aren’t Wasted … Especially When They’re Shared With Others,” Proverbs 31, December 26, 2024, https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2024/12/26/your-tears-arent-wasted-especially-when-theyre-shared-with-others

² “What does it mean that iron sharpens iron?” GotQuestions.org, https://www.gotquestions.org/iron-sharpens-iron.html

³ Greg Laurie, “Why Christians Need Each Other,” Harvest.org, April 26, 2019, https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/why-christians-need-each-other/

The Creation of Humankind as Male and Female (part 1)

December 8, 2025

By Peter Amsterdam

Audio length: 10:20
Download Audio (9.4MB)

In the account of creation in Genesis chapter 1, the universe and everything in it—the sun, moon, stars, planets, oceans, land, animals, fish, and birds—were all created before human beings. Human beings were the last things God created. The Bible states that God created Adam, the first man, and afterward created Eve, the first woman.

When it comes to the origins of humankind, Christianity is committed to the biblical teaching that God historically created the first man and woman. Without getting into what timeframe God may have used in creating the world and mankind, the story of Adam and Eve’s creation and existence isn’t seen as being mythological or as a literary device. Rather, standard Christian understanding sees them as actual people who lived within the history of the world.

The Old Testament provides continuity and connectivity between Adam and the other Old Testament historical figures. It shows the connection between the generations of the first man and those who followed within Old Testament history. (It is possible that these genealogies do not include all the generations, but only the main or most important ones, meaning there may have been much more time and many more generations than the generations listed.)

In the New Testament it’s clearly indicated that Adam is a historical figure (1 Corinthians 15:45; 1 Timothy 2:13). On the historicity of Adam and Eve and the Genesis narrative, J. I. Packer wrote:

Though telling the story in a somewhat figurative style, Genesis asks us to read it as history; in Genesis, Adam is linked to the patriarchs and with them to the rest of mankind by genealogy (chapters 5, 10, 11), which makes him as much a part of the space-time history as were Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.¹

The following verses speak specifically about the creation of man and woman, with the first verses from Genesis 1 giving an overview, and those from Genesis 2 and 5 giving more specifics.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” … So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them (Genesis 1:26–27).

Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature (Genesis 2:7).

So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man He made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man” (Genesis 2:21–23).

When God created man, He made him in the likeness of Himself. Male and female He created them, and He blessed them and named them Man when they were created (Genesis 5:1–2).

Man and woman, Adam and Eve, were both created in God’s image and likeness, and once God created them, He named them together as Man. In times past it was common to use man or mankind when referring to the human race, both male and female. Today it is used less, with words such as humankind and humanity more commonly used.

As quoted above, in Genesis 1:26–27 God said: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness … male and female He created them. God making male and female equally in His image expresses the equality of the two genders—they are both equally human.

Similar to how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all equally God in essence, male and female are equally human in essence. They are equal in personhood and equal in importance. Theologian Wayne Grudem expresses it this way:

If we are equally in God’s image, then certainly men and women are equally important to God and equally valuable to Him. We have equal worth before Him for all eternity. The fact that both men and women are said by Scripture to be “in the image of God” should exclude all feelings of pride or inferiority and any idea that one sex is “better” or “worse” than the other. … If God thinks us to be equal in value, then that settles the question, for God’s evaluation is the true standard of personal value for all eternity.²

Women in the Bible

The New Testament, while written from within a very male-dominant society, teaches the equality of women in relation to God. A primary example is the infilling of the Holy Spirit falling equally to men and women.

In the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on My male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out My Spirit, and they shall prophesy (Acts 2:17–18).

When speaking of the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit, both Paul and Peter point out that these gifts are given to “each,” indicating that both genders were able to receive them (1 Corinthians 12:11).

In His time on earth, Jesus made a point of breaking societal taboos that were unfavorable to women. He spoke with them in public; He spoke to the Samaritan woman alone (John 4:4–26); He approved of the woman who uncovered her hair and touched Him in the house of Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:36–44); He had women followers who traveled with Him and His disciples (Luke 8:1–3)—all of which were culturally unacceptable in Jewish society at the time.

Paul makes the point about the equality of all people, including gender equality, within the church: “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:27–28).

Christian author Amy Orr-Ewing offers the following observation regarding Jesus’ acceptance of women and the role of women in the early church:

In contrast to the cultural norms of the time, Jesus made a habit of revealing great theological truths to women. The first person who discovers Christ’s true identity in John’s Gospel is the Samaritan woman at the well. We must not underestimate how radical this is: Jesus was turning cultural taboos on their heads by teaching women and allowing women to be His disciples.

In reality, it is clear that women played a full and vibrant role in the ministry of Jesus, both as examples within His teaching and as recipients of it. While this may seem absolutely right and proper in our 21st-century context, we must remember how radical this was in first-century Palestine. Jesus intentionally affirmed and included women.³(to be continued)

Formula of Five: Money Management (part 2)

By Peter Amsterdam

Number 3. Avoid debt. Pay off debts.

The best debt prevention is to live within your means, but if you currently have debt, don’t despair. Sometimes situations outside our control and beyond our best efforts can land us in debt: a series of emergencies, an accident, a serious illness in the family, the death of a family member, a business that fails, loss of employment, natural disaster, a failing national economy or catastrophic event. No matter how difficult the current situation is or how long it takes, you can trust that God is able to help you to get out of debt.

Sticking to a detailed budget is key to being, or becoming, debt-free. I like this quote from Dave Ramsey: “You wouldn’t build a house without a blueprint, so why do you spend your income without a blueprint?”[7]

Paying off debts, whether small or large, requires a plan, high commitment, and sacrifice. And depending on the amount of debt you owe, you may need to get fairly aggressive with your approach. If your goal is to save money toward your future, becoming debt-free becomes of paramount importance, as many types of debt come with high interest rates. You want to eliminate high-interest debt as quickly as possible. It will be very difficult, if not impossible, for you to strengthen your financial position and put money into savings if you have outstanding debts to pay off. Not to mention the sense of relief and freedom you will have when you are debt-free.

One of the qualities that come into play when your goal is to eliminate debt, or to save money, is self-discipline. “Self-discipline involves acting according to what you think instead of how you feel in the moment. Often it involves sacrificing the pleasure and thrill of the moment (often called delayed gratification) for what matters most in life. Therefore it is self-discipline that drives you to stick to your commitments when the going gets tough, so to speak. If you struggle with self-discipline, the good news is that it can be developed.”[8]

As a footnote, if you are in debt, especially significant debt, while these general tips will help strengthen your overall financial approach, I recommend that you consult a book or program that addresses specific strategies for getting out of debt.[9] Or seek out a mentor or a consultant from your bank who is knowledgeable in financial matters to help and guide you.

Number 4. Save. Build an emergency fund.

Proverbs 13:11 wisely states:

“Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.”

Saving is important. Even if you have a well-crafted budget and are living within your means, there are important, even vital, reasons to save. You probably noticed those encouraging words in the verse from Proverbs about saving—“little by little.” Any amount you can save is worthwhile, and it is worthwhile to start saving at the earliest opportunity. Successful savers list discipline, frugality, sacrifice, planning, perseverance, and hard work as key traits to saving and strengthening one’s financial position.[10]

A notable point on the topic of saving is creating an emergency fund. Emergencies happen to everyone, and there’s no way to plan for them or to know when they’re going to hit.

An emergency is a financial event outside of your control that threatens to throw your normal monthly budget completely out of whack. An emergency fund is a store of money that you have available to help you handle unexpected and unavoidable events, such as having an unexpected drop in your income, missing work due to illness, or even losing your job, large medical expenses, essential home repairs, serious car trouble, an unexpected pregnancy, the death of a loved one, and so on.[11]

Experts recommend that you work toward having an emergency fund that would cover three to six months of your basic living expenses. This wouldn’t necessarily cover three to six months of your full budget, but rather the minimum that you can get by on without going into debt.

To start building an emergency fund, consider adding an “emergency fund” entry to your monthly budget, if possible. Even if you can only put a small amount aside each month, it will gradually build. Remember the “little by little” approach spoken of in Proverbs. In order to maintain an emergency fund you have to abide by the words “unexpected” and “unavoidable.” An emergency fund is not to be used for anything that is not a true emergency. You want this rainy-day fund to be there when it actually does rain hard, when you really do need it. That’s the value of the emergency fund.

There are other topics fundamental to saving that I’m not addressing here, such as investments. There are many articles and books available for study on the topic of investment and other financial matters, which I encourage you to study. The points I’m addressing here represent some of the basics, foundational points for a solid financial base that you can then build upon.

Number 5. Give to God and others.

Giving to God and others is one of the spiritual laws to living a healthy and blessed financial life. If you’re struggling financially right now, or trying to save to buy a house, build a retirement fund, or anything else, it might seem counterintuitive to commit to giving 10% of your income to God through tithing, as well as gifts to those in need or charitable contributions above your monthly tithe. It’s natural to think, “I need that money! I can’t possibly afford to give up 10% of my income.”

It is a step of faith to commit to giving to God monthly through your tithes and offerings, but it is a step that God asks of us who believe in Him, who want to live our lives according to His spiritual principles. Tithe is a monthly budget category like any other essential expense; it’s our commitment to God which He has promised to bless. And those of us who have committed to live by this godly cornerstone principle have found it to be tried and true, a wise financial investment that we can’t afford to overlook.

Here are a few passages of Scripture that highlight the value of giving to God:

One gives freely, yet grows all the richer.[12]

Whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.[13]

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.[14]

Give, and it will be given to you. … For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.[15]

As Christians, we are responsible to use our finances in ways that glorify God. When you tithe, you are manifesting your obedience and faith by giving first to God. This is referred to as “firstfruits” in the Bible. Proverbs 3:9 says:

“Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce.”

Sir John Templeton was one of the greatest investors of the 20th century, so he knew a thing or two about money and business. Here’s what he said:

“I have observed 100,000 families over my years of investment counseling. I always saw greater prosperity and happiness among those families who tithed than among those who didn’t.”[16] (To be continued

Tithing is a tangible demonstration that God takes priority in life, including financially, whether your pocketbook is doing well or poorly. There is also the matter of God’s blessings, which I have personally experienced in my life time and time again, as have countless other tithing Christians. But tithing isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. It is a personal commitment between you and God that invites His blessing into your life, blessings which often come gradually yet undeniably. I encourage you to try tithing for a year and see if your finances aren’t better off by the end of your first year of tithing.

So, to review the five points in brief:

Have a budget and stick to it.
Spend less than you make.
Avoid debt. Pay off debts.
Save. Build an emergency fund.
Give to God and others.

Most all of us have faced, or will face, times when we are in financial need. As Christians, we are blessed to be able to bring our needs, worries, and concerns to God. He wants us to rely on Him in every area of our lives, including for our financial needs. Yes, we have to do our part. And part of “doing our part” is bringing our financial needs to Him in prayer. We show our dependence on God by praying for finances, by claiming and asking Him to abundantly supply, by being specific in prayer. As His children, we know that He loves us. He cares for us, and He has promised to provide for us. That gives us great peace.

One of my favorite verses when it comes to finances is Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

In closing, I want to recount a true story about an old gentleman. He lived in Texas in the early part of the 20th century, and grew wealthy from oil. He gave large sums to construct educational facilities and educate young Christians. He gave a great deal of money to his church and even sent his pastor to Europe to preach to the soldiers during the First World War. Then, in the stock market crash of 1929, the man lost his fortune.

One day, a friend who saw how humbly he was living—and remembered how wealthy he had once been—asked, “When you think about all the money you gave away, do you ever wish you had it back?” He didn’t hesitate. “Friend,” he said, “The only thing I have left is what I gave away.”[17]

As one of God’s children, it’s wonderful to know that everything that you have given to God throughout the years you will still have—forever, with interest. There could be no greater investment!

For additional reading, click here.

[1] Psalm 20:4 NIV.

[2] 1 Timothy 6:10.

[3] Mint is one highly regarded online financial tracking and budgeting program, but there are many others.

[4] Zig Ziglar.

[5] Francine Huff, “How Do I Avoid the Urge to Spend?” Get Rich Slowly, September 9, 2010.

[6] Luke 12:15.

[7] See Luke 14:28 NKJV.

[8] Peter Clemens, “How to Build Self-Discipline,” Pick the Brain, July 29, 2008.

[9] If you are struggling with debt, there are books available that go into detail on how to get out of debt. Dave Ramsey has good counsel on this subject, to name just one source.

[10] Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D., William D. Danko, Ph.D., The Millionaire Next Door (Longstreet Press: 1996).

[11] Richard Barrington, “Why and How Do I Need to Save for Emergencies?” Get Rich Slowly, September 9, 2010.

[12] Proverbs 11:24a.

[13] 2 Corinthians 9:6b.

[14] 2 Corinthians 9:7.

[15] Luke 6:38.

[16] Lou Carlozo, “Can Tithing Make You Rich? Why Some of the World’s Wealthiest Give Away 10 Percent of Their Money,” April 7, 2014.

[17] Joe McKeever, “Lots of reasons to tithe (and a few reasons not to),” Baptist Press, July 11, 2003.

Formula of Five: Money Management (part 1)

By Peter Amsterdam

July 1, 2014

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“May He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.”[1]

A pastor once said, “Living right financially is not complicated; it may be difficult, but it is not complicated.” It’s difficult because living right financially is more than simply learning financial strategy and management techniques when it comes to handling finances; living right financially has spiritual components as well. It’s important to have a godly view of money and to use it in the correct way, for the glory of God.

The Bible verse, “The love of money is the root of all evil,” has often been misconstrued to imply that money is the root of all evil.[2] In fact, it says that the love of money is the root of all evil, and that is certainly true. There is genuine danger if undue importance or a sense of security is attributed to money. As many people have discovered through personal experience, financial security can be fleeting; true, lasting security is only found in the Lord.

Nonetheless, we need money in order to live, to care for our families, to do our work for the Lord, and to give to others. We all want to contribute to the well-being of our loved ones, the good of our community, and the spread of the Gospel. All of these things benefit from money, thus the topic of finances is an important one, relevant to each of our daily lives.

I am neither a financial consultant nor an expert; however, most experts in this field agree on a handful of points that are key to good money management. If you are looking for a formula to help you wisely manage your finances, I recommend these five points as a starting place.

When the subject of money comes up, or you hear terms like “financial stability” or “savings,” you might groan, especially if you feel overwhelmed by the prospect of improving your financial situation. Perhaps you’re struggling financially right now. Perhaps you’re in debt. Perhaps you don’t see how you’re ever going to be able to save, or at the rate you want to, due to your current circumstances. Before going further, I want to encourage you with two empowering thoughts.

The first is: With God’s help, nothing is impossible.

The second is: Any God-ordained goal can be reached … one small step at a time.

So if you have a long way to go to reach your financial goals, if you are struggling with debt, or if you feel discouraged or face anxiety or even despair when it comes to personal money matters, remember this: God’s power can make your “impossible” possible, finances included. If you seek the Lord, commit your plans to Him, and break your goals down into small steps and take action, God will empower you to make the needed changes in your financial situation.

Through that lens, let’s look at these five practical cornerstone points to personal finance.

Number 1. Have a budget and stick to it.

A must-do when it comes to managing your money is a) having a budget, and b) sticking to your budget. That last part is the tough part, but it’s also a key to balance and progress in your finances.

Your budget represents the plan for how you will spend your money. As Dave Ramsey says, “A budget is people telling their money where to go instead of wondering where it went.” We’ve probably all had the experience of looking back over a month and wondering, “Where did that money go?” We all want to avoid that.

1 Corinthians 4:2 says, “Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.” As diligent stewards of the money that God has entrusted to us, whether it’s a little or a lot, we need to have a plan in place for our financial spending and saving. That’s where a budget comes in.

Life is full of expenses, but the majority are regular expenses that we know are coming, whether weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly. Every regular or semi-regular expense should be accounted for in your budget. Of course, sometimes bona fide emergencies come up that there’s no way to prepare for, which can cause you to spend beyond your budget. We’ll talk about that more in point four.

When creating a budget, here are a few tips:

Identify your true income and budget all of it. Work with the income you can consistently count on. Don’t include one-time gifts or year-end bonuses or Christmas income as part of your regular income. Budget beginning with your basic living expenses, other vital payments, then budget any remaining funds to pay off debt, and save for emergencies and other long-term needs.
Be realistic in calculating expenses. It doesn’t help to try to minimize genuine expenses that cannot actually be trimmed down. If you underbudget for food or gas because you’re hoping to save or would like to spend less in those categories, but it’s not realistic to actually spend less since you have to drive to work or to your mission projects and you are already as frugal as you can possibly be with your food shopping, you’ll end up spending more than is noted on your budget anyway. That will bring stress and it works against the purpose of a budget. It’s helpful to keep notes of all your expenses for a month or so, so that you get a realistic idea of what your true expenses are.
Look carefully at each budget category; adjust as needed. If your budget is bigger than your monthly income, realistically the only way you’re going to balance your budget is by getting more income or adjusting your spending habits. Take a look at your budget monthly to keep it current and to assess what changes or adjustments need to be made.
Keep records in a way that works for you. There are free budgeting programs online that can help you keep track of your finances and expenditures.[3] Some people prefer to use the “envelope system” of keeping each budget in an envelope; this makes it clear when a certain budget has been spent for the month. The system that works for you is the best system for you, whether that’s a spreadsheet program, a piece of paper on your fridge, or a handy notebook.

As the saying goes, if you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.[4] You have to map out your budget ahead of time, determine and write out your financial goals, and note steps to take toward your goals before you can hope to attain them. And most important, you have to work to live within your budget.

Number 2. Spend less than you make (live below your means).

The way to avoid debt is fairly straightforward: don’t spend more than you make. The key to saving money is also basic: live below your means; spend less than you make. This has been termed “the fundamental rule of finance,” and it’s the only way that you will have sufficient finances to cover your expenses and be able to save.

Again, the importance of budgeting is underscored here. You have to monitor your income and outgo to ensure that you are living within your means. If you consistently spend more than you earn, it’s very likely that you will encounter financial hardship.

There are many things that can trip people up when it comes to living within their means. Some points to bear in mind are:

Live frugally. Being willing to sacrifice today can result in benefits tomorrow, especially when it comes to saving.
Know the difference between luxuries and necessities. Needs and wants are two different things, and most successful savers limit purchases that fall into the “want” category. They have a long-term vision. They choose to save and build toward financial stability over having temporal wants, nice-to-haves, and luxuries.
Consider your habits and routines. Many people have one or more costly habits. It might be a daily latte, a favorite weekly snack, or meals out. Analyze all of your habits and routines to see where you can cut back in order to stay within your means or to free up money to put toward savings.
- Avoid impulse buying; learn self-control. When a potential unplanned-for purchase comes up, wait a few days to think about whether you really need the item or not. Make plans ahead of time to protect yourself from spur-of-the-moment spending. “Intentional spenders give a lot of thought to how they spend, where to spend, and how much to spend before leaving home.”[5] A good friend of mine told me that his brother, a successful CPA, had what he called the “three-day rule.” For any major purchases he would wait three days before making his decision. That gave time to let his emotions subside and allowed reason to come into play so he could be sure the purchase was the best option. Pretty wise, I thought.
- Derive your joy and contentment from God and relationships, not from things. It’shuman nature to want the latest and greatest new things, but as the Beatles sang, “Money can’t buy me love.” Nor can money buy health, peace, friendship, or contentment. Focus on the true riches in life, such as God’s love and care, your family and loved ones, and His purpose for your life.
- Pay with cash. Using cash can help you to trim back your expenses. Research has shown that it’s easier for people to spend when making purchases with a credit card. People think twice when they’re handing over actual cash, so if you’re trying to tighten up financially, consider using cash.
- Visualize reaching your goals. If you’re working toward building an emergency fund, saving for a specific need, or even if you are saving toward a family vacation, each time you’re faced with a possible purchase or financial decision, keep your specific financial goal in mind. If your purchase is not going to help you to reach your goal, ask yourself if you can do without.
- Enjoy the simple, free things in life. There are so many things to enjoy in life that don’t cost a dollar, a euro, a yen, or a rupee. Explore and enjoy the simple things, and see how meaningful and enriching some of these truly “priceless” activities or shared moments can be.

In today’s materialistic world, we’re bombarded with goods and services pitched to us as if they were vital. Pressure is high to buy, acquire, consume, and accumulate possessions. We would be wise to remind ourselves of this one-liner from Jesus, in which He addresses materialism: “And he said to them, ‘…one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’”[6] (to be continued)

Can God Trust You with His Silence?

December 5, 2025

By Andrew Brunson

In 2016, Andrew Brunson was arrested by the Turkish government on false charges and imprisoned for more than two years. Andrew connects his imprisonment to a prayer he began praying in 2007: “Father God, draw me so close to your heart that you will trust me with the authority to start waves.” While Andrew believes his arrest was a satanic attack, he also believes God used it to test him and refine him. Andrew says not hearing God’s voice or sensing His presence in prison broke him. Yet the deep-rooted love nurtured over years of pursuing the heart of God sustained Andrew through his dark night of the soul and drew him into an intimacy known only by God’s battle-tested saints.

Run time for this video is 46 minutes.

https://youtu.be/Ut7L-lUpHMc?si=PXDSr-mS4R7Bapod

My God Shall Supply! (Philippians 4:19)

December 4, 2025

By Maria Fontaine

Audio length: 9:29

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I often write in my posts about our spiritual needs as God’s children, and how important they are to our well-being, both in this life and the next. That is always the highest and most essential need in order to fulfill the two most important purposes of this earth life: to love Jesus and to love those around us. (See Matthew 22:36–40.)

However, we also have physical needs: food, clothing, shelter, and the supply of other material things that we need to live day to day and do the things He is asking us to do, which includes whatever He shows each of us personally to do to prepare for the future. God is the only one who knows what the future holds, and He alone can lead us and cause all things to work together for our good. (See Romans 8:28.) Nothing in this world is ever completely secure. As David expressed: “The only truly safe place is in the center of God’s will.”

When it comes to your future and how to prepare for it, no one can tell you what the best approach is for your specific situation. That is something that only Jesus can speak to your heart about, and He will bless you as you follow Him. As disciples of Jesus, our priority continues to be seeking first His kingdom and doing our best to closely follow what He shows us to do in our situations. “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). Making this our priority puts us in a position to trust Him to fulfill His promises. Everything we need will be provided as we look to Him for guidance, do what He shows us to do, and take all our needs and cares to Him in prayer.

Due to the high rate of inflation and current downturns in the economies of many countries, many people are struggling financially. Reports have stated that many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and have little or no savings. Some European countries are facing high inflation, resulting in many people struggling to pay their bills and even having to ration the use of heating in their homes.

The last few years have probably been challenging financially for many of you as well. We greatly admire how you continue to follow the Lord and demonstrate faith and resilience despite the challenges of providing for yourselves, your children and grandchildren, or your aging parents, or meeting the various medical needs that can come up as you grow older.

Peter and I want to suggest that we unite in prayer for these many needs. We believe that as we bring our need to Jesus through our prayers, He will work in each situation to provide for us in the way He knows is best.

How He will choose to bring the answers to our prayers will rest in His hands. As Grandmother Berg said, “Our part is to pray with expectancy.” It often takes impossible situations for God to do miracles, but we can trust that He has a plan and a purpose that will work together for our good. Sometimes we may have to pray as Jesus prayed, “Nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). But no matter what situation we find ourselves in, we know that He will never leave us nor forsake us. (See Hebrews 13:5.)

Peter expressed this well:

As Christians, we are blessed to be able to bring our needs, worries, and concerns to God. He wants us to rely on Him in every area of our lives, including for our financial needs. Yes, we have to do our part. And part of “doing our part” is bringing our needs to Him in prayer. We show our dependence on God by praying for finances, by asking Him to abundantly supply, by being specific in prayer. As His children, we know that He loves us. He cares for us, and He has promised to provide for us. That gives us great peace. One of my favorite verses when it comes to finances is Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

We don’t know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future. No matter how challenging the times we are facing become, the Lord never fails to care for His own, and He is able to provide and “do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to his power at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20). If you are facing financial challenges, or you are concerned for family members or loved ones who are, you can take heart in the Lord’s many promises.

Of course, a part of following the Lord’s guidance involves being good stewards of what He has given us. Being frugal is a part of our respect for God. That is not being miserly, but rather it is being wise in following His leading. Peter wrote a very good letter on this topic in the series “The Formula of Five,” and it would be wise to periodically review the points he presents.

I hope the following verses encourage your faith that God will supply all our needs as we do our part through trust, prayer, faith, and following whatever God shows us to do. Not only can God supply, He wants us to ask Him to supply. He already knows what we need, but as we acknowledge Him and do what He asks us to do to the best of our ability, He will take care of us, as He has promised. Isn’t it comforting to know that He is fully aware of our personal situations and needs, and that as we acknowledge our need and look to Him for His help, He delights in giving us all that is needed and for our good?

Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.—Matthew 6:33

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.—Philippians 4:6

Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. … Therefore do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For … your heavenly Father knows that you need these things.—Matthew 6:8,31–32

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.—1 Peter 5:7

God’s ability to provide is not limited by world conditions. The Lord is able to supply even in times of trouble and famine (or in a financial crisis). Consider Elijah and the widow of Zarephath. Those impossible circumstances did not limit God! The only things that were needed were faith and obedience.

The LORD knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.—Psalm 37:18–19

Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!—Luke 12:24

Peter and I are greatly encouraged by these verses. We are praying for your finances, for TFI’s finances, for the needs of your ministries, and for the Lord to supply for you in every way. We lift you up to the Lord in our prayer times and ask for His loving mercy and the provision of your every need. Will you join us in praying for financial supply and stability? “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). Thank you, dear Family!

Originally published February 2023. Adapted and republished December 2025. Read by Lenore Welsh.

Ministering to the Sick

December 3, 2025

By George Sosich

As many of my friends age and begin to feel the effects on their bodies, an increasing number are spending time in the hospital. My heart goes out to them because I know a lot about this, having spent extensive time in the hospital since experiencing kidney failure in 1999.

Being unwell and hospitalized is tough. You have to endure the pain and side effects of your condition and medical procedures, discomfort in bed, often unpalatable food, uncertainty about your health and future, anxiety and pressure on your family, loneliness, and more.

One thing I’ve come to realize through my many stays in the hospital, and more than 1,500 visits for dialysis and other issues (I kid you not), is that many of the other patients I encounter are going through similar trials. I believe one very important reason the Lord allowed me to be there was so I could be a witness to them.

There was one Japanese man in his early forties who was also suffering from kidney failure. He had gained over 30 kilos of fluid and suffered so terribly that, during some agonizing nights, he would cry out for someone to end his life just to stop his pain and suffering.

He was in the bed opposite mine. Though his health had eventually improved, his future remained uncertain. One day, while I was reading the Get Activated booklet entitled “Obstacles Are for Overcoming,” he asked me what I was reading. I told him about it and later gave him a copy in Japanese.

The next day, he returned the booklet to me. I asked if he had read it, and he replied, “I can’t read it anymore, I’ve been crying too much.” He received the Lord and became a good friend.

He subscribed to the Activated magazine, and we met regularly to read the articles and the Bible together, and to pray. His wife and teenage daughters also joined him in fellowship with our Home. His salvation had a beautiful, transformative impact on him and his loved ones. The Lord took care of him; he eventually received a kidney transplant, returned to work, and did well.

There was also a Japanese woman in her late thirties who I met in the dining room of the hospital during one of my stays. She had suffered kidney failure also, and although she’d received a transplant, she was experiencing complications and faced an uncertain outcome. She had been hospitalized for quite some time and was very lonely and depressed about her situation. She and her husband lived on an island, which made it difficult for him to visit her.

I witnessed to her, and she received the Lord gladly. The transformation was instant. For the remainder of my stay, she was absolutely radiant! When I was discharged, I gave her a Japanese Bible, and we kept in touch. Eventually, she was discharged and returned home to be with her husband. We would meet during our monthly follow-up appointments with the transplant specialists to check our kidney function, and she was indeed a true convert. She wrote me a beautiful letter, thanking me for helping her and expressing how much her life had changed for the better.

I’ve had other wonderful witnessing experiences while hospitalized, but these two stand out as particularly special. To be the instrument the Lord used to bring salvation and near-instant transformation to two Japanese people, who are normally very difficult to reach, was a beautiful and rewarding experience.

I would rather not have had to experience my chronic illness and the resultant many visits and stays in the hospital. There have been countless hours when all I could do was fight for my own life and health with no means to reach out to others. But there have also been many opportunities to minister to my fellow sufferers, even if it was in spite of my own suffering.

“Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”—2 Corinthians 1:4

True Authenticity

December 2, 2025

A compilation

Audio length: 14:25

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I’ve got a problem with authenticity. I know this sounds bad, like saying, “I hate kittens.” Or sunshine. Or happiness. After all, authenticity is such a lovely, fluffy, catchall term. Everyone wants it, and everyone loves it. What’s not to like?

Consider these memes on authenticity:

By choosing to be our most authentic and loving self, we leave a trail of magic wherever we go.

There is nothing more beautiful than your authentic self.

People who are true to their authentic selves have found the secret to ultimate happiness.

Like I say, lovely. But what does authenticity actually mean? Our culture says authenticity is “being true to yourself.” That’s fine if your true self is a beautiful fairy princess. But what if she’s a warty toad? … Should I be true to the self who says, “Forget everything, except what makes me feel good”? The self who doesn’t do repentance, discomfort, or a crucified God?

Sure, I can be true to this self. But it won’t leave a trail of magic. Even the world gets this point. Here’s what the world really says:

Be yourself—as long as that self isn’t stressed or anxious or frightened or tired.

Be real—but only if it’s filtered.

Be beautiful—but only in these prescribed ways.

Be on a journey—but don’t misstep, and make sure you’re headed where everyone else is going.

It seems that no matter how much the world celebrates authenticity, it doesn’t know how to find the real thing. Often the more authentic people appear, the less authentic they are. Think of the Instagrammer who spends forever on her “no makeup” selfie, the guy who bares his soul as a pick-up technique, or the marketer who sells shabby chic as a brand.

There’s something good in our desire for “authenticity.” We’re tired of masks, and we want to get real. But what if “authenticity” has become just another mask—one more covering for our sins? While the world tells me to seek its validation for my authentic self, the gospel tells me to seek Jesus’s forgiveness for my inexcusable sins. There’s a big difference.

But when we grasp that difference, something wonderful opens up: the chance to drop the act. With Jesus I can stop pretending to be good; I can even stop pretending to be “authentic.” I’m known and loved by someone who doesn’t wink at my sins or consider them “the grit that makes the pearl.” I’m loved in spite of what I’m like, and in the power of that grace I can move out into the world.

Nothing to prove, nothing to hide, nothing to lose. Ransomed, healed, restored, and forgiven—that’s far better than “authentic.”—Emma Scrivener¹

A whole lot of nothing

Have you ever had a cake that was more frosting or fondant than cake itself? When I encounter a cake like that, I usually scrape off the topping and eat the cake. The top part was only fluff anyway, and I prefer the substantial, chocolaty-cake part. Certain breads don’t sit well with me either—the kind where a bite will dissolve on my tongue, as if nothing was there at all. The thing is, just as there are cakes and breads that are a whole lot of nothing, there’s a certain kind of communication that is the same.

It’s the kind of talking where we name-drop to make ourselves appear better in others’ eyes, or where we exaggerate our accomplishments or other circumstances to appear more attractive to others. It’s where we project an untrue image that we want others to have of us.

When we aren’t authentic in our communications, we trade substance for sugar and cream, and there’s only so much of that that anyone can take. The opposite of smoke-and-mirror communication is when you reveal the reality of who you are; it’s being authentic in the impressions you give and the image you portray.

There’s someone in the Bible who knew a thing or two about being authentic. John the Baptist was a guy who didn’t care about how others viewed him. He wore fur, ate bugs and honey, and probably never shaved. On that train of thought, I’m guessing that he never tried to make himself appear different from who he was to others either.

Once when people flocked to see him, he greeted them with “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?” (Luke 3:7). Some of these people could be considered the modern-day equivalent of a guru’s fans, and yet he didn’t sugarcoat his message to make it easier to swallow, nor did he hype himself up when asked whether he was the Christ. Instead, he frankly stated, “He who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie” (Luke 3:16).

Perhaps that’s why so many people went out to see him. He spoke the truth at all times, and that’s what gained their trust. Even after all his hard sayings, they asked him, “What should we do then?” (Luke 3:10).

In a society overflowing with hype, people who take a stand for their Christian faith and convictions, like John the Baptist, stand out. And we are drawn to people who aren’t afraid to be real. I wouldn’t suggest that we wear fur and eat bugs to make a point. (If it’s not what God is asking you to do, then it’s fake and not being real at all.) Rather, this is about having the courage to be the person God created you to be and to pursue His calling for your life, which will naturally spill over to how we present ourselves to others.

People I admire and who inspire me are those who honestly and bravely embrace who God created them to be and aren’t afraid to communicate that to others. When we choose to communicate the image God has of us over the image we may be tempted to create of ourselves for others, we find authenticity at its finest.

So how do we cultivate that kind of authenticity in our lives? First, spend time with God. When we spend time with God and study His Word, we become less concerned about what others think of us and more concerned about being the person God has called us to be. We strive to follow the example Jesus gave us of what it means to live a God-centered life.

I have found that as I spend time with Him, He reveals to me what He had in mind when He created me, when He placed me where He did, and gave me the gifts and talents He did. He shows me how to be and how to act the nearer I draw to Him.

Second, be open. It’s natural to want people to think well of us. It may be natural to desire to be admired and loved, but a made-up version of who we are will never be better than the real deal. Jesus spoke so much about truth (John 8:32), and as His followers and image-bearers we are called to be true and authentic in our faith, our words, and our actions.

As one author put it, “Real authenticity—authentic authenticity, if you will—cannot be based upon the way you feel; otherwise, what will happen when you start feeling something different tomorrow? A biblically-rooted authenticity must center on living according to what is true—about God and about what God has done in and for you through Christ.”²—Aaliyah Williams

What it means to be authentic

Ever seen an “authentic” Chinese restaurant owned by a guy named Patrick O’Malley? The “real deal” is hard to find these days … and equally hard to define.

Regardless, authenticity is a big deal to Jesus. In the twelfth chapter of Luke, He said, “You can’t keep your true self hidden forever; before long you’ll be exposed. You can’t hide behind a religious mask forever; sooner or later the mask will slip and your true face will be known” (The Message, a paraphrase).

One of my personal struggles is … living out merely the verses I have highlighted in my Bible. You know, the nice verses that bring comfort and reinforce my preferences. Last time I looked at my Bible, Christ’s challenge to “sell your possessions and give your money to the poor” had yet to be highlighted!

Knowing this of myself, it’s easy to get caught up in wondering, then, what it means to be an authentic Christian. Does it mean we should be flawless demonstrations of Jesus? If so, I’ve got no hope.

It’s not about perfection. Thankfully, God assures us that no, Christianity is not about perfection. Rather, it is about engaging in an honest process of becoming more like Jesus Christ. If you feel challenged as you read this, it’s probably a sign that you embrace authenticity.

Authentic Christians don’t pretend they are perfect. But when they mess up, they are quick to admit it and get back in step with Christ. They understand the grace of God and are also quick to give His grace to others. An authentic Christian is one who sincerely strives to be the “real deal.”

To achieve this, perhaps we should regularly adopt and reiterate the Psalmist’s prayer: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23–24). As a Christ-follower, I need to ask myself, “Am I the real deal? Am I living a life worthy of imitation?”

Society isn’t looking for a spiritual theory. Neither are our children. They are longing for a personification of what it means to be an authentic follower of Jesus—someone who can say, “Keep in step with me as I strive to keep in step with Jesus.”—Laird Crump³

Published on Anchor December 2025. Read by John Laurence. Music by John Listen.

¹ Emma Scrivener, “The Problem with Authenticity,” The Gospel Coalition, September 7, 2017, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-problem-with-authenticity

² Kenneth Berding, “Authenticity,” The Good Book Blog, July 29, 2022, https://www.biola.edu/blogs/good-book-blog/2022/authenticity

³ Laird Crump, “Understanding what it means to be authentic,” Focus on the Family (Canada), https://www.focusonthefamily.ca/content/understanding-what-it-means-to-be-authentic

Christ Seeking the Lost

December 1, 2025

By John Lincoln Brandt

Audio length: 12:55

Download Audio (11.8MB)

For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.—Luke 19:10

Man’s condition requires a Savior. He has lost the image of God. His sins have estranged his heart from God. He is lost by nature, for “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. None are righteous: no, not one” (Romans 3:23; 3:10). He is sometimes lost to society and to his own family. He is sometimes lost to himself. Like a ship at sea that has sprung a leak, and in spite of all efforts on the part of those on board, she drifts helplessly about, lost at sea. Thus, the heart of man may be adrift by sin.

A soul is God’s highest gift, and in the talent, imagination, feeling and power of the soul is lodged the possibility of the highest heaven or the lowest depth. Christ came to seek and to save the soul that is lost to self and adrift in the world. The lost soul is described in the Bible as being blind, starved, naked, fallen, leprous, a prisoner, a captive, a debtor, as dead. In this condition, the lost soul is unable to save itself, and therefore needs a divine Savior; it is on the edge of a precipice, in great danger, and therefore needs to be rescued, and Christ came to seek and to save the lost.

This was his mission. He came from heaven, the throne of the Father, the worship of angels, the celestial city. He emptied himself of his glory and was found in the fashion of man. Though being equal with God, he counted it not robbery to humble himself and to come down to fallen humanity (Philippians 2:6–8). He became poor, that we through his poverty might become rich. He left the glory that he had with the Father before the world was.

He came voluntarily to this fallen, benighted world. He came to a world in revolt and conflict, a world of sin and iniquity, a world of suffering and death. Amazing condescension! Coming not on a transient visit, but to be a citizen. Coming not with regal pomp or kingly grandeur; coming not to ride in chariots of gold or dwell in palaces, but to live in humility. Born in Bethlehem of a humble Galilean woman, there being no room for him in the inn; his first residence was in a stable.

He took upon himself the form of a servant and came to minister and not to be ministered to (Matthew 20:28). He came to be a servant of servants, to seek and to save the lost. This was the grandest mission ever recorded, and he was the grandest missionary that ever came to the world.

Men have gone forth on different missions. Alexander went forth to conquer the world; Caesar to subdue his enemies; Plato and Socrates in search of knowledge. Columbus went forth to discover the new world, Dr. Kane to discover the North Pole, and Stanley to explore Africa. Warriors have gone forth to rout armies, and their march has been tracked with blood, misery and death.

Philanthropists have gone forth on errands of mercy, but our blessed Messiah went forth from heaven and came into the world to submit to shame, to endure scourging and to suffer death, that he might save the human race from their lost condition. God appointed him to do this work, and God makes no mistakes.

God appointed his only Son, his dearly beloved, to save men from their sins. He has highly exalted him, and made him a Prince and Savior of men. He exalted him in grace, for as the law came by Moses, so grace and truth came by Christ (John 1:17). He exalted him in name, giving him a name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9–10). He exalted him in wisdom, for all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in him (Colossians 2:3). He exalted him in power, giving him all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). He made him the express image of the Father, and the brightness of his glory (Hebrews 1:3).

His character demonstrated his power to save the lost. He is the Son of God, and he is the Son of Man, Emanuel: “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). He knows the mind of God and he knows the heart of man. His life is spotless. He is termed the Lamb, without spot or blemish (1 Peter 1:19). No guile was found in his mouth. None could convict him of sin (1 Peter 2:22). He is perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect—free from the sin that ruins the souls of men.

His teachings demonstrate his power to save the lost. It was said of him that no man ever spoke like this man; that he taught not as the Scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 7:29). He spoke with perfect freedom and authority upon every subject he discussed. He knew what was in man and frequently read people’s thoughts in public. He knew the name of Nathanael before he had met him (John 1:48). He knew the life of the Samaritan woman, much to her amazement (John 4:16–19). He called Zacchaeus by name, before he was introduced to him (Luke 19:1–5). He knew that Lazarus was dead before the messenger arrived (John 11:14–15). He knew as much about the future as about the present world. The past, present, and future were as an open book to him.

He adapted his teachings to his audience. He gave to the world a new idea of the kingdom of heaven. He introduced and affirmed a new understanding of God as Father and the brotherhood of mankind. All other teachers pale before him. His words convince the intellect, move the heart, and touch the conscience. His teachings and miracles prove his power to save the lost. During his three years of public ministry, he did enough to demonstrate for all time that he had power to save sinners.

He fulfilled the law, he suffered the penalty, he shed his blood, he calmed the seas, he cast out demons, he cleansed the lepers, he healed the sick, he fed the multitudes, he forgave sins, he raised the dead. He had power over nature, he had power over demons, he had power over disease, he had power over death, he had power over life present and life to come.

Of special importance is the great miracle of his resurrection. He pointed to this event as the final test and confirmation of his claim to be the Son of God and Savior of man. On the third day the sepulchre was empty. Within the next forty days he appeared at diverse times on diverse occasions to diverse people (Acts 1:3). At one time more than five hundred people saw him (1 Corinthians 15:6).

There are clouds of living witnesses to testify of his ability to save the lost. Paul said it was a faithful saying that Christ came to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15); this saying is faithful and true today. It is not a fable but a living fact; not only attested by the testimony of millions of Christians during the ages past and gone, but it is attested by millions of living professors who have been saved by him.

How do we know that Christ has power to save? We have seen it, felt it, experienced it. “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Thank God our Savior is as willing to save as he is able to save. His love is as great as his power, and his mercy is commensurate with his omnipotence.

His invitations include all who labor, all who are heavy laden (Matthew 11:28), all who are thirsty, and all who are lost. All are invited to come to Him and find rest, peace, and pardon. We are also assured that he is able to save to the uttermost—that is, to all intents and purposes (Hebrews 7:25). He is able to save from sin and into the favor of God, and to make us heirs of God and joint heirs with himself (Romans 8:17).

Sin is a terrible reality that has power over the hearts of men and women. The wages of sin is death, eternal death, but the gift of God in Christ is eternal life (Romans 6:23). In Christ there is redemption and even remission of sins. By dying, Jesus took away the sting of death and he brought life and immortality through his Gospel.

There is no one too far away for him to see; no one too low for him to reach; no ear deaf to his call; no heart so hard that he cannot reach it; no crime so black that he cannot wash away its guilt; no sin so terrible that he cannot forgive. Blessed be his name, he is able to save always. He is just as able to save today as when he was walking the hills and plains of Galilee. He is able to save in adversity, temptation, and affliction. He is able to save in joy and prosperity, and in suffering and death.

Jesus Christ saves by his loving compassion, for he came to seek and to save the lost. As the kind shepherd follows the straying sheep, so Jesus Christ follows the straying sinner, seeking to save him. As the lifeboat is launched to those lost at sea, so Jesus Christ, our great mariner, launches the lifeboat of salvation to those wrecked upon the sea of life. As the physician gives medicine to the sick to heal him of his disease, so Christ, the Great Physician of our souls, gives to us the balm of eternal life to cleanse us from sin. As the governor sends pardon to the condemned criminal that he may have liberty, so Jesus Christ, our King, gives pardon to all who will accept him as their Savior.

To all who are lost in sin, in worldliness, in indifference, Christ is seeking you, and he came to save you. He is anxious, willing and able to save you. He is seeking patiently, not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). He is seeking in compassionate love, weeping love, praying love, dying love.

Are you poor? Christ, who had nowhere to lay his head (Luke 9:58), saved the poor, blind beggar (Mark 10:46–52). Are you in sorrow? He comes with a blessing for those that mourn that they may be comforted (Matthew 5:4). Will you accept him as your Savior? If so, it will give joy to the Father’s heart. His song will be, “This, my son, was lost and is found” (Luke 15:24).

Adapted from Soul Saving Revival Sermons by John Lincoln Brandt (1860–1946), published in 1907 by The Christian Publishing Co. Published on Anchor December 2025. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.

Do All Paths Lead to God?

A compilation

2019-01-29

There is a common belief today that “all roads lead to God.” While it is noble to respect each other’s religious faith, the Bible teaches that the only way a person can be reconciled to God is on God’s terms…

Jesus Christ claims to be the only way to eternal salvation. In his own words Jesus declared: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”¹

Logically, if there really is a God, then we must come to him by his own prescribed way! That prescribed road, according to the God of the Bible, is by faith in Jesus Christ. Religions are based on various systems of works, whereas Christianity is based on Jesus and what he has already done for us.

Therefore … [i]t cannot be true that “all roads lead to God.” The various teachings about God from different religions contradict each other in critical ways. God cannot at the same time be both impersonal and personal, both singular and triune, both finite and infinite, both knowable and unknowable.

There is no way to reconcile the various worldviews, such as pantheism, monotheism, and polytheism. Therefore, logically, either none of them—or only one—is true! The real issue is Truth, an issue of infinite importance.—From crossway.org²

Religious pluralism

The religious pluralism that gives me pause is not merely the reality of diversity of religious beliefs in a culture—a pluralism of views—and our obligation to live in peace with those who do not share our own convictions. That strikes me as self-evident.

The pluralism that concerns me [are the following views]: That, generally speaking, all religions are each, on their own terms, legitimate roads to God. God has somehow ordained various paths for various people and diverse cultures. Therefore, no one is within his rights saying that his religion is better than anyone else’s. God is bigger than our limited theological categories, some would say (or, according to bumper-sticker logic, “God is too big to fit into one religion.”). Christ is the path for Christians, but others have legitimate paths of their own…

Christians reject pluralism, in part, because defining elements of different religions contradict each other. Judaism teaches Jesus is not the Messiah. Christianity teaches He is. Jesus either is the Messiah or He is not. Both groups can’t be right.

The notion that Christianity and Judaism are somehow equally true is contradictory, like square circles. Other examples abound. What happens when we die? Some religions promote Heaven and Hell. Others teach reincarnation. Still others say there is no conscious afterlife at all, only the grave.

When we shuffle off this mortal coil, we may go to Heaven or Hell, or we might be reincarnated, or we could disappear altogether. But we can’t do them all at the same time. Someone is mistaken. It’s possible all of these options are false, but they cannot all be true.

No possible future discovery is going to repair the core contradictions between religions. Rather, exploration complicates the issue. The more we discover about basic beliefs of various faiths, the more complex the problem of harmonizing becomes.

Appealing to the ubiquity of something like the “golden rule” is no help. It is a moral action guide that says almost nothing about any religion’s fundamental understanding of the shape of the world. Profound contradictions between foundational beliefs are not removed by pointing out shared moral proverbs. Contradictory claims cannot be simultaneously true. Religious pluralism self-destructs.

I guess someone could respond that from God’s perspective, the details don’t matter. He is satisfied with any sincere religious effort. But how would anyone know this? This claim is an article of faith, a leap of hope that turns out to be contrary to the teachings of many religions, especially Christianity.

Any informed Christian can immediately see the challenge religious pluralism presents for the Great Commission, the authority of Scripture, the uniqueness of Christ, etc. Clearly, those who follow Jesus and understand the New Testament teaching on the work of the cross—and also for those who take the first of the Ten Commandments in its plain and obvious sense—cannot make peace with pluralism no matter how politically incorrect it is to oppose it.—Greg Koukl³

Why the name of Jesus?

The Bible not only tells us that “God is a spirit” but also that “God is love.”⁴ God is the Spirit of love, the Great Spirit, the Creator. What is God like? He’s love. And what did God do to prove that He is love, that He loves us? “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”⁵ God gave “His only begotten Son,” Jesus. He was separated from Him and let Him suffer a cruel, horrible death for us, for our sakes. “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.”⁶ Jesus is the manifestation of the love of God.

“Why can’t you just leave Jesus out of it?” some people ask. “Why do you have to use that name? Why does He always have to be the symbol? Why can’t you just say God and speak of God only? We could accept it much easier if you wouldn’t insist on using the name of Jesus.”

If He really was God’s Son, and God had chosen Jesus to reveal Himself to the world and to show His love, then God Himself has insisted on it. “Love Me, love My Son.” These are God’s conditions, not ours. “Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.”⁷ God has insisted that we recognize and love His Son, and Jesus Himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.”⁸

Jesus made the way. He is the way! “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”⁹ There is only “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”¹⁰ And, “no man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.”¹¹

No man can approach God directly. We have to go through Jesus, who said, “I and My Father are one.”¹² Prior to His incarnation here on earth, He and the Father were together in personal heavenly fellowship, which He had to forsake while He was down here with us. Shortly before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed, “And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.”¹³ We’re also told that “In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”¹⁴

Jesus actually renounced the rights of His citizenship in heaven, and “though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.”¹⁵ He adapted Himself to our bodily form and conformed to our human ways of life, so that He might understand and love us better, and communicate with us on the lowly level of our own human understanding. In a sense He became a citizen of this world, a member of humanity, a man of flesh, in all points like as we are, in order that He might reach us with His love, prove to us His compassion and concern, and help us understand His message in simple terms that we could understand.

“Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.”¹⁶—David Brandt Berg

Published on Anchor January 2019. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.

¹ John 14:6.

² https://www.crossway.org/tracts/do-all-roads-lead-to-god-ats-4399.

³ Greg Koukl, The Ambassador’s Guide to Pluralism (Stand to Reason, 2010).

⁴ 1 John 4:8.

⁵ John 3:16.

⁶ 1 John 4:9.

⁷ 1 John 2:23.

⁸ John 14:6.

⁹ Acts 4:12.

¹⁰ 1 Timothy 2:5.

¹¹ John 1:18.

¹² John 10:30.

¹³ John 17:5.

¹⁴ John 1:1,14.

¹⁵ 2 Corinthians 8:9.

¹⁶ Philippians 2:5–10.

A Christian Is Not Perfect, He Is Forgiven

A compilation

2024-04-30

Some people seem to think that everyone is either good or bad. But the fact of the matter is that when it comes to our righteousness, there’s no such thing as good; we’re all lacking. Nobody is all bad, and nobody is perfectly clean and white except by faith in the blood of Christ. Only Jesus is perfect and able to help us, which is why He had to come.

Nobody is ever good enough. We’re all fallible, we all make mistakes, we all commit sins, and it’s only by the grace of God that we are saved. It’s only His love and mercy and grace and His sacrifice on Calvary that saves us. Nothing else. Nothing!

Thank God salvation doesn’t depend on how good we’ve been or even how good we are now. It only depends on our faith in the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ. In spite of all our sins and shortcomings, failures, mistakes, and unsaintliness, God still loves us and forgives us. “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. … As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:10,12).—David Brandt Berg

The word “forgive” means to wipe the slate clean, to pardon, to cancel a debt. When we wrong someone, we seek their forgiveness in order for the relationship to be restored. Forgiveness is not granted because a person deserves to be forgiven. No one deserves to be forgiven. Forgiveness is an act of love, mercy, and grace. Forgiveness is a decision to not hold something against another person, despite what they have done to you.

The Bible tells us that we are all in need of forgiveness from God. … Do you want to have your sins forgiven? Do you have a nagging feeling of guilt that you can’t seem to get to go away? Forgiveness of your sins is available if you will place your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior. … John 3:16–17 contains this wonderful message, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”

Forgiveness—is it really that easy? Yes, it is that easy! You can’t earn forgiveness from God. You can’t pay for your forgiveness from God. You can only receive it, by faith, through the grace and mercy of God.—GotQuestions.org¹

Think of Christians who question their salvation as they struggle with sin. In those times, they easily can turn inward. “Have I done enough to please God?” “Perhaps if I serve more at church, he will accept me.” “I need to stop sinning in order to be accepted by him.” They may never say these words out loud. After all, they wouldn’t want anyone to think they were weak in faith—or even worse, an unbeliever. But their knee-jerk reaction to turn inward reveals a deeper underlying issue. They need to turn outward toward the objective realities of the gospel. They need to trust in Christ Jesus, their righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30). They need to rest—not only in mind and mouth, but in heart and life—in the “word of surest consolation; word all sorrow to relieve, word of pardon, peace, salvation! … ‘Jesus sinners doth receive.’”²—David Briones³

Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Because of Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross on our behalf, God freely offers us forgiveness…

There’s no righteous deed we can do that will earn us a place in heaven (Titus 3:5). We come to Christ empty-handed. We can take no credit for salvation. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). This gift cannot be worked for, earned, or achieved. It’s dependent solely on Christ’s generous sacrifice on our behalf…

You are made for a person and a place. Jesus is the person, and heaven is the place. They are a package—they come together. You cannot get heaven without Jesus or Jesus without heaven. “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6). For all eternity you’ll be glad you did.

If you understand what God has done to make forgiveness and eternal life possible for you, you may want to express it in words like these: “Dear Lord, I confess that I do not measure up to your perfect standard. Thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sins. I now place my trust in him as my Savior. Thank you for your forgiveness and the gift of eternal life.”—Randy Alcorn⁴

I have loved you with an everlasting love. Before time began, I knew you. For years you swam around in a sea of meaninglessness, searching for love, hoping for love. All that time, I was pursuing you, aching to embrace you in My compassionate arms.

When the time was right, I revealed Myself to you. I lifted you out of that sea of despair and set you down on a firm foundation. Sometimes you felt naked—exposed to the revealing light of My presence. I wrapped an ermine robe around you: My robe of righteousness. I sang you a love song, whose beginning and end are veiled in eternity. I infused meaning into your mind and harmony into your heart.

You are complete in Me. All you need for salvation and your spiritual growth is found in Me. Through My divine power you have everything necessary to persevere in the eternal Life I have given you. I also give you intimate knowledge of Me. I invite you to open up and share with Me at the deepest levels—both your struggles and your delights.

Find rest in My finished work on the cross, and rejoice that you are eternally secure in Me. Enjoy rich soul-satisfaction through knowing Me, your loving Savior and forever Friend.—Jesus⁵

Published on Anchor April 2024. Read by John Laurence. Music by John Listen.

¹ https://www.gotquestions.org/got-forgiveness.html

² Trinity Hymnal #394, “Jesus Sinners Doth Receive.”

³ https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/dressed-in-his-righteousness-alone

⁴ https://www.crossway.org/articles/how-can-we-know-well-go-to-heaven/

⁵ Sarah Young, Jesus Calling (Thomas Nelson, 2010); Jesus Always (Thomas Nelson, 2017).

What Ozzy Osborne Said About Being Christian and the Bible Before Death

November 28, 2025

Adrienne Bankert with Dylan Novak

Dylan Novak, aka the Celebrity Evangelist, meets plenty of famous people, including rock legend Ozzy Osbourne before he died. The “Prince of Death” spoke about Christ, the church, and the Bible all before he died in July 2025. In this interview, hear what Dylan says he heard from Ozzy and his family when he gifted them all Bibles, part of his ministry to Hollywood, as he shares what he calls a “matter of life and death.”

Run time for this video is 20 minutes.

https://youtu.be/gTqnzg0KbJM?si=Z_LRa1eqBz-KPWOr

Thankful … No Matter What

November 27, 2025

A compilation

Audio length: 11:47

Download Audio (10.7MB)

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.—1 Thessalonians 5:18

Are you thankful no matter what? Look at the story of a man who had every right to be bitter—but wasn’t.

The next footsteps in the corridor, he knew, might be those of the guards taking him away to his execution. His only bed was the hard, cold stone floor of the dank, cramped prison cell. Not an hour passed when he was free from the constant irritation of the chains and the pain of the iron manacles cutting into his wrists and legs.

Separated from friends, unjustly accused, brutally treated—if ever a person had a right to complain, it was this man, languishing almost forgotten in a harsh Roman prison. But instead of complaints, his lips rang with words of praise and thanksgiving!

The man was the Apostle Paul—a man who had learned the meaning of true thanksgiving, even in the midst of great adversity. Earlier, when he had been imprisoned in Rome, Paul wrote, “Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:19–20).

Think of it: Always giving thanks for everything—no matter the circumstances! Thanksgiving for the Apostle Paul was not a once-a-year celebration, but a daily reality that changed his life and made him a joyful person in every situation. Thanksgiving—the giving of thanks—to God for all His blessings should be one of the most distinctive marks of the believer in Jesus Christ. …

In the ancient world, leprosy was a terrible disease. It hopelessly disfigured those who had it, and it permanently cut them off from normal society. Without exception, every leper yearned for one thing: To be healed.

One day ten lepers approached Jesus outside a village, loudly pleading with Him to heal them. In an instant He restored them all to perfect health—but only one came back and thanked Him. All the rest left without a word of thanks, their minds preoccupied only with themselves, gripped with a spirit of ingratitude.

Today, too, ingratitude and thanklessness are far too common. … Courtesy is scorned. We take for granted the ways that others help us. Above all, we fail to thank God for His blessings. …

One of the Bible’s indictments against rebellious humanity is that “although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him” (Romans 1:21). An ungrateful heart is a heart that is cold toward God and indifferent to His mercy and love. It is a heart that has forgotten how dependent we are on God for everything.

From one end of the Bible to the other, we are commanded to be thankful. In fact, thankfulness is the natural outflowing of a heart that is attuned to God. The psalmist declared, “Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving” (Psalm 147:7). Paul wrote, “Be thankful” (Colossians 3:15). A spirit of thanksgiving is always the mark of a joyous Christian.—Billy Graham¹

Practicing gratitude

Each of us is a recipient of God’s love and care. Developing an attitude of gratefulness to God builds within us an attitude of gratefulness for life and for all that it brings our way. When we take a moment to stop and look around, when we see the birds, the sky, the view, the flowers, the greenery, when we reflect on the things we enjoy—the love that we have and that we share with others, our children, our experiences—we find plenty of reasons to be grateful. It’s not surprising that there is so much in the Bible about gratitude and thanksgiving.

Gratitude causes us to focus on all the wonderful things that we have instead of what we think we’re missing or haven’t yet received. Recognizing that we have so much, and focusing with gratitude on that abundance, opens the door for more of God’s blessings to come into our lives.

Something that has helped me to cultivate more thankfulness in my life is keeping a gratitude journal. I love how it reminds me of what God has done for me—about the many joys I have in my life, the prayers answered, the victories won, the things He’s done in the lives of my loved ones. It reminds me that God is involved in my life and causes me to love Him and thank Him all the more.

Now I try to encourage others to keep a gratitude journal as well. You’ll realize how very special every day is, and how little things are wonderful things. By stopping to write them down, you’ll notice more of them and appreciate them more. They also serve as helpful reminders of God’s goodness when we face the challenges of life and give us renewed hope for the future.—Peter Amsterdam

The power of a gratitude attitude

In our world, it is easy to become consumed by our challenges and struggles. We often find ourselves longing for more, yearning for what we don’t have rather than appreciating the blessings already present in our lives. Sometimes, even in the busyness of life, this happens.

I found myself in this place last year. After coming out of a challenging season, my physical health declined, chronic pain set in, and mobility was limited. The places where my gratitude soared, joy flourished, and the presence of God was strong were no longer accessible to me.

A new me emerged, one I’m not proud of. All I saw was what was wrong, not only in my surroundings but in people. I felt distant from God, and joy dissipated into thin air. Have you ever been there? …

Through the practice of gratitude, we can shift our focus from lack to abundance, from despair to hope. Then, we begin to see that even in the midst of difficulties, there is still so much to be thankful for.

When we practice gratitude, we train our minds to seek out the positive aspects of our daily lives. Instead of dwelling on what we lack or what isn’t going well, we shift our attention to what we have and what is going right. This mindset shift helps us cultivate contentment and appreciate the present moment. …

Gratitude is more than just saying “thank you” to God for the good things that come our way. It is a way of life, a constant recognition of His abundant blessings in both the big and the small. It is an attitude that permeates our thoughts, words, and actions, shaping how we view the world. When we cultivate an attitude of gratitude, we become aware of the countless ways in which Jesus is at work in our lives,even amid challenges and difficulties.

Through thankfulness, we nurture our relationship with God. As we seek reasons to be grateful, our hearts become attuned to His presence and love for us. Through gratitude, we can embrace the satisfaction of knowing that we are loved unconditionally by a God who cares for us deeply.

We begin to see His hand in every situation, understanding that even in moments of pain or uncertainty, He is working for our good. This practice deepens our trust in Him and strengthens our faith, allowing us to draw closer to His heart. Reflecting on past blessings, we remind ourselves of the countless times God has provided for us, protected us, and carried us through the challenges. …

Cultivating a grateful heart can help us draw closer to God and discover more joy. As we practice expressing our thankfulness to God, we create a sacred space within us, allowing God to enter and work wonders in our lives. Through the lens of gratitude, we see the blessings surrounding us, even amid challenges. This practice invites God’s presence into every moment, increasing our joy.—Maree Dee²

Prayer for the day

Dear Jesus, thank You for this life that You’ve given me. Thank You for bringing me into this world and bestowing upon me the greatest gift there is—the gift of knowing You and loving You. I didn’t have to earn it, I didn’t have to be anything special, I didn’t deserve it. You only asked that I receive it. I’m so grateful, Jesus, because I’m so unworthy.

You’ve brought me through all these years, and for that I’m grateful. There have been ups and downs, but through it all I’ve learned to trust You. I’ve finally been able to see that You do all things well. Every year of my life is in Your hands, just as every day, every hour, every minute, and every second is known by You. Amen.

Published on Anchor November 2025. Read by Jon Marc. Music by Michael Dooley.

¹ Billy Graham, “How to Be Thankful in All Things,” BGEA website, November 22, 2024, https://billygraham.org/articles/how-to-be-thankful-in-all-things

² Maree Dee, “How a Grateful Heart Helps You Embrace the Wait Well,” Embracing the Unexpected website, December 3, 2021, https://www.embracingtheunexpected.com/grateful-heart-helps-embrace-wait-well/

Three Ways to Grow While You Wait

November 26, 2025

By Rick Warren

God wants to do something incredible through your ministry. No one can take that away. Your critics can’t. Neither can Satan.

But that doesn’t mean you won’t have to wait for it. Sometimes God cracks a door and lets you see your future before you’re ready to walk through it.

Why does he do that? First, if God showed you all your future at once, it would scare you. You’d take one look and say, “Oh no, God wants me to do that?” You’re simply not ready right now to see everything God wants to do through you.

God also wants to keep you close to him as you trust him to do what he is calling you to do. It’s like he writes his plan for you on a scroll. You unroll the scroll a bit and do what he says. Then you unroll a bit more, and he gives you a little more of the vision.

(Read the article here.)

https://www.pastors.com/free-resources/three-ways-to-grow-while-you-wait

God’s Got This

November 25, 2025

A compilation

Audio length: 12:03

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My brain’s favorite time to process problems is bedtime.

Many nights, while drifting off to sleep, I’m jarred awake as my mind attempts to resolve issues and control my unknown future. As soon as I’m tucked in, all cozy under my covers, quiet, still and sleepy—bam! I’m wide awake, mulling over fears.

Interest rates going up and cars breaking down. Kids getting sick and parents aging. Global wars abroad and natural disasters at home. It’s all too much.

I quickly advise others, “God’s got this!” It’s easy to say, “Don’t worry!” … until it’s 3:00 a.m. and everyone else is asleep but me. How do I practice what I so easily preach?

On one such night, I remembered a movie about a college rowing team training for the Olympics. Eight rowers sat in the boat with their backs to the finish line while their coxswain (steersman) faced forward, calling out commands.

To win, these rowers had to trust and obey their coxswain’s every command, giving their all, rowing as one. And the coxswain had to know his rowers well enough to change his voice’s tone and cadence as needed to motivate each one differently, from one stroke to the next.

Isn’t that just how God wants to steer us to and through our unknown future? …

“Seek His face continually. Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done” (1 Chronicles 16:11–12).

King David spoke these words to the people of Israel in a psalm of thanksgiving to God, who had brought Israel out of captivity and into their promised land. David wanted them to remember God’s faithfulness even when they had been faithless.

The God who was faithful in the past and throughout all Scripture can be trusted with our futures, too.

If you find your mind fretting over life’s unknowns, visualize yourself in the boat, facing God as you row with your back to your future. Here are three simple ways to “seek His face continually” and “remember His wonderful deeds” (1 Chronicles 16:11–12):

1) Remember past times in your story when God came through for you or others.

2) Name what He’s already done throughout His Word and in the world.

3) Read or listen to Psalm 46. Let God’s Word wash over you as you drift off to sleep.

Today, let’s practice seeking the God who never steers us wrong and remembering all He’s done—so we can back confidently into our unknown futures where He already resides.—Jodi Harris¹

I know not, but God knows;
Oh, blessed rest from fear!
All my unfolding days,
To Him are plain and clear.

Each anxious, puzzled “Why?”
From doubt or dread that grows,
Finds answer in this thought:
I know not, but He knows.

I cannot, but God can;
Oh, balm for all my care!
The burden that I drop
His hand will lift and bear.

Though eagle pinions tire,
I walk where once I ran.
This is my strength to know
I cannot, but He can.

I see not, but God sees;
Oh, all-sufficient light!
My dark and hidden way
To Him is always bright.

My strained and peering eyes
May close in restful ease,
And I in peace may sleep;
I see not, but He sees.
—Annie Johnson Flint

During World War II, a military governor met with General George Patton in Sicily. When he praised Patton highly for his courage and bravery, the general replied, “Sir, I am not a brave man … The truth is, I am an utter craven coward. I have never been within the sound of gunshot or in sight of battle in my whole life that I wasn’t so scared that I had sweat in the palms of my hands.”

Years later, when Patton’s autobiography was published, it contained this significant statement by the general: “I learned very early in my life never to take counsel of my fears.”—Author unknown

Long ago a man sought the perfect picture of peace. Not finding one that satisfied, he announced a contest to produce this masterpiece. The challenge stirred the imagination of artists everywhere, and paintings arrived from far and wide.

Finally, the great day of revelation arrived. The judges uncovered one peaceful scene after another, while the viewers clapped and cheered. The tensions grew. Only two pictures remained veiled. As a judge pulled the cover from one, a hush fell over the crowd. A mirror-smooth lake reflected lacy, green birches under the soft blush of the evening sky. Along the grassy shore, a flock of sheep grazed undisturbed. Surely this was the winner.

The man with the vision uncovered the second painting himself, and the crowd gasped in surprise. Could this be peace? A tumultuous waterfall cascaded down a rocky precipice; the crowd could almost feel its cold, penetrating spray. Stormy-gray clouds threatened to explode with lightning, wind and rain.

In the midst of the thundering noises and bitter chill, a spindly tree clung to the rocks at the edge of the falls. One of its branches reached out in front of the torrential waters as if foolishly seeking to experience its full power. A little bird had built a nest in the elbow of that branch. Content and undisturbed in her stormy surroundings, she rested on her eggs. With her eyes closed and her wings ready to cover her little ones, she manifested peace that transcends all earthly turmoil.—Berit Kjos²

Making meditation and communion with Me a habit will help you handle the tough times when everything around you is going awry. You can retreat into the refreshing, cooling, soothing breath of My Spirit, and receive from Me. It will only take a few moments. As you meditate, you can find that peaceful state of being where you’re calm, where your spirit is at peace, and you’re trusting in Me fully; where—because you are trusting—you are able to let go of stress and pressure and just breathe, relax, and put your weight down on Me.

If you take the time to draw near to Me and commune with Me, when the crazy times come, you’ll find it is easier to stop, close your eyes, and let Me envelop you in My Spirit of peace. This will be a comfort to you when things seem to be spinning out of control. Not only can I help you be calm and at peace, but you can also impart peace and calm to those around you, which can begin a positive chain reaction of My Spirit.

Remember the analogy of the little bird sitting over a raging waterfall, singing peacefully despite the storm? You can be like that bird if you will take the time to commune with Me and focus your thoughts on Me.

Sometimes it’s only after things have started to get chaotic that you realize you need to stop and get connected with Me—whether it’s to pray, to hear from Me, or just take a walk and rest your mind for a minute or two. When you come to Me in those times, I will comfort and lift your spirit. If you stop, look, and listen to Me, when those difficult times come, you won’t have to work so hard to enter into My Spirit to receive My peace. You’ll know the route well, because you’ll have walked it so many times, and finding that peaceful center will only take a moment.

I will help you to stay in that hallowed place as you go about your work, and to impart a trusting spirit to those around you, because you will know that I’ve got this!—Jesus

Published on Anchor November 2025. Read by Lenore Welsh. Music by Michael Fogarty.

¹ Jodi Harris, “The Way Forward Is Back,” Proverbs 31, February 17, 2025, https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2025/02/17/the-way-forward-is-back

² Berit Kjos, A Wardrobe from the King, pp. 45–46, via Sermonsearch, https://www.sermonsearch.com/sermon-illustrations/4526/perfect-picture-of-peace/

The Effects of Christianity: Hospitals and Schools

November 24, 2025

By Peter Amsterdam

Audio length: 11:37

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Throughout the centuries, since the earliest days of Christianity, Christians have often reached the world through becoming known as a “force for good” in their community. Even when others didn’t necessarily embrace the Christians’ faith or understand their religion, or when they were persecuted and maligned, their kind deeds and good works shone brightly before all men and made a difference in the world of their day. As the apostle Peter said in his Epistle, “Live such good lives among the [unbelievers] that … they may see your good deeds and glorify God” (1 Peter 2:12).

In this article on the effects of Christianity, we will examine the positive effects that Christianity has had on the world with the advent of hospitals and schools.¹

During the first three centuries after Jesus’ death and resurrection, Christians were intermittently faced with severe persecution, and the only way they could care for the sick was to take them into their homes to tend to their illnesses.Once Christianity was legal and could be freely practiced, beginning in AD 324, Christians were in a much better position to provide institutional care for the sick and dying. The church council of Nicaea in AD 325 instructed bishops to establish a hospice in every city that had a cathedral. The purpose of a hospice was not only to care for those who were ill, but also to provide shelter for the poor and for Christian pilgrims.

This aligned with what Jesus taught: “I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me’” (Matthew 25:36–40).

The apostle Peter wrote, “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Peter 4:9), and the apostle Paul instructed that church leaders must be hospitable (1 Timothy 3:2). As a part of hospitality, church leaders were expected to take in both strangers and other Christians in need, which included helping to care for the sick and dying.

The first hospital was built by Saint Basil in Caesarea, Cappadocia (Eastern Turkey), in about AD 369. The next was built in a nearby province, Edessa, in AD 375. The first hospital in the West was built in Rome about AD 390 by Fabiola, a wealthy widow who was an associate of Jerome, an important Christian teacher of the early church. She founded another hospital in AD 398, about fifty miles southwest of Rome. Chrysostom (347– 407), another early church father, had hospitals built in Constantinople in the late fourth and early fifth centuries.

By the sixth century, hospitals had become a common part of monasteries. In the ninth century, during the reign of Emperor Charlemagne, numerous hospitals were built. By the mid-1500s there were 37,000 Benedictine monasteries that cared for the sick, and by that time, hospitals were plentiful in Europe.

While the Crusaders, who fought eight wars between 1096 and 1291 to liberate the Holy Land from Muslim rule, deserve harsh judgment for some of their actions, one commendable thing they did was to construct hospitals in Palestine and other Middle Eastern areas. They also founded healthcare orders, which were dedicated to the provision of healthcare for all, Christians and Muslims alike.

In the United States, one of the very first hospitals was founded by the Quakers in the early 1700s, which was one of only two hospitals until the early 1800s. In the second half of the 1800s, many more hospitals were built, usually by local churches and Christian denominations. The hospitals were often named after the denomination which sponsored them, such as Baptist Hospital, Lutheran Hospital, Methodist Hospital, and Presbyterian Hospital, while others were given names such as St. John’s, St. Luke’s, St. Mary’s, etc.

Education

Another area influenced by Christianity was public education for all children. Today, free public schools are common; however, this wasn’t always the case. Prior to the 1500s, most education in Europe, especially at the elementary level, was supported and operated by the church in cathedral schools. Sadly, few people overall were literate, as very few attended the church schools.

Martin Luther (1483–1546) advocated a state school system in which students of both sexes would be taught in the local language in primary schools, followed by Latin secondary schools and universities.² His coworker Philip Melanchthon (1497–1560) persuaded the civic authorities in Germany to start the first public school system. Luther also advocated that the civil authorities should compel children to attend school. Over time, Luther’s idea of compulsory education took root in other countries. Today the concept that every child should attend school is written into law in most countries, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that education is a fundamental human right.

Education for the deaf

Teaching the deaf an inaudible language largely originated because of three Christian men—Abbé Charles-Michel de L’Épée, Thomas Gallaudet, and Laurent Clerc. L’Épée was a priest who developed a sign language to use in teaching the deaf in Paris in 1775. His goal was that the deaf would be able to hear the message of Jesus.³ Thomas Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc brought L’Épée’s sign language to the United States.

Laurent Clerc, born in a small village near Lyon, France, lost his hearing when he was one year old. He attended the National Institute for Deaf Children of Paris and eventually became a teacher there. Thomas Gallaudet, a clergyman who wanted to help the deaf, attended the school where Clerc taught in order to learn sign language. These two men decided to travel to the United States in order to open the first school for the deaf there. Before returning to Europe in order to learn more about working with the deaf, Gallaudet said to a deaf girl, “I hope when I come back to teach you much about the Bible, and about God, and Christ.” The two men started a school for the deaf in 1817. In 1864, Gallaudet’s son founded the first college for the deaf, which later became known as Gallaudet University in Washington, DC.

Not much is known about care for the blind in the first few centuries after Jesus’ death and resurrection. In the fourth century, Christians operated some facilities for the blind. In 630, a center was built in Jerusalem. In the thirteenth century, Louis IX built a hospice for the blind in Paris. In the 1830s, Louis Braille, a dedicated Christian Frenchman who lost his sight at an early age, developed a means by which the blind could read. He came upon a system used by the military which incorporated raised dots to enable the reading of messages in the dark. From this idea he developed his own system of pricked raised dots which allowed the blind to read. On his deathbed, he said, “I am convinced that my mission is finished on earth; I tasted yesterday the supreme delight; God condescended to brighten my eyes with the splendor of eternal hope.”⁴

Universities

It is commonly accepted that the oldest existing university in Europe is the University of Bologna, Italy, founded in 1158. It specialized in canon law (church law). The next university in Europe was the University of Paris, founded in 1200. It originally specialized in theology, and in 1270 it added the study of medicine. Bologna became the mother of several universities in Italy, Spain, Scotland, Sweden, and Poland. The University of Paris became the mother of Oxford and of universities in Portugal, Germany, and Austria. Emmanuel College, a British Christian college within the University of Cambridge, became the mother of Harvard in America.⁵

Harvard University, one of America’s most prominent, was established to train ministers of the gospel. Its original motto was (in Latin) Truth for Christ and the Church. It was founded by the Congregational Church. Other prominent American universities were also founded by Christian denominations, such as Yale University (Congregational), Northwestern University (Methodist), Columbia University (Episcopalian), Princeton University (Presbyterian), and Brown University (Baptist).

As we can see, Christianity played an important role in the history and development of educational facilities and hospitals, and thus has helped to make the world a better place, and continues to do so today. God has called Christians of every age to be “the light of the world.” He told His followers to “let your light shine before people, so that they will see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14–16). As we each strive to share the gospel with others; as we provide assistance—spiritual or practical, or both—to those the Lord puts in our path; as we do our part to bring God’s love to others and to better their lives in whatever ways we are able, our witness and our works will shine forth His light as a “city set on a hill” to draw others to Him (Matthew 5:14).

Originally published April 2019. Adapted and republished November 2025. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.

¹ Points from this article were taken from How Christianity Changed the World, by Alvin J. Schmidt (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004).

² Martin Luther, “Preface,” Small Catechism, in The Book of Concord, ed. Theodore G. Tappert (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1959), 338.

³ Harlan Lane, When the Mind Hears (New York: Random House, 1984), 58.

⁴ Etta DeGering, Seeing Fingers: The Story of Louis Braille (New York: David McKay, 1962), 110.

⁵ Schmidt, How Christianity Changed the World, 187

Endtime Specifics

Maria Fontaine

2020-05-23

Some of you, our fellow Family members, wrote asking if Peter and I had any comments on current world events and how they relate to the endtime. When we prayed about how to respond to these questions, rather than giving us explanations about the relevance of these things to specific endtime events, the Lord focused on what He indicated was even more important: dealing with our fear, which we wrote about in “Obliterate Fear with Faith.”

He led us to follow that up with the beautiful article “In Perfect Peace.” Jesus was reminding us of our solid foundation in faith and that He has taught us how to live His spiritual principles in our daily lives and how to help others to do the same.

To strengthen us even further, He has provided a framework of the overall endtime and many specifics about His glorious return that we can share with others when He shows us to. We know that before He comes back, there will be a time of great trouble, preceded by a one-world government run by the Antichrist, who will impose what the Bible calls the Mark of the Beast as he tries to force the world to worship him as if he were God.

We understand that, once certain events take place, we will know the time left until His coming. I believe that He has shown us what we need to know for the time being. If He knows we need more details, then He will show us more. In the meantime, He continues to provide what is most necessary; He prepares us to face and overcome the obstacles ahead.

Each time we’ve asked the Lord what our emphasis should be, He has said to stay focused on reaching the lost, feeding His sheep, and strengthening ourselves and others.

We have so much truth to share with people. We know that the Lord can change hearts day by day to become more like Jesus. There is no chance that we will ever run out of inspiration or guidance from God’s Word or His Spirit. He is also using this time to draw others to Him, reminding people of the brevity and fragility of the earthly life, and leading them to seek answers.

The Lord hasn’t told us specifically what role the present events may play in the bigger picture of the endtime prophecies in the Bible. However, He has already laid out the broader plan in sufficient detail to give us the vision and faith in Him that we will see the wonderful end that God has promised, whether it’s from this earth or from the heavenly realm. God is privileging us to go through this time, right now, in order to grow, progress, learn, and become more what He wants us to be.

Is Knowing Always Best?

In a related vein, while we are here in this life to learn, I believe there could be reasons why not knowing certain details at a given point in time can actually be beneficial. Several questions came to me that I feel bring up some valid points.

What if knowing more details about some endtime events would get me so focused on those things that I wasn’t able to keep my attention on my main job of sharing His love with others?

Could knowing some details cause me to stress or panic or to rush ahead of the Lord, doing things that would seem logical and right to my mind but which could actually be a distraction?

On the other side of the topic, if the Lord told me something wasn’t going to happen for a long time, would it make it much harder for me to endure whatever He knows will prepare me for those more distant times?

Knowledge is information, but knowledge on its own is not always beneficial. What did all that knowledge of good and evil do for Adam and Eve? God knew what was best, and He would have provided them with both the knowledge they needed and the godly wisdom to use it for good if they had chosen to trust and obey Him. But their craving to know more led them to disobey God. They gained all that information, but without the godly wisdom of how to use it rightly, all it brought them was pain and suffering and eventual death.

Consider the apostle Peter, when Jesus told him they were going down to Jerusalem and all that would happen there, including Jesus’ death. Peter had the best of intentions when he rebuked Jesus, telling Him that he wouldn’t let Him go (Matthew 16:21, 23).

What if Peter had been allowed to act on his own conclusions and somehow prevent Jesus from fulfilling His mission? The knowledge he had, without God’s wisdom of the greater plan and purpose, caused Peter to even try to fight against God’s plan in that moment. Peter eventually came to see that what had earlier seemed unthinkable was in fact the victory that overcame evil. But in that moment, based on what he knew, the thought of allowing something so terrible to happen was unimaginable.

I think I would feel the same as Peter did at that point. Without the full understanding of the ultimate results, I think I would have done absolutely anything I could to try to prevent it.

Jesus promised us that He wouldn’t place burdens on us that are more than we can bear. When He chooses not to give us certain details, we need to trust Him that there is a good reason for us not to know those things at the time. When it is His time, and He knows that we are ready to use the information wisely, He will reveal it.

What if He wants us to walk by faith through whatever is next in these times, so that what we experience can grow our trust in Him? God isn’t in a hurry, so why should we be? He knows the perfect time when further knowledge will bring the greatest benefit to us and to others.

If we knew the identity of the Antichrist, what would we be tempted to do with that information? Would we declare it to the world? What would be the advantage to doing that at present? We can’t stop what the Bible says is going to take place.

If we knew now when the seven-year covenant was going to be signed, how would we react? Would we go and demonstrate against it and try to stop it? The endtime events described in Bible prophecy are steps in the process that lead to Jesus’ return.

What if we knew the timing of all the endtime events? If we did, would it cause us to be more humble and dependent on the Lord? Or could it possibly boost our pride that we know things that other people don’t? Would that end up damaging our witness or hindering us from the tasks that we would otherwise be able to be trusted to do?

To Speculate or Not to Speculate …

The Lord has shown Peter and me that it would be wiser for us not to speculate in our posts on the meanings of specific events in relation to the endtime. However, if you personally feel the need to try to associate current events with endtime events, it’s important to do so responsibly. It can make interesting conversation as long as you remember that you won’t know these details for sure at this time.

When speculating (or theorizing or guessing or whatever you choose to call it), it’s important to clarify to others that you are speculating based on what you know now. This is just a possibility that you are offering for consideration.

This is important to remember, because many people who are searching for facts on which to build a foundation can tend to treat speculative guesswork as though it were solid fact, unless we are careful to make the difference very clear.

The risk is that if things don’t work out the way you thought they would, it can cause a serious loss of trust for those you’re ministering to, not only in what was speculated but in the message of the Bible overall.

The Lord gave David insight into the overall endtime order of events, and I believe that the revelations the Lord gave him still hold true. He also speculated over the years about how the specifics could play out. For the most part, he periodically reminded us that he didn’t know for sure about these speculations and that this might or might not come to pass. “What if …”

However, David was a persuasive individual, and when he presented his ideas, he often did so in very definite and enthusiastic ways. He was excited, and he wanted us to be excited too. With the wisdom of hindsight, it’s easy to look back and realize that some of those speculations should have been more strongly qualified. It’s a good lesson that we can all learn from, and hopefully we won’t make the same mistake with those whom we are called to minister to.

So, if you feel the need to speculate on things like the timing of specific endtime events, it’s best to remind others that what you say along those lines is, at best, just an educated guess. Interpretations or applications of Bible prophecy may be partially correct, but they should always be viewed together with the fact that circumstances around us are constantly changing.

As David once said:

Regarding some of these upcoming events and prophetic details, we don’t know exactly what’s going to happen, exactly when it’s going to happen, or exactly where it’s going to happen. But God has certainly given us enough information along these lines to have a pretty good idea, or at least a faint hint, if nothing else, of how things are going and where they’re going. But we simply can’t get dogmatic about any of these details right now; it’s not time for that. Right now it’s “wait and see.” Wait and see what happens, because you don’t really know yet. You don’t really know about all the exact dates of the future right now. Only time will tell. Wait and see. But be on the lookout for indications, hints, and signs.

Don’t ever get your eyes so much on the details, doctrines, and dogmas of eschatology that you lose sight of what we are in this business for: to reach the world with the gospel of God’s love. This is our primary purpose for being here, our excuse for existence! Jesus Himself knew all about the future, but His main mission was to love the world and His main message was the good news of God’s love and salvation. (“Interpreting Bible Prophecy”)

New pieces of information develop daily, and specific details of how the endtime will play out may change as time passes. How many times in your own life have you felt certain of what you were going to do in the near future, only to find that some unforeseen event altered what had seemed certain? Perhaps you had a career all planned out, and something you hadn’t expected turned your whole life upside down.

Life often takes such twists and turns. But if your faith and trust is in the Lord, rather than having to see certain events at specific times, you’ll be able to adapt and keep going. This principle applies to our daily lives as much as it does to the endtime.

If we place our faith in what we think will happen instead of in the Lord and His promise to bring greater good in the end, we may be setting ourselves up for a big letdown. But if our faith and trust are in Him to do what He knows is best, and we are letting Him take care of the details that He knows we don’t need to know yet, then our faith can stand strong even in the worst of times.

There’s nothing wrong in finding encouragement in considering ways that the Lord could use to keep us, or how some things might lead up to certain events, as long as those speculations don’t become the basis for your faith and trust in Him. He keeps us in perfect peace when our minds are stayed on Him. That is how you’ll stand strong, whether things work out as you are expecting or God provides a surprise or two.

TFI has a number of publications on the topic of the endtime and related Bible prophecy that are available online. They may be helpful in order to review the overall picture that the Lord has given. I’ll also include the link to an interesting, very short video by a member of Ravi Zacharias’ team that I enjoyed on the topic of the endtime.

“Leave Yourself Open”
You can find Countdown to Armageddon here: https://countdown.org/
Here is Peter’s post on blood moons: https://library.tfionline.com/?viewId=36801&treeId=2142
Here you’ll find more publications on the topic of the endtime: https://www.thefamilyinternational.org/en/faith-foundations/the-future/
This is a (6-minute) talk from Abdu Murray, an associate of Ravi Zacharias, on endtime events: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfyAYWS-BMs

God’s Unconventional Ways

Treasures

2024-04-11

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed.—Romans 12:2

When reading about the great people and prophets of God throughout the Bible, it would be natural to assume that they were all respected in their society and upstanding citizens in their community. However, if we take a close look at the Bible’s accounts of some of its famous characters, we see that the lives of the great “saints” were often unconventional. They were ordinary flawed people of faith who simply believed God, followed His leadings, and obeyed His commandments, even when they had no idea why God was asking them to do certain things.

At times, God required them to do things contrary to their own natural expectations and reasoning. They were people who “walked by faith and not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7), who obeyed by faith just because God said so. Sometimes they even argued with God that surely there must be a better way. But when they finally let God work and obeyed by faith, they discovered that God had a plan and His way was the right way for His will to be fulfilled.

A poem by William Cowper (1731–1800) says, “God works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform,” and a study of the lives of the famous Bible characters God used certainly proves this to be true. God’s miraculous intervention in human history shows that it’s God’s work and not man’s, and therefore He receives all the glory for His mighty works and His excellent greatness (Psalm 150:2).

The Lord says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways! For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8–9). Throughout the Bible, God often worked in unexpected ways—even unconventional and unorthodox ways, contrary to people’s natural expectations.

The Bible says, “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Those who truly love and follow the Lord will always be different from the vast majority of an unbelieving world—a people who have chosen the ways of God over the ways of the world.

The ways of the world are often very different from the way that God looks at things. “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). Jesus even said that the things that are highly valued in the world are an abomination in the sight of God (Luke 16:15).

Imagine how the world of his day must have viewed Noah, when he suddenly began building a gigantic ship on dry land! Day after day he toiled away for 120 years until finally the great ocean vessel was complete. It was totally unimaginable and ridiculous, so completely unreasonable that people surely must have thought that Noah had lost his mind. No one had ever tried to do anything like that before, nor would there be any apparent purpose to do so!

But Noah and his sons obeyed God and built that boat anyway, faithfully warning an unbelieving world of the impending judgments of God. And though he was laughed at and mocked, the flood came just like God said it would, and the very waters that drowned the world of his day due to its evil and sin literally saved Noah and his family by lifting the ark high above the earth below. (See Genesis, chapters 6–8.)

Another unconventional character in the Old Testament was David, Israel’s greatest king. When the prophet Samuel went to Bethlehem to anoint one of the sons of Jesse to be the next king, he met the eldest son, Eliab, and thought, “Surely this one is the Lord’s anointed” (1 Samuel 16:6). But the Lord told Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I do not look at things as man looks at things; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

After meeting and prayerfully considering Jesse’s six other sons, Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen any of these. Are these all the sons you have, Jesse?” To which Jesse replied, “Well, there is still the youngest, but he is out tending the sheep.” Samuel sent for him, and as soon as David entered the room—the one who his own father did not even consider could be chosen—the Lord told Samuel, “Arise and anoint him, this is the one I have chosen to be king” (1 Samuel 16:12).

A short time later, David’s famous confrontation with Goliath took place. King Saul initially refused to let David go meet the giant in battle, realizing that this young shepherd boy was no match for the mighty man of war. But when Saul saw that David would not be deterred, he insisted that David wear his royal armor and take his sword. David declined, however, and went to battle armed with his wooden shepherd’s staff, a sling, and a few stones.

The great Goliath was so insulted to see such a weak-looking opponent coming to meet him that he roared with contempt, “Am I a dog that you send a boy to fight me with sticks?” (1 Samuel 17:43). But David shouted back, “You come to me with a sword, spear, and shield, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, whom you have defied! And the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and everyone present will know that the Lord is not dependent on a sword or spear: For the battle is the Lord’s and He will deliver you into my hand!” (1 Samuel 17:45–47).

David then loaded his sling, ran toward Goliath, and cut loose with just one honest bit of rock, and the Philistine bit the dust! And the Lord won a great victory, in a way completely contrary to anything that the seasoned generals and advisors of Israel’s army had ever imagined or considered possible.

Another example may be found in the story of Gideon. Gideon was the simple son of a farmer, but the Lord was with him, and he found himself commanding an army of 32,000 soldiers of Israel. Before engaging the vastly superior forces of the enemy, “the Midianites, the Amalekites, and all the children of the east, who lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude, without number” (Judges 7:12), the Lord surprised Gideon by telling him, “The people with you are too many for Me to deliver the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel exalt themselves against Me and say, ‘My own hand has saved me’” (Judges 7:2).

The Lord told Gideon to send 31,700 men home, leaving him with a tiny band of only 300 soldiers! Then the Lord told Gideon to divide his 300 men into three bands, and Gideon armed each man with a trumpet and a clay pitcher with a lamp burning inside of it. They then crept up to the sprawling camp of their enemies by night, surrounding it from all sides. When Gideon gave the signal, his men began shouting, blowing their trumpets, and breaking their pitchers.

The Midianites were so startled and terrified by the horrible crash and clatter of 300 pieces of pottery breaking at once and the sudden flood of light from 300 brightly burning fires surrounding them on all sides, combined with the tremendous racket of Gideon’s orchestra of 300 trumpeters, that they panicked and in confusion literally began slaying each other! And all the host ran and cried and fled, and the Lord set their own swords against each other, and the entire army fled before Gideon (Judges 7:15–22).

What an unconventional and inglorious way to win a battle! But God is the one who worked through Gideon’s band to conquer their enemy, and Gideon and Israel could only thank Him for the victory. The part they had played was seemingly absurd: breaking pitchers, waving torches, tooting trumpets, and shouting with all their might. Who else could possibly get the credit for the battle won except the Lord? Gideon’s role was nonetheless a central one—he had to believe God and follow His leading.

The greatest example of God’s unorthodox ways of working that defy convention may be found in the birth, life, and death of His own Son, Jesus. Think how much more respectable and acceptable it would have been if the King of kings had been born in a palace with illustrious members of the court in attendance, and all the honor and praise of Rome! But instead, God chose to have His Son come into this world in a stable with cows and donkeys, wrapped in rags and laid to rest in an animal feed trough, with a motley crew of poor little shepherd boys kneeling on the floor to worship Him.

Common sense tells us that Jesus could have gotten off to a better start if He’d had the approval and recognition of the world of His day. But instead of having a prominent man of influence and power for an earthly father, God chose Joseph the carpenter, a humble hewer of wood. Instead of being received and reverenced by the world, Mary and Joseph were forced to become fugitives from injustice, fleeing for their lives with baby Jesus into a foreign country.

Consider also the men Jesus chose for His disciples: Instead of selecting scholars from the Sanhedrin—the Jewish religious court where the doctors of the law and the nation’s religious leaders were trained—He chose common fishermen and a despised tax collector to be His closest followers. Instead of working with and securing the blessing of the powerful religious system and its hierarchy, He continually challenged the religious leaders of His day and defied their conventions and traditions.

The Bible tells us that Jesus made a whip and stormed the temple grounds, lashing the money changers for commercializing the temple, busting up the furniture and spilling their money (John 2:14–16). Jesus even prophesied that the great temple at Jerusalem, the symbol of their religion, was going to be destroyed (Matthew 24:1–2). No wonder they accused Him of sacrilege and blasphemy! Jesus knew that such actions would have consequences and result in persecution and retaliation from the religious leaders, and they did. He was whipped and publicly executed, crucified cruelly on a cross between two thieves.

After His resurrection, the Lord picked Paul, himself a religionist, to be one of His leading apostles. Surely Jesus knew that the Jewish religious leaders would not respond well to one of their own becoming a radical Christian! Even the Christian believers found it hard to believe that their worst persecutor could suddenly be converted.

Paul once wrote to some rather well-to-do Christians in Corinth, “We apostles are a spectacle unto the world. We are fools for Christ, but you are wise. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are despised. To this very hour we go hungry, thirsty, and are poorly dressed, persecuted, and have no certain dwelling place. We are as the scum of the earth, the refuse of this world” (1 Corinthians 4:9–13). Paul went on to suffer persecution, imprisonment, beatings, and many things for his faith, while bringing the message of salvation to the world of his day.

Time and space would fail to consider all the unconventional ways God worked through people throughout the Bible, such as Abraham, who left his home country by faith in obedience to God’s promise of an inheritance, “not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8). Or Moses, who forsook Egypt and all the wealth and power that would be his, to follow God and become a shepherd in the wilderness, only to return to Egypt 40 years later to defy Pharaoh and to free his people (Hebrews 11:23–28). Or Peter, Andrew, James, and John, who immediately left their families’ fishing business to follow Jesus when He called out to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men!” (Matthew 4:18–21).

God often works through ordinary, everyday people to fulfill His purpose and will. The Bible says that “not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God has chosen what is foolish in this world to confound the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even the things that are nothing to bring to nothing the things that are something, so that no human being might boast in His presence” (1 Corinthians 1:26–29).

The Lord chooses and uses such people because they know that their own ideas, strength, and wisdom are not enough, and therefore they put their trust in Him and follow His leadings. They are willing to go God’s way rather than the ways and conventions of the world. As Christians, we are called to follow God and His will and His Word—not the world’s way but God’s way.

If you are willing to go God’s way, sharing the good news about Jesus with others, He will bless you and be with you. God will not only bless you in this life, but He will welcome you home one day, when you will hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your Lord” (Matthew 25:23).

Why Would Jesus Weep Right Before Raising Lazarus? (John 11)

November 21, 2025

By James M. Hamilton Jr.

Jesus responds to the news that Lazarus is ill (John 11:4) in a manner reminiscent of his response to the question concerning the man born blind in John 9:3. The similarity between these accounts suggests that all afflictions are “that the works of God might be displayed” (John 9:3)—indeed, that all deaths are “for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified” (John 11:4).

What Jesus does in this episode seems calculated to teach his followers to wait and hope, to trust him as he lets them linger on the tenterhooks of life. Consider the connection between John 11:5 and John 11:6: Jesus loved them, so when he heard, he waited; Jesus loved them, so he left them in the lurch. The sisters will each say that if Jesus had been there, Lazarus would not have died (John 11:21, 32), but Jesus has already explained himself in John 11:4. Jesus is not going to leave those he loves in a lasting lurch, but he will leave them there for a time in order to lengthen the lasting glory he means to lavish upon them.

(Read the article here.)

https://www.crossway.org/articles/why-would-jesus-weep-right-before-raising-lazarus-john-11/

Decisions, Decisions

November 20, 2025

By Maria Fontaine

Audio length: 10:00

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I was listening to the story of King David in the books of First and Second Samuel. There was one very outstanding thing that David seemed to almost always do when a new factor entered his situation. Whenever circumstances changed, even in small ways, his first reaction was to ask God what to do. And consistently, the answers God gave him worked.

Sometimes, a situation looked very much the same as previous ones, such as when he faced the Philistine army, and the Lord told him to launch a full-frontal attack. It brought victory—the Philistines were defeated! Then, sometime later, the circumstances looked the same, but this time the Lord told him to instead sneak around to a position behind them, and then at God’s signal, he was to come at them from the opposite direction.

Many times, when David asked the Lord what to do, the answers he received were unexpected, but it always resulted in a positive outcome. In one case, when David and his men were hiding from Saul, the Lord told him to help a small town that was under attack, which would literally save the lives of the townspeople. However, if they did this, word that David was there would likely get back to Saul, who at the time was trying to kill David. David’s own men tried to persuade him not to go, but when David asked the Lord what to do, the Lord showed him to go to the town’s rescue, so he obeyed (1 Samuel 23:1–13).

Afterwards, you would expect that the townspeople would be indebted to David and his men. So you would expect them not to betray David’s whereabouts to Saul. But David sought confirmation on this from the Lord, who told him that the townspeople would betray him, and that it was time to flee!

What looked like an unwise move on David’s part at the time was going to play a part later on in ending Saul’s campaign to destroy David. Eventually, David’s mercy and compassion on the people, and even on Saul, did cause Saul to stop his attacks on him (1 Samuel 24).

Despite his many faults and failings, David depended on God and looked to Him for answers. Perhaps that is one reason why God called David a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22).

When Saul was aggressively trying to destroy David, God didn’t allow him to succeed. In one instance, Saul was on one side of a hill, trying to find David and his men, who were just on the other side of that hill. But God sent the Philistines to attack Saul’s land so that he had to immediately stop pursuing David for a time in order to go and fight them (1 Samuel 23:26–27). Saul, even with his many spies among the people, was never able to lay a hand on David.

This is a beautiful illustration of how, when we look to Jesus in our decision-making, He can and will guide us. It’s so easy to look at circumstances and figure that we’ve “been there and done that,” and to rely on past experience alone when deciding what to do. But only God sees the whole picture, which we cannot see.

It’s good to learn from experience, and we do learn spiritual principles from the things we go through, but we can’t always know when other factors that we’re not aware of may be playing a part in our present situation.

The point is not that we have to be perfect in always looking to Jesus in every situation. That is not possible. However, our inability to be perfect shouldn’t cause us to give up trying to refine our skill of including God in our decisions as much as possible.

Our decisions, big and small, are important to bring to Jesus. He understands that we need to learn and grow. It takes time to grow in wisdom from the trials and errors we experience, but little by little our weaknesses can be transformed into strengths. God is merciful and compassionate, and He looks at our hearts, in spite of our shortcomings.

King David failed on numerous occasions, such as when he sent out men to perform a census to count the number of fighting men he had available (2 Samuel 24:8–17). He knew how to look to the Lord and depend on Him, yet in a moment of weakness and pride he looked to what he could see, the strength of numbers instead of God. He suffered a painful loss as a result, but he also grew stronger in his convictions to rely on God even more.

Another example of dependence on God is the apostle Paul. He’d started out as a vicious enemy of the Christians. But once he came to know the Lord, he was determined to follow wherever Jesus led him. Though he faced ostracism by some of his own brethren and brutality and the threat of death from others who hated the truth he proclaimed, Paul wouldn’t stop following Jesus. His determination to go wherever God led him and his deep relationship with his Savior were instrumental in reaching countless people with the gospel.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. Think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6).

We make many mistakes, and we give in to our faults and weaknesses at times, but if we make the effort to look to Jesus as much as we can, He will work in and through our lives to achieve His good purposes.

We can look at Peter, whose worst failure—denying His Savior three times—preceded his greatest testimonies and impact on the world. We may feel humiliated and ashamed at times about the imperfections that we struggle with and sometimes fall into. But Jesus’ love can bring good out of such things; and as we learn, grow, and mature, we will gain wisdom and a heart that more clearly reflects Jesus’ own heart. God’s perfect love for us casts out all fear; it replaces condemnation with forgiveness and hope, and we learn the importance of relying on Him more and more.

So, as you face decisions throughout your life, do the best you can to keep your mind and heart open to God’s still small voice and the truth of His Word. This habit, when developed faithfully in small ways, gradually grows into a foundation of faith for the bigger decisions you face.

God speaks to you through His Word as you read, or through verses that the Holy Spirit reminds you of. Hearing His guidance might be the still small voice of God whispering in your heart, encouraging you, giving you gentle hints. It might be a picture, or simply a sense of what needs to be done, or you will have peace in your heart that He is guiding you.

His direction for you might also come through a sense of warning or apprehension that something isn’t right, even when there is nothing you can see that would explain that feeling. Sometimes He might open doors or allow certain circumstances to help you see a glimpse of His plan. The more we choose to be open to His “voice” in whatever way He speaks to us, the clearer and stronger it becomes.

All of us have faced our share of troubles and failures, and in most cases, we have eventually found that precious treasures have grown from the ashes of those things. We have learned to keep going and to keep making decisions as best we can with His help, because we know that “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” (Philippians 1:6).

We’re all a work in progress. And even when we fail to make the right decisions, there is no condemnation in Jesus. When we look to Him, and experience His mercy and forgiveness, He can use even our bad decisions to help us grow wiser and stronger. Praise the Lord!

Originally published October 2022. Adapted and republished November 2025. Read by Debra Lee.

Come Away with Me

Hand in Hand, Connected to Love

November 19, 2025

By Eva Marianne

My husband and I like to go for long walks. It has been part of our daily exercise to go outside to enjoy the beauty of nature in all seasons. We often hold hands as we walk. It is a beautiful gesture that brings joy and comfort to both of us.

I have been thinking about the beauty of hands and what a wonderful gift they are. We can reach out and lend a helping hand to those in need. We can gently touch and with our hands say, “I love you and I care.” I can hold a dear one’s hand and bring comfort and reassurance. I can walk hand in hand with my grandchild and assure him that he is safe. Holding hands shows that we are united and connected. There is so much beauty to be found in our hands, and we can use them for that which is good and beneficial to those around us.

In the Bible we can read about Jesus and how He used His hands to bring healing and comfort to the people He met.

“When the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them” (Luke 4:40).

“Let the children come to Me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of God. And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them” (Mark 10:14,16).

A beautiful work of art that comes to mind is “Praying Hands” by Albrecht Durer (1508).¹ So much in art, music, and creative endeavors has come by the work of someone’s hands. Sculptures, paintings, music, architecture, and so much more. Some artists created amazing paintings and scenery even though it was painfully and laboriously wrought. Think of Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel and Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.” There were musicians like Chopin and Schumann who played and wrote music, though at times it was very difficult because of sickness or ailment in their hands. Their pain brought out the beauty of God’s love both in art and music, shown in many of their masterpieces. And let us not forget those who toil daily with the work of their hands as they build, craft, farm, and labor.

As I reflect on some of these more famous artists and the amazing gifts given to them, my thoughts turn to our great Creator, our dear Father. He is the artist that created it all with His loving hands and the power of His Word. When we go for our walks, we enjoy nature and the beauty of His creation—the sky, clouds, sun, trees, birds, and flowers. We are reminded of the wonderful world around us, and we marvel at all that His hands have made. It is all for us to enjoy and to take care of.

Here are a few verses from the Bible that tell of His work:

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1).

“In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:10).

“You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing” (Psalm 145:16).

In my own life, knowing that He is watching over me and that His loving hands will guide me through life has been a big comfort to me. I have faced different fears in my life such as having medical examinations and going to the dentist, worries about the welfare of our adult kids and grandkids, worries about finances, etc. I have experienced many fears that at times can overwhelm me or bring discouragement. Maybe this has happened to you, too.

Holding on to the Lord and His Word in these situations has brought both comfort and peace to me. I have found that keeping my mind on what is good and positive has helped me to overcome and to hold on to courage and hope to see me through.

Here are a couple of verses that give me strength and peace:

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

Learning to put my hand and life into His guiding and loving hands has brought much joy to my heart and peace to my mind. I know that my life here on earth is not a journey that I take on my own, but rather, He is with me, keeps me safe, guides me faithfully, and supplies all my needs. His touch comforts and heals me, His hand lifts and holds me, and His endless love brings me such joy. What a wonderful travel partner! He has promised that “I will never leave you nor forsake you. I am with you always” (Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:20).

Here are also a few inspiring quotes to reflect on:

“The more we learn about the wonders of our universe, the more clearly we are going to perceive the hand of God.”—Frank Borman

“In everything great and small, we see the hand of God in all.”—Helen Steiner Rice

“It is great to love life. Accept life as a precious gift from the hand of God and strive to make the most of it.”—Wilferd Peterson

I hope that these thoughts and reflections have inspired you and helped assure you that you are loved and safe in His hands, always.

My husband and I went for a walk again, holding hands. My hand is so small in his big firm hand, and I am happy and thankful for that moment, and to know that I am loved and safe.

¹ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praying_Hands_(D%C3%BCrer)

November 18, 2025

A compilation

Audio length: 12:01

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Come away with Me for a while. The world, with its non-stop demands, can be put on hold. Most people put Me on hold, rationalizing that someday they will find the time to focus on Me. But the longer people push Me into the background of their lives, the harder it is for them to find Me.

You live among people who glorify busyness; they have made time a tyrant that controls their lives. Even those who know Me as Savior tend to march to the tempo of the world. They have bought into the illusion that more is always better: more meetings, more programs, more activity.

I have called you to follow Me on a solitary path, making time alone with Me your highest priority and deepest joy. It is a pathway largely unappreciated and often despised. However, you have chosen the better thing, which will never be taken away from you. Moreover, as you walk close to Me, I can bless others through you.—Jesus¹

“You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction” (Psalm 23:2–3).

We are all wired differently, but one thing we all need from time to time is a place of peace and quiet where we can rest “far from the madding crowd.” If we don’t find these oases in the midst of noise and hurry, we feel aggravated, robbed, and flustered. This is especially true if we get a sense that God is trying to speak to us, maybe about a new direction or a fresh way of seeing things, and we are simply too busy to stop long enough to hear His voice.

When that happens, it is especially frustrating. Two things are then most likely to happen in this situation. The first is that we become intentional about finding “quiet pools.” We take the initiative and discipline ourselves to find and maximize the space and time to be quiet before the Lord. The second is that the Lord “makes us lie down.” He creates a circumstance where we have to rest and have to listen. The first option is always preferable. So ask your Heavenly Father to lead you to those quiet pools where you can catch your breath and receive His new directions for your life.—Mark Stibbe²

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35).

Look at Jesus’ life. Even though He was extremely busy and had a lot to do, Jesus made time to get alone with God on a daily basis. He would go away and wait on God for instructions. If Christ needed to do that, how much more do we need to get alone and let God speak to us and give us direction?

Your communion with God will recharge your spiritual batteries. Get alone with God and with your Bible, let God speak to you. …

“The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.’ For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat” (Mark 6:30–31).

When Jesus said what he did in Mark 6:31, his followers had been out working hard—night and day—and they hadn’t even had time to eat. Jesus comes to them and says, “You deserve a break today.”

Rest, recreation, and relaxation are so important that God mentioned this in the Ten Commandments—right along with “Don’t have any other gods before me” and “Don’t steal.” This means a day of rest is not optional. Our bodies were made to take rest.—Pastors.com³

Have you ever watched a young couple communicate their love for each other without even saying a word? Maybe you have experienced it yourself. Every glance, every touch, every smile conveys love. People deeply in love find absolute bliss simply being in each other’s presence.

In the same way, simply being in the presence of God brings us great joy. It happens as we listen to Him speaking His word, it happens as we pray. But it also happens as we simply enjoy His presence, meditating on His goodness, delighting in the beauty of His creation, rejoicing in the life of a new baby or the surprise of an unexpected blessing. The Bible says, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Few people know how to rest these days. Even on vacation, many people rush to cram in as much as they can before returning to their jobs, where they spend twice as much energy catching up on all the work that has piled up in their absence. Many of us need vacations just to rest from our vacations! Perhaps we have been looking for rest in the wrong places.

What we need is to cultivate the sense of His presence, every day, every hour, every moment. This happens when we speak to Him in worship and prayer, and listen to Him speak to us through His Word, the Bible.

Jesus said, “Come to me and I will give you rest.” Peace, rest, and contentment can be found only in one place, from one source, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus gives us the ultimate rest, the confidence we need, to escape the frustration and chaos of the world around us. Rest in Him and don’t worry about what lies ahead. Jesus Christ has already taken care of tomorrow.—Billy Graham ⁴

When there’s so much that you need to do each day, so much that you want to do, and so much that others expect of you, you can feel pulled in all directions. Pressure. Tension. Anxiety. Will it ever stop?

It won’t stop on its own, but you can break the cycle. You don’t have to remain entangled in the unending struggle to do more and have more. Life doesn’t have to be a daily crisis. You don’t have to be the prisoner of unrealistic expectations. Let Me help you.

The root of the problem is simple: You try to do too much, more than is humanly possible, and you put your mind, body, and spirit under pressure. It’s time to reassess. Determine what things are the priority—your long-term goals and responsibilities—and what actions are essential to achieve those things. Channel your energies into those priorities and let go of the rest. Once you’ve done this, the pressures that once seemed unbearable will start to dissipate.

When life feels like a tiny, windowless room and its four walls are closing in, you can open a window to truth and hope through the Word of God.

As you read and meditate on the Word, and believe and claim My promises, the warm sunshine of My love will melt away the tension. Like a breath of fresh air, the soft breeze of My Spirit will clear your mind. Crystal-clear streams of truth and pools of wisdom will refresh your spirit and mind.. You will find fresh faith and inspiration. That stifled feeling will give way to faith, hope for the future, and a vision for life. “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).—Jesus

Published on Anchor November 2025. Read by John Laurence. Music by John Listen.

¹ Sarah Young, Jesus Calling (Thomas Nelson, 2010).

² Mark Stibbe, God’s Word for Every Need (Destiny Image, 2016).

³ “4 More Secrets to a Less-Stress Ministry,” Pastors.com, https://blog.pastors.com/articles/4-more-secrets-to-a-less-stress-ministry

⁴ Billy Graham, Hope for Each Day (Thomas Nelson, 2002).

Following the Master

November 17, 2025

Words from Jesus

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For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.—John 13:15–17

Through My earthly life, I set an example for all who would follow Me of love, humility, and serving others. Rather than being born in a palace, I was born in humble circumstances. I took up the trade of a carpenter for much of My life. When I began My ministry, I was not amongst the religious elite of My day, who often despised and rejected Me and My message.

Much of My time was spent teaching and training My disciples so that they could carry on My work and proclaim the gospel to the world of their day. I spoke and taught the multitudes, many of whom were the poor, the weak, and the downtrodden. I reached out to people who were marginalized, despised, and considered unclean. I ministered to people in great need of comfort, encouragement, and those who were seeking for truth.

The teaching and the ministering that My disciples witnessed and participated in prepared them to reach people with My truth, carrying the gospel much further than the people who heard My message during My lifetime. Through the life and ministry of My disciples of all ages, millions of lives have been transformed and have received My gift of salvation through the centuries.

Many people wanted to crown Me king and wanted Me to deliver them from the bondage of the Romans. They wanted to become a great, powerful nation, but through the humble beginnings of My earth life and the seeming defeat of My death on the cross, the kingdom of heaven was ushered in, bringing eternal salvation, joy, and peace to all who will enter in.

Not of the world

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.—John 17:15–17

I was in the world as you are in the world as a human being, but I was not of the world. Knowing, as I did, that you have something far greater, something of great price to be treasured above anything that this world has to offer, will give you the faith and courage to fulfill your calling (Matthew 13:45–46). You are different from those of the world, as I have called you to be the light of the world, even as I was the true light come into the world to give light to everyone (John 1:4–9).

You, My children, are filled with the light of My Spirit, and as a city set on a hill, My light in you cannot be hid (Matthew 5:14). I came to Earth on a mission from My Father to bring the light to others‚ just as I have sent you on a mission to tell others of the kingdom of heaven (John 20:21). I was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3), as I grieved over the plight of the lost and the lonely and broken in spirit. But at the same time, I rejoiced for the redemption and salvation of souls for eternity that My life, death, and resurrection would purchase for all who would receive Me (John 1:12).

Strength in stillness

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love.—Zephaniah 3:17

There is great strength in stillness, for “in quietness and in trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15). Take time to enter into My presence in prayer and communion, even as I did during My time on Earth, as I sought My Father diligently to receive His anointing and holy consecration for My mission. Follow the example I set for you by taking time in prayer for the tasks you face each day.

It is important to spend time alone with Me where you devote your full and undivided attention to receive from Me without distractions. The servant is not greater than his master‚ and even as I spent time with My Father, so it is necessary for you to do so to fulfill your calling and commission (John 13:16).

As I was alone in prayer in the wilderness, I received My commission to begin My public ministry. It was at the foot of the mount, as I rose up early to pray, that I received instruction and anointing to preach to the multitudes. It was while I was alone in the Garden of Gethsemane that I was consecrated by My Father and anointed with the power to die on the cross for your redemption and salvation.

As I passed the hour in prayer and communion with My Father, I received the strength to walk the road to Calvary. In that garden of prayer My heart overflowed with love enough to forgive even those who pierced My hands and feet and crowned Me with thorns. As I went to My Father for strength and power to do each task He set before Me, I set an example for you to follow. Your ability to fulfill your responsibilities and minister to others will not come by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit working in you (Zechariah 4:6).

Faith-filled prayer

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.—Colossians 1:13–14

When the woman with the issue of blood came through the crowd in anticipation of My passing and reached out to touch the hem of My garment, she was desperate and had no other hope. All that remained of her strength was focused on that action. She had suffered a great deal, and despite going to doctors, her condition continued to worsen.

She felt unworthy of My healing, but she was determined that if she could only touch the hem of My garment, she would be healed. She had faith and believed in Me and My power to heal her. Her sheer desperation, born of faith, resulted in a miracle. At her touch, I felt the power of the Father flow out from Me and she was instantly healed (Mark 5:25–34).

It was blind Bartimaeus’ pitiful cries which could not be silenced, cries of desperation to be freed from the bonds of blindness, that drew My attention to him and led to the miracle of his healing (Mark 10:46–52). It was the faith of the friends and family of the man with the palsy, watching him slowly shriveling up in agonizing pain, that prompted them to break a hole in the roof when they could not reach Me any other way‚ using every ounce of effort they could muster to bring him into My presence (Mark 2:1–12).

Although these miracles addressed people’s desperate and immediate needs, their greatest need was to learn that God was their kind and loving Father, who loved them so much that He sent Me to die for their sins and to grant them the certainty of salvation for all who would receive Me. My sacrifice sets everyone who believes in Me free from the burdens of sin and makes them heirs to My everlasting kingdom where there will be no suffering, illness, or death (Romans 8:17).

Originally published May 2005. Adapted and republished November 2025. Read by Jon Marc. Music by Michael Dooley.

Acts 1–10, Part 1: The Blueprint

David Brandt Berg

2017-10-05

We cannot strive and wrest in our own strength—we must look to the Lord, and He must win the battle! Martin Luther was a real warrior, one man against the world. When it seemed the whole world was against him, he discovered that God was on his side, so he knew he was going to win. If God’s on your side, you have nothing to fear. He must win the battle—so why worry? You can’t win it by your own striving, struggling, and working. You’re never going to persuade people by argument alone. You have to trust the Lord. You do your part, and God has to do the rest.

This is Sunday, May 14, 1967, and we’re still preparing to do whatever God wants us to do. I thought that, due to the problems which confront us all, a little study of the way they handled some of these problems in earlier days would be helpful to you. So let’s turn to Acts, the first chapter, and see how they did it.

The most important thing in the first chapter was Christ’s commandment: “Tarry ye in Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high!”¹ And the disciples tarried in Jerusalem as Christ had commanded them. He had a promise to go with that commandment, like He does with nearly all commandments. Every promise of God has a condition. If they kept the commandment, the key verse of the whole book of Acts would take place, Acts 1:8: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me.” They were to start right there at home and go to the uttermost parts of the earth.

Why do you suppose He told them to wait in Jerusalem? Why didn’t they wait out in the country someplace or up in Samaria? For one thing, that’s where they were at the time. They were right outside the walls of Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives when He gave them this commandment. They were fasting and praying and serving the Lord. And they “continued with one accord in prayer and supplication.”² There were 120 of them in that one upper room. God had a reason and a purpose for having them in Jerusalem. Because, second chapter, first verse, “When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.”

The Day of Pentecost was the 50th day after Passover, the feast of the firstfruits, or the harvest feast—the ingathering feast. It was a regular Jewish feast day they’d been celebrating for hundreds of years. What they’d been celebrating for so many hundreds of years was now about to happen—the fulfillment of the foreshadowing of this feast. It was called Pentecost long before there was anything Pentecostal!

Not everything having to do with the manifestation of the Spirit is called Pentecostal. Of course, the actual word meant the fiftieth day after Passover; “pente” meaning having to do with five, or 5 times 10 = 50. Did it just happen by accident that on that day the Lord poured out His Spirit? Why did He have them meet in Jerusalem? Why did He have them stay there together in one accord? Couldn’t He have poured out His Spirit just as well someplace else?

God had them there for a witness, so that when the explosion of the Spirit came, they might win many souls. That was the main purpose of the Day of Pentecost—not just the mighty signs and wonders and the supernatural manifestations. The Holy Spirit manifestations were a means to an end. What else happened that day? It was not just the pouring out of the Spirit. You’ll find it in the 41st verse of chapter 2: “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”

Three thousand souls were saved on the Day of Pentecost!—Not just the pouring out of the Spirit, although that was essential for it. The one cannot do without the other. Just the pouring out of the Spirit without any salvations would have meant that a few people had a good time in the Lord, chatted in tongues, and went home from church and said, “My, didn’t we have wonderful fellowship this morning! What a great meeting, and a pretty good crowd, too—120!”

Acts 2:41 is the most important verse in the second chapter. Through the preaching of the gospel to the big crowd that the miracle attracted, they had tremendous results! So why did they meet in Jerusalem? The Lord told them to, and now you begin to see God’s reason for it. There was a big feast day and there were a lot of visitors in town. People came from all over the world for these famous feasts. To give the early Christian church a real send-off and to get them rolling, He let them preach a couple of sermons that got about 8,000 souls saved!

That wasn’t all that happened on the Day of Pentecost. Jesus said, “Ye shall receive power.”³ It doesn’t matter whether you receive tongues, or what spiritual gifts you receive, as long as you receive power for witnessing! If you get enough power to make you blast off your launch pad and get out and do something for Christ, then it doesn’t matter whether you speak in tongues or not. I know young folks who witnessed with power long before they ever spoke with tongues. Jesus said the Holy Spirit was power for witnessing! When they got that power the first time, they witnessed and they got the results that the Lord said it was for—3,000 souls were saved!

“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”⁴ The 42nd verse tells us what the four necessary things for new Christians are: “Doctrine”—good teaching. “Fellowship”—you live together for several months, then you really know what fellowship is: a bunch of fellows in the same ship! Then you know what “breaking bread” is! You know what it is to share your food, your material blessings. And fourth: “Prayer.” What were the results? “Fear, wonders, signs,”⁵ and in the 44th verse, “And all that believed were together, and had all things common.” They shared all things. “And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.”

After the Day of Pentecost got the results the Lord intended, the apostles began to really go to work. “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house.”⁶

They didn’t confine their religion to the temple! They went “house to house, and did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”⁷ How in the world could He add to the church daily if they only went to church on Sunday?

“Now Peter and John went up”—separately, in their own separate ways? No. “Together.”⁸ How did Jesus send them out? Two by two. Why? “One can chase a thousand; two can put ten thousand to flight.” “If one falls,” the Scriptures say, “the other will lift him up.” “How can two walk together, except they be agreed?” “And if any two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything they shall ask of the Father, it shall be done. For where two or more are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”⁹

God isn’t partial to numbers, but He blesses cooperation. He likes you to work together. “Let brotherly love continue.” “Above all have fervent love one toward another.” “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”¹⁰

Then came one of God’s great setups: this lame man sitting by the temple gate. Pentecost was the first setup God designed to get the Word out to a lot of people. Now He picks another which is going to get it out to even more. He picks somebody that people had seen day after day at the gate of the temple. Everybody in town knew he was a lame man and a beggar. Along came Peter and John, and what happened? “Sorry, bud, we’re broke. We haven’t got any money for beggars, but we’ll pray for you. If you’ll trust the Lord and us, God will give you something better than money.”¹¹

So a great miracle happened; the man was healed, and the people were filled with wonder.¹² They were wondering what was going on, and Peter was ready to tell them.¹³ He took advantage of the opportunity to preach them a sermon, like he did on the Day of Pentecost.

The most important thing that happened was not the man’s healing, but that Peter saw the opportunity to witness and preach the gospel. He preached them a pretty stiff sermon, and 5,000 souls were saved!

But what happened after that? They got tossed in jail for their trouble! “Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed.”¹⁴ Apparently 5,000 people were so thrilled that they didn’t care whether they went to jail or not! They believed.

Was Peter able to preach such good sermons because he had a good education? The 13th verse says, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men.” They were bold, despite the fact that they were uneducated. They just went ahead and witnessed anyhow, and they had tremendous power.

It was obvious that they had been with Jesus. They had the Master’s power to do the Master’s work. The people who observed them couldn’t understand how come they had so much courage and so much nerve and boldness. “They perceived that they had been with Jesus.” They didn’t have anything but Jesus and boldness, but they really got results!

“Beholding the man which was healed, standing with them, they could say nothing against it.”¹⁵ There was the proof. What could they say against it? The men were so bold and had such power of Jesus and such proof of the power standing by their side.

What was their final analysis? See the 16th verse: “We cannot deny it.” Their enemies said, “We just can’t deny it, we can’t fight it. They’ve been with Jesus. They haven’t got much education, but they’re bold! They’re not doing it our way, but they’re getting results.” No official approval from the religious authorities, but Jesus’ approval. Unorthodox methods, but they got results!

God had a marvelous plan for His church in this book of Acts—a blueprint for the church and a pattern for missions. This is the way the church ought to build and spread and evangelize. That’s why it was an unfinished book—it’s still going on!

Originally published in May 1967. Adapted and republished October 2017.
Read by Gabriel Garcia Valdivieso.

¹ Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4–5.

² Acts 1:14.

³ Acts 1:8.

⁴ Acts 2:42.

⁵ Acts 2:43.

⁶ Acts 2:46.

⁷ Acts 2:46–47.

⁸ Acts 3:1.

⁹ Deuteronomy 32:30; Ecclesiastes 4:10; Amos 3:3; Matthew 18:19–20.

¹⁰ Hebrews 13:1; 1 Peter 4:8; Matthew 22:39.

¹¹ Acts 3:6.

¹² Acts 3:7–10.

¹³ Acts 3:12.

¹⁴ Acts 4:4.

¹⁵ Acts 4:14.

The Early Church: A Study of Acts

David Brandt Berg

2017-09-11

The early church subsisted by sharing all things, having all things in common, and many of the early followers forsook all in order to preach the gospel. How do we go about following the example of the early church?

First of all, we must build on the right foundation—the Man Christ Jesus, the cornerstone. “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”¹

Second, we must build the building He wants: a building of living stones, made alive by His Spirit, founded on His truth, and joined together in His love. For “ye are God’s building,” “ye are the temple of God.”² The early church, the spiritual building He created, is our pattern; the early church in the book of Acts is our blueprint. Here was the ideal!

How did they do it? In studying this, we must remember that we are not the early church. We’re the latter church, the latest church, and the pattern God wants us to live by today is not exactly the pattern they lived by 2,000 years ago.

However, history repeats itself, and in every generation there is a parallel to the early church. As Solomon said, “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be: and there is no new thing under the sun.”³

There were two things that brought down the blessing and power of God on the early Christians. Number one, there was obedience, and number two, there was unity. “Then Peter … said, We ought to obey God rather than men … (for) we are His witnesses … and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him.”⁴

“And all that believed were together, and had all things common … continuing daily with one accord … with gladness and singleness of heart. … The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul.”⁵ “And with great power gave the apostles witness, and great grace (or blessing) was upon them all.”⁶

Jesus’ last prayer was “that they all may be one … as we are one.”⁷ And when they worked together and cooperated together, He blessed them, strengthened them, and made them a testimony to the world.

Popularity and persecution

During those early days of the early church they needed numbers to get them started, a big push to get them rolling, sensational publicity to make them popular, and a wave of fame to noise them abroad. On the day of Pentecost “there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” Then on another day soon after, “about five thousand”; then “believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women,” and “the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly: and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.” From the very beginning “the Lord added to the church daily.”⁸

The original Christians might have been wiped out immediately after Jesus’ death if they hadn’t been so numerous. It says they were “having favor with all the people” and “the people magnified them.”⁹ This impressed the authorities to leave them alone, “for they feared the people,”¹⁰ until they could get better organized, taught, strengthened, grown up and ready for the bigger battles ahead.

Shortly thereafter, God scattered them throughout the world to salt the whole earth and enlighten all mankind with the gospel. “And ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”¹¹

What happened when the early church got too big for Jerusalem? Three thousand one day, five thousand another day, and God only knows how many thousands later! Tens of thousands of Christians living in both the temple compound and all over the city, scattered out in people’s homes, and getting so numerous that the Jerusalem church was splitting at the seams.

Did they voluntarily decide to send missionaries to Antioch? And to India with Thomas, and down to Ethiopia with Philip, and up to Asia with Paul? I’m sorry to say they did not! They were supposed to go out and reach the rest of the world. But they were enjoying a time of rapid growth and prosperity. It was as if they were saying, “We’ve got so many people now and God is with us; how wonderful it is!”

We know from the book of Acts that when they were their biggest and most powerful and most numerous, they were scattered throughout the whole of Asia Minor by persecution. “There was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria.”¹²

“Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things (about the power and popularity of the church), they doubted of them whereunto this would grow.”¹³ “And when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus.” But “daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ,” and “the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly.”¹⁴

“Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him (Stephen, a leader of the church) speak blasphemous words. … And they stirred up the people … and set up false witnesses … and they stoned Stephen.”¹⁵ Whenever you get big and powerful, you begin to threaten the security of the status quo! You endanger the establishment, and they will retaliate.

The Scripture says there’s a time for everything.¹⁶ There was a time for the early church to have its thousands all in one place at Jerusalem, to attract the attention of the whole world, and to start off the church with a bang—one big splash. But every wave of popularity and power comes to an end.

“Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen traveled as far as … Antioch.”¹⁷ It wasn’t long before they got together and cooperated up at Antioch and started the greatest missionary venture of their generation.

Teaching others to teach others

In Antioch “it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people,” and at Iconium “long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord.” In Corinth, “he [Paul] continued there a year and six months, teaching the Word of God,” and also at Ephesus “disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus … by the space of two years.”¹⁸

Jesus, Paul, and the early apostles put their emphasis on bigger cities and had their greatest successes in the major centers of population like the ones named above, from which their converts reached the surrounding territory themselves. As you can see by Acts 19:10, Paul spent only two years teaching in Ephesus, apparently without even leaving the school of Tyrannus, but the verse continues to say that “all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.”¹⁹

The procedure the apostle Paul practiced, which resulted in the evangelizing of all Asia and most of Europe before his death, by means of his own single-handed efforts and that of a few of his friends, was by training his converts to witness and carry on after he was gone.

During his first pioneering missionary venture,²⁰ it says after winning many converts in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra that, instead of deciding to gain more territory, Paul and Barnabas “returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, [and] ordained elders in every church.”²¹

Then, “some days after,” at the start of his second pioneering endeavor, “Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the Word of the Lord, and see how they do.”²² Then again it says, “After he had spent some time there” (in Antioch) resting up for a third journey, “he departed, and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.”²³

Paul set an example by establishing the churches, appointing elders in each, confirming them, instructing them, and training them until they could stand on their own. Then Paul left them, knowing they’d survive—by the power of God’s Spirit, in obedience to His commands, able to carry on—indigenous, self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating. Or better still, Christ-supported, Christ-governed, and Christ-propagating!

Paul’s method is best summed up in his counsel to Timothy: “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”²⁴

Personal evangelism

The method of Jesus and the apostles was most often personal evangelism on a small scale, depending on the effectiveness of a thorough personal witness and intensive individual training to multiply the number of converts by making everyone a soul winner, and not all in the same place.

Most of Christ’s sermons were really teaching lessons to a handful of individuals or small groups of His disciples or truth seekers, seldom to crowds. When He taught the Sermon on the Mount, it says, “he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him.”²⁵

“From thence [we went] to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and … on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river side … and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.” And in Athens, Paul disputed “in the synagogue with the Jews and with devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.”²⁶

The large crowds they had were often not planned meetings, such as what happened to Paul in Athens after he had attracted quite a bit of notice with his message. “Then certain philosophers … took him, and brought him unto Areopagus (not unlike being brought to a big television talk show today), saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?”²⁷ He gave them the message, but as soon as he was through, it says, “Paul departed from among them,”²⁸ and it’s not recorded that he ever went back.

The big crowds often come for the miracles, loaves and fishes, but they leave as soon as the going gets rough and the doctrine heavy. Just as they did when Jesus gave His famous “eat My flesh and drink My blood” sermon; they said, “This is an hard saying; who can hear it?” And “From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him.”²⁹

Wisdom and tact in delivering the message

In Ephesus, Paul “went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months. … But when [some] were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way … he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of Tyrannus. And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus … After these things were ended … there arose no small stir about that way.”³⁰ Then “Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed.”³¹

When Paul walked into their synagogues to give them the good news, he called his fellow Jews “men and brethren,” not “wolves and vipers,” or he wouldn’t have gotten too far with his message! He tried to woo and win them, not blow and blast them; and by such wise behavior he usually managed to walk off with half their congregation by the time the other half rejected him and threw him out.

He would then move to the house of one of the followers and carry on there, teaching and establishing the new brethren and appointing elders over them, until the opposition raised such a stir that he was run out of town, leaving behind him a new community of believers.

United by His Spirit

The early church was not bound together by a dictatorial, hierarchical, centralized government, frozen together with formalities, but they were united by God’s Spirit, governed by His Word, and joined together in love, with a minimum of supervision by the apostles. Their unity was in the spirit and in love and in doctrine, not in highly technical organization.

Neither Peter nor Paul was a pope, dictating every move. They were too busy running around doing their own jobs, fighting their own battles, starting their own colonies, and winning their own disciples. They could only advise and counsel others from what they had already learned, but the people had to make their own decisions, with the help of the Lord by His Spirit.

May we learn from the example set for us by the early church! As we are faithful to give God all the credit all the time at every turn for every little thing, He will never fail to continue to prosper, empower, and keep you and fulfill His promises to you, just as He did for the early church!

Originally published August 1974. Adapted and republished September 2017.
Read by Gabriel Garcia Valdivieso.

¹ 1 Corinthians 3:11.

² 1 Corinthians 3:9, 16.

³ Ecclesiastes 1:9.

⁴ Acts 5:29, 32.

⁵ Acts 2:44, 46; 4:32.

⁶ Acts 4:33.

⁷ John 17:21–22.

⁸ Acts 2:41; 4:4; 5:14; 6:7; 2:47.

⁹ Acts 2:47, 5:13.

¹⁰ Acts 5:26.

¹¹ Acts 1:8.

¹² Acts 8:1.

¹³ Acts 5:24.

¹⁴ Acts 5:40, 42; 6:7.

¹⁵ Acts 6:11–13; 7:59; 8:1.

¹⁶ Ecclesiastes 3:1.

¹⁷ Acts 11:19.

¹⁸ Acts 11:26; 14:3; 18:11; 19:9–10.

¹⁹ Acts 19:10.

²⁰ Acts 13–14.

²¹ Acts 14:21–23.

²² Acts 15:36.

²³ Acts 18:23.

²⁴ 2 Timothy 2:2.

²⁵ Matthew 5:1.

²⁶ Acts 16:12–13; 17:17.

²⁷ Acts 17:18–19.

²⁸ Acts 17:33.

²⁹ John 6:60, 66.

³⁰ See Acts 19:1, 8–10; 21, 23.

³¹ Acts 20:1.

When Dearest Dreams Shatter

November 14, 2025

By Clinton Manley

Many of us have been there. Standing in the middle of an empty room, your shattered hopes strewn across the floor like glass. … If so, you are not alone. Scripture is filled with characters who found indomitable happiness amid broken hopes, people who knew deep joy even as they swept up the remains of their most cherished ambitions. Habakkuk was such a man…

Habakkuk rejoices in God. He finds his joy in God. He may be deprived of goods and bereft of kindred, the land may be plundered by the Babylonians, and the wicked may seem to prosper, but joy remains because Habakkuk has the present good of God.

(Read the article or listen to the eight-minute audio here.)

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/when-dearest-dreams-shatter

Sweet Hour of Prayer

November 13, 2025

By Virginia Brandt Berg

Audio length: 8:03

Download Audio (7.3MB)

I want to assure you that there is victory for you through the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. But remember, victory is “not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6), and we can be “more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Romans 8:37) and gave Himself for us. We can be overcomers. But we’ll never be overcomers unless we are praying Christians.

Matthew 6:6 says, “When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut the door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

Do you have a little quiet place where you pray? I remember reading some time ago about a young man who would watch his mother, who had been working hard all day. She wasn’t a young woman, and she would seem so weary about three o’clock in the afternoon. Her feet would start to falter, and her shoulders would seem a little more bent. Then she went to the “secret place” that she had—it was a little closet under the stairway—and there she would stay for quite a while.

He said it was always a matter of wonderment to him that when she came out of that secret place of prayer, her shoulders seemed a little straighter, and her feet had picked up the former pace, and there was a light on her face.

He said that while lots of the sermons he heard preached in his childhood church had never seemed to reach his heart, that picture of his mother and the refreshment that she received in the quiet place of prayer did indeed touch him. This is the place that God’s Word speaks of in this verse: “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:6).

Do you have a secret place like that? Do you get alone with God and have fellowship with Him? So much is said about religion which isn’t fellowship with God, but outward performance, the mechanical practice of traditions, which is not necessarily fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

There can be no real fellowship unless there is real prayer, and prayer is often most powerful in a secret place, a place where you go aside with Him alone and pour your heart out to Him. Then you let Him speak to your heart, you listen for Him to talk to you, because prayer is not a one-sided dialogue; it’s a conversation where you talk to God and then you wait and listen for Him to answer.

We say so many times that prayer changes things. Oh, if prayer does change things, then why don’t we pray? If there is a problem in your life today, if there is some hardship that has come upon you or you’re passing through a trial, how can you cast your burden on the Lord, how can you get out from under that awful pressure unless you go to the Lord alone and tell Him about it?

He’s waiting in the secret place. You know, if Queen Elizabeth was waiting to talk to you, if someone came and called out to you and told you that the Queen of England was waiting to talk to you, you would hurry there to see her! And you would feel so proud that anyone who held such a high position would want to talk to you.

But God waits to talk to you in the secret place. The scripture speaks of the secret place and that God is waiting there to talk to your heart. He wants to talk to you; yes, He does! “Well,” you say, “I haven’t gotten through to God and He hasn’t seemed to answer. He hasn’t seemed to hear me.”

There must be a great desire to hear from God; there must be a deep sincerity. There must be a real longing to hear from God and a real seeking after and searching for Him, and He will reveal Himself. The Bible says, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). When you seek Him in the secret place and open your heart and bare your soul to Him, He will reveal Himself as you listen for Him to speak to your heart.

I think so much about the all-sufficiency of the Lord and how it far exceeds the bounds of our faith! And yet we so neglect prayer. According to His Word, there is no limit to what God can do. But how is He going to answer your prayer and supply your needs unless you ask Him? You say, “Well, He ought to know. It says that God knows everything, so He knows my need.” But He said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7–8).

Spurgeon said he was riding along one day meditating on the scripture that says, “My grace is sufficient for thee” (2 Corinthians 12:9) when he broke into laughter and said, “Why, an ant had just as well look at the Pacific Ocean and fear a water famine, as for any Christian to view the shoreless promises in God’s Word and fear the lack of any needed supply!” But you must ask! Come to Him in prayer and tell Him all about it and cast your cares upon Him.

Remember, dear one, that all that God has ever said or promised is true and will never change. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17).

Will you join me as we have a breath of prayer?

Father, we thank You for Your great love and provision for us. We thank You for the supply of our needs. There are those on beds of sickness who need Your healing touch, those in financial distress who need Your supply, those that are surrounded by doubt and unbelief who need a touch from You, Lord. They need a revelation of Jesus Christ. For all these we ask for Your help and healing and supply. Bless them, Lord, we pray in Jesus’ precious name. Help them to truly know that prayer does change things, and that God lives and has His hand on the helm of the universe today. Amen.

From a transcript of a Meditation Moments broadcast, adapted. Published on Anchor November 2025. Read by Debra Lee.

You’re Beautiful

November 12, 2025

By Jewel Roque

It had been a stressful couple of weeks. Facing deadlines in my work and college classes was enough of a challenge, but some personal issues had come up with my family as well. An overwhelming feeling settled over my heart, like a dark shadow, sucking away the light and color from my world. My outlook morphed from hopeful and confident to hopeless and depressed.

Most of all, I felt like I was letting Jesus down.

For most of my life, I have tried to do the right thing. Be strong. Keep forging ahead. I have tried to be a blessing to others and walk the path that I knew would eventually lead me toward fulfilling my life’s purpose. But I had come to the point where I didn’t feel like walking.

I felt like sitting down and crying.

So, one morning, that’s just what I did. I finally had a couple of hours to myself, as I escaped the noise of the kids and the duties of my home to do some laundry at my mom’s place. Her house was empty. It was perfect.

After putting in a load of laundry, I sat down and opened my laptop. I needed to check my email and finish up a bit of work.

The Lord had other plans, though. I clicked on a link that a friend had sent me, and a YouTube video popped up—the kind that plays a song while the words form on the screen, a waterfall or sunset in the background. I had heard songs by Mercy Me before. They were one of my favorite bands, but I had never heard this one, which is entitled “Beautiful.”¹

Days will come when you don’t have the strength …

I thought to myself, “You got that right.” The song continued:

When all you hear is you’re not worth anything
Wondering if you ever could be loved
And if they truly saw your heart
They’d see too much …

It was at this point that the tears began. And they didn’t stop through the rest of the song.

Those opening words seemed to describe exactly what I was going through. My energy was gone. I couldn’t stop myself from thinking, “You’re failing. You’re not doing things right. You’re worthless.” Maybe it was my mind; maybe it was the Devil. I don’t know. All I knew was, if anyone had truly known what was going on in my mind and heart, I’m sure they would have been like, “Whoa, okay! Too much information!” And they would have backed off.

All my emotions were just stuffed down inside of me … waiting to hear the next words of the song:

You’re beautiful, You’re beautiful.
You are made for so much more than all of this.
You’re beautiful, You’re beautiful
You are treasured, you are sacred, you are His
You’re beautiful.

I couldn’t remember the last time someone had looked me in the eyes and told me that I was beautiful. Okay, so it’s not like someone was looking me in the eyes at that moment; it was even better.

He was looking into my heart. It was Jesus!

And praying that you have the heart to fight
’Cause you are more than what is hurting you tonight.
For all the lies you’ve held inside so long
They are nothing in the shadow of the cross.

I had been allowing dark shadows of hopelessness to zap my life of light and hope. All I needed to do was move, just a step, and I would be right under the shadow of His cross, under the shadow of His wings. There I would find light, meaning, purpose, and a reason to rejoice.

The chorus played again, and one line stood out to me: “You are made for so much more than all of this.”

“Made for so much more.” Before the years of my life even hit two digits, I had a deep feeling of purpose for my life. And since then, I felt like I had been taking steps toward accomplishing the calling that I knew God had placed before me.

But these last months I felt like I had lost the trail and my compass. That I was tracing circles through the shadows. So the words of this song shone in my heart like the North Star on a misty night, inviting me to find my way once more.

Before you ever took a breath, long before the world began
Of all the wonders He possessed, there was one more precious
Of all the earth and skies above, you’re the one He madly loves
Enough to die.

He did, didn’t He? Jesus was called the Lamb “slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8).—For you and for me. The apostle Paul put it like this: “Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love” (Ephesians 1:4).

“To be made whole and holy by his love.” As I listened to that song, not just once, but again and again that morning, I felt like I was being made whole.

By His love.

The love that sees only beauty when we see nothing but a mess.

The love that calls us beautiful when we would choose some very different words to describe ourselves.

The love that makes us beautiful, not because of who we are or what we do, but because of His light and love that re-creates us.

You’re beautiful.

Those words were for me that morning. But not just for me. They’re also for you. Take them as your own, hold them tight, and let them fill your heart with beauty.

You are treasured. You are sacred.²

But most of all, “You are His,” and that’s what makes you beautiful.

Adapted from a Just1Thing podcast, a Christian character-building resource for young people.

¹ “Beautiful” (YouTube, 4:20).

² “Beautiful” lyrics by MercyMe.

Follow God, Not Your Heart

November 11, 2025

A compilation

Audio length: 11:41

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“Follow your heart” is a creed embraced by billions of people. It’s a statement of faith and one of the great pop cultural myths of the Western world, a gospel proclaimed in many of our stories, movies, and songs.

Essentially, it’s a belief that your heart is a compass inside of you that will direct you to your own true north if you just have the courage to follow it. It says that your heart is a true guide that will lead you to true happiness if you just have the courage to listen to it. The creed says that you are lost and your heart will save you.

This creed can sound so simple and beautiful and liberating. For lost people it’s a tempting gospel to believe. But think about it for a moment. What does your heart tell you?

Please don’t answer. Your heart has likely said things today that you would not wish to repeat. I know mine has. My heart tells me that all of reality ought to serve my desires. My heart likes to think the best of me and worst of others—unless those others happen to think well of me; then they are wonderful people. …

The “follow your heart” creed certainly isn’t found in the Bible. The Bible actually thinks our hearts have a disease: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Jesus, the Great Physician, lists the grim symptoms of this disease: “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander” (Matthew 15:19). …

Our hearts were never designed to be followed, but to be led. Our hearts were never designed to be gods in whom we believe; they were designed to believe in God.

If we make our hearts gods and ask them to lead us, they will lead us to narcissistic misery and ultimately damnation. They cannot save us, because what’s wrong with our hearts is the heart of our problem. But if our hearts believe in God, as they are designed to, then God saves us (Hebrews 7:25) and leads our hearts to exceeding joy (Psalm 43:4).

Therefore, don’t believe in your heart; direct your heart to believe in God. Don’t follow your heart; follow Jesus. Note that Jesus did not say to his disciples, “Let not your hearts be troubled, just believe in your hearts.” He said, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me” (John 14:1). …

Jesus is your shepherd (Psalm 23:1; John 10:11). Listen to his voice in his Word and follow him (John 10:27). He is the truth, he is the way, and he will lead you to life (John 14:6).—Jon Bloom¹

Follow the truth

Last month, I led a group of sixty high school students on a New Age worldview mission trip to northern Arizona. The students had completed fourteen weeks of training in worldview and apologetics. They were ready, equipped to converse with others about Christianity and truth.

Part of the trip involved having a shaman, a New Age clairvoyant, and an atheist present their beliefs to the students, with the students asking questions afterwards.

Both the shaman and the New Age clairvoyant shared a shocking core belief. The human mind is a trickster, they said, and can’t be trusted. Our minds overthink things, which only leads to trouble. Instead, always follow your heart. “If your heart is telling you to do something, do it,” the clairvoyant said. “Don’t even think about it.”

“Follow your heart” was the instruction we repeatedly heard from our New Age friends, but it’s the complete opposite of what Scripture teaches. … Jesus himself had this to say about the evil of the human heart. “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man” (Mark 7:21–23).

According to Scripture, human beings are broken because of sin, and our evil desires, inclinations, and appetites must be restrained. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit given to help us master our fallen hearts.

How can humans gain control over their faulty desires? Not by following their hearts and surrendering to their appetites. Instead, human beings need to have their minds renewed to see reality for what it is. As Paul says: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). …

There is nothing new about the New Age worldview. “Follow your heart” is a lie going back to the serpent’s words to Eve. Her mind knew what God had said, but she chose to follow her heart.

Here’s my advice: Don’t make the same mistake. Follow the truth, not your heart. Renew your mind according to God’s Word so you may prove what is good, acceptable, and perfect (Romans 12:2).—Robby Lashua²

A new heart in Christ

The hearts of sinful humanity are so hardened that we cannot even seek God on our own (Romans 3:11), and that’s why Jesus said no one can come to Him unless the Father first draws him (John 6:44). We desperately need new hearts, for we are unable on our own to soften our hard hearts. …

When we are born again, God performs a heart transplant, as it were. He gives us a new heart. The power of the Holy Spirit changes our hearts from sin-focused to God-focused. We do not become perfect (1 John 1:8); we still have our sinful flesh and the freedom to choose whether or not to obey it. However, when Jesus died for us on the cross, He broke the power of sin that controls us (Romans 6:10). Receiving Him as our Savior gives us access to God and His power—a power to transform our hearts from sin-hardened to Christ-softened. …

God’s desire for every human being is that we become like His Son, Jesus (Romans 8:29). We can become like Jesus only when we allow God to rid us of our old, hardened hearts and give us new hearts.—GotQuestions.org³

All things new

In Psalm 51 David prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” He confessed his shortcomings and his deep need for God; he wanted change, he wanted restoration. But God’s Spirit is the one who transforms us into something new, a creation that’s more like Him.

The power of God’s ability to make something new, to effect profound change should astound us. Who else has such power? And, what’s more, that He will deign to use this power to work in my heart, to change my life, is a source of hope. A mind-renewing and heart-altering change might seem to be out of my reach, but it is God who works in us through His power and Spirit. We may not perceive or feel the transformation, but we walk by faith, not sight, which is why we can always be of good courage (2 Corinthians 5:6–7).

It has little or nothing to do with our own efforts. It has everything to do with Him and the new covenant, forged in His blood, that He has offered to us to partake in. “He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life” (Titus 3:5–7).

We go to God, seeking forgiveness and reconciliation. He extends forgiveness and soul cleansing. He performs the miracle of wiping the slate clean of our past sins and mistakes (Hebrews 8:12). He gives us a new heart: “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you” (Ezekiel 36:26). He lifts us up, transforms us, and re-creates us. He restores our soul and leads us in paths of righteousness (Psalm 23:3). We become partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).

He makes all things new, and He still calls us today to “Come, follow Me” (Luke 18:22).—Avi Rue

Published on Anchor November 2025. Read by Jerry Paladino. Music by Michael Fogarty.

¹ Jon Bloom, “Don’t Follow Your Heart,” Desiring God, March 9, 2015, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/dont-follow-your-heart

² Robby Lashua, “Follow the Truth, Not Your Heart,” Stand to Reason, August 6, 2024, https://www.str.org/w/follow-the-truth-not-your-heart

³ “What does the Bible mean when it says that we will receive a new heart?” GotQuestions.org, https://www.gotquestions.org/new-heart.html

Steps for Sharing Your Faith

November 10, 2025

Treasures

Audio length: 17:44

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Few words ever spoken have had a more far-reaching impact on the world than Jesus’ last message to His disciples before He ascended into heaven. For three and a half years they had watched and listened as Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead, proclaimed the kingdom of heaven, and lived and preached the truth and love of God. Then, the Bible tells us, Jesus spent forty more days with His followers after He rose from the dead, further preparing them to carry on what He had begun (Acts 1:3).

Before He ascended to heaven, Jesus gave them what has come to be known as the Great Commission: “Go into all the world and preach the Good News”—the message of God’s love and salvation in Jesus—“to everyone, everywhere” (Mark 16:15).

In response, “they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs” (Mark 16:20). With His resurrection, His disciples were commissioned to go everywhere and teach everyone that Jesus was the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), and the gospel message He taught could set all men free (John 8:31–32).

Jesus calls His followers of today to likewise share the good news of the gospel with others, and to be a part of His kingdom work of transforming lives through His message. He continues to work through His followers today to reach a lost and lonely world. You don’t have to have a special calling to proclaim the gospel—we are all called to be a part of God’s salvation mission to the world.

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Corinthians 5:14–15).

If you feel inadequate for the task, He has promised in His Word, “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:14), and, “Whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22).

Every Christian’s duty

Once we confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we become part of His salvation mission to the world. Every person needs the opportunity to learn about Jesus and receive God’s love for the world, and we are one of the principal means by which He has chosen to make Himself known. God wants to save the whole world (John 3:16), but in order to do so, He needs us to tell others about His love and truth, and to share His message of salvation.

As the apostle Paul wrote, “For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (Romans 10:13–14).

Jesus told His followers, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21), and He also calls His followers of today to share His message and love with those who are seeking for truth, meaning, and purpose.

The Bible in shoe leather

American evangelist Dwight L. Moody (1837–1899) once said, “The preaching that this world needs most is the sermons in shoes that are walking with Jesus Christ.” People need to hear the gospel and have it explained, but they also need to see an example of someone living it. The words are essential, but to be most effective, our witness must go beyond words to be a living example of a transformed life.

Our job is to share the message. Only the Holy Spirit can work in people’s hearts to help them decide to receive Jesus and His gift of eternal salvation. However, to understand God’s love and His power to transform lives, and to believe that it can happen to them, many people need to see how He has worked in other people’s lives.

Throughout history, Christians’ example of caring for the poor and sick and their acts of kindness and compassion have been a powerful witness that led people to Christ. When those sharing the gospel show true concern, kindness, and understanding, and are compassionate and caring, it is a witness to people of the transforming love of God and His love for them.

As born-again Christians, we are called to have love and compassion for everyone—young or old, rich or poor, friend or foe—“everyone, everywhere.” We are called to not judge people by their appearance or personality (John 7:24). The Bible teaches that the Lord looks at the heart of people, not their outward appearance, and so should we (1 Samuel 16:7). And as we freely share God’s message with people, His Spirit will lead us to those who are seeking for truth, who are in need of God’s love and are receptive to the gospel.

How to get started

How you start your witness will vary depending on how well you know the person, the immediate circumstances, whether you’ve talked with him or her about the Lord or spiritual matters before, and so on. Many of the people you will witness to are most likely known to you, either immediate family and friends, work colleagues, fellow students, neighbors, or other acquaintances. You can start by asking the Lord to guide you as to how to share a witness with them to bring them one step closer to faith.

Bringing your conversation around to spiritual topics or the bigger questions of life can sometimes be a challenge, but often something the other person says in the course of the conversation can be used as a springboard to guide the conversation. Or you can introduce deeper topics into the conversation by asking questions, such as, “What do you think the purpose of life is?” “How do you think the world came into existence?” “Have you ever wondered what happens to us after we die?”

Another means of introducing the gospel is recounting your personal experience of salvation. This can be one of the most persuasive arguments you can give—your transformed life. The apostle Paul was a tremendous witness, and when he was brought before governors or magistrates or hostile audiences, he took the opportunity to share the truth with them—and he started with his own personal testimony: “This is what happened to me” (Acts 22:3–21; Philippians 1:12–14).

For some people, this is the most compelling witness. You could use all the finest rhetoric and offer strong arguments for the existence of God and His work in the world, and still they wouldn’t listen. But when you tell them your own personal experience of coming to Christ and how He transformed your life and gave you peace, hope, and answers to your deepest questions, you have their attention. You can tell others your story of how His love has transformed your own life, and as they witness your joy and peace, this can draw them to want to know more about God.

Sharing from the Bible

If people are to grow spiritually, it is important to share Bible passages with them. Jesus said that the words He speaks are “spirit and life” (John 6:63), and the apostle Paul said that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). God’s Word is the life-giving seed of faith, and ultimately people’s faith needs to be grounded in God’s Word.

One way to encourage people to read the Bible is to give them a New Testament or a Gospel of John. Some of the people you witness to may already be believers, and your witness will be for the purpose of encouraging them to grow in their faith and to understand biblical teachings and principles, and how to have a closer relationship with the Lord.

In order to effectively share Bible verses or passages with others, it is important to learn about the Bible yourself. The Berean believers in the book of Acts set a good example of this, as they “received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:10–11). The more you study and absorb from the Word yourself, the more tools you’ll have to get the job done.

Jesus taught that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). We are called to always be “prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).If we are faithful to study His Word, His Spirit will bring it to our remembrance when we need it (John 14:26).

Gospel tracts and other Christian publications are also an important way to share a message with people that you don’t have the time or opportunity to witness to in-depth personally. There are many accounts of how a gospel tract has reached people and changed lives. Never underestimate the power of the printed message!

Four steps of personal witnessing

1. Ask questions: It is important to show an interest in the people you witness to and that you care about them and that you consider that what they have to say is important. And unless you ask questions, it will be difficult to understand where they are coming from or how to best relate to them.

You can ask about their background, their work, their family, their religious beliefs, and so on. As you express interest and concern for them personally, you will find that in many cases they will confide in you and express the challenges, burdens, and questions they have.

2. Listen to the answers: Often what people need is someone to listen to them and sympathize, someone to tell their troubles to. To be an effective witness, it’s important to put yourself in their shoes and to empathize with them. As you listen, you can ask the Lord to help you to see them as He does, and to show you how you can best reach them with His love.

While it is natural to be eager to supply answers to people’s problems and questions when those answers are clear to you, it is important to not do so prematurely. Listening—really listening—conveys not only your love, but also the Lord’s love for the person. Listening is a skill that can be cultivated. It begins with a sincere desire to understand others in order to better love and help them.

3. Share the good news: Once people have had a chance to unburden their hearts and you have come to understand their problems and needs, you’re in a position to share the good news of the gospel with them. You can tell them about the Savior who came to earth and died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins, so that all who receive Him may become children of God.

Even if they aren’t ready to receive Jesus then and there, you can offer to pray for them and for whatever challenges they are facing. You will find that people who are at different points of their journey to faith appreciate your prayers, and this helps them to understand how much you—and ultimately God—love them and care for them.

4. Leading someone to salvation: Whether people are prepared to pray a salvation prayer with you or pray on their own later, it is important that they understand that God loves them and wants to grant them His free gift of eternal salvation. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). In order to receive this gift, it is important that they understand the following:

We are all sinners in need of God’s forgiveness. The Bible teaches us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “Your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you” (Isaiah 59:2). Every person is separated from God before they come to Christ, because everyone commits wrongs and fails and falls short—what the Bible calls sin. In order to receive God’s gift of salvation, we must first acknowledge that we are sinners in need of a Savior.

Jesus died on the cross for our salvation. When Jesus died on the cross, He paid the penalty for our sins and made a way for us to be reunited with God. “He himself [Jesus] bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24). His death on the cross was an expression of God’s love for every person. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Jesus resurrected from the dead. Not only did Jesus die on the cross for our sins, but He also resurrected from the dead and ascended into heaven. “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3–4). The resurrection of Jesus is an important part of our confession of faith for salvation. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9–10).

Salvation is a gift. Salvation cannot be earned through good works, it is the gift of God. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not a result of works” (Ephesians 2:8–9). The Bible teaches us that “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). God is not willing that any should perish, and Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him” (Revelation 3:20).

There’s no set or official salvation prayer for people to invite Jesus into their lives and hearts and receive Him as their Lord and Savior. They can pray in their own words, or they can pray as they read a written prayer. Following is a sample salvation prayer:

Dear Jesus, I believe that You are the Son of God and that You died on the cross for me so that, through Your sacrifice, I can live forever with You in heaven. I ask that You forgive my sins, and I open the door of my heart and life to You. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit and help me live in a way that glorifies You. Guide my life and help me to study Your Word in the Bible. In Your name I pray. Amen.

Every time a person is born again into the kingdom of God, they become a child of God. “To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). Jesus taught that “there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).All heaven rejoices over that one lost soul that was found and rescued, more than over ninety-nine who are already safely home (Luke 15:7).

May we each do our part to share the good news of the gospel and help others to receive salvation through faith in Christ.

Published on Anchor November 2025. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.

The Life of Discipleship, Part 5: Seeking First His Kingdom

By Peter Amsterdam

October 28, 2025

The kingdom of God was a central theme of Jesus’ teachings throughout the Gospels, and is found in key passages, such as the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9–13), the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), and the Last Supper (Matthew 26:20–29, Luke 22:14–23). The Sermon on the Mount, one of the best known of Jesus’ teachings, talks about the reality of the kingdom of God and provides important principles on how to live as Christians within God’s kingdom.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus teaches that the kingdom of God is both a present reality and a future one. On some occasions, He said that the kingdom had arrived (Mark 1:14–15, Luke 17:20–21), and at other times He spoke of it as yet to come at the end of the age/world (Matthew 25:31–34). The Bible teaches that the completion of the kingdom occurs when Jesus returns to set up His kingdom on Earth. “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).

So what is the kingdom of God? In general terms, the kingdom of God is referred to in the Bible as God’s eternal and sovereign rule over the entire universe. “The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19). The Lord is the Sovereign of the universe, and the kingdom of God is His reign. “He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, … to him be honor and eternal dominion” (1 Timothy 6:15–16).

The kingdom of God also refers to God’s present rule in the hearts and lives of all who believe in Him and surrender their lives to Him, thereby receiving His gift of salvation. “Even when we were dead in our trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4–6).

For those who put their trust in God and enter into a relationship with Him through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, the kingdom of God becomes a present reality. Living within the kingdom in the present means that we allow God to rule and reign in our lives, acknowledging and honoring Him as the one who created us. It means seeking to live in a way that honors and gives glory to Him, by doing our best to live according to His words in Scripture.

In the Gospel of John, we read that being born again is required for us to enter the kingdom of God (John 3:3). It is through accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, believing in His resurrection, and making a commitment to enter into relationship with God that one becomes a part of His kingdom.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches His followers to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:31–34). In the verses leading up to this one, Jesus discussed the temporal, material things of this world and what place they should hold in our lives in comparison to God and the eternal things of the kingdom of heaven: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. … For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19–21).

When we are born again into God’s kingdom, the center of our lives completely shifts. Jesus calls us to seek first God’s kingdom, trusting that everything else will follow in accordance with God’s will. When God reigns in our lives, we place our faith and trust in Him and we seek to align our will with His, as Jesus taught His disciples to pray: “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

Each of us has been granted free will from God, and thus we have in a sense been given a “realm” in which we can make freewill choices. This is part of being made in the image of God. When we enter the reign of God, the call is for us to integrate our “kingdom”—what we have reign over—with His kingdom. We are to seek to align our will with God’s and let His will, as expressed in the Bible, guide our lives, including our inner thoughts and outward actions. As one author expressed it,

Practically speaking, what does it mean to “seek first the Kingdom”? It means that you look to God and His Kingdom first for everything you need, including your purpose in life, your daily provision, your creative inspiration, your business ideas, your family relationships, everything. As you keep God and your relationship with Him in the center of your life, “all these things will be added unto you.”¹

Living in God’s kingdom means living day by day as one who has a personal, interactive relationship with Him—a relationship which encompasses our earthly life and then continues throughout eternity. Seeking first the kingdom of God means rearranging our priorities so that God has first place in our lives—above our own desires and will, our possessions, our loved ones, and even our own lives, as the following excerpts highlight.

The Kingdom of God Within Us

From the time of His baptism to the time of His ascension, Jesus spoke of one thing—the good news of the Kingdom (see Matthew 4:23). That, He tells us, is what He was sent to do (see Luke 4:43). And He sent out His disciples to do the same (see Luke 9:1–2). The phrase “Kingdom of God” or its equivalent is used 101 times in the New Testament. The prayer that Jesus taught His disciples to pray begins and ends with it. The Beatitudes begin and end with it (compare Matthew 5:3 with 5:10). The ministry of Jesus itself begins and ends with the Kingdom of God (compare Matthew 4:17 with Acts 1:3)….

The Kingdom of God is comprehensive [for Christ-followers]. It governs our thoughts and our actions. It governs how we work and how we play. It governs what we say and how we say it. It governs our marriage and our family. It governs our friendships and our finances. It governs how we forgive and how often, which is freely and always (Matthew 18:21–22; Colossians 3:13)….

When Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21), He was saying that it is embedded in our soul as deeply as our DNA is embedded in our body. We were made for it, and it, for us. When we live in harmony with its principles, wonderful things happen. Heaven comes down. Edens spring up, and everywhere wildernesses are transformed into oases, especially the wilderness of the human heart.—Leif Hetland ²

God First

Putting God first means we give Him top priority over everything else. He is the principal figure in our lives and central to all we do and think. When we choose to put God first, we determine that He is more important than any other person, His Word is more valuable than any other message, and His will is weightier than any other imperative.

Putting God first means that we keep the greatest commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). In other words, we are totally invested in our relationship with God. Everything we have and everything we are is devoted to Him. We hold nothing back…

Jesus taught us to “seek the Kingdom of God above all else” (Matthew 6:33 NLT). That is, we are to seek the things of God over the things of the world. We are to seek the salvation that is inherent in the kingdom of God, considering that of greater value than all the world’s riches combined (Matthew 13:44–46). The promise associated with the command is that, if we are putting God first, “he will give you everything you need.”—Got Questions ³

The Non-Anxiety Principle

When teaching His followers about prioritizing the kingdom of God in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addresses two important principles: to not be anxious about our lives or our needs, and to trust that as we seek first the kingdom, God will care for us. Let’s look at this passage:

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? …

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself (Matthew 6:25–34).

Jesus teaches us, as His disciples, to not be anxious or troubled or worried about the things of this life, but rather to trust in God’s care, His knowledge of our needs, and His ability to supply. As God’s children, we can have peace of heart and mind, knowing that God is sovereign and He is greater than all our troubles and concerns, and He has our best interests at heart. We can exchange the fret and worry that is so commonplace in the world around us with trust in God and His promises in the Bible, and the sure knowledge of His love and care for us. God is faithful, and we can trust that what He promises He will perform.

While Jesus teaches us to not worry or be anxious about our food, our clothes, or our future, that doesn’t mean that we don’t have to work or carry out our daily responsibilities or do what is needed to make provision for our daily needs. Rather, He is saying we aren’t to be anxious or fearful about it. When His disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, He taught them to pray: “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). In other words, we are to pray for our daily needs.

God knows what we need, and as our heavenly Father, He has promised to take care of our needs. Jesus wants us to have peace in our hearts, to trust Him, to know that He can calm the troubled waters of our worries and He will care for us. Jesus still says to us today:

Let not your hearts be troubled. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid (John 14:1, 27).

God doesn’t want us to be anxious, worried, or stressed, but to trust that as we place Him first in our hearts and lives, and seek to do His will, He will care for us. He will give us peace of heart, mind, and spirit, as Paul expressed so well in Philippians:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6–7 NIV).

Our Compassionate Father

God is a caring, loving, compassionate Father. The Bible says in Psalm 103:13, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him” (NIV). He cares about everything in your life—compassionately.

The disciples experienced God’s compassion. Most of the disciples were professional fishermen. One day when they were out fishing with Jesus, Jesus got tired, laid down in one end of the boat, and went to sleep. But then a storm came up—and it must have been a big one because the disciples got scared.

The ship was rocking and rolling, and water was coming into the boat. The disciples were frantic and woke Jesus to ask him one of the most important questions in life: “Teacher, don’t you care?” (Mark 4:38 NIV).

You and I ask that question of God all the time in a thousand ways: “God, did you see that doctor’s report? Don’t you care? Do you see what a mess my marriage is in? Don’t you care? Do you see how little money we have in the bank and all the bills we’ve got? Don’t you care? Do you see how my kids are struggling in school? Don’t you care? You know this fear that grips my mind that I can’t seem to get rid of. Don’t you care?”

The answer is yes, God cares. In fact, he cares more than you care. He wants to help more than you want help. He knows what will help you more than you know what will help you. He is aware, and he cares.

The Bible assures us, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 NIV). … Take time today to cast your anxiety on God—and trust that he’ll receive it with care and compassion.—Rick Warren ⁴

Jesus wants us to have peace in our hearts, rather than anxiety or fear, and to trust Him, knowing that He can calm the troubled waters of our worries. God doesn’t want us to be anxious, worried, or overwhelmed, but to trust that as we give Him the right priority in our lives and seek to do His will, He will care for us and supply our needs. He will give us peace of heart, mind, and spirit.

As Christians, we have the privilege of living life within the framework of God’s love and care for us. We can rejoice that our names are written in heaven, that we are in communion and fellowship with our heavenly Father. No matter what hardships we may face in life, He is always with us. We are a redeemed and blessed people who will dwell with God in His kingdom forever.

Thoughts to Ponder

Jesus tells us to “Seek first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33). This is His invitation to us. Set your hearts on your [heavenly] home. In His plan it’s all about the King and his kingdom. He wrote the script, built the sets, directs the actors, and knows the final act—an everlasting kingdom. “And this is [God’s] plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth” (Ephesians 1:10 NLT).—Max Lucado

Let us submit our worries unto the Lord, for the day has enough trouble as it is. Let us run to the Lord with our emotions, let us seek after His reign and rule in our lives, and let us trust that He will give us everything we need to glorify Him—for His perfect plan and will.—Stephanie Englehart

To seek the kingship of God first in every affair and every moment of life is a thrilling way to live. It’s full of freedom and peace and joy and adventure—and hardship, and it’s worth it all. If you believe in the kingship of your heavenly Father, you do not need to be anxious about anything.—John Piper

What the Bible Says

“We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).

“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy” (Psalm 94:19 NIV).

Prayer

Dear heavenly Father, we come before You with hearts full of gratitude. … Help us, Lord, to seek Your kingdom first in all that we do. May our priorities be aligned with Your will, and may we trust in Your provision. Fill us with a hunger and thirst for righteousness, knowing that in seeking You, we find true fulfillment. We lay our worries and concerns at Your feet, confident that You are our loving Father who cares for us. Grant us the wisdom to make choices that honor You, and help us to be a light in this world. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.⁵

¹ Matt Tommey, “How Do We Seek the Kingdom of God While Being Here on Earth?” Crosswalk, June 8, 2021, https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/how-do-we-seek-the-kingdom-of-god-while-being-here-on-earth.html.

² Leif Hetland, Seeing Through Heaven’s Eyes: A World View that Will Transform Your Life (Destiny Image Publishers, 2011).

³ “What does putting God first really mean?” GotQuestions.org, January 4, 2024, https://www.gotquestions.org/putting-God-first.html.

⁴ Rick Warren, “God Is Aware, and He Cares,” Daily Hope, https://www.pastorrick.com/current-teaching/devotional/god-is-aware-and-he-cares-4-2025.

⁵ “Seeking God First—Discovering True Fulfillment in Matthew 6:33,” Women of Faith, https://www.womenoffaith.com/blog/seeking-god-first-discovering-true-fulfillment-in-matthew-6-33.

The Resurrection of the Saved, the Living, and the Dead

Daniel 12, 1 Thessalonians 4, and Revelation 20

David Brandt Berg

1985-01-28

In the first part of Daniel 12, the Rapture is taking place, the resurrection of the righteous. He also specifically mentions the Tribulation: “A time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation,” and “at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book” (Daniel 12:1).

“And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake” (Daniel 12:2). All of the saved are raptured at this time. Dead or alive, we’re all raptured, but only the dead are resurrected. It says we who are alive and remain shall be changed in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17; 1 Corinthians 15:52). When the trumpet is blown to call us up, we’re changed immediately, instantly!

Not all Christians will be resurrected, because millions of Christians will live through to the Rapture. The Antichrist is not going to be able to get them all. He may kill a few thousand; he might even kill a few hundred thousand, who knows? But there will be millions of Christians, those who believe in Christ as their Savior and have received Him into their hearts—many Catholics, Protestants, and other denominations, and many without denominations.

God’s Word says that those who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air! Who goes first? The resurrected dead go first. “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,” and the trump of God shall sound and “the dead in Christ shall rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

Those who are alive and remain are going to be here standing on the earth watching the dead rise from the dead! God wants them to see that glorious sight. He wants them to see the resurrection of the dead along with the rest of the world. You talk about weekend thrillers, weekend shockers, there’s nothing ever going to shock the world as much as when they see the dead start popping out of the graves by the millions. Millions and millions, billions maybe, all the people who’ve been saved since the previous resurrection. When was that?

It’s in the description of Jesus’ crucifixion. “And the graves were opened; and many of the bodies of the saints which slept arose and came out of the graves after his resurrection” (Matthew 27:52–53). Paul calls Jesus the firstfruits, and after that, every man in his order (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23). Revelation 20 describes two more resurrections: the first resurrection and the second resurrection.

Revelation 20:4 says: “And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which had not worshipped the Beast, neither his image, neither had received his Mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” We know this refers to all the saved. “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished” (v. 5). That statement should have been in parentheses to set it off distinctly because it’s a parenthetical remark. It’s just inserted to let you know about the rest of the dead. Then when He says, “This is the first resurrection,” it’s obvious it doesn’t mean the rest of the dead, because it says they’re not going to live again till after the Millennium.

In this first resurrection, he is talking about the saved; all the saved take part in this first resurrection. Therefore in the mind of God He lumps both the resurrection at the time of the Rapture of all the Christian saints who died during the Christian era, right along with the resurrection of the Old Testament saints who were raised at the time of Christ’s resurrection. There was already another resurrection after the resurrection of Jesus, right in His day. Right after His resurrection the graves opened and the bodies of the saints came forth and many people saw them.

These are actually two resurrections. The first is a resurrection of the Old Testament saints and the next at the time of the Rapture is a resurrection of the New Testament saints, but God counts it all as one great resurrection of all the saints, both Old and New Testament—the first resurrection.

We know there was a resurrection at the time of Jesus’ resurrection and we know there’s going to be a resurrection at the time of the Rapture. Literally, technically, there are two different parts of this first resurrection. You might want to call them two resurrections, but the Lord just calls them one resurrection, the first. The first resurrection is all one resurrection, the resurrection of the saints. Although the Old Testament saints were raised at the time of Christ’s resurrection, and the New Testament saints will not be raised until Christ’s return, in the mind of God it’s all one great resurrection of all the saints—the first.

Revelation 20, verse 5 and 6: “This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” He’s already said that once before in verse 4, now He says it again in verse 6. These are the two actual parts of the same resurrection. All the saints who were resurrected, both Old Testament and New, are all counted as one great resurrection in the mind of God, called the first resurrection.

Then there’s another resurrection: “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” That is at the end of the Millennium. The Battle of Gog and Magog occurs and the earth is burned with fire, then the Great White Throne Judgment takes place where the rest of the dead are judged—the unsaved dead. He describes those dead at the Great White Throne Judgment beginning with the 11th verse, and the 12th verse describes the second resurrection: “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”

These are all unsaved people. Some are going to be found in the Book of Life. That’s what the judgment is about; otherwise there’d be no point in even having any judgment! The White Throne Judgment is to divide the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares.

By this time the Judgment Seat of Christ has been past for over a thousand years. The Bible speaks of the Judgment Seat of Christ as taking place at the beginning of the Millennium at the Marriage Supper, when He rewards everyone according to their works and according to their words. You’ll find the Judgment Seat of Christ used especially in some of Paul’s writings (Matthew 25:31–32; Romans 14:10; 2 Corinthians 5:10). But this is the Great White Throne Judgment, when God is judging out of the Book of Life all the other people who weren’t saved, but who were resurrected at this time.

Are all the unsaved dead people raised in the second resurrection going to be sent to hell? The 12th verse, 20th chapter of Revelation says: “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life.” Although the Lord used the term “book”—because man didn’t know anything but books in the way of records in those days—He’s probably got something vastly superior to computers. Most people who have had an after-death experience have said that their whole life just flashed through their mind in pictures in what may have been just a few seconds. Everything they ever did or ever said from the time they could first remember as children on up till their death flashed through in just a few seconds.

They know that your brain has memory chips; not like man-made computer memory chips. Your brain is just full of little cells which act as memory chips and store information. They say that nothing you’ve ever seen or heard or said or done is forgotten; it’s all still there! Most of it, thank God, is in your subconscious and you don’t have to think about it or remember it, or it doesn’t bother you most of the time until maybe you’re dreaming, or it comes to the surface when you try to remember it. But the brain is a far more amazing, phenomenal miracle of God, far superior to the biggest computer that man will ever build, even greater than the Antichrist and his Image, because it’s so small and has got all that in it that’s never forgotten. God can reel it off whenever He wants to, to make you remember all those things and know why you’re getting judged and the way you’re getting judged.

“And the books were opened.” The minds of all those people are going to be opened to all their sins and all their good deeds and whatever they did in that day. “And another book was opened, which is the book of life: And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” According to these verses here, apparently the Book of Life is mostly names.

He’s pulling out a book called the Book of Life, which most people usually just think means the book of the saved, but the saved have already gone to heaven. So that’s not what this book is, although there might be some relationship. Why are they pulling out this Book of Life at the Great White Throne Judgment before the people, none of whom were ever saved, if God isn’t going to give some of them some kind of life? Not death! He speaks of hell and that kind of judgment as death; in fact, He calls it the second death later in this chapter. Certainly people who are written in the Book of Life are not going to take part in the second death! I’ll admit it’s not very clear here, but you have to go by logical deduction.

Verse 13: “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them.” Spirits are going to be in a lot of different places, both good and bad spirits. He’s just trying to cover the scope of it: everywhere, from the bottom of the sea and death and hell, they all delivered up their dead. Here you again have Hades and Gehenna, these different places where the dead are: Hades apparently being a place that’s somewhat paradisiacal even though not heaven—kind of a waiting room, waiting for this day, this judgment—and hell, Gehenna, the Lake of Fire, being a place of torment.

God even has differences in the places where the people are waiting for this judgment. Those that deserve to go to hell and the Lake of Fire go to hell right away, and they’ve been in hell now, some of them, for thousands of years. Others who were better people, good people but unsaved, they’re in some other kind of waiting places, either in Hades or perhaps in Purgatory, in this place called Paradise that Jesus went to when He spent three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:40; Ephesians 4:9; 1 Peter 3:19; 4:6). He went straight to the heart of the earth for three days and three nights, and yet He said to the dying thief, “This day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). So it’s not all hell down there; it’s not all Lake of Fire.

“The Book of Life was opened and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works” (v. 12). And then the 15th verse says: “And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire.” So here again is your logical deduction. Certainly people found written in the Book of Life were not going to be rewarded with death.

These people found written in the Book of Life who are going to be allowed to live on the surface of the new earth were dead, but they’re found in the Book of Life, so God allows them to live. Now we’ve got all humanity classified in three major groups: the saved, the living, and the dead. The first class are the saved, the second class the living, and the dead are no class at all.

I think that’s a good term for those people—the living. They’re not dead, they’re not in hell, they don’t suffer the Lake of Fire and that kind of torment, but apparently they were good enough that God felt they did the best they knew how—righteous people, good people who did good works even though they knew not their Master’s will. But they were sinners, because everybody’s a sinner. Therefore since they sinned, they must have done some things worthy of punishment. He said, “Those who knew not their Master’s will shall be beaten with few stripes”—very little punishment (Luke 12:47–48).

Trusting God in the Darkness

November 7, 2025

John interviews Christopher Ash
John speaks with Christopher Ash, Writer in Residence at Tyndale House, Cambridge, about the book of Job in the Bible. They explore themes of suffering and how they apply to our lives today.

Run time for this video is 28 minutes.

https://youtu.be/HY6wM_Osydw?si=wwgnVVvyQeOoDJx-

Temptations in the Wilderness

November 6, 2025

By Peter Amsterdam

Audio length: 12:10

Download Audio (11.1MB)

When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, God’s voice proclaimed that Jesus was His Son (Mark 1:9–11). At that time, Jesus was empowered by the Holy Spirit for His ministry of preaching the kingdom of God and fulfilling the task that His Father had given him—bringing salvation to humanity.

All three synoptic Gospels tell of a period of testing that Jesus experienced right after His baptism. The Gospel of Matthew tells the story this way:

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him (Matthew 4:1–11).

The Holy Spirit, which descended and remained on Jesus at the time of His baptism (John 1:32), led Him into the wilderness for a time of testing. The wilderness was His pre-ministry testing ground, where the Devil tried to deflect Him from doing His Father’s will. Jesus’ fasting for forty days was reminiscent of the fasts of Moses and Elijah, which also lasted forty days (Exodus 34:28; 1 Kings 19:8). The tests Jesus faced were also similar to the tests that the nation of Israel experienced during its forty years in the desert, and Jesus responds to each temptation by quoting from Deuteronomy, linking his experience to Israel’s in the desert.

His first temptation was to turn stones into bread: “And the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’” In the original Greek, the phrase “if you are” can be understood to mean “since you are,” so Satan is most likely acknowledging that as the Son of God, Jesus has the ability to command the stones to become loaves of bread.

Why was this a test, and what would have been wrong with Jesus turning the stones into bread? This had to do with how Jesus would conduct His ministry, what kind of Messiah He would be, and how He would use His power and authority. Would He use His power to serve His personal needs, or would He use it according to His Father’s will and in submission to His Father? Would the One who was going to teach His disciples to trust God to give them their daily bread also trust His Father to do the same when He was famished? Would He trust that God would feed Him as He’d fed Israel for forty years in the wilderness?

At the end of Israel’s time in the wilderness, Moses said to those who were about to enter the Promised Land: “You shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not” (Deuteronomy 8:2–3)

God had cared for and supplied for Israel in the wilderness. Would Jesus, His Son, trust Him, or would He take matters into His own hands? The decision would shape His ministry and determine the kind of Messiah He would be.

Jesus’ response was to quote from Deuteronomy 8 that “man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” He would do what Israel had not done—He would trust God. He would conduct Himself according to God’s will and direction. He committed Himself to letting the Father reign in His life.

The next temptation, or test, in Matthew’s Gospel was the Devil’s challenge for Jesus to jump off the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem, stating that if He did, God would protect Him. We’re not told how the Devil took Jesus to the temple, only that he did.

Jesus’ reaction to the first temptation was to quote Scripture, and this time the Devil quotes Psalm 91:11–12: “He will command his angels concerning you,” and “On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.”Why did the Devil bring Jesus to the temple, and why the challenge to throw Himself off it? He was challenging Jesus to put God’s protection to the test, to “force” God to do a miracle to protect Him, instead of simply trusting in God’s promises.

Jesus didn’t object to Satan’s use of Scripture, but He quoted another passage which showed that the Devil’s use of it was faulty. That passage is Deuteronomy 6:16, which says: “You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.”

The event this verse refers to was when the people of Israel in the desert complained to Moses that there was no water to drink. Moses said, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?” God told Moses that He would stand before him at the rock at Horeb, and He instructed Moses to strike the rock and water would come out of it. Moses“called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because … they tested the LORD by saying, ‘Is the LORD among us or not?’ (Exodus 17:2–7).

Testing the Lord in the manner the Devil was suggesting would have been a lack of faith on Jesus’ part, just as it was a lack of faith on the part of Israel. Jesus trusted His Father; He had no need of a miraculous manifestation of God’s love and protection. He had the peace and assurance that His life was in the hands of His loving Father.

For the third test, “the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’” Luke expressed Satan’s temptation this way: “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours” (Luke 4:6–7).

Once again Jesus responded with Scripture: “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve’” (Matthew 4:10).

This verse comes from Deuteronomy 6, which quotes Moses warning the Israelites against idolatry as they entered the Promised Land. Satan offered power, authority, and the glory of the world if Jesus would worship and serve him. By rejecting this offer, Jesus showed Himself faithful to His Father and His Father’s plan to redeem the world. He wasn’t interested in worldly power, but rather chose to walk the path God placed Him on to give Himself for the salvation of humanity. While the Devil offered Jesus this world and all its glory, by choosing His Father, He later was able to say: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18).

Matthew tells us: “Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him” (Matthew 4:11).Luke’s account ends with: “And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). This period of testing was over, Jesus had proven Himself worthy and faithful to the Father, and angels were sent to minister to Him and attend to His needs.

The information about Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness could have only come from Jesus Himself, as no one else was present. At some point during His ministry, He must have told His disciples of this encounter. The departure of the Devil doesn’t mean that Jesus was never tempted by the Devil again, but He withstood the tests and defeated Satan’s attempts to derail Him at the beginning of His ministry. Within the Gospels, there are other instances when Jesus referred to encounters with or temptations of Satan (Matthew 16:21–23).

Jesus remained ever faithful to His Father, even unto death on the cross, through which He defeated Satan once and for all and completed His mission to fulfill God’s plan of salvation. As His followers, we have been commissioned to continue His work of “seeking and saving the lost” and proclaiming His message to the world (Luke 19:10; Mark 16:15; John 20:21).

Originally published March 2015. Adapted and republished November 2025. Read by John Laurence.

God Is in Control

November 5, 2025

By Simon Bishop

With so much happening in the world, I have been asked many times by those I visit, “Have these things been predicted in the Bible?” “Are these signs that this might be the end of the world?” Other times I am asked questions about my opinion on certain happenings, such as the wars in highly strategic and sensitive areas of the world, the rise of certain countries as world powers, etc.

In my childhood and teen years, I was privileged to know people who carefully studied Bible prophecy and often discussed current events in relation to how they might fit into that framework. While these conversations were compelling, and those involved had interesting points to support their views, I am faced with the reality that most of those events have come and gone and the world has not ended. Most of what Bible scholars believe to be final signs, which indicate the beginning of a definite timeline leading to the end of the world as we know it, or Jesus’ return, have not yet happened. Does this mean that I don’t think any of the current events are indications that time is short, or that perhaps the end is near? Well, here is my synopsis in a nutshell:

I believe that when the final signs do come to pass, it will become clear to those who are aware of Bible prophecy; there won’t be much doubt, and we won’t be left wondering. So, it is good to know and understand prophecy. However, I don’t think we will be able to accurately predict exactly how it will be fulfilled.

In the meantime, our time and energy are better spent doing what we can to obey and follow the direction that God has already laid out: to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to put His will into effect in our lives to the best of our abilities. I feel that more than trying to interpret current events or predictions or prophecy, our simple obedience ensures that we will be ready, and we will remain in the will of God.

Secondly, rather than spending copious amounts of time following the news or trying to interpret current events in order to see how they fit into our understanding of the Bible, it is better to keep our intake of the news to a necessary minimum. We need to stay informed and be aware, but not become overly immersed in it. My reasoning for this is that I can do very little about these sad events other than to pray for those affected, but if I were to dwell on these events, it could very much affect my peace of mind and cause me to lose focus on what I can and should be doing.

Practically speaking, what this means for me is that I read a series of headlines and a short synopsis of the news each day that covers important events on the world stage and local scenes, and then I try to focus on the tasks which are before me for that day, without dwelling on the latest news. I think Martin Luther summed this up nicely with this quote: “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” I feel this means that, regardless of how circumstances appear, we are to do what we can to serve others and stay optimistic.

Here are a few verses on the subject that I think go along with what I have shared.

Matthew 24:35–36: “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words remain forever. But no one knows the date and hour when the end will be—not even the angels. No, nor even God’s Son. Only the Father knows.”

Jesus said this, and I think His emphasis on His Word remaining forever was meant to assure us and motivate us in following Him rather than worrying about the future.

Matthew 24:6: “You’re going to hear about wars, actual wars and rumored ones; make sure you don’t get alarmed. This has got to happen, but it doesn’t mean the end is coming yet.”

Jesus knew that a lot of bad things were going to take place, and that sometimes events would be blown out of proportion, which would cause some of His followers to speculate that the world was ending. But He instructed them not to jump to conclusions or lose focus on what is important.

John 14:27–29: “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart! And the peace I give isn’t fragile… So don’t be troubled or afraid. Remember what I told you—I am going away, but I will come back to you again. … I have told you these things before they happen so that when they do, you will believe in me.”

Here Jesus was telling His disciples about His upcoming death and resurrection. He was doing so to impart peace and faith. I think this is a good way to look at the predictions found in the Bible. They are given in Scripture to impart peace and faith to us, not anxiety and fear. The future is in God’s hands. So, let’s trust that everything will work out in the end according to God’s will, and even if we don’t always understand what is happening or how God will work in the seeming chaos and confusion, He is working and He is in control.

On Fire for Jesus

November 4, 2025

A compilation

Audio length: 11:35

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“Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame” (Romans 12:11).

Another version of this verse tells us never to be lacking in zeal. Zeal is an old-fashioned word. You tend not to hear it much, except in negative statements about someone being “overzealous” or a political activist being a “zealot.”

But zeal in the Bible is a common theme and a positive virtue. As Christians, we need zeal. We need to take responsibility to keep the fire burning in our hearts. We need to stay in love with Jesus, not losing our first love. This is not always easy. Life is sometimes harsh and demanding. Ministry can be the same, sometimes worse.

In such situations we need to take responsibility for our own soul-care and make sure that we don’t become fatigued and frustrated. We really have two choices: to keep on fire or become burned out. The Father’s intention is not that we should burn out but burn bright. So, steward your passion for the Lord with diligence. As John Wesley once said, “If we catch fire, people will come from all around to watch us burn.”—Mark Stibbe¹

This morning I dragged myself out of bed. The sun isn’t even fully up, so why should I be? As I mulled over that pithy logic, I dressed, grabbed my bag, and trudged out the front door.

I was on my way to the gym.

I got through my workout, and then I heard someone singing. I don’t know about other gyms, but generally, no one sings at my gym. If they do, it’s usually between a hum and a breathless squeak. This was real singing, confident and clear. I heard the word “Jesus.” Then he began a variation of “Thy Word Is a Lamp unto My Feet.”

In just a couple of minutes, this guy had both inspired me and put me to shame. He was sharing his faith in a simple, powerful way. As Dwight L. Moody put it, he was “preaching from his Bible bound in shoe leather.”

When he finished singing, he smiled and said, “I hope you have a great day!” Then he picked up his bag and walked out. You’d better believe my day turned upside down in a great way. I told my wife about it when I got home. I told my friends. I told my family. I told just about as many people as I could, and now I’m telling you.

What I took away from this experience is the following:

There is always someone near you that you can influence in a positive way. There in the gym, this guy changed my outlook and blessed me through his willingness to honor God. Likewise, we’re each continually meeting, interacting with, and influencing many people. If we can exhibit joy in a weary world, we can change lives, too.

May we always strive to be a good example, because others may not allow us a second chance to convince them that our faith is real.

Think of the big picture. One song, one kind word, one smile, one good deed, one note, one email, one tip, one pat on the back, one hug, one [fill in the blank] can have a constructive impact far beyond the effort it takes to do it. Those eternal dividends cannot be measured by earthly standards.

Let’s be examples of Jesus, and let’s do what we can to show Him at every chance … even early in the morning.—Chris Mizrany

Do all the good you can.
By all the means you can. In all the ways you can.
In all the places you can. At all the times you can.
To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.
—Attributed to John Wesley (1703–1791)

The point of your life is to point to Him. Whatever you are doing, God wants to be glorified, because this whole thing is His.—Francis Chan

Christianity is not the faith of the complacent, the comfortable, or the timid. It demands and creates heroic souls like Wesley, Wilberforce, Bonhoeffer, John Paul the Second, and Billy Graham. Each showed, in their own way, the relentless and powerful influence of the message of Jesus Christ.—Mitt Romney

I remember singing “This Little Light of Mine” to my kids when they were little. If you Google the song, you may find several versions, but the lyrics I sang to my kids consisted of these main phrases:

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!”
“Hide it under a bushel? No, I’m gonna let it shine!”
“Won’t let Satan blow it out. I’m gonna let it shine!”

The song’s focal point is that as children of God, we are to shine the light of Jesus brightly for all to see. Jesus instructed a crowd gathered around Him, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). “You” here refers to the Church, the collective body of all believers in Jesus, shining as a city on a hill, with the responsibility to illuminate the world with the transformative message of Christ’s love.

In ancient times, those traveling along dark roads didn’t have access to flashlights like we have today. Instead, they had to carry fire or oil-burning lamps, and when they came to areas where people lived, lantern flames from cities illuminated the night, attracting those traveling in the darkness. This was especially true of cities high upon hills, as they were more visible from a distance, burning brightly above trees, rocks, and other obstructions. As Jesus spoke to a crowd from atop a hill near Capernaum (Matthew 5:1), He taught His listeners, as well as future believers like us, to radiate the beauty of God’s love so the lost can see Him no matter what dark valley they may be journeying through.

Jesus further instructs us not to hide our lamp (the hope of salvation) under a basket but instead to place it on a stand for all to see (Matthew 5:15–16). Theologian Charles Spurgeon notes, “The object of our shining is not that men may see how good we are, nor even see us at all, but that they may see grace in us and God in us.”

Jesus Himself is the ultimate Light of the world, and as His followers, we shine for Him. This “shining” might sound a bit passive, but elsewhere in Scripture, the Apostle Paul urged Christians to actively “put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:12) and “put on the whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11) in the context of a battle against spiritual darkness.

So how can we as believers today actively fight for the light and illuminate the world with the transformative message of Christ’s love? Here’s one place to start: Every believer has a redemption story of God rescuing us from a path of darkness and sin. Instead of hiding our story or always waiting for unbelievers to “make the first move” to start a spiritual conversation, we are responsible and empowered by God’s Holy Spirit to share our redemption stories with the people around us. And when we join a body of believers in a local church and let our lives shine together, … our light joins with others, and we become a guiding beacon for the lost to find Christ.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus, the ultimate Light of the world. Thank You for the gift of salvation found in Him. Give me a heart that desires to shine my story of Your transformative love so the lost can find You. As others see Your work in my life, may they see the radiance of Your glory and love for them. In Jesus’ name, amen.—Mary Boswell²

Published on Anchor November 2025. Read by Debra Lee. Music by John Listen.

¹ Mark Stibbe, God’s Word for Every Need (Destiny Image, 2016).

² Mary Boswell, “A Light to the World,” https://app.first5.org/book/Light%20of%20the%20World/light_of_the_world_7

Praising Through the Hard Times of Life

November 3, 2025

By Maria Fontaine

Audio length: 8:31

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Throughout the Bible we are reminded of the importance of praise in our relationship with the Lord. As we all know, being praiseful during difficult times is not easy and may not come naturally to us. But we know that our praise gives glory to God and brings victory to our hearts and situations, as we verbalize our faith and trust in Him and His love for us!

Even when circumstances around us don’t look too good or the struggle feels overwhelming, through all of it we can praise Jesus and thank Him in advance for how He is going to work all things together for our good, because He has already promised it. No matter what our situation or what the conditions in the world around us look like, we are guided by God’s Word and what He has said and promised.

It is important that we take time daily in His Word and that we praise Him for all that He has given us. He is the rock of our salvation. He will strengthen us and teach us things that will help prepare us for the days ahead. The Lord is so good to us, and there are so many good things that He brings about in our lives, even during the times of struggle, that we can’t help but praise and thank Him.

Following is a written prayer to help us to give Him glory during the challenges and hard times we face, and to praise and honor Him with our whole hearts‚ minds, souls, and spirits.

A prayer of praise

We praise You, dear Jesus, that we belong to You, our forever Love. We thank You that we have the certainty that all things will work together for good for us because we love You. We give You glory and praise for choosing us, for counting us worthy to face trials and tests and tribulation for Your sake. We thank You that we’re in good company as we sojourn through this world, working to bring Your love and salvation to others, while keeping our eyes fixed on Your heavenly kingdom (Hebrews 11:13–15).

We magnify Your name even in the midst of times of trouble, and we embrace the opportunity to learn and grow. We want to “count it all joy” when we face various troubles or trials, knowing that through these You are teaching us endurance and patience (James 1:2–3). We know that there is no victory without a battle, and that the battles we face will only serve to make us stronger as we draw closer to You, and in You find our strength.

We kneel before You in praise and thankfulness that You have commissioned us to be witnesses for You. Despite our human weaknesses and flaws, Your light still shines so that people can see the good works You do through us and give glory to You. We thank You that we can share Your love and truth with others through our words or tracts or other literature, as we do our part to search and seek out the lost. You have said that Your sheep hear Your voice and will follow You (John 10:27–28), and even when we don’t personally see the results of our witness in this life, we are grateful for the role You have given each of us in Your search-and-rescue mission.

We know that all who love You will suffer persecution, and many Christians face persecution around the world, even as the Christian message comes under attack in the media. We thank You that no matter what and in every way, You are proclaimed, and we rejoice that Your gospel continues to spread and be preached (Philippians 1:18). You are sovereign, and we acknowledge that You are able to work in every single situation for the good of Your kingdom.

We exalt You‚ the one true, righteous Ruler, King of kings and Lord of all! We thank You that You have called us to be set apart from this world, and that we are not governed by its status quo and values (John 17:14–15). We praise You that we have the privilege of standing out as different and being a part of Your city set on a hill that can’t be hidden (Matthew 5:14). As we shine Your light of truth, the sad state of the world is more clearly exposed so that people can know the truth that will set them free (John 8:32). We know that through our witness, people will be brought to a point of decision, and we thank You for those who are hungry for the truth and who will hear Your voice calling them.

We thank You for the signs of the times and the opportunity that You give to the world to receive Your truth. We have a role to play in doing our part to ensure that the gospel of the kingdom is “proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). Even now You are working in the hearts of people so they can make the right decisions in the days to come.

We celebrate You, our Strength, because You fight for us in battle. You are our Light in the night, our Helper and Guide. We are grateful that You work in our lives in every season to fortify our faith. You teach us to endure hardness as good soldiers (2 Timothy 2:3). We give thanks for the times of testing, even if we feel grieved by them, because we know that the trying of our faith is more precious than gold, and will result in praise, glory, and honor (1 Peter 1:6–7).

We bow before You, the anchor of our souls, and acknowledge that You are our shelter in the time of storms. Thank You for teaching us how to engage in the spiritual warfare when we face times of trouble. You are our Light at the end of the tunnel, and Your truth always prevails. We have the privilege of hiding Your Word in our hearts through reading, studying‚ memorizing, and focusing on Your Word and promises (Psalm 119:11).

We praise You, our God of brilliance, for the privilege to be lovers of Your truth, defenders of the faith, and proclaimers of the gospel. By Your grace and anointing, we can make a difference in the world, as You cause us to shine as bright lights in the midst of gross darkness. Thank You that the darkness can never extinguish Your light (John 1:5). We give You praise and reverence, our King of glory, for choosing us to help usher in Your kingdom on earth.

Thank You for the things You bring about in our lives, and Your never-failing presence with us through every challenge and season of life. We know that we have absolutely nothing to fear because You are always with us. Your Word tells us that nothing can ever separate us from Your love. Neither death nor life, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—nothing in all of creation can separate us from Your love (Romans 8:38–39).

We give all glory and honor and praise to You, the Most High, our Rock, our Fortress, and our Deliverer! We rejoice in You and bow before You. We love You and praise You, our Redeemer. We praise You with all our might, with all our heart, mind, body, and soul. All glory and honor to You, our wonderful Almighty God, faithful and true!

Originally published February 2005. Adapted and republished November 2025. Read by Lenore Welsh.

The Art of Waiting on the Lord

A compilation

2022-09-13

“In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.”—Psalm 5:3¹

When you ask God for help, you can wait with expectation.

You pray to a God who honors his promises. He is a good Father who always gives you what you need. When you wait expectantly, you demonstrate faith by believing God will do what he has promised.

Expectation isn’t entitlement. Entitlement says, “I will get what I need from God because I deserve it, I’ve earned it. I’ve read my Bible five times this week and have been to church twice, so God has to give me what I need.” Expectation says, “God will give me what I need because of who he is.”

Waiting expectantly isn’t easy, especially when you feel powerless. When you are trusting God to do the impossible—in your marriage, career, or relationships—and his timing feels too slow, it’s hard to keep trusting him.

Don’t be discouraged, and don’t give up! Even though you don’t know why God hasn’t answered your prayers, you can trust him to keep his promise. God is always in control; he is never surprised, and no one is more powerful than him. Your biggest problems are small to him.

While you are waiting, God is working. He is building your faith, teaching you his truth, drawing you closer to himself, and making you more like Christ. God knows what you need better than you do.

Follow David’s example: Keep making your requests to God and waiting expectantly for him to answer.—Rick Warren²

Trust and wait

“Wait on the LORD: Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: Wait, I say, on the LORD.”³ … Patient, confident trust in the Lord is the central idea of the exhortation to wait on the Lord. The entire Psalm 27 is a prayer to God for help. It beautifully illustrates the meaning of waiting on the Lord. Throughout the psalm’s eloquent lines, David expresses authentic faith and courageous trust in God, based on his confident expectation that the Lord will rescue and save him in his time of trouble.

First, we see that we can wait on the Lord by trusting in Him. David expressed great confidence in the Lord, who was his light, salvation, and stronghold.⁴…

We can wait on the Lord by seeking Him. David conveyed his trust in the Lord by longing to be with Him, to commune in God’s presence and worship in His temple: “One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.”⁵…

We can wait on the Lord through prayer, as David did in eager expectation of deliverance.⁶ David asked God for wisdom, direction, and protection, wholly believing he would “see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.”⁷ Those who wait on the Lord can fully expect Him to fulfill their hope: “Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame.”⁸

Waiting on the Lord involves the confident expectation of a positive result in which we place a great hope. This expectation is based on knowledge of and trust in God. … We must be confident of who God is and what He is capable of doing. Those who wait on the Lord do not lose heart in their prayers: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”⁹ Waiting on the Lord renews our strength.¹⁰

Waiting on the Lord by trusting, seeking, and praying establishes our faith and brings serenity and stability: “I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him.”¹¹ As this passage affirms, waiting on the Lord is also a testimony to others who will see our faith and, as a result, put their trust in God.

Waiting on the Lord brings God’s blessings: “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.”¹²

Sometimes we might feel as though the Lord does not see or hear us—that He’s not answering our prayers. During these moments, we can put our complete faith and trust in the living God. We can wait on the Lord in eager anticipation, knowing that He is with us and in control of our lives. He will do what He has promised. He will rescue and save us. He is always working for our good, even when we don’t feel Him.¹³ Through patient, courageous, active trusting, seeking, and prayer, we can learn to wait on the Lord.—GotQuestions.org¹⁴

Worth waiting for

Over the years I have seen some dear friends of mine be marvelously blessed by the Lord. Some of these same loved ones and co-workers have gone through what seemed to be a series of incredibly trying times. They faced a lot of difficulty, disappointment, and unfulfilled desires and dreams.

I attended a wedding celebration for one of these friends. She had gotten married in another country, and so she and her husband were celebrating their marriage with those of us who weren’t able to attend the actual ceremony. I felt so much joy seeing them together, along with their beautiful baby daughter. She had desperately wanted a family for many years, but it just wasn’t happening, and of course that was a huge test for her—but she continued to hold on to the Lord and trust.

And now, after years of waiting, the Lord had brought the right man into her life—and brought her into his. As hard as I know it was for her to wait all those years, it was worth it. She now has a wonderful husband and a beautiful baby.

Seeing her so happy, as well as thinking about others who have come through long spells of waiting or ongoing tests, increases my faith to trust God when times are bad, or when I’m going through a difficult period. Each of these had passed through their own particular “valley of the shadow of death”¹⁵ which was full of difficulties, discouragement, and circumstances that couldn’t easily be changed. In some cases, there was no way out but to wait, and to trust that, in time, things would change for the better.

Each one persevered through their difficulties. They held on to the Lord in faith and prayer, they didn’t give up, and they crossed the valley and came out on the other side. Those difficulties eventually passed. Their particular valleys took a long time to travel through—years, in some cases. Some came out of their battles wounded, and they needed time to heal. But each one held on, didn’t give up, and is better and happier for it.

I was reminded of a low time in my life, when I was faced with personal difficulties, which were the most trying I had faced until that point. There was nothing I could do to remedy the situation except to pray and trust God for the outcome—that He would either change the situation or give me the grace to make it through. Thankfully, He did both.

Most trials and tribulations don’t pass immediately; sometimes they last a very long time. In the midst of it you may feel as if you’re being ripped apart, and sometimes all you can do is cry out to Jesus and hold on desperately to the promises in His Word. There is new life after passing through that valley of seeming death. And it’s worth holding on for, worth waiting for, worth fighting for.—Peter Amsterdam

Struggling to wait

When we understand God is good, we can trust He has good in store for us. When we know Him as the sovereign Lord over our prayers, plans and hopes, we can believe He wants our best. When we wait for God to act on our behalf, we receive the fullness of His blessings.

Maybe you are struggling to wait for God’s best. Everything in your heart, mind or flesh may be crying out for a shortcut—one that will relieve the pressures of life right now.

When you’re tempted to run ahead of God’s best, He’s never further away than an arrow prayer. Help me. Save me. Comfort me. God loves to hear your short, sweet prayers of trust. As you lean on God instead of your own desires, He’ll act on your behalf.

Though you can’t hear, perceive or see God’s master plan for your life, you can trust Him today in your struggles. Surrender all your hopes and desires to Him. Keep praying for as long as it takes. His presence will be an incomparable comfort if you choose to wait.

Lord, I believe You have Your best in mind for me. When my desires crave what is second-best, remind me to cry out to You. Help me trust that if I wait for You to act, I’ll see You reveal an amazing, custom-made plan. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.—Sarah Geringer ¹⁶

Published on Anchor September 2022. Read by John Laurence. Music by John Listen.

¹ NIV.

² https://pastors.com/god-is-working-while-youre-waiting.

³ Psalm 27:14 KJV.

⁴ Psalm 27:1–2.

⁵ Psalm 27:4.

⁶ Psalm 27:7–14.

⁷ Psalm 27:11–13.

⁸ Psalm 25:3 ESV.

⁹ 1 John 5:14.

¹⁰ Isaiah 40:31.

¹¹ Psalm 40:1–3

¹² Isaiah 64:4; see also 1 Corinthians 2:9.

¹³ Romans 8:28.

¹⁴ https://www.gotquestions.org/wait-on-the-Lord.html.

¹⁵ Psalm 23:4.

¹⁶ https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2020/06/26/waiting-for-gods-best.

What’s In It for Me?

David Brandt Berg

1986-04-04

Some Christians and churches take a negative approach to false religions. They attack them, trying to show everything that’s wrong with them, but they don’t really offer people something better. They don’t show them how much better the Lord is. They don’t show them how much greater power they can have through the Lord.

My mother used to illustrate it by the famous picture of the little girl that has dropped her dolly that she loved so much. You see the dolly falling to the ground out of one hand, and she’s reaching up to a real live dove that’s coming down to land on her other hand. In other words, the imitation was easily traded for the reality of something even better.

Mother used to illustrate it that way to show that you don’t have to fight false religions; just show them something better, give them something better. Show them that Christ is better, the Holy Spirit is more powerful, and that God is the God; that you can have greater peace, greater power, and the only salvation through Jesus. Nearly all of them are imitations and counterfeits of the reality. Who wants an imitation and a counterfeit when they can have the real thing?

When I was considering Uri Geller and his spoon-bending, fork-bending, clock-stopping antics in London, the Lord said, “These are child’s play, children’s impish little tricks. These are things for children. I’ve given you something much better: insight into the future, knowledge of the real salvation of God and the power of Christ for salvation, the Holy Spirit for wisdom and all the gifts of the Spirit.” In other words, this is foolishness. These little miracles of hopping around on cushions on the floor trying to get levitated, this is child’s play! This is mischievous, impish, ridiculous juvenile antics!

We as Christians have many answers to prayer, no less miraculous just because we can’t see them take place before our very eyes. The Lord more often than not lets our miracles be done through natural channels in accordance with His natural laws, not bypassing them in a spectacular show that calls public attention to them. The main miracle that we want people to see is salvation and its power to change hearts and lives!

For many years I sought the gift of tongues. I knew I wasn’t seeking the baptism of the Holy Spirit because I knew I had it. I knew I had the Lord; I knew I had His Spirit and power. I knew it by other gifts and leadings. But here I was seeking this childish toy, so to speak—even Paul in a sense calls it that—wanting to have this manifestation, this demonstration of speaking in tongues, something physical and miraculously supernatural (1 Corinthians 14).

Of all the nine gifts of the Spirit, only three really are observably supernatural, such as tongues, miracles, and healings. Miraculous types of healings, instant healings, etc. We have plenty of healings, we have plenty of tongues, and we’ve had miracles. But they’ve not been the main nor most spectacular part of our ministry, and they’ve not had to be.

We’re trying to win people to Christ and the love of God, and not just going around showing off our super-duper spirituality, that we’re some kind of mystical gurus who can perform miracles and healings and speak in tongues and do showy spiritual manifestations.

Everybody dashed after the Pentecostals from the first of the Pentecostal outpourings in the U.S. and elsewhere, because of these miraculous, supernatural manifestations, especially speaking in tongues. So the Pentecostal church became filled with people who wanted speaking in tongues more than anything else, and who wouldn’t believe they had the baptism of the Spirit till they spoke in tongues. They were after the wrong things; they were after the signs and the wonders rather than the Lord and His love and a burden for souls and desire to witness and win souls and save people for heaven.

Most of the gifts of the Spirit are not showy gifts; they are the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, discernment, and things which are not so showy, not so obviously supernatural, but things which are the most needed and the best of all the gifts if you’re going to work for the Lord. If you’re going to do things for God and be led of His Spirit, those are the things that you need.

Paul said of the Corinthians that they were seeking after things like children, like toys to play with, speaking in tongues and miracles and healings, showy things which were demonstrative of their spiritual power, to show off their spiritual power, which ministers to spiritual pride (1 Corinthians 14:20).

Some Christians are after God with the attitude, “What’s in it for me? What can God do for me?” What John F. Kennedy said to the nation: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country” could be paraphrased for Christians: Ask not what your God can do for you, but ask what you can do for your God.

“What can I do for the Lord? What can I do for others? How can I truly serve God and serve others sacrificially by faith with suffering and all the rest? What’s in it for You, Lord? What can I do for You? You’ve done so much for me. What can I do for You now? What can I by faith sacrificially do for You and others to show my thanks for all that is in it for me and all You’ve given me.”

I mean, everything’s in it for us, of course. By serving the Lord and pleasing God, He’ll give us almost anything, the desires of our hearts, abundantly above all that we can ask or think (Psalm 37:4; Ephesians 3:20). Not only our needs but our wants! Everything’s in it for us. If we will delight ourselves in Him and His will and His service and lay down our lives in love for others and for Him, if we’ll do His will and follow Him and serve Him and others and win souls, everything’s in it for us.

There are two sides to the deal. It’s not only, “God, what can I get out of You?” God wants to know, “Christian, what can I get out of you?”

So this business of wanting spiritual manifestations and demonstrations and miracles and powers, which people are looking for, they’re not really looking for what they can do for God or others; they’re looking for what they can get out of it for themselves and show off to others.

The Lord showed us that this is foolishness as far as He’s concerned. “O foolish Galatians! O foolish Corinthians!” All this foolishness of child’s play, of playing with the gifts of the Spirit as if they were toys. The Lord had to show us that we needed to grow up and be mature Christians with the responsibility of parents and the responsibility of souls and followers, babes in Christ, to teach others to teach others to teach others; that a Christian has most of all a responsibility to God in thanks and gratitude for what He has already done for us. We’re not just to be looking for more and selfishly craving more, selfishly boasting of more, but we are to sacrificially want to serve Christ and serve others and witness and win souls forever for heaven!

What Is the Christian Life?

October 31, 2025

By Charles Price

Charles Price offers insights into the powerful beginnings of the early church through Acts 1:1–3. He explores the living presence of Jesus, the meaning of His resurrection, and how He is still active in our lives today. He highlights how the Holy Spirit empowers believers to continue Jesus’ work on earth and how the church grew from a small group to change the world. Find out how living “in Christ” shapes our faith and why trust and obedience are key to living out God’s plan for us.

Run time for this video is 30 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB7yVGt0APA

The Effects of Christianity: The Status of Women

October 30, 2025

By Peter Amsterdam

Audio length: 11:13

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One of the profound effects that Christianity has had on the course of human history since the death and resurrection of Jesus is in regard to the dignity and status of women.¹

Throughout the reign of the Roman Empire, women lived under the law of patria potestas, which declared that the male head of the family had absolute authority over his children, even adult ones. Married women remained under the authority of their father unless the marriage was a manus marriage, which meant that the woman ceased to be under the authority of her father and came under the control of her husband. In such cases, a husband could legally physically chastise his wife, and if she committed adultery, he could kill her. A manus marriage gave the man complete authority over his wife, so that she only had the legal status of an adopted daughter.

Women were not allowed to speak in public settings. All places of authority, such as city councils, the senate, and legal courts were only accessible to men. If women had any legal questions or complaints, they had to convey them to their husbands or fathers, who would take the matter to the proper authorities on the woman’s behalf, as women were required to remain silent on such matters. In general, women were held in very low regard.

In the Jewish culture throughout the rabbinic era (400 BC to 300 AD), there also existed a strong bias against women. They weren’t allowed to testify in court, as they were considered unreliable witnesses. They were likewise barred from all public speaking. They weren’t allowed to read the Torah out loud in the synagogues. Synagogue worship was conducted by men, and women in attendance were separated from the men by a partition.

Some Jewish women were confined to their homes, and young women remained in parts of the house specified as the women’s quarters to avoid being seen by men. Married women in rural areas had a bit more freedom of movement, as they helped their husbands do the farming. However, it was considered inappropriate for them to work or travel alone. Any income a married woman would receive, including inheritances, belonged to her husband.

Throughout the Gospels, we find that Jesus had a very different attitude toward women than the customary one of that time—one which raised their status. Through both His teachings and actions, He rebuffed the common beliefs and practices which espoused that women were inferior to men.

One example is His interaction with the Samaritan woman in the Gospel of John. At that time, Jews didn’t interact with the Samaritans at all, yet Jesus requested that she give Him a drink from the well. She was surprised and wondered why He would ask her to give Him a drink, as “the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans” (John 4:7–9). Jesus not only ignored the fact that she was a Samaritan, but He also spoke with a woman in public. This contravened the oral law (Jewish religious laws added over the centuries to the original laws of Moses).

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record that women followed Jesus, which was very unusual at that time, as other Jewish teachers and rabbis did not have women disciples: “There were also women [at His crucifixion] looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem” (Mark 15:40–41). (See also Luke 8:1–3.)

After His resurrection, Jesus appeared first to women, and instructed them to tell the rest of His disciples that He had risen (Matthew 28:1–10).

The early church followed Jesus’ precedent and ignored cultural norms regarding women. Women played an important role in the church, as seen in the Epistles of Paul, which indicated that they had churches in their homes. In the letter to Philemon, he addresses “Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house” (Philemon 1:1–2). Nympha was a woman who had a church in her home in Laodicea (Colossians 4:15), and he referred to Prisca and her husband Aquila, who also had a church in their house, as “my fellow workers in Christ Jesus” (Romans 16:3).

In the book of Romans, Paul wrote: “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae” (Romans 16:1). The Greek word translated as servant is diakonos, which is sometimes translated in the Epistles as deacon and other times as minister. Paul refers to himself as diakonos numerous times in the Epistles, as well as when referring to his co-workers and co-leaders (Ephesians 3:7, Colossians 1:7). So when he commended Phoebe as a diakonos of the church, it appears that Paul was acknowledging that she was a deacon or minister within the church.

Paul made the point that within Christianity, “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Jesus, Paul, and the early church worked against the concept of keeping women secluded, silent, subservient, and segregated in worship and ministry.

Jesus’ message of salvation resonated with women in the early church, so much so that early church historians maintain that generally women were more active in the church than men were. German church historian and theologian Leopold Zscharnack wrote: “Christendom dare not forget that it was primarily the female sex that for the greater part brought about its rapid growth. It was the evangelistic zeal of women in the early years of the church, and later, which won the weak and the mighty.”²

For the first 150 years of Christianity, women were highly regarded within the church and very important to it. Sadly, after that time, some of the church leaders began to revert to the practices and attitudes of the Romans relating to women, and women were slowly excluded from leadership roles within the church. However, even with these distorted attitudes toward women, there were still many ways in which women were on equal footing with men within the church throughout that time. For example, women received the same instruction as men when becoming members of the church, they were baptized in the same fashion, they participated equally in receiving communion, and they prayed and stood with men in the same worship setting.

While there was some divergence from what the New Testament taught concerning women across the centuries, there were also major legal changes for the better throughout the territory of the Roman Empire. Within a half-century of Christianity being legalized, Emperor Valentinian l repealed the one-thousand-year-old patria potestas in 374 AD so that the male head of the family no longer had absolute authority over his wife or children. Women were granted the same property rights as men and the right of guardianship over their children.

This also meant that women had a choice in who they married, instead of having their husband chosen by their father, which had been the case in ancient times. This also allowed them to marry later. Because of Paul’s teachings, husbands started seeing their wives as partners, both spiritually and practically. Today, women in the Western world are no longer compelled to marry someone they don’t want to, neither can they be legally compelled to marry as child brides—as still happens in some places in our world.

During Jesus’ lifetime, and before, many ancient societies, especially in the Middle East, allowed polygyny (a man being married to more than one woman at the same time). Many of the Jewish patriarchs and kings such as Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon, and others had multiple wives. When Jesus spoke of marriage, however, it was invariably in the context of monogamy. Jesus said, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?” (Matthew 19:5).

Several early Church Fathers in the second and third centuries wrote against polygamous marriage, and when marriage is mentioned in the New Testament, it is understood to refer to monogamous marriage. The Christian view of marriage as comprising a monogamous relationship has permeated the laws of Western society.

In the Gospels, we see that Jesus had compassion for women who were widows. He raised a widow’s son from the dead (Luke 7:11–15), denounced the Pharisees for taking financial advantage of widows (Mark 12:40), and commended the poor widow who sacrificially gave two mites as an offering to the temple (Luke 21:2–3). The apostle Paul in his writings instructed the Ephesian church to honor widowed mothers (1 Timothy 5:3–4), and in the Epistle of James we read, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27).

Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and the salvation it brought to those who believe in Him has made a monumental difference in countless lives over the centuries. His example and teaching caused His disciples and the early church to accord a higher level of dignity, freedom, and rights to women. Therefore, women today in countries which have been influenced by Christianity for the most part have more freedom, opportunity, and human worth than in countries without that influence.

Originally published April 2019. Adapted and republished October 2025. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.

¹ Points from this article were taken from How Christianity Changed the World, by Alvin J. Schmidt (Zondervan, 2004).

² Leopold Zscharnack, Der Dienst der Frau in den ersten Jabrhunderten der christlich Kirche (Gottingen: n.p., 1902), 19.

A Centurion’s Great Faith

October 29, 2025

Treasures

In the city of Capernaum in Israel, there lived a prominent officer of the Roman army, a centurion responsible for a garrison of a hundred soldiers. He and his men were charged with keeping watch on Jesus’ doings ever since He began His work there. It was their duty to make sure that this Galilean was not inciting a rebellion against Rome through His words or actions. But after hearing Jesus teach the people from time to time about God’s kingdom and His eternal love for all people, the centurion had come to respect Jesus and realized that the kingdom that He spoke of was not a threat to Rome.

One day when the centurion’s closest servant became deathly ill, he was reminded of the miracles Jesus had performed for the sick and the lame, and he pondered whether He could heal his servant. But there was a problem: How could he, a Roman centurion, approach a Jew for help, in a day when most Jews despised the armies of Caesar? Could it be that this Jesus, known for His love and care for all people, would be willing to reach beyond His own people to help someone with whom they were at odds?

A thought occurred to him. “Surely I can call on some of the Jewish elders,” he reasoned, “respected men with whom I’ve had dealings, and they can speak to Jesus on my behalf.” The elders, who were greatly indebted to the centurion for the favor he had shown to their people, did as he requested and presented Jesus with his request for the healing of his servant. They pleaded with Jesus earnestly, saying, “This man is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue” (Luke 7:3–5).

It was unusual for Jewish leaders to intercede on the behalf of a Roman official, as the officials were part of an oppressive system that governed Israel at the time. But Jesus had earlier taught in the Sermon on the Mount, “Love your enemies, do good to them… Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:35–36).

So, Jesus agreed to go and set out with them for the centurion’s home. When He was not far from His destination, the centurion sent friends with a message saying, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself to come to my home, for I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. Just say the word and my servant will be healed. For I am a man in authority, with soldiers under my command, and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes. And if I tell my servant, ‘Do this,’ then he does it” (Luke 7:6–8).

Now when Jesus heard these words, He marveled, and declared to those who followed Him, “Not even in Israel have I found such great faith!” (Luke 7:9). What an incredible statement for Jesus to make before His own people, that a Roman Gentile had greater faith than anyone He had encountered in all of Israel! This Roman centurion, who held a position of power in a mighty empire, considered himself unworthy of meeting Jesus in person or of having Jesus enter his home. He would also have known that entering his house would have resulted in Jesus being considered ceremonially unclean (Acts 10:28). But he believed that Jesus could heal his servant even at a distance.

The centurion apparently understood what “no one in Israel” had (Matthew 8:10)—that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. While Jesus commended the centurion for his exemplary faith, He went on to censure those in Israel for their lack of faith: “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness” (Matthew 8:11–12). This was a prophetic message that foretold that many people from other nations and countries would accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, while many of His own people would reject Him.

The Bible recounts that after Jesus commended the centurion for his great faith, He said, “Go; let it be done for you just as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment (Matthew 8:13). The faith of that unnamed centurion who humbled himself before the Lord was memorialized for all time in the Bible and foretold of the many people from all countries and nations who would enter into the kingdom of God through faith in Christ.

Imagine the confirmation of the centurion’s faith in Jesus when his beloved servant was healed, and he told him, “You can give thanks to God that you are healed, because Jesus of Nazareth is the one who performed this miracle!”

The miracles Jesus performed served as an affirmation or sign that He was indeed the promised Messiah and had come to usher in the kingdom of God (Mark 1:14–15). After Jesus’ resurrection, while testifying about Him to his fellow Israelites, Peter proclaimed that Jesus was “a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst” (Acts 2:22). His greatest work was His sacrificial death on the cross for the redemption and eternal salvation of all who will believe and receive Him.

The story of the Roman centurion teaches us that Christ came for all people and that God’s salvation plan would be for the whole world, regardless of their religious background, nationality, ethnicity, or culture (Acts 13:48). “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:11–13).

There is a wonderful message for us today contained in the true historic accounts of Jesus in the Bible. God is still in the business of transforming the hearts and lives of people and drawing them to Himself. His Spirit continues to work powerfully throughout the world to draw all people to Him and to bring them into His kingdom. The Bible says, “I am the Lord, I do not change” (Malachi 3:6), and He continues to show His grace and love to the world through His Son, “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

From a dramatized Bible story series published by the Family International in 1987. Adapted and republished October 2025.

Does Prayer Really Make a Difference?

October 28, 2025

A compilation

Audio length: 13:23

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“[God] hears us whenever we ask him; and since we know this is true, we know also that he gives us what we ask from him” (1 John 5:15).

Do you ever wonder if prayer really works?

Maybe you’ve been praying about a breakthrough … and sensed Satan whispering to you, “This is a waste of time. Forget it! Who do you think you are? What do you think you’re doing? God isn’t listening. Don’t waste your time.”

You’re not alone. Every [Christian] has moments of doubt.

But here’s the truth: Prayer works because God is in control. The basis of all miracles is God’s sovereignty. He is in control. You can trust his wisdom and his goodness.

Ephesians 3:20 says, “God … is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”

Prayer can do whatever God can do. His resources are available to you. Twenty times, the New Testament tells followers of God to “ask.” You may not be able to change a situation, but you can pray—you can ask—and God can change it. The things out of your control are not out of God’s.

You may be wondering, “If I can pray and ask God to change things, and if God is really in control of everything, why don’t I get everything I pray for?” Good question. Here are three reasons:

God is not a genie. You don’t just put in a prayer and get whatever you want. If every prayer were answered, we’d be spoiled brats. Parents don’t give their children everything they ask for. It wouldn’t be healthy for them. Neither would it be good for you if God gave you everything you asked for.

Sometimes Christians pray in conflict. If two Christians are praying at the Super Bowl for different teams, who’s God going to answer? Obviously, God can’t answer every prayer at the same time.

But I think the real reason is this:

God knows what’s best, and you don’t. If you think you know what’s best, that is very presumptuous. The Bible tells us, “We are sure that [God] hears us if we ask him for anything that is according to his will” (1 John 5:14). Look again at the phrase “according to his will.”

The attitude of your prayer needs to be this: “Lord, this is my prayer request, but your will be done.” That’s what Jesus prayed in Luke 22:42: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Pray for God’s will to be done in your life today—and then trust that he’ll answer you with his power, sovereignty, wisdom, and goodness.—Rick Warren¹

Do my prayers really make a difference?⁠⁠

⁠⁠Intercession (a fancy word for praying for others) is powerful.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠So powerful, in fact, that I think the enemy tries to get us to not use the power of prayer in our daily lives by convincing us that our prayers aren’t really making a difference.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠When we can’t see the power of our prayers, it can be tempting to believe this lie.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠But your prayers make a difference! So don’t stop praying!⁠⁠

⁠Your prayers have power because of what Jesus accomplished for you on the cross⁠⁠. In James 5:16 we read, “The prayer of a godly person is powerful. Things happen because of it.” In other translations, it will say the prayer of a “righteous” person is powerful. As a believer, your belief and commitment to following Jesus is what makes you a righteous person. This can give you confidence that your prayers have a big impact. Your prayers are powerful because Jesus died and rose again, so those prayers have the power of Jesus’ resurrection behind them.

Prayer requires perseverance and is a tool for spiritual warfare⁠⁠. “At all times, pray by the power of the Spirit. Pray all kinds of prayers. Be watchful, so that you can pray. Always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Ephesians 6:18).

In this letter to the church, we read that “prayer is essential.” Not only is it a key tool to be used in the spiritual battle we are still in, but it’s also shown in this instruction that we are meant to pray for others. We’re told to pray continually, to pray for others, and to keep our eyes open, or to stay attentive to what is going on in the world. Our prayer life should be a direct response to what we see and sense happening around us, and it requires persistence and attention.

Your prayers witness to others and demonstrate the power of God to those who might not know Him yet⁠⁠. “King Jeroboam spoke to the man of God. He said, ‘Pray to the Lord your God for me. Pray that my hand will be as good as new again.’ So the man of God prayed to the Lord for the king. And the king’s hand became as good as new. It was just as healthy as it had been before” (1 Kings 13:6).

I love how this passage includes the dialogue where we hear the king say pray to your God. He didn’t believe in this God, but the king was willing to ask to experience healing and the power of this God. … I think our prayers should be ones that create an impact for the kingdom of God when they’re answered. Prayer gives us the opportunity to witness to others. Praying for people who don’t yet know God gives God the opportunity to reveal Himself to them and demonstrate His power. Your prayers make such a big difference that living a lifestyle of prayer could cause someone else to meet God for the first time.

Praying corporately moves heaven and brings spiritual solutions to physical problems⁠⁠. “So Peter was kept in prison. But the church prayed hard to God for him. It was the night before Herod was going to bring him to trial. Peter was sleeping between two soldiers. Two chains held him there. Lookouts stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared. A light shone in the prison cell. The angel struck Peter on his side. Peter woke up. ‘Quick!’ the angel said. ‘Get up!’ The chains fell off Peter’s wrists” (Acts 12:5–7).

Prayer moves heaven. When the church prayed together for Peter while he was in prison, heaven moved. An angel came down to Peter and drastically changed the circumstance he was in. When you pray, you are inviting spiritual solutions to come and change the circumstances of physical and natural problems in the world. … What are you praying for in your community or in the world today?—Molly Wilcox²

Some years ago, a young girl was very sick and not expected to recover. Because of her love for Jesus, she was troubled that she had not been able to do more for Him in her short life. Her pastor suggested that she make a list of people in their little town who needed Christ and pray that they might put their faith in Him. She took his advice, made a list, and prayed often for each person.

Some time later God began to stir a revival in the village. The girl heard of the people who were coming to Christ and prayed even more. As she heard reports, she checked off the names of those who had been led to the Lord.

After the girl died, a prayer list with the names of 56 people was found under her pillow. All had put their faith in Christ—the last one on the night before her death.

Such is the power of definite, specific, fervent prayer. Do you have a prayer list?—Henry G. Bosch³

In one region of Africa, the first converts to Christianity were very diligent about praying. In fact, the believers each had their own special place outside the village where they went to pray in solitude. The villagers reached these “prayer rooms” by using their own private footpaths through the brush. When grass began to grow over one of these trails, it was evident that the person to whom it belonged was not praying very much.

Because these new Christians were concerned for each other’s spiritual welfare, a unique custom sprang up. Whenever anyone noticed an overgrown “prayer path,” he or she would go to the person and lovingly warn, “Friend, there’s grass on your path!”—Henry G. Bosch

When we bring our focused and fervent prayers before God, we know that He has gone to work on our behalf and it has caused or will yet cause change and progress. The fruits and results of the prayers that we have prayed in the past and the prayers that we will pray will become apparent in the months and years to come. We can know that our prayers will yield results.

Our prayers can accomplish things that we are incapable of, things that only the Almighty God, the Creator of the universe, the great I Am, has the power to accomplish, according to His will. Let’s not ever take the power of prayer for granted. When we fail to appreciate it, we fail to use it; and then we fail to see the results that we seek and need. The only time prayer fails is when we fail to pray. Let’s not let that happen. Let’s value and use our treasure of His promises of the power of effective and fervent prayer.—Peter Amsterdam

Published on Anchor October 2025. Read by Debra Lee. Music by Michael Dooley.

¹ Rick Warren, “Your Prayers Have an Impact,” PastorRick.com, November 7, 2020, https://pastorrick.com/your-prayers-have-an-impact-2

² Molly Wilcox, “Do my prayers really make a difference?” MrsMollyWilcox, https://www.mrsmollywilcox.com/post/do-my-prayers-really-make-a-difference

³ Henry G. Bosch, “Our Daily Bread, March–May, 1996, p. for April 3,” in Galaxie Software, 10,000 Sermon Illustrations (Biblical Studies Press, 2002), https://www.logos.com/grow/sermon-illustrations-on-prayer

Walking in His Footsteps

October 27, 2025

Words from Jesus

Audio length: 10:22

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Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”—Acts 10:34–35

My love, truth, and salvation are extended to all people. I call you as My followers to follow the example I left you during My earthly life. I walked among the people, experiencing all that they experienced, and I was moved with compassion for them (Matthew 9:36).

When I dwelt in the world, I walked the dusty roads. I had no earthly possessions to speak of. I was a stranger and a pilgrim. I was tested and tempted in the same ways as you are. I learned obedience through the things I suffered. I hungered and thirsted and was afflicted. I knew what it was to have a broken heart. I was despised and rejected of men. I was weak and weary and footsore. I was tempted in all points as you are. I know what it is to feel forsaken‚ lonely, weary, and destitute.

As Pilate questioned Me, while the crowds called for My death, I had compassion upon him and spoke to him of My heavenly kingdom. I gave My testimony to him that I had been born and came into the world for a purpose—to bear witness to the truth (John 18:33–38). He had the opportunity to know the truth.

Even as I went around everywhere doing good, loving without partiality, and sharing words of life and truth with all those who crossed My path, so I have commissioned you (Acts 10:38).

Walking in wisdom

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.—Colossians 4:5–6

I know what it feels like to be lied about and slandered. I know what it feels like to be challenged, threatened, and falsely accused. I know what it is like to be persecuted and scorned. You can learn from My example how to respond to challenges to your faith.

When the elders of the synagogue would question Me to attempt to trap Me in My words, I often answered them with a question or with a parable. At times I ignored them and refused to engage in conversation with them. When one expert in the law questioned Me about the greatest commandment, seeking to entrap Me, he was unable to respond when I spoke of loving God and loving his neighbor as much as he loved himself as the greatest commandments (Mark 12:30–31).

I have called My followers to not only love their neighbors but even their enemies (Matthew 5:43–48). Loving your enemies does not mean not being true to your faith and convictions, but it does mean that all that you do should be done in love (1 Corinthians 16:14). When I responded in love and wisdom to those who opposed Me, the truth was made known and was a witness to all—regardless of whether they received it or rejected it.

Walk in wisdom as you interact with people who are not in agreement with you, and treat others with tact and love so that your words will be a witness to them. My Spirit will empower you with wisdom to speak gracious words of life, hope, truth, and love.

The essential

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered. “You are worried and upset about many things. But only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better. And it will not be taken away from her.”—Luke 10:41–42

During My time on earth, I often went up to the mountain to pray and commune with My Father. I dismissed the crowds and went away alone to pray and to be strengthened and renewed so that I could complete My earthly calling (Matthew 14:23). I saw the goal ahead, and I knew that for the joy that was set before Me, I would have to be prepared and empowered by My Father to endure the cross and despise the shame to fulfill My work for your redemption (Hebrews 12:2).

I have called you to follow My example of spending time in prayer and in studying My Word. I taught this to My disciples during My visit to Mary and Martha. During My visit, Mary stopped all that she was doing and sat at My feet, listening to My teachings. Meanwhile her sister, Martha, was occupied rushing around and was distracted serving Me and My disciples and ensuring that everything was in order.

When Martha asked Me if I did not mind that her sister was not helping her, I told her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things” (Luke 10:38–42). She was encumbered with the many things of life and the work and service to others to the point that she was anxious and burdened. She sought to express her love for Me through her service, but she had neglected the essential: sitting at My feet and resting in My presence.

Mary had discovered the one thing that is needful, which would never be taken away from her—her relationship and communion with Me. Martha did have the right idea about serving and caring for others, and loving them, and that is an important part of your discipleship and is a witness to the world of My love. But the lesson I taught that day—which was a lesson for My disciples of all times—is that you must abide in Me and My words must abide in you if you are to bear fruit for Me (John 15:4–5). So abide in Me and My love, and make that your first priority, so that you can go forth and be a light to those around you and reach the world with My love.

Setting priorities

Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.—Matthew 11:28

You will often encounter throughout life that there is more to do than you are realistically able to do. There will always be something you aren’t getting to, and there will always be more that you wish you could do. To avoid becoming stressed over the things you can’t get to right away, the starting point is to ensure that you have your priorities straight, so that you are confident that you are focusing on the most important things—the things that will bear lasting fruit.

A first step for determining your priorities is to come to Me in prayer, bring all your concerns and questions and worries to Me, and ask Me to lead and guide you (1 Peter 5:7). I have promised you My peace—a peace that is not like the peace of the world (John 14:27), or the peace of simply achieving your goals or checking things off your to-do list, but My peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7).

When I walked the earth, there was always the press of the people and their very great needs, and yet I spent time in prayer—sometimes whole nights, seeking My Father’s will and guidance. I took time with My disciples. I took time to share a meal with lost sinners seeking truth, and I spent time with the children. A talk with one woman at a well led to the salvation of a village and with one tax collector led to the conversion of a disciple who authored one of the Gospels. When the pressure of all you need to do seems to be too much, come to Me with all your burdens and lay them down before Me and I will give you the rest, guidance, and peace you need for each day. Remember, My yoke is easy and My burden is light (Matthew 11:28–30).

Originally published August 2005. Adapted and republished October 2025. Read by Jerry Paladino. Music by Michael Fogarty.

A Citizen of Heaven

A compilation

2023-04-11

Where you come from is one of the most significant things about you. It forms your worldview, dictates your opportunities, and plays a major part in your identity. It’s one of the first things strangers ask one another. …

There’s a more concrete identity that goes far deeper than simply the personality we have or the place we come from. Whatever the image or color of our passports, if we’re a Christian, then our nationality doesn’t define us. Jesus does.

Philippians 3:20 puts it like this: “But, our citizenship is in heaven.”

Don’t misunderstand. Nationality is important and we should thank God for where He allows us to live. However, through adoption into the family of God, our primary allegiance isn’t to a flag, a state, or a country. It’s to Jesus Christ.

What does it mean to be a citizen of heaven?

Well, like a citizen of any country, there are benefits that come with our divine citizenship. We are under the protection of the King of kings, which is more powerful than any earthly army. We have permission to enter His presence at any time, just as we have the right to be in our home nation.

These benefits come with responsibilities too. Citizens adopt the culture and behaviors of their nation. As citizens of heaven, we have the responsibility to demonstrate God’s kingdom here on earth. That’s why Jesus teaches us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

Wherever you’re reading this and wherever you’re from, you can choose today to live like a citizen of heaven. This mentality will transform the way you love and serve the world around you!—Fin Sheridan¹

A citizen is a person who legally belongs to a country and has the rights and protection of that country. Citizens adopt the culture and practices of the nation or kingdom to which they belong. …

When we are born again by faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:3), we are born into the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 3:2; 7:21; Romans 14:17). Speaking of those who have had that spiritual rebirth, Philippians 3:20 says, “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Jesus spent much of His earthly ministry explaining the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 4:17). …

When God grants us citizenship in the kingdom of heaven, we become “new creatures” (2 Corinthians 5:17). He sends His Holy Spirit to indwell our spirits, and our bodies become His temple (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19–20). The Holy Spirit begins to transform our sinful, worldly desires into those that glorify God (Romans 12:1–2). His goal is to make us as much like Jesus as possible in this life (Romans 8:29). We are given the power and privilege of exiting the world’s flawed value system and living for eternity (1 John 2:15–17). To be adopted into the family of God means that we become citizens of an eternal kingdom where our Father is the King. Our focus turns toward eternal things and storing up treasure in heaven (Matthew 6:19–20). We consider ourselves ambassadors to this earth until our Father sends for us and we go home (Ephesians 2:18–19; 6:20).

We live for a short time in these physical bodies, anticipating the bright future in our real home. While here, we share Abraham’s experience, living “like a stranger in a foreign country … looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:9–10).—GotQuestions.org²

When we join the kingdom of God through the grace of Jesus and the power of His resurrection, our citizenship is transferred from the world ruled by Satan to the heavenly kingdom ruled by God (John 3:3). … Philippians 3:20–21 says: “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

The Bible tells us that our entry into this heavenly citizenship is like being born again (John 3:3; Matthew 3:2; 7:21; Romans 14:17). The Gospels record Jesus speaking of the kingdom of heaven repeatedly. He likened it to a field where wheat and weeds grew together, appearing similar. Jesus said the two would be identified and separated at harvest (Matthew 13:24–30). God knows the difference between those who belong to Him and those who only appear to. There are those who act like citizens of heaven, but have no relationship with Jesus and have not experienced a rebirth in their hearts (Matthew 7:21).

When we are reborn into the kingdom of heaven we are also made into a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) by the Holy Spirit’s indwelling (John 14:17; 1 Corinthians 6:19–20; Ephesians 1:13–14). He then begins His work of transformation, replacing worldly desires with godly desires, making us more like Jesus (Romans 12:1–2; 8:29). Matthew 6:19–20 tells us that we can store up treasure in heaven. Additionally, as citizens of heaven, we are given the role of ambassador to others until we are recalled, in a way, back home (Ephesians 2:18–19; 6:20; 2 Corinthians 5:20–21).

Our time on earth is relatively short compared to eternity. We are called to live here as strangers in a land that is not our own, looking forward to living in our home land (Hebrews 11:9–10).—CompellingTruth.org³

Your citizenship is in heaven. Someday I will transform your lowly body so that it will be like My glorious body. You will have an eternity to enjoy your perfect, glorified body. So don’t be overly concerned about your physical condition now. Many of My followers cling desperately to their earthly lives when they are at the very portals of paradise. Yet once they let go and pass through that fine veil into heaven, they experience ecstatic Joy surpassing anything they’ve ever imagined!

Your times are in My hands. I have planned out all your days, and I know exactly how many you have left. Since your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, I expect you to take care of it, but I don’t want you to be too focused on its condition. This can make you anxious and distract you from My Presence. Instead, receive each day as a precious gift from Me. Look for both the pleasures and the responsibilities I’ve placed before you on your path. Hold My hand in joyful trust; I am always by your side.—Jesus⁴

God’s city is going to be perfect and pure and beautiful. In fact, it’s not going to be beautiful, it already is beautiful. Two thousand years ago Jesus told His disciples, “In My Father’s house are many mansions. … I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2–3). It will be the culmination, the ultimate of heaven on earth, inhabited only by heavenly beings and earthlings made heavenly, in a perfect atmosphere, a heavenly environment, with the most excellent housing the world has ever known, the whole place shining like precious stones and jewels. But best of all, it will be full of billions of people living in harmony and love with God and each other.

Will you be there? You can be. Jesus is waiting to welcome you there. You can receive Him as your Savior by saying a short prayer like this one:

Jesus, I believe that You are the Son of God and that You died for me. I ask You to come into my life, forgive me of my sins, and grant me the gift of eternal life in heaven. Thank You. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer with sincerity, then you are now a citizen of heaven, with full entry rights into the heavenly city of the future.—And not only a heavenly future but heaven in your heart and mind now. Jesus will be with you now and will be there to welcome you on the day that you pass through heaven’s gates.—Activated magazine

Published on Anchor April 2023. Read by John Laurence. Music by John Listen.

¹ https://www.praise.com/articles/what-does-mean-be-citizen-of-heaven.

² https://www.gotquestions.org/citizenship-in-heaven.html.

³ https://www.compellingtruth.org/citizenship-in-heaven.html.

⁴ Sarah Young, Jesus Always (Thomas Nelson, 2017).

02 – “He Shall Confirm a Covenant with Many”

The Rise and Fall of the Antichrist

Scott MacGregor

2012-01-01

According to Bible prophecy, the event that takes the Antichrist to the pinnacle of power on the international scene and begins his seven-year reign is a seven-year pact or covenant described in the book of Daniel. Whether this covenant is the actual formation of a one-world government or whether it is brokered by that government, already in place is a matter of speculation. However, events such as the formation of the European Union and the adoption of the euro by most of its members as a single currency have shown that nations are prepared to put aside national sovereignty in order to achieve greater economic and political ends. And it is not only Europe. The African Union, which includes 53 African nations, was formed in 2001 and aims eventually to have a single currency, a single integrated defense force, as well as other institutions of state, including a cabinet for the AU Head of State.

In 2004 the nations of South America signed the Cuzco Declaration, a two-page statement of intent, announcing the foundation of the South American Community modeled after the European Union, including a common currency, parliament, and passport.

The Asian Cooperation Dialogue which includes 30 Asian countries including Russia, China, and India, states that its aim is to ultimately transform the Asian continent into an Asian Community.

Those are watershed events, for until relatively recently, national sovereignty has been nonnegotiable to nations since the beginning of time. To voluntarily pass on some of the rights and privileges inherent to national sovereignty to a supranational body is a major step.

Just when this one-world government is inaugurated or what events will lead up to it is not now known, but this one-world government will not be a debating club similar to the United Nations. This government will wield governmental authority on a global scale.

The Bible refers to this covenant as a “Holy Covenant” (Daniel 11:30), because of its religious implications. At least in part, it has to do with the Jews rebuilding their national temple in Jerusalem and the restoration of animal blood sacrifices on its altar, a practice that was the heart of their religious observance until their temple was destroyed by the Romans nearly two millennia ago.

The temple was situated on the top of Mount Moriah, now commonly known as Temple Mount or to the Muslims as Al-Haram al-Sharif (The Noble Sanctuary), in the center of old Jerusalem. The first temple was built there under the direction of King Solomon and dedicated in 960 b.c. The Babylonians later razed it to the ground during their sack of Jerusalem in 587 b.c. The Jews under Zerubbabel rebuilt the temple in 515 b.c. In 19 b.c., King Herod I, the Idumean king of Judea, which was part of the Roman Empire at this stage, began the project of enlarging and beautifying the temple complex in the period shortly before Jesus’ birth, circa 4 b.c. This project wasn’t totally completed till 64 a.d. To facilitate the building of the original temple, the top of Mount Moriah had originally been made level by the building of a retaining wall around the summit and then filling it in with rock and dirt. Part of this retaining wall remains today and is referred to as the Wailing Wall.

In 70 a.d., the Romans sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the temple. They did not leave one stone upon another, fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy in Matthew 24:2: “Do you not see all these [temple buildings]? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” Jerusalem remained under Roman/Byzantine dominion until the Muslim Arabs captured Jerusalem in 638 a.d. under the second Khalif, ’Umar ibn al-Khattab. He built a wooden mosque on the southernmost wall of the Noble Sanctuary. This was later replaced by a stone structure in 705 a.d. It is called the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which still stands.

Moreover, in 687 a.d., Abd al-Malik, the fifth Khalif of the Arab Umayyad dynasty, had a second mosque, the beautiful Dome of the Rock, built over the rock that was previously the altar rock in the Jewish temple—the rock upon which it is believed that the Hebrew patriarch Abraham started to sacrifice Isaac. And that mosque also still stands there today. The rock was also sacred to Muslims because it is the site from which the Muslims believe the prophet Muhammad made his Miraaj or Night Journey into the heavens.¹ Because of the significance of this spot, it’s quite obvious that the Muslims today would never agree to the Jews rebuilding their temple over this site, and it is extremely unlikely that the Jews would ever consider building it anywhere else.

When Israel captured East Jerusalem in 1967, the aged Jewish historian, Israel Eldad, was quoted in TIME magazine as saying, “We are at the stage which David was when he liberated Jerusalem. From that time until the construction of the temple by Solomon, only one generation passed.—So will it be with us.”

Just two weeks before the war in which the Israelis occupied old Jerusalem and the Temple Mount area, on May 21, 1967, the Washington Post and the New York Times ran the following anonymously sponsored full-page ad:

To Persons of the Jewish Faith all over the world:

The project to rebuild the temple of God in Israel is now being started. With divine guidance and hope, the temple will be completed. It will signal a new era in Judaism. Jews will be inspired to conduct themselves in such a moral way that our Maker will see fit to pay us a visit here on Earth. God will place in the midst of many persons in all walks of Jewish life the desire to participate in this work. Executive talents, administrators, and workers in all levels are needed. All efforts will be anonymous. God will know those desiring to participate. God’s Will Shall Prevail.

Today, there is a growing impetus within Israel and amongst Jews worldwide, a drive spearheaded by the Temple Institute situated in Old Jerusalem, to see the temple rebuilt. Indeed, it is reported that much of it has already been prefabricated and it just remains for it to be assembled. The Temple Institute has also already fabricated the sacred vessels and garments needed for use in the temple, and these can be seen displayed in their headquarters. Some of these can be viewed on the World Wide Web at www.templeinstitute.org.

Even though the Israelis are in control of Jerusalem, the Temple Mount remains under the control of the Muslims in the person of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. The only way the Muslims and the Israelis could work out some kind of an agreement or compromise with each other so that the temple could be rebuilt would be with the direct intervention of a dominant outside third party, such as a world government. This compromise or agreement is thought by many Bible scholars with expertise in Endtime studies to be part and parcel of the Covenant spoken of in the Bible prophecies of Daniel.

Daniel wrote: “And he [the Antichrist] shall confirm a Covenant with many for one week” (Daniel 9:27). The original Hebrew word that is translated “week” in the New King James Bible, the Bible translation we will be quoting from in this book, is shabua, which means “unit of seven.” Therefore a little better, more understandable translation of this verse would be: “And he shall confirm the Covenant with many for one unit of seven.” And by carefully studying the marvelous Messianic prophecy regarding the exact time of the first coming and crucifixion of Christ in verses 24 to 26 of Daniel chapter 9, we know that “one week” or “one seven” equals seven years. Thus the verse can be understood as saying, “And he shall confirm a Covenant with many for seven years.” (See Appendix 2.)

This seven-year agreement will have to be a very ingenious compromise, and it is thought it will deal with not only the Temple Mount, but also the entire city of Jerusalem. Today Jerusalem is an irresolvable issue. The majority of Israelis have sworn that they will never let it go nor share it, that it is their “eternal capital” forever. David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973), the first prime minister of Israel, vowed, “We took Jerusalem and we will never give it up again until the last man and woman is dead defending it. No matter what the cost, we will never give it up until the last Jew is dead. That’s how all our people feel.”

On the other hand, the Palestinians, who have lived there for over a thousand years and refer to it as Al-Quds (The Holy), want East Jerusalem, which the Israelis captured from them in the 1967 war, as their capital. This is a proposal that successive Israeli governments have dismissed outright. The future of Jerusalem and of the Temple Mount is one of the most intractable issues of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

To resolve this issue, it is believed that the Antichrist will internationalize the city of Jerusalem. Most people today don’t realize that this was in the original agreement that set up Israel as a homeland for the Jewish nation. Corpus Separatum (Latin for separate body) was the term used in the 1947 UN Partition Plan to describe the internationalizing of Jerusalem. The unique status for the city was because of its association with three world religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It was to be under a special international regime administered by the United Nations. This plan was reconfirmed in United Nations General Assembly Resolutions 194 and 303.

Many Bible prophecy teachers believe that the Antichrist is going to be of Jewish descent, as one description of him in Daniel says that he “regards not the God of his fathers” (Daniel 11:37). If he is Jewish, this could be one reason he succeeds in getting the Israelis to compromise and allow this to occur. In fact, according to the Bible, this world dictator of this one-world government eventually makes Jerusalem the political capital of his world government (Daniel 11:45; 2 Thessalonians 2:4). Could the prestige that comes with the world being governed from its ancient capital be the impetus that Israel needs to compromise its stance on Jerusalem?

Daniel prophesied of the Antichrist that there “shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue” (Daniel 11:21). He is described here as a “vile person” because God knows he is, but it would seem that he is going to be quite a popular leader as far as the peoples of the world are concerned. Exactly what it means about not giving him the honor of royalty remains to be seen, but in today’s world royalty and monarchy grow increasingly unpopular. So perhaps it means he is confirmed as a leader without giving him an appellation of royalty, such as king, but he nevertheless rules as an absolute monarch in the style of ancient kings. It appears he doesn’t use violence to achieve his initial aims, and therefore would probably present himself as a promoter of international peace. But whatever his platform, he achieves his aims through intrigue.

In the early stages of the Antichrist’s regime, everything will appear to be going well. He’ll be trying to make everybody happy, and will somehow manage to bring peace to many parts of the world. He will seem to be the smartest man who ever lived, with the greatest power and the greatest wisdom, able to solve intractable problems, stop all wars, and put everybody to work building peace. “Peace and safety” will be a slogan of his government and the general populace. “Everything’s going to be peaceful and safe now. No more wars. Everything’s going to be secure. Everybody’s going to have plenty” (1 Thessalonians 5:3). And despite some setbacks and troubles, initially it will seem to be true!

Two Ways the Hope of Heaven Battles Your Anxiety

October 24, 2025

By Matthew McCullough

When we feel anxious, we’re expecting something negative for our future. That’s what anxiety is. The hope of heaven gives us another perspective on our future. We have an inheritance to set our hearts on that nothing can possibly touch and a Father who will guard us for that day no matter what may come our way in the meantime. These are the pillars of our hope for the future. When we feel anxious, we should ask which pillar is wavering and shore it up with the truth of the gospel.

(Read the article here.)

https://www.crossway.org/articles/two-ways-the-hope-of-heaven-battles-your-anxiety

God’s Divine Healing, Part 4: Love in Action

October 23, 2025

By Peter Amsterdam

Audio length: 14:30

Download Audio (13.2MB)

Jesus, who left heaven to live among us and suffered and died on the cross for our redemption, was a living representation of God’s compassion and love for humankind. In reading about the miracles of Jesus and the people He healed, we see that Jesus had great compassion and sympathy for the suffering of others. He reflected the compassion and love of God through His actions. Following are some examples of this:

When He went ashore He saw a great crowd, and He had compassion on them and healed their sick (Matthew 14:14).

As He drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then He came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother (Luke 7:12–15).

A leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed (Mark 1:40–42).

From these examples, we see that in addition to healing being a platform for sharing the gospel, one of the main motivations for praying for people is compassion. Compassion can be seen as love in action. As Christ-followers, we are filled with the Holy Spirit, meaning the Spirit of God dwells within us, and thus we too should be moved to action by love and compassion.

The greatest of these is love

The gift of healing is one of the spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit distributes to the believers (1 Corinthians 12:11). The apostle Paul wrote the following about the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:4–10).

Paul then goes on to say, “All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills” (1 Corinthians 12:11). This verse makes it clear that it is the Spirit of God who distributes these gifts to individuals according to His will. This indicates that not every Christian has every gift. Thus, not every Christian has the gifts of healing, just as not every Christian has the gift of wisdom, the gift of working miracles, etc.

At the end of the same chapter, Paul says: “But earnestly desire the higher gifts” (1 Corinthians 12:31). In saying to earnestly desire certain gifts, it can be concluded that believers are encouraged to pray earnestly for a particular gift. Having the gifts of healing, for example, could be beneficial for a witnessing ministry. If you feel called to use healing in your witness, you should feel free to ask God for the gift of healing and step out by faith to pray for people’s healing as He leads you.

After speaking about the various gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul goes on to say:

I will show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing (1 Corinthians 12:31, 13:1–2).

Paul makes a strong statement here, that if we have gifts of the Spirit, including healing, and can do all kinds of wonderful works because of these gifts, we must do them in love, as without love we are nothing. The motivation for all our mission-related activities and ministries and for fulfilling the Great Commission is love—love for the lost and for those who are searching, love for the poor, the oppressed, and the needy, and love for the infirm and for those who battle illness. It is a manifestation of the compassion Jesus taught through His example.

As Paul wrote in his timeless discourse on love in 1 Corinthians 13, love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude (1 Corinthians 13:4–5). No matter what our theology or methodology, in our ministering to people and witness we are called to “let all that you do be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14).

When it comes to praying for others’ healing, we must treat people with compassion and care. It is wrong to say and do things that make people who don’t get healed feel discouraged or condemned about it. It’s unkind and unloving to tell people who are suffering that they or their faith has failed, and that’s why they aren’t getting healed. We need to put ourselves in the place of the sick person and act in a loving manner by showing sympathy. Love is the key when working with people struggling with infirmities and with their loved ones.

In James’ epistle, he encouraged the believers to gather in prayer for those in need of healing. “The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.” James went on to say, “pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:15–16). Paul also notes that as the body of Christ, “If one member suffers, all suffer together” (1 Corinthians 12:26), indicating the compassion and love for others that should motivate all our actions.

Jesus commanded His disciples to pray for the sick, and we see this in the example of the early disciples. We can all pray for those who are sick. It takes faith to step out and pray for others, especially in a witnessing situation where you don’t know the person. It may be awkward in some cases, but in doing so, the opportunity is given to someone to be touched by God. Many people would be happy to have someone pray for their healing, whether they are believers or not. When we pray for the sick, we can trust that they will be healed in accordance with God’s will. What a tremendous vehicle for showing someone the love of Jesus and God’s compassion for them!

We may not know all the theological ins and outs of healing, and we may not understand why some people are healed and others are not. What we do know is that we have been called to pray for people, which includes their physical healing, and to witness to them about salvation in Christ. May God’s love and compassion motivate us to be faithful to fulfill our mission of bringing Jesus into the lives of others.

We also have to remember when praying for people’s healing that healing comes from God’s hand. He uses Christians who are willing to step out and pray for others in love and compassion, whether that person receives healing or not. As one theologian expressed it,

When we pray for healing we should remember that we must pray for God to be glorified in the situation, whether he chooses to heal or not. And we also ought to pray out of the same compassion of heart that Jesus felt for those whom he healed. When we pray this way, God will sometimes—and perhaps often—grant answers to our prayers.¹

We applaud those whom the Lord has led to use healing in their witnessing, and we’re thrilled to hear that people are healed and that the gospel is preached. At the same time, we have been saddened to hear of a handful of people who have displayed a lack of love and wisdom, and according to emails we have received, have caused distress, condemnation, discouragement, and hurt. Some people have told us that they have avoided seeking prayer for healing because of the actions and words of some who have been unloving and hurtful, which is sad to hear.

Our stance, as we shared in “Blueprint for the Future,” is that individuals should “follow Jesus according to the personal call He gives them, and enact their commitment to God’s will for their lives.” If He leads you to use healing evangelism in your ministry, praise God. If He calls you to feed the poor and destitute, praise God. If He calls you to a job that allows you to influence others and lead them to Him, praise God. If He calls you to devote your time to raising your children in His nurture and admonition, praise God. The key is to follow and serve God in the ways that He leads you personally.

The key to fruitfulness in Christian service is to follow what the Lord shows you and His leading in the situation He places you in. There are diverse means of reaching people with the gospel, and our goal is to reach as many as possible with the message of salvation—of Jesus’ soul-saving sacrifice and of eternity with God. Our hope and prayer is that we will each be faithful to share the gospel in the ways the Lord leads, according to the gifts and callings He has for each one of us.

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness (Romans 12:6–8).

May we each be led by the Spirit of God and be motivated by love and compassion in our witness, our interactions with one another, and in the exercising of the gifts and callings God has given to each one of us, as members of the body of Christ.

Above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body (Colossians 3:14–15).

Originally published April 2012. Adapted and republished October 2025. Read by John Laurence.

¹ Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (InterVarsity Press, 2000), 941.

Reaching the Ones We’d Rather Avoid

October 22, 2025

By Lysa TerKeurst

There were many places I had dreamed of visiting in the Holy Land. I anticipated that the sights and sounds would move my heart deeply as I walked where Jesus walked.

When our guide pulled over to the side of the road at an unmarked, unremarkable-looking place, I was underwhelmed. Our teacher walked to a place covered with brush and pointed to a rocky path. We gingerly made our way behind him and soon came upon a road.

With great enthusiasm, the teacher said, “This road is where a man learned of Christ and received the Good News!” We walked a little farther and saw a hole in the ground. “This place of water is where the man was baptized shortly afterward, and he went away rejoicing. We should rejoice!”

We opened the Scriptures to Acts 8:26–39, the story of an Ethiopian man who was a eunuch. But even then I wondered why our teacher picked this spot to highlight on the tour. He whisked us back on the bus with one final statement: “Individuals matter.”

(Read the article here.)

https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2025/06/12/reaching-the-ones-wed-rather-avoid

The Compassion of Jesus

October 21, 2025

A compilation

Audio length: 15:17
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As I delved into the Bible, I was struck by the profound stories of compassion that thread through its pages. From the Old Testament’s tales of divine love to the New Testament’s accounts of Jesus’ boundless mercy, these stories aren’t just historical accounts; they’re a call to action. Exploring these narratives, I couldn’t help but be moved by the depth of God’s love. …

When diving into the Bible, we’re met with countless stories that showcase Jesus’ immense compassion. He didn’t just preach love; He lived it, touching lives wherever He went. … One of the most profound examples of Jesus’ compassion is found in the story of Him healing the lepers. Imagine the scene: ten men, outcasts due to their leprosy, standing at a distance, their voices filled with desperation as they cry out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” (Luke 17:13).

Leprosy wasn’t just a disease; it was a sentence to a life of isolation. Yet, Jesus saw beyond their disease. He saw their hearts, their desperation for healing, and He responded with compassion. He told them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests” (Luke 17:14). And as they went, they were cleansed. …

Another vivid portrayal of Jesus’ compassion unfolds in the story of feeding the 5,000. Picture it: a vast crowd, hungry and tired, far from any source of food. But they were hungry for more than just bread; they were hungry for the words of life Jesus offered.

Seeing the need, Jesus didn’t turn them away. Instead, He took five loaves and two fish, and after giving thanks, He miraculously multiplied them to feed the entire crowd. This story, found in all four Gospels, highlights not just a miracle of provision but the depth of Jesus’ compassion. He cared for their spiritual hunger and their physical needs. …

Each of these stories offers us a glimpse into the heart of Jesus. His compassion wasn’t limited by social status, sin, or sickness. He saw every person as worth His love and His miraculous touch. As I reflect on these accounts, I’m reminded that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His compassion is as available to us now as it was back then. Through prayer, faith, and a heart open to receiving His love, we too can experience the transformative power of His compassion in our lives.

Reflecting on these Bible stories, it’s clear that compassion is at the heart of Jesus’ teachings and actions. He didn’t just preach about love and kindness; He lived it every day by reaching out to those in need, regardless of their status or situation.

Through His example, we learn the true essence of compassion—it’s not just about feeling sorry for someone but actively seeking to alleviate their suffering. These stories aren’t just ancient texts; they’re a call to action for us to embody compassion in our lives. Let’s be inspired by Jesus’ example to break down barriers and extend our love to everyone, demonstrating that compassion is indeed limitless.—Duke Tabor¹

Compassion in action

In the Old Testament, God is described as having compassion more than a dozen times, and in the Gospels, Jesus is said to feel compassion six times. A story in Luke 13:10–17, the healing of the bent-over woman, illustrates Jesus’ compassion in action, and also gives a window into the empathetic understanding that contributed to that compassion.

The woman is described as “bent over” and “unable to stand up straight” (Luke 13:11). On the Sabbath, she comes into a synagogue where Jesus is teaching. When Jesus sees her, he calls her over to him and heals her. …

I feel a strong sense of identification with this woman. I don’t have osteoporosis, but I can already see that as I age, my shoulders want to droop. … In addition, I often feel bent over with responsibilities and burdened with sadness about things going on in the lives of family members and friends. I also feel bowed down with the weight of all the things that go wrong in the world. …

When Jesus heals the woman, he uses the words, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment” (Luke 13:12). How I long to be set free from the feelings of anxiety and pressure that weigh me down! How grateful I am that God has given me joy and freedom so many times in the decades I have been a follower of Jesus.

When Jesus calls the woman to him as she enters the synagogue and then heals her, Jesus shows great compassion. He sees that she is bent over, and he is moved by her situation and takes action to make it better. This combination of being moved internally and then acting in response is the essence of compassion.

Because this event took place on the Sabbath, the ruler of the synagogue is not pleased with Jesus’ action. Over the centuries leading up to Jesus’ birth, Jewish leaders had codified the Sabbath, and they used 39 verbs—including healing—to describe actions that were prohibited on the Sabbath. …

After being criticized by the ruler of the synagogue, Jesus notes that Jews believed it was appropriate on the Sabbath to free an animal in order to bring it to water (Luke 13:15). He continues, “And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath day?” (Luke 13:16). The phrase “eighteen long years” is a key indicator of the empathetic understanding that contributed to Jesus’ compassion. …

In the story of the healing of the bent-over woman, Jesus demonstrates the kind of empathetic understanding that undergirds compassion. He is moved by her suffering, and takes initiative to relieve it. May we all grow in empathy and compassion after the model of Jesus, guided and empowered by God’s Spirit.—Lynne M. Baab²

Defining compassion

The Bible contains phenomenal examples of various Bible characters acting with compassion. Many Bible stories are filled with kindness, mercy, and compassion. … For example, Joseph of Arimathea who prepared his personal tomb for his Messiah, or the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her hair. Through them, we learn that showing compassion and kindness isn’t simply about being nice—it can be an act of worship of our Savior.

Galatians 5:22–23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” The fruit of the Holy Spirit is what God desires our lives to reflect, and that includes kindness born of compassion.

When others keep a safe distance from suffering, a compassionate person acts. There are many different ways to show compassion or be compassionate, and there are numerous examples in the Old Testament and New Testament of compassionate biblical characters empathizing, showing mercy to someone else or experiencing compassion themselves.

The true definition of compassion involves a tangible expression of love for those who are suffering. Compassion is not just an awareness of another person’s suffering. It moves beyond a simple desire to reduce suffering. A compassionate person recognizes the suffering of others and then takes action to help. …

Jesus Christ, the Messiah, exemplified compassion during his ministry on earth. One of the most poignant examples of compassion in the Bible is when Jesus showed compassion at the grave of Lazarus. When Jesus saw Lazarus’ friends weeping, he wept alongside them (John 11:33–35). Over and over, our Lord Jesus Christ felt compassion on people, healing them and comforting them. He saw the large crowd as sheep without a shepherd and he came to give them purpose and shelter.

As the Son of God, Jesus possessed more than we can ever imagine. Even so, he gave up everything, voluntarily and selflessly sacrificing himself for us so that we can have eternal life. In that sacrifice, we see the greatest example of compassion in the Bible! …

1 John 3:17 says, “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?” This means that love is not in words or speech. It is displayed in actions and in truth. He says that love is active, not just felt, thought, or spoken.

When others may keep their distance from those who are suffering, godly compassion prompts us to act on the behalf of the hurting. When we see people who are poor, lacking basic necessities, or are fatherless, we are called to show mercy through compassionate action.

As we consider the compassion God has shown to us, we can respond with compassion to those around us.—Compassion.com³

Loving others with Jesus’ love

If we are to be effective messengers and ambassadors for Jesus, we have to go forth with the love of Christ (Romans 5:8) and be willing to give of ourselves as Jesus did. That will mean different things in each situation, but it comes down to making the sacrifices needed to show the Lord’s love to those in need.

It can be overwhelming to think about the Great Commission we have been given. We likely feel incapable of effectively representing the Savior’s love and compassion for people. You might feel that you don’t have nearly enough love in your heart or that you don’t have a deep enough understanding or sufficient compassion.

If you feel that way, I want to encourage you to trust that God has given us His love and His Spirit that will motivate us to share Jesus’ truths with others. Remember that it is God who works in and through us to be His love and compassion for others (Philippians 2:13). The love that Jesus had for us is what motivated Him to come to earth and live among us and die for us so that we could be saved and live with Him forever.

Love is what motivated the great missionaries of the past to leave their homes, communities, and countries, in order to answer the Lord’s call in their heart to tell others about Him. Their love for Jesus compelled them, and His love will do the same for us as we go forth to share His love with others and to be a living example of His compassion (2 Corinthians 5:14–15).—Maria Fontaine

Published on Anchor October 2025. Read by Debra Lee. Music by John Listen.

¹ Duke Tabor, “7 Inspiring Bible Stories About Compassion That Transform Hearts Today,” Answered Faith, March 8, 2024, https://answeredfaith.com/bible-stories-compassion

² Lynne M. Baab, “The Compassion and Empathy of Jesus,” lynnebaab.com, https://www.lynnebaab.com/articles/new—the-compassion-and-empathy-of-jesu

³ “Compassion in the Bible,” compassion.com, https://www.compassion.com/poverty/compassionate-bible-characters.htm

The Word of God: The Foundation of Our Faith

October 20, 2025

Treasures

Audio length: 19:43

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When we accept Jesus into our hearts and lives as our Lord and Savior, it is the beginning of a new life and a personal relationship with God. He becomes our best friend, counselor, teacher, guide, and shepherd. The way to grow in our faith and learn about God is through His Word in the Bible, which teaches us about who God is, who we are in relation to Him, His will for us as His creations, and more. The Gospels in particular reveal His nature and power, and His love for humankind through the life of Jesus.

In the Bible we read of the importance of God’s Word for our spiritual lives. Jesus, quoting Moses in the book of Deuteronomy, said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). In his time of suffering, Job declared, “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12).

The theme of Psalm 19 is the importance of the Word of God. “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; … the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold” (Psalm 19:7–10).

The apostle Peter, writing to new Christians, admonished them, “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). Just as the body needs food to survive and grow strong, our spirit needs spiritual nourishment from God’s Word.

History of the Bible

The word “Bible” is derived from the Greek word biblia, meaning “books,” but it is far more than a mere book. The Bible is the Word of God and the foundation of the Christian faith and life. It reveals God to us, it tells us of God’s basic plan for man, and it contains unparalleled truth and instruction. It expresses “His precious and very great promises,” so that through them we may become “partakers of the divine nature”—and grow to become more godly, more like Jesus (2 Peter 1:4).

The Bible contains 66 books in two major sections: the Old Testament and the New Testament. (“Testament” in this case means “covenant” or “contract,” so the Old and New Testaments can be thought of as the old and new binding agreements between God and man.) In the old covenant, God promised to bless the Israelites if they would worship Him only and be ruled by His law (Deuteronomy 27–28). The new covenant was announced by Jesus to His disciples at the Last Supper, the night before His death (1 Corinthians 11:23–26). As He passed around a communal wine cup, He told them that the wine symbolized “the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20).

Over 600 years before Jesus was born, the prophet Jeremiah foresaw a day when God would make a new covenant with His people. Under this new covenant, God would write His laws on people’s hearts rather than on tablets of stone (Jeremiah 31:31–34). Jesus said that the new covenant is the fulfillment of what was promised in the first (Matthew 5:17).

The New Testament contains five narrative books—the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The Gospels recount the ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The book of Acts, which was written by Luke, documents major happenings of the early church over the next 30 years and is a sequel to the Gospel of Luke. Twenty-one letters, or epistles, follow the historical narratives. Thirteen of these letters were clearly written by the apostle Paul, while the remaining eight were written by other apostles or others closely associated with the apostles. In the last book in the New Testament, Revelation, the apostle John recounts prophetic visions of the endtime and Jesus’ triumphant return.

The first mention in the Bible of anyone writing anything down is when God told Moses to “write this as a memorial in a book” (Exodus 17:14). Although none of the original biblical documents have been discovered, many ancient copies have, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls of the Old Testament (dating to the second century BC) and the Codex Sinaiticus (dating to the fourth century AD) of the New Testament, including multiple copies of some portions.

All of the books of the New Testament were written within a lifetime of the death of Jesus of Nazareth. … To date we have over 5,800 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, with an astounding 2.6 million pages of biblical text.While some of these manuscripts are small and fragmentary, the average size of a New Testament manuscript is 450 pages. Add to this the ancient manuscripts in Latin, Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, etc., which number in the tens of thousands, and you realize that there is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to New Testament manuscripts. No other ancient text can compare with the New Testament when it comes to the sheer volume of manuscripts, nor when we consider how close the earliest manuscripts are to the originals.—Bible Archaeology Report¹

God’s Word Is Truth

The Bible teaches us that God’s Word is truth. “The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever” (Psalm 119:160). “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

Jesus embodied the Word, as we read that “The Word became a human and lived among us. We saw his glory—the glory that belongs to the only Son of the Father—and he was full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), and He taught, “If you abide in My word, … you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31–32).

Studying and learning the Bible’s precepts provides a standard by which we can measure all things and principles by which we can guide our decisions. God’s Spirit through His Word equips us to discern what is true and what is false and to discern God’s will. To fully benefit, learn, and grow spiritually from God’s Word, it is helpful to pause and reflect on it and apply it to our personal situations. The apostle Paul wrote, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Or “study to show yourself approved to God,” as the translators of the King James Version put it, which is what it takes—diligent study.

We can ask the Lord to help us to be like the Christians of the early church in Berea, whom the apostle Paul commended for “receiving the message with great eagerness and examining the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). As we study the Scriptures, our faith will grow, as “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).

The Bible is full of true accounts about otherwise ordinary men and women whose faith and love for God empowered them to overcome tremendous obstacles and challenges while staying true to their faith. Their faith made them great in God’s eyes and they received His commendation. (See Hebrews 11.) There is much that we can learn and much strength that can be drawn from their examples.

There are also many faith-building accounts in the Bible of God’s love and care for His children, His protection, and His supply of their every need, as well as examples of what not to do and the consequences of violating His spiritual principles. “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction” (1 Corinthians 10:11), and “whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

Where to Start

The Bible is one book where it is generally not recommended for new Christians to start reading for the first time at the beginning in the Old Testament. It is best to start reading the first four books of the New Testament—the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—which chronicle Jesus’ life, teachings, and ministry. The gospel of John is often recommended to read first, as it contains the most words of Jesus.

The book of Acts is important because it not only recounts many of the main events of the first Christians, but it can also serve as a blueprint for Christian evangelism and community. The rest of the New Testament contains the epistles (and the book of Revelation), most of which were written by the apostle Paul and were sent to communities of Jesus’ early followers and were spread throughout the Roman Empire. The epistles taught the believers how to live the teachings of Jesus in community with other Christians.

In the Old Testament, the book of Psalms has been a source of inspiration and comfort to millions for thousands of years. The book of Psalms focuses on worship and encourages readers to praise God for who He is and what He has done. The Psalms give testimony of God’s faithfulness in times of trouble and remind us of the importance of His Word. They present a clear picture of God lovingly guiding His people, and the proper response of worship and devotion.

Bible Commentaries and Christian Literature

Good teachers are a shortcut to learning, and we can benefit from what experienced Christian teachers, authors, and theologians have learned through their study. Study Bibles provide commentaries and explanations on the meanings of Bible verses and passages, as well as pointing to related scriptures for context, which can be very helpful for understanding the meaning and intent of the verse and the context in which it was given.

Christian literature also provides faith-building reading to teach the Bible and how to live our faith, how to evangelize and respond to common challenges to the Christian faith, testimonies of Christian conversion, inspirational devotional writings, biographies of dedicated Christians, and more. Never before have so many resources existed for Christians to grow in their faith and walk with the Lord, in so many languages, often freely available on the Internet. Of course, it is important to evaluate any Christian writings based on the standard of the Bible and its teachings and principles. The Bible is the foundation and standard for Christian doctrine.

Abiding in God’s Word

Abiding in God’s Word and patterning our lives according to its precepts is the secret to lasting joy and peace. Jesus said, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:9–11).

By studying God’s Word, we learn about His loving ways and what our priorities should be in our lives and our interactions with others. When asked what the most important commandments were in Scripture, Jesus taught that there was no greater commandment than loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourself (Mark 12:30–31).

When we understand the depths of God’s love for us, manifested in giving His only Son for our salvation (John 3:16), this helps us to have faith that whatever our circumstances may be, He will care for us. When disappointments, obstacles, and setbacks arise, taking time to read from God’s Word helps to put things in perspective. “Great peace have those who love your [Word], and nothing can make them stumble” (Psalm 119:165).

God’s Promises

The Bible is full of promises that God has made to His people—promises that we can apply to our own lives. Some of His promises are universal ones, such as, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). Others were originally made to certain individuals or groups, such as, “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:14)—a promise that Jesus first made to His twelve disciples.

But many of God’s promises in the Bible were not given solely for the sake of the original hearers. They are for all His children—those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, who believe in God and His Word. As you grow in your understanding of God’s Word, you will learn to recognize His promises and claim them as a positive declaration of your faith and knowledge of the Word.

The Bible is the revealed will of God, so when we’re faced with a life decision, a starting point is to study what He has said in His Word and pattern our decisions on the foundation principles of His Word. Allow God’s Word to transform you “by the renewing of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

God has plans and a purpose for each of our lives, even when the future is unclear to us or we don’t fully understand why certain events in our past occurred (Jeremiah 29:11). As we learn to counsel with Him and be guided and mentored by Him, we can trust that “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28).

Putting God’s Word into Action

As Christians, we are called to not only study, learn, and grow in God’s Word, but to put it into action in our lives. In the epistle of James, we read, “But be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing” (James 1:22–25).

To grow as Christians, we need to put what we read in the Word into practice—to take what God says at face value and do what He teaches us to do. “If you know these things,” Jesus said, “blessed are you if you do them” (John 13:17).

When we read about Jesus showing love and consideration to all people, we can ask Him to help us to follow His example, and He will. We can actively reach out to the people who cross our path to share the good news of the gospel and to be a living example of God’s love for every person.

When Jesus served those He was leading into the kingdom of heaven with great humility, He said, “I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you” (John 13:15). When we strive to pattern our lives after His example, we understand from His teachings that He has called us to serve others in love. “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant. … For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve” (Mark 10:43–45).

When we read “whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22),we do our best to follow, obey, and please the Lord.

When we read that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35), we give of ourselves, our time, and our material goods and finances to help others in need. We trust that God will bless us and repay in good measure (Luke 6:38) and supply all that we need according to His riches in glory (Philippians 4:19).

When Jesus said, “As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21), we understand that we are each called, commissioned, and sent by Him to be His messengers, and we share the good news of salvation through Jesus with others.

May we be faithful to study God’s Word, to learn and grow in our faith, and to pattern our lives according to its teachings.

The Bible is the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding; its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s character. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. Follow its precepts and it will lead you to Calvary, to the empty tomb, to a resurrected life in Christ; yes, to glory itself, for eternity.—Author unknown

Published on Anchor October 2025. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.

¹ Bryan Windle, “The Earliest New Testament Manuscripts,” Bible Archaeology Report, February 15, 2019, https://biblearchaeologyreport.com/2019/02/15/the-earliest-new-testament-manuscripts/

The Millennium: Thy Kingdom Come

David Brandt Berg

1983-12-01

When you pray the Lord’s Prayer, have you ever really thought about the part “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Luke 11:2)? We who know and love the Lord already have a foretaste of heaven in our hearts, but there is mostly confusion and selfishness and unhappiness and war and fighting and hell on this earth today!

One day, the Lord is going to wipe away all the hell on earth and He’s going to set up His own kingdom of peace and goodness and fairness and mercy and love. Then His kingdom won’t only be in our hearts; it will be all around us. God’s kingdom is going to come in all of its power and glory, right here on earth. Then it will be on earth as it is in heaven.

But before Jesus’ wonderful kingdom is set up on earth, there are some other things that have to happen: First, the evil Antichrist world leader and his kingdom of the Devil will come to power, and the last 3½ years of his kingdom will be a time of trouble called the Great Tribulation, when the Antichrist and his forces will be fighting against God’s children. But we will still keep preaching the Gospel and doing mighty miracles of power and protection.

Then Jesus will return “in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30), to rapture and resurrect all of His children, and we will all join Him for the wonderful Wedding Supper of the Lamb in heaven, while the wicked anti-Christ people back on earth will be getting the Wrath of God. They will finally gather together under their Devil-possessed Antichrist leader to try to fight against Jesus Christ Himself and His resurrected children, who will return to earth to win the biggest war that ever happened: the Battle of Armageddon.

In this gigantic Battle of Armageddon, the forces of God will win a glorious victory over the forces of the Devil and his Antichrist Devil-man and his whole wicked kingdom. It is then, after this big battle, that we, the saints of God, along with our King, Jesus Christ, will take over this world and set up the kingdom of God on earth, to rule it and run it the way it should have been run if man had obeyed God.

This amazing period of God’s kingdom on earth is called the “Millennium,” which is an old Latin word meaning 1,000 years.—Which is exactly how long it will last, for 1,000 years. The Bible says that during the Millennium, all those who were raised to meet Jesus at His Second Coming will be very blessed, because “they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6).

During the entire 1,000 years of the Millennium, the Devil will be tied up and thrown into God’s prison, the Bottomless Pit. We’ll be rid of him, thank God! For a thousand years he will no longer be able to bother anyone and no longer be able to lead the other evil spirits across the earth to bother the world and its people. (See Revelation 20:1–3.)

Jesus is then going to rule and reign in person, and we who are in Christ will help Him and rule and reign with Him. He will reign from shore to shore and we, His children, will number in the millions and the billions, and we are going to rule the earth with Jesus Christ.

Under the mighty and powerful rule and reign of Christ and God’s children, all wars will finally stop and the world will be ruled with true fairness, freedom, peace, and plenty for all. The Bible says, “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isaiah 2:4).

Just think, there will be no more war! No more weapons or horrible fighting or bombing or killing like there is in man’s world today. In that day, when Jesus is King and we are His policemen, there will be no more wars and they will beat their weapons of war into tools of peace.

During the Millennium all the saved children of God will have been resurrected in their new, powerful, supernatural bodies. But the rest of the world, those who were blessed enough to live through the Wrath of God and the Battle of Armageddon into the Millennium, are still going to be in their old natural bodies. Life is going to go on as usual in a lot of ways for them. A lot of them will live almost like they are living now. They’ll still have to grow food and make clothes and live in a normal, natural world, the same world they’re living in now.

But one big difference is that the curse which came upon man and on the earth because of man’s sins will be partly lifted, so that a lot of things will be a whole lot better. The earth will be almost like it was during the days of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before they sinned and God had to curse things to punish them and keep them busy and out of trouble.

We who love Jesus now will be like supermen then, like angels of God, with new miraculous bodies that will never get hurt or sick. Even the earthly people that we will be ruling over, who will still be in their natural fleshly bodies, will have much less disease and sickness. It says that anyone who dies at 100 years old will be thought of as just a child. (See Isaiah 65:20.) People will again live to be hundreds and hundreds of years old, just as they did before the Flood, when some lived to be nearly a thousand years of age!

The Bible says that not only man, but all of creation will be made free from most of the curse, and everything will be much better than today. It even says that “the wolf shall live with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the baby goat; and the calf and the young lion will lie together also; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed together; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat grass like the ox. The nursing child shall play on the hole of the poisonous snake, and the toddler shall put his hand on the viper’s den” (Isaiah 11:6–8).

You never hear about a wolf lying down with a lamb today, do you? Unless the lamb is inside the wolf! Or a leopard lying down with a little baby goat? They usually lie down with the goat inside of them too. And the calf and the lion together? Usually the lion is tearing them apart and eating them. Neither have you heard about a little child leading them all.

The day is coming again when there will be peace between man and the animals, and you’ll be able to call them by name and they’ll come playfully running to you like your pets, like a dog or a cat does now. All the animals will go back to eating only plants and vegetables and fruit again, and they won’t hurt each other or us. Isn’t that beautiful? And man won’t eat them for meat either. “For nothing shall hurt nor destroy in all My Holy kingdom” (Isaiah 11:9).

Earthly people will travel on horses, camels, donkeys, wagons, and things like that during the Millennium. All that will be left is what God has created and given man to use, God’s creations and man’s good inventions, which were good enough for the world for almost six thousand years before they ever heard of anything else.

Just think, there won’t be any more stinking cars or trucks spitting out smoke and fumes, or any big smoky stinky factories. The world is going to go back to animal transportation and carriages and wagons. They’ll sure be thankful for the animals then.

Why do you think the Lord is going to have this 1,000-year rule of His kingdom on earth over normal, natural men? It seems that one reason might be to give a chance to those who never really got to hear the Gospel or know the Lord during this life. During the Millennium, everyone will be reached. “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). How do the waters cover the seas? Completely!

It will be much easier for people to believe and receive Jesus during the Millennium, because they will be able to actually see Him and His mighty power and have proof that He is real. Instead of just believing in the Lord and accepting Him by faith as we do today, they will then be given the chance to believe by actually being able to see the kingdom of God and Christ on earth and His saints in power and ruling the world. But they will not be as blessed as we who are now believing and receiving and obeying by faith alone, without seeing. (See John 20:29.)

I think the Millennium will be the time when God gives a first chance to a lot of people who didn’t have a chance before. Everyone on earth will see the Lord’s glorious power and kingdom, and everyone will believe then. The Bible says, “No longer shall every man teach his neighbor and his brother, saying; Know the Lord: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them” (Jeremiah 31:34).

We won’t have to say “know the Lord” then, because everybody will be able to see Him and they’ll all know He’s there. Even though there won’t be any unbelievers then, sad to say, there will still be some unreceivers. Even though they will see the power of God and the people of God and the kingdom of God and the Son of God personally ruling the earth, there will still be some people who won’t like it.

In fact, at the end of the Millennium, God is going to test all of the earthly people by letting the Devil out of prison for just a short while. All of the rebels on earth will follow him again and try to fight against all of the good earthly people who have received Jesus and His kingdom. God will get so angry with them that He will just get rid of them all and burn up the whole surface of the earth in a great big explosion called “The Battle of Gog and Magog.” But don’t worry! All of the good people who received Jesus will be saved and God will even save the earth by creating a new earth.

Some of the people during the Millennium will still be so stubborn and so rebellious of heart and mind that even with the Devil gone, they’re still going to disobey. The Bible says that we will have to rule them with a rod of iron. It’s going to be a forced rule, a strong rule over the wicked. Thank the Lord, we’ll have great supernatural powers which will make our job of ruling them easier, powers like you may have seen in some of the science fiction movies. We’ll be able to just look at them or think or point our finger at them and they will be frozen, pushed back, stopped from doing evil! And they won’t be able to touch us or do a thing to hurt us.

We will be like the angels of God, which can appear or disappear whenever they want, and fly from one place to another as fast as they can think it. There will be no more crime, no more evil, no more riots and no more war. Just total peace under the iron-rule government of the Lord, in which you and I will be His supermen with superpowers!

Jesus said that “he that was faithful in just a few things would be made ruler over many things” (Luke 16:10). He even said, “Because you have been faithful in a very little, I will make you ruler over ten cities” (Luke 19:17). We’re going to rule real, down-to-earth, worldly cities, countries, nations and continents.

I’m sure the great prophets and apostles and heroes of the Bible and of history, who were so faithful to the Lord in their lives on earth, will be trusted with a lot of big jobs in the next life. Just where each of us is going to be and just how much each of us will be trusted with will depend a lot upon how faithful we are to Him and the job He’s given us to do here and now.

Right now we are in training for the days when we will rule the earth. But before we can do that, we must first learn to rule ourselves. So God is now having us sort of practice for what is going to be the real thing, and how well we do now is going to have a lot to do with how well we will do in the future.

Everything you’re being taught now and the decisions you’re making now and the lessons you’re learning now are all a part of your schooling and your training here and now so you can be used by the Lord there and then. If not, a lot of it would be a waste of time, except for what little we get done here, which isn’t very much compared to what we will do then. So let’s try to learn our lessons today and learn to be faithful and obedient servants of the Lord now so He can trust and bless us with a place of usefulness to Him and others tomorrow, in the beautiful kingdom of God on earth during the Millennium—when we will rule and reign with our King of kings, Jesus.

Aligning Our Lives to God’s Moral Will

Peter Amsterdam

2025-05-22

God has revealed His moral will to us through Scripture, which teaches us how we ought to believe and live. He makes it clear that some things are morally wrong, and thus are sin. Through God’s grace and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we endeavor to avoid sin and to take on specific traits, characteristics, and attitudes that reflect and imitate the nature and characteristics of God.¹

We are called to “be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1–2). We are likewise called to emulate God’s forgiveness: “Forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Colossians 3:13).

Jesus commanded us to “be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). He taught us to extend kindness, even to enemies, and to “do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil” (Luke 6:35).

Through these and numerous other examples throughout the Bible, we are instructed on how to live in a way that aligns with God’s moral will. We are called to keep His teachings, to make them our own, and to use them as a compass throughout the course of our lives. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).

Becoming God’s children through faith in Jesus has made us new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17), those who are to “be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29), who have “put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Colossians 3:10). Part of the process of being renewed in His likeness is conforming our lives to His moral will. We align our external behavior and actions as well as our motives and attitudes with His Word.

From His Word we learn which attitudes and actions are right or wrong, what is sin and what is not, what pleases God and what doesn’t, and what reflects His character and what doesn’t. We know this as a result of reading, studying, meditating on, accepting, and applying God’s Word. Accepting what God says means that when we read of God censuring some actions, desires, and attitudes, we accept that they fall outside the circle of His moral will, and thus are wrong and sin. For example, when we read in Ephesians that we aren’t to steal or let corrupting talk come out of our mouths, or in Colossians that we’re to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander and obscene talk, evil desire, lust, and covetousness, then we are to understand that these things fall outside of God’s moral will and thus are sinful and displeasing to God (Ephesians 4:28–29; Colossians 3:8, 5).

Of course, every command of God’s moral will is an expression of the greatest command of all: to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourself (Mark 12:30–31). We are called to act in love toward others: “Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12).

These teachings of Jesus summarize all the teachings about sin, and when we make our love for God and others our guiding principle—when our actions, thoughts, and attitudes are based on the premise of a heart that fully loves God with all of our being, and has the same love for others as we have for ourselves—then we will avoid sinning.

As fallen human beings, we are sometimes inclined to justify our actions as being loving when in fact they are not. Or we may think some action is loving, and therefore not sinful, without fully exploring all of the potential ramifications of our actions, which can end up being unloving toward others. Clearly, it’s important that we have a good understanding of what is and isn’t included within God’s moral will, which comes through reading, studying, and meditating on what the Bible teaches.

It is easy to develop an attitude that sin doesn’t matter so much, since we have salvation and our sins are already forgiven, but such an attitude shows a lack of understanding of what the Bible teaches about sin and its effects. Scripture tells us that sin is an offense to God, including the sin of a Christian. Being forgiven is a wonderful gift of God; but as believers, we are in relationship with Him—a relationship which suffers damage when we sin. While our sins are forgiven, there can still be consequences in our lives or in the lives of others due to our sin.

As pursuers of Christlikeness, we must face the fact of sin in our lives and respond to it appropriately. God has given us a conscience, the inborn ability to discern the difference between right and wrong, which helps us judge whether or not an act we have planned or have already carried out is moral. As Christians, we fine-tune our conscience as we align it with God’s moral will, when we agree with what God has revealed in Scripture about what is right and wrong, what is godly, what actions reflect His nature and being. We are called to follow our Scripture-informed conscience, to avoid sin, in order to remain in close relationship with our Father.

Because we are human, we will sin; but because we are Christians, we are to put effort into not damaging our relationship with God by doing our best not to sin. We’re told to “put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22–24).

Of course, no matter how much we try not to sin, we do. And when we do, if we have the right understanding of sin, we feel guilt and sorrow. We damage our relationship with God, and repairing that relationship starts with acknowledging and confessing our sins to Him. First John teaches that “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Besides confessing, another element is repentance—change of attitude, turning away and going the opposite direction. Repentance calls for change in our behavior, a commitment to stop committing the sins we have been committing.

This isn’t easy, especially when we have made a habit of some sins or have accepted some sinful behavior as part of our personality, such as impatience, lack of self-control, being judgmental, anger, selfishness, pride, anxiety, sins of the tongue, addictions, etc. It can be a struggle to accept that because Scripture calls these things sins, we are expected to change and stop doing them, by God’s grace. His Word tells us that by God’s grace, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

If we want to become more like Jesus, we have to face our sins. We can’t simply look at them as personality traits or excuse them as “this is the way I am, I can’t change”; nor can we justify sinning by thinking, “this is just a small sin, so it doesn’t matter much.” Part of Christlikeness is accepting what Scripture says is sin, recognizing our sins, confessing our sins, and crying out to the Lord for His help to overcome them. Then we have to make a conscious effort and commitment to overcome them.

Our goal is not perfection. We aren’t trying to robotically obey every jot and tittle of Scripture, with the goal of being sin-free—that’s impossible. Our goal is to respond to God’s declared moral will in a manner that is a genuine expression of the reality of our saved soul, from a heart full of gratitude.

We obey Him because we love Him. We love Him because of who He is—our Creator and Savior. We desire to imitate Him because He is pure love, pure goodness, and pure holiness. We want to emulate Him both inwardly and outwardly. God is the standard of godliness, and since He has revealed what He is like and what He approves and disapproves of, as we seek to be like Him, we will take these things to heart.

He has revealed His moral will through the Bible, and His will, as presented through Scripture, is an expression of His character. If we desire to be more like Jesus, we will aim to live in a way which expresses God’s character. This means making a conscious effort to align our thoughts, desires, attitudes, and actions with godliness and with the guidance provided through Scripture.

God is perfect good, perfect love, holiness, and righteousness. He is an example to us of moral and ethical perfection. While we can’t attain perfection, we are called to internalize God’s standards and live by them, to do our best to reflect Him and to grow in Christlikeness. “And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Originally published October 2016. Adapted and republished May 2025. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.

¹ This article is based on key points from the book Decision Making and the Will of God by Garry Friesen (Colorado Springs: Multnomah, 2004).

The Timing of Jesus

October 17, 2025

By Timothy Keller

This message is based on the book of Mark, chapter 5, and gives us insight into the authentic Jesus. This account describes the patience of Jesus, which often serves as a trial of our patience as we learn to trust in God’s timing and His plan.

Listen to the sermon here.

https://gospelinlife.com/sermon/the-timing-of-jesus

God’s Divine Healing, Part 3: When God Doesn’t Heal

October 16, 2025

By Peter Amsterdam

Audio length: 14:39
Download Audio (13.4MB)

While those involved in healing ministries tend to agree on many fundamental points, one point on which there is some divergence is their interpretation of why God does or doesn’t heal each person who is prayed for. The healing evangelists and theologians whose material Maria and I studied on the topic of healing—with the exception of Curry Blake—all believe that while God does heal, one should not expect that every time you pray for people they will be healed, whether instantly or in this life.

Various theologians and healing evangelists whose work I studied believe that God miraculously heals, but that He doesn’t heal every time or in every case. There are times when He chooses not to heal for reasons that are His. In this view, God is sovereign, and He has His reasons for what He does and what He allows, and those reasons are often beyond our comprehension.

In the Bible, we read of cases where disciples with the gift of healing were empowered by the Holy Spirit to heal a specific illness or disease. However, the Bible doesn’t state that everyone they prayed for was healed. For example, we read in the book of Acts that “God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them” (Acts 19:11–12). However, we also read of cases where he apparently wasn’t able to heal, such as Timothy’s “stomach and frequent illnesses” (1 Timothy 5:23) or Epaphroditus, who was suffering from a life-threatening sickness (Philippians 2:26–27), or Trophimus, whom he left at Miletus because of his illness (2 Timothy 4:20).

On this topic, John and Sonja Decker wrote:

We contend in prayer with the best understanding and leading we have, and leave the rest in the hands of a gracious and loving Lord. God in His infinite wisdom has the answer for those who are not healed. This remains a mystery to any honest minister who preaches that Jesus Christ is our Healer. Our experience is that not everyone is healed. Many are, but not all…

To not include this biblical principle in our discussion regarding divine healing is to ignore the sovereignty of a loving God who ultimately decides who receives healing and who does not. We pray for the sick, not because He guarantees healing; we pray because He has declared that He is willing! The final outcome rests with Him.¹

Don Dunkerley expresses his belief on this issue by referencing portions of the long ending of the Gospel of Mark, which is referred to as such since some of the earliest manuscripts do not include this passage, which says: “And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:17–18).

Dunkerley wrote the following on the topic:

When Jesus said of us, “They will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well” (Mark 16:18), He did not say that everyone would get well or that those who did would be healed instantly. In the same passage He promised deliverance from potentially fatal accidents (snakebites) and from those who would murder us for the sake of the Gospel (deadly poison). But surely Christians have died in fatal accidents; and Jesus taught that many would be martyred for the faith (Matthew 24:9). He specifically predicted the martyrdom of Peter (John 21:18–19). The promised healings and rescues will happen often enough to commend the Gospel to unbelievers, but they are not promised for every single instance.

The Kingdom of God came with the first coming of Christ, who preached that “the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17). He demonstrated the power of that Kingdom as He advanced it against the kingdom of darkness by healing the sick and casting out demons (Matthew 4:23–25). But the Kingdom of God did not come in its fullness. That awaits the Second Coming of Christ, “when He hands over the kingdom of God to the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet” (1 Corinthians 15:24–25).

So the Kingdom of God is here and, in another sense, not yet. The sick are healed, but not all of them, and not all instantaneously and completely. The presence of the Kingdom encourages us to pray for ourselves, that it may be true of us that “the power of the Lord [is] present … to heal the sick” (Luke 5:17). The absence of the consummated Kingdom keeps us from discouragement when we do not see the powerful results we would like.

We have many questions about the mysteries of God’s sovereign will. Perhaps the best answer is the one Moses gave: “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29).²

Scripture teaches us that what God has promised, He will perform (Isaiah 46:9–10). His Word is settled forever in heaven (Psalm 119:89), and we can stand on His promises (2 Corinthians 1:20). We also believe that God is God, that He is almighty, that His ways are higher than ours, and that in His divine wisdom and understanding, He may have reasons which are beyond our understanding for not healing someone when we pray for them (Isaiah 55:8–11).

We believe that our compassionate and loving God sometimes does or allows things that to our human way of thinking don’t seem fair or may seem as if He is failing to keep His Word or answer our heartfelt prayers. In such cases, we have to trust that God knows more than we do what will achieve His good and perfect will and purpose. He knows the future, and He has His reasons for everything He does or allows, and His reasons are based in love. Trusting God, even when it seems to us that He is not answering our prayers, takes faith—perhaps as much faith as it does to believe God for His healing.

Some people with healing ministries teach that God can and does use sickness in some cases to draw those who are sick closer to Him. When God doesn’t heal, the patience and faith the sick person needs to sustain them through the illness can draw the person closer to the Lord, and it often does. We read about this throughout the Epistles:

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:6–7).

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1:2–4).

My personal experience has taught me that not everyone who gets prayed for gets healed, and that those who endure sickness and pain often gain important lessons or spiritual growth from the experience. I’ve seen and read about the lives of those who have physical infirmities and because of those infirmities have helped countless others find the Lord. In times of sickness, I have learned things about myself or about my relationship with the Lord, which have helped me in the long run.

The following excerpt from Got Questions on the topic expresses this well:

A person may sincerely pray and truly have faith that God can heal, but if it is not God’s will to provide the healing at that time, then no healing will come (see 1 John 5:14). Sometimes God’s blessings come in other ways besides physical healing. If it were always God’s will for people to be healed, then everyone would be healed every time he or she became ill. If good health were always God’s will, then Christians should never die.

We can’t blame someone’s malady on a lack of faith, for we know, biblically, that God sometimes uses illness to accomplish His will. Also, it’s not just wayward believers who get sick. Paul “left Trophimus sick in Miletus” (2 Timothy 4:20), and Paul himself had a physical ailment that the Lord declined to heal (2 Corinthians 12:7–9)…

Of course, God can and does heal today when He wants to. The question we need to ask in any given situation is, what does God want? Does He desire to heal the individual in this life, or does He have another plan to show His glory through weakness? Someday, all sickness and death will be eradicated (see Revelation 21:4).³

While it’s a good thing to stand on God’s Word, to know that God has promised to—and does—answer prayer, it is also important to face certain truths, such as that not every prayer is answered in the manner we expect and sometimes God chooses not to answer immediately. God is greater than we are, and while we should claim the promises in Scripture and stand on His Word and trust Him thoroughly, we need to understand that His ways are higher than ours and in His infinite love and wisdom, He may do or allow things in our lives or those of others that we don’t understand.

The expectation that God will answer every prayer for healing in the exact way that we request can fail to acknowledge His sovereignty over every person’s life. When a prayer is not answered, or is answered differently than we would have hoped, to put the blame on someone is saying that we know better than God. But we know that is not the case; He knows supremely better than we do what is best for each individual. “For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13).

At the same time, we need to remember that there are promises of healing in God’s Word. We also know that Jesus, the apostles, and many believers in the early church and throughout Christian history have received and exercised the gifts of healing in their witness, as well as for one another. As believers, we are encouraged in the Bible to pray for people in need of healing, that “the prayer of faith will raise him up” (James 5:14–15).

We have probably all experienced God’s healing or witnessed people who were healed after they received prayer. Sometimes He heals instantaneously, sometimes progressively. Some people He heals in this lifetime, and others He heals eternally through taking them home to Him. Whether God heals someone in this lifetime or in eternity, we know that He is compassionate and loving. We can trust that as we follow His Word by praying for the sick and committing them into God’s care, He will answer according to His will and good purpose for their lives.

Originally published April 2012. Adapted and republished October 2025. Read by John Laurence.

¹ John and Sonja Decker, Doing What Jesus Did (Foursquare Media, 2007), 3.

² Don Dunkerley, Healing Evangelism (Chosen Books, 1995), 53–54, 68.

³ “Why doesn’t God heal everyone?” GotQuestions.org, https://www.gotquestions.org/God-heal-everyone.html.

Choosing Life

October 15, 2025

By Steve Hearts

Lately I’ve been meditating on Deuteronomy 30:19, where God says, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.”

Of course, I realize that this is an Old Testament scripture, and that when Jesus came, He took on the curse for us all on the cross. Paul says in Galatians 3:13, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’).”

Nevertheless, Jesus tells us in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” It’s important to understand that while Jesus broke the hold of Satan’s power through His finished work on the cross, Satan or “the thief” has not been removed from the world yet. He still walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (See 1 Peter 5:8.) Therefore, the option to choose between the abundant life that Jesus came to give us and the death and destruction of the enemy of our souls is still on the table.

In this article, I want to share a few examples of what the choice between life and death has meant for me over the years and what it still means to me today.

I’ll start with the power of my words. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” I believe this means that however I choose to use my tongue, be it for life or death, to build people up or to tear them down, I will end up reaping the fruits of my choice, and so will others. This is a sobering warning that motivates me to request and receive God’s help with choosing to use my tongue as an instrument of life, love, and encouragement daily.

I certainly haven’t been perfect in this area, but through my mistakes, I have learned many lessons. For example, as a musician who has directed a few singing groups and bands, I learned a lot about being careful with my words, especially when offering constructive criticism to those I was working with. While I was always well intentioned when giving this type of input, and I wanted to motivate people to improve their performance, I was sometimes too blunt in my delivery. I spoke with little to no tact. Therefore, my constructive criticism stung, causing a couple of people to get very discouraged, so that for a while they no longer wanted to do music with me. Thankfully, in both cases, I was able to apologize to them and set things right, restoring their confidence and bolstering their desire to continue. But the lesson about the power of my words has stayed with me ever since. The Lord is continuing to teach me to speak the truth in love every day. (See Ephesians 4:15.)

I’ve also been making a greater effort not to gossip about people or speak negatively about them behind their backs, as in doing so, I am using my tongue for death instead of life. It’s also important that I speak the truth of God’s promises over my own life, instead of negativity and pessimism. Jesus says in Mark 11:24, “Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”

Choosing life can also mean choosing to forgive those who have wronged me instead of holding grudges against them. This is seldom an easy choice, but God’s Word says we ought to forgive one another even as God in Christ has forgiven us. (See Ephesians 4:32.) The other alternative, the path of bitterness and resentment, is a path of death and destruction that causes me and others to become defiled. (See Hebrews 12:15.)

Choosing life can also mean being willing to persevere with things I may have initially failed or fallen short in, rather than simply accepting defeat and telling myself I’ll never get things right. I believe that part of the complete, abundant life Jesus came to give us is the ability to reach our full potential and be all that God called us to be. Occasional failure is part of the process of growing and learning, but allowing myself to be held back by failure will hinder me from achieving this goal. By God’s grace, I’m learning to face failure, learn from it, and move on to further growth and victory.

Choosing life can also mean choosing to keep my focus on Jesus, His faithfulness, and His promises, even when it seems like things can’t get any darker. For example, just yesterday I received the sad news that a good friend of mine had succumbed to cancer. I was momentarily stricken with grief and sadness, but after a while, I made the decision to encourage myself in the Lord as David did. (See 1 Samuel 30:6.) After all, I knew my friend was saved, and that she is now far better off than those of us who are still here on earth. So, I shifted my focus from the sense of grief and loss in my soul to the divine, comforting presence of the Holy Spirit, and I quickly found the peace and comfort I needed.

While it is true that we will experience beautiful things and perfect love in heaven, I also know that Jesus did not come to give us life only in the world to come. He has plenty of good things for us here and now as well. Paul tells us, “God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

Making Wise Decisions

October 14, 2025

A compilation

Audio length: 08:53

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Are you in a fog? Are you faced with options, choices, and decisions, but you don’t know which direction to go? Do you feel like you’re floundering, not knowing what to do or how to do it?

Many factors need to be considered when making a decision. I was reminded recently of the verse, “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14). It led me to meditate on the wisdom of waiting for God to dispel the fog, rather than making decisions when we can’t see ahead. Given time, things fall into place, and we can see the way forward more clearly.

I’m sure you can remember times in your life when you had to make a decision, but you weren’t sure what to do; but when you waited in prayer and with faith, trusting God to lead you, He eventually made the way clear. And you were glad you waited and trusted Him.

Waiting is an important element of faith. It’s not easy to wait, but it’s part of the process that God uses to instruct us, teach us patience, build our character, and draw us closer to Him. The next time you’re in a holding pattern or in waiting mode, be encouraged. The fog will lift—it always does!—Maria Fontaine

God offers triune guidance to his children as we face the decisions of life, from the minute to the monumental. Rather than stand far off from us, watching as we make decisions in consternation, he comes near to us, offering to guide us gently through a process that ultimately leads to more of himself.

As the Father who stands outside of time, God knows all that will happen and assures us that none of his plans will be thwarted (Isaiah 14:27; Job 42:2). He providentially steers all of creation, even the decisions of humans made in his image, working all things according to his everlasting and good purposes (Ephesians 1:11; Romans 8:28). He knows the number of hairs on our heads, the length of our days, and the tears we shed as we wrestle to make decisions (Luke 12:7; Psalm 139:16; Psalm 56:8).

As the Son who stepped into time, Jesus is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1–3). He knows what it feels like to live within the limits of time and space, as he made decisions daily during his time on earth. While the first Adam led the way into disastrous, self-centered decision-making, as the second Adam, Christ always made decisions in light of the goodness of his Father (Romans 6:17–21). His perfect decisions cleared the path so that we can make our present decisions in the presence of the triune God.

As the Spirit who makes his home within us, the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth, convicting us of our selfish propensities and pointing us to God’s promises as we make decisions (John 16:12–15). He offers us comfort and peace when we feel dizzied by the sheer amount of decisions we make daily.—Aimee Joseph¹

The word life is an interesting word. Within its four letters three words can be found.

It contains the word I, the person who will determine how good or how bad life will be for me. No one else has the same power over my life as I have.

It contains the word if, which suggests that everything in life is not preset, but that outcomes will be determined by the decisions that I make when I’m given choices. If I do right, I’ll be blessed; if I do wrong, I won’t.

It also contains the word lie, something I must avoid at all costs in life in order to live in integrity and be free from the bondage of deception and that which is falsely proclaimed as truth.

Life is not always easy. There are ifs and lies in it. So I must be careful to live life as God intended, taking responsibility for my own decisions and actions, and seeking the truth at every turn. Yes, this is when life is at its very best.—Greg A. Lane²

Tragically, many people are the victims of their own bad decisions. Faced with choices every day, they turn their backs on what is right or what is best and decide instead on what is wrong or what will bring them harm. Only afterward do they realize that bad decisions always result in bad consequences.

King Rehoboam stubbornly rejected the wise advice of his nation’s elders and instead followed those who told him only what he wanted to hear. As a result, conflict broke out and the nation divided. The Bible warns, “Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7).

Life is filled with decisions—some minor, but some life-changing. How will you make them? The most important thing I can tell you is this: Seek God’s will in every decision. Pray. Turn to the Scriptures. Seek the advice of godly friends. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. God loves you, and His way is always best.—Billy Graham³

I want you to live a meaningful life. Commit your ways to Me and ask Me to direct your paths. Then, through the decisions that you and I make together, you can be confident that your life will follow a good path.

Sometimes the process of finding My will may be a little tricky. You may have to wait and exercise patience. Circumstances change. People change. You change. However, keep reminding yourself that I want you to find My will, and your patience and faith will be rewarded.

I created you. I have been with you from the beginning of your life and will be with you until the end. Nothing and no one can replace My role in your life. As you seek Me with all your heart, you will find Me, and My leading will become clear.⁴—Jesus

Published on Anchor October 2025. Read by Jon Marc. Music by Michael Dooley.

¹ Aimee Joseph, “Triune Decision-Making: How God Guides Tough Choices,” Desiring God, August 30, 2022, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/triune-decision-making

² Greg A. Lane, My Morning Walks with God (Inspired Design and Graphics, 2016).

³ Billy Graham, Hope for Each Day (Thomas Nelson, 2017).

⁴ See Jeremiah 29:13.

He’s Always There

October 13, 2025

By Maria Fontaine

Audio length: 14:23

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I find great comfort and inspiration in a beautiful poem by Annie Johnson Flint written in 1919 titled “What God Hath Promised.” Before reading the poem, I thought it would be helpful to reflect a bit on her life story.

Early in Annie’s life, arthritis began to show itself. She saw several doctors, but it steadily grew worse until it became difficult for her to walk at all. She was obliged to give up her work as a teacher.

Picture, if you can, the hopelessness of Annie’s position when later she finally received the verdict of the doctors of the Clifton Springs Sanitarium that henceforth she would be a helpless invalid.

Although crippled, she did not consider herself helpless and that she could do nothing but bemoan her lot. She believed that God had laid her aside for a purpose, even though that purpose was obscure to her at times. She also believed that He had work for her to do, and she put her very best into the writing of her poems, rendering this ministry unto Him.

The result has been that her verses have an unusually deep appeal to human hearts. Out of the crucible of suffering, she was able to administer that comfort to others wherewith she herself had been comforted of God.

For more than 40 years there was scarcely a day when she did not suffer pain. For 37 years she became increasingly helpless. Her joints had become rigid, although she was able to turn her head, and in great pain write a few lines on paper.

No one but God and she knew what suffering she endured as the disease became worse with the passing of years and new complications developed. But through it all, her faith in the goodness and mercy of God never wavered. There were many times, no doubt, when her soul would be burdened with the mystery of it all and why she was called to endure such suffering. In that respect she was human like the rest of us, but the marvelous thing is that her faith never faltered, and that she was at all times able to say, “Thy will be done.”—Rowland V. Bingham¹

What God Hath Promised

God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

God hath not promised we shall not know
Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear
many a burden, many a care.

God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,
Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain rocky and steep,
Never a river turbid and deep.

But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

We know that God has promised to keep us and there is nothing too hard for Him.

Jesus doesn’t necessarily take all our troubles away. Instead, in His love, He always sees the beauty to be brought from the ashes, the wisdom to be brought from the failure, the strength to be gained from the weakness, and the joy that the sorrows of the night seasons will bring in the morning.

He walks through our troubles and struggles with us, helping us to gain the good things that His power and love can bring out of even the worst hardships and suffering. He said, “With men, it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27).

His promises come to life in hard times. In times of struggle or suffering or grief, His promises become more clearly the foundation of our prayers.

Something that stands out to me throughout the Bible is the importance of giving thanks. Jesus can bring the greatest good from any situation for His children. Praise is the voice of faith, and when we express our faith by praising and thanking Him, it expresses our trust in Him that we will receive the answer to our prayers that He knows is best.

I’d like to share a few of the verses on God’s power in times of trouble that Peter and I often claim in our prayer times.

* * *

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.—Philippians 4:6–7

Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.—Psalm 55:22

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”—Jeremiah 29:11

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”—Hebrews 13:5

“Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.”—Isaiah 65:24

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.—Isaiah 26:3

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”—Isaiah 41:10

The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.—1 John 4:4

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.—Romans 8:38–39

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.—1 John 5:14–15

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.—Hebrews 4:16

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.—1 Peter 5:7

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.—Joshua 1:9

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.—Isaiah 54:10

Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.—Psalm 119:165

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.”—Isaiah 43:2

Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.—Jeremiah 32:17

“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?”—Jeremiah 32:27

For nothing will be impossible with God.—Luke 1:37

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”—Mark 10:27

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.—Philippians 4:13

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.—Philippians 4:19

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?—Numbers 23:19

And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.—Romans 8:28

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”—John 16:33

“Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”—John 16:24

In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.—Romans 8:37

You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.—Hebrews 10:36

The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.—Exodus 14:14

The Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.—2 Thessalonians 3:3

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.—2 Thessalonians 3:16

“Do not be afraid,” Elisha answered, “for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the hills were full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.—2 Kings 6:16–17

“Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me. Yet not My will, but Yours be done.”—Luke 22:42

Originally published October 2022. Republished on Anchor October 2025. Read by Debra Lee. Music by Michael Fogarty.

¹ Rowland V. Bingham, “Annie’s Story,” Bible Memory Association International, http://www.homemakerscorner.com/ajf-annie.htm.

01 – Living Christianity: Introduction

Living Christianity

Peter Amsterdam

2018-10-02

As Christians, we understand that Scripture teaches that we are to live in alignment with God’s Word. We’re called to be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.¹ This is a high and noble goal and one which we, as Christians, want to espouse and work toward. The clarion call expressed here is that we apply our knowledge of God’s wisdom and understanding to our lives and bear fruit, further our knowledge of God, and live a worthy life which pleases Him.

Understanding what God teaches through His Word and applying that teaching is what a life that pleases God is all about. But the complexities of daily life, the multitude of decisions we are faced with, the weight of responsibilities that consume our time, the temptations to cut corners, sometimes make pleasing God and applying His Word a challenge. Yet Scripture makes it clear that obeying God’s Word is key to following Him, which Jesus emphasized when He said:

If you love me, you will keep my commandments.²

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.³

How do we apply the teachings of the Bible to our daily lives? How do we know if our choices align with the teachings of Scripture? The choices we make reflect how we think; they mirror our morals and our ethics. In this series, Living Christianity, I hope to offer some insight on living a moral and ethical life in accordance with the teachings of Scripture. The focus will be on Christian ethics and what the Bible teaches about making moral choices and decisions.

There are different ways to approach this topic, and the approach I’ve chosen is to use the Ten Commandments as a framework. Each commandment will serve as a sort of directory with subdirectories under it. For example, if we were to open a directory on the fourth commandment, Honor your father and your mother,⁴ we would find a number of subdirectories which address types of authority besides parental authority. For example, how are Christians supposed to respond to the authority of civil government? Is it ever right to disobey the government, and if so, when? What is the proper way to relate to others such as employers, teachers, etc., who have some authority over us?

While Christians are not required to live according to the Old Testament law, as the Hebrew people who lived in Old Testament times were, the Ten Commandments provide a framework for addressing moral and ethical standards for Christians. The apostle Paul wrote, Whatever was written in former days [the Old Testament] was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.⁵ Elsewhere, he wrote about Scripture (referring to the Old Testament), that All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.⁶ Even though Jesus’ life and death fulfilled the Law of the Old Testament,⁷ Paul considered it to be useful to instruct Christians.

Paul affirmed this point when he wrote:

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.⁸

According to Scripture, our fundamental purpose as human beings is to glorify God. I like how the Westminster Catechism puts this: Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. In Scripture, we read:

Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory … my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.⁹

Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.¹⁰

A Christian who glorifies God can be seen as one who has a Christlike character, bears fruit for God’s kingdom, is obedient to God, and has a personal relationship with Him.¹¹ The apostle Paul wrote that Christians are to be conformed to the image of his Son.¹² Elsewhere he wrote: Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.¹³

What is the basis of Christian morality and ethics? Scripture teaches that the Bible’s moral and ethical standards are based in the moral character of God, and we are to imitate God’s character. God is good, just, loving, holy, faithful, truthful, merciful, and more. He is morally perfect, and He rejoices to see His moral qualities reflected in us.

As he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.¹⁴

Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.¹⁵

We love because he first loved us.¹⁶

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.¹⁷

The concept of God as the basis of morality and ethical standards is also expressed throughout Scripture by means of reference to God as light.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.¹⁸

One author wrote:

Light does not refer only to God’s moral excellence. It also refers to the communication of that excellence, the revelation of it, to human beings. The light of God’s essence is a light that we are to walk in. [If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin] (1 John 1:7).

The light is our ethical guide. [Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path] (Psalm 119:105). The light reveals good and evil. [This is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil] (John 3:19). So we should not walk in darkness. [Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life] (John 8:12). [Let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light] (Romans 13:12). To dwell in light is to dwell with God; to dwell in darkness is to be apart from him. Indeed, we are to be the light.¹⁹

If we want our lives to reflect God, then we will want to align the way we think and act with what He has revealed in Scripture. What the Bible teaches us to do, we will do; what it says we shouldn’t do, we won’t do; when making nonmoral decisions, we are free to determine our personal choice. My prayer is that this series will be a blessing by helping to deepen your understanding of what Scripture teaches regarding moral and ethical living, will offer some guidance when you are faced with moral choices, and will in some way enhance your walk with the Lord.

(To read the next article in this series, click here.)

Note

¹ Colossians 1:9–10.

² John 14:15.

³ John 15:10.

⁴ Exodus 20:12.

⁵ Romans 15:4.

⁶ 2 Timothy 3:16–17.

⁷ Matthew 5:17–18.

⁸ Romans 13:8–10.

⁹ Isaiah 43:6–7, 20–21.

¹⁰ 1 Corinthians 10:31.

¹¹ Wayne Grudem, Christian Ethics (Wheaton: Crossway Publishers, 2018), 107.

¹² Romans 8:29.

¹³ 1 Corinthians 15:49.

¹⁴ 1 Peter 1:15.

¹⁵ Luke 6:36.

¹⁶ 1 John 4:19.

¹⁷ Colossians 3:9–10.

¹⁸ 1 John 1:5.

¹⁹ John Frame, The Doctrine of the Christian Life (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2008), 133.

Run the Race

A Bible Study on Hebrews 12:1

David Brandt Berg

1978-05-01

Hebrews 12:1: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”

The original was not divided into chapters, so you’ve got to keep in mind the chapter before this in order to know what “great cloud of witnesses” he’s talking about. He’s referring to all the saints who have already gone on to be with the Lord! And they’re not only watching us, they’re also praying for us.

They’re all praying for us and they’re all watching us, and every now and then God sends one of them down to give us a hand if we need some extra help. They are like our cheering section on the heavenly bleachers cheering for the team, and when you win a battle they really cheer and rejoice! When you win a soul, all the angels in heaven rejoice, praise God (Luke 15:10).

Think how wonderful it is that there are millions up there, all watching and praying for you, and lots of them coming down to help you! This is really where the action is. Here is where the big test is going on. Once you get over there, there will be more in store for you, but this is the primary test. This is what the whole universe is watching, the big game, the World Series. So since they are all watching us, what should we do?

“Let us lay aside every weight.” What are the weights? The things that slow you down, the things that hinder you from getting the job done. Sometimes the Lord allows those weights for a while as sort of a test. In the old days runners used to train wearing weights, building up their muscles, so that when they took the weights off they could just almost fly.

Sometimes the Lord allows a few weights to strengthen your spiritual muscles and to test you and to strengthen you spiritually. But when the weights have served their purpose, then it’s time to lay them aside and run the race.

“And the sin which doth so easily beset us.” What is sin? Missing the mark, not shooting straight, not really doing the most important thing God wants you to do, which is to hit the bull’s eye of His will. So, “let us lay aside the weights and the sins”—anything that keeps you from doing God’s highest and His best, that keeps you from being in the center of His will.

Then, after laying aside all these weights and distractions and sins, what are we supposed to do? “Let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” In other words, you’ve got to do God’s will, do God’s work. As long as you are doing His job and doing His will, it’s work and you’re running.

You can only “run with patience” if you have faith and are trusting the Lord. If you didn’t have patience, you would get fed up, wouldn’t you? “I’m tired of doing all this hard work for people who never thank me and don’t appreciate me and don’t realize what a hard job this is.” If you didn’t have patience, you couldn’t do it. “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9).

It’s a race in which some are going to win more than others. Some are going to receive greater rewards than others. In fact, I think some of the people who do the most unseen jobs are perhaps going to get rewarded the most one of these days. They’re going to step out and get the medals and the rewards and the crowns, and for the first time really get what is coming to them, and the whole universe is going to know.

So we’re to run with patience the race that is set before us, wherever God has called us. And the only way we can really run this race is by doing what? “Looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2). That’s the only way you can have the patience to do the job He has called you to do. So keep your eyes on Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith.”

Do You See Eternity?

October 10, 2025

By Randy Alcorn

A healthy emphasis on Christ’s return is vital for believers, since “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior” (Philippians 3:20). Christ will appear “to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:28), and he will reward “all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).

Scripture calls his return “the happy fulfillment of our hope” (Titus 2:13). The hope in view is not wishful thinking but rock-solid, blood-bought certainty. Since Christ’s return is the believer’s great hope, we should ask ourselves: What will it mean when he does return?

(Read the article here.)

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/do-you-see-eternity

God’s Divine Healing, Part 2: Healing in the Atonement

October 9, 2025

By Peter Amsterdam

Audio length: 00:00

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A principle regarding divine healing that has been articulated in TFI’s Statement of Faith for decades is that God’s healing is part of the atonement: “We believe that through Christ’s suffering and death on the cross, God has made provision not only for the salvation of the souls of all humankind, but also for the healing of physical infirmities.”

The concept of healing as part of the atonement is based on Isaiah 53:4–5:

Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.

The word translated as infirmities in this passage is the Hebrew word choliy, meaning sickness. (See also Matthew 8:16–17.) These verses refer to both the spiritual and physical healing that Christ purchased for us on the cross.

Theologian Wayne Grudem expresses this concept of healing as part of the atonement as follows:

All Christians would probably agree that in the atonement Christ has purchased for us not only complete freedom from sin but also complete freedom from physical weakness and infirmity in his work of redemption… And all Christians would also no doubt agree that our full and complete possession of all the benefits that Christ earned for us will not come until Christ returns: it is only “at his coming” (1 Corinthians 15:23) that we receive our perfect resurrection bodies. So it is with physical healing and redemption from the physical sickness that came as a result of the curse in Genesis 3: Our complete possession of redemption from physical illness will not be ours until Christ returns and we receive resurrection bodies.

But the question that confronts us with respect to the gift of healing is whether God may from time to time grant us a foretaste or a down payment of the physical healing which he will grant us fully in the future. The healing miracles of Jesus certainly demonstrate that at times God is willing to grant a partial foretaste of the perfect health that will be ours for eternity.¹

While the fact that healing is part of the atonement is generally believed by those who teach healing evangelism, there are variances in the way it is interpreted. Some believe that while physical healing is contained within the atonement “by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5), this doesn’t mean all sickness will be healed immediately or even in this lifetime. Others believe that because healing is in the atonement, this means God will heal all diseases now.

In his book Healing Evangelism, healing evangelist Don Dunkerley writes about his wife, Eileen, who was told she would not have any more children, yet had a miracle pregnancy and delivered a baby girl, Joy Anne. After her birth, the doctors found a congenital defect from which only one in ten survive. His church and others were praying for and expecting healing. Don recounts the following in his book:

But the Lord took Joy Anne to heaven when she was just a half-hour short of one week old. This was a great blow to many who had prayed in faith. One member of our congregation told me recently that her prayer life was disturbed for years because she was so angry at God that Joy Anne had died when virtually the whole city of Pensacola was praying for her healing. Eileen and I were established enough in our understanding of God’s sovereignty that her death did not shake our faith or disturb our prayer lives.

On my first Sunday back in the pulpit, I preached a sermon to reassure the congregation (and Eileen and me) that God had not failed to keep His promises. My text was Ephesians 1:5, and the sermon title, “His Kind Intention.” Healing is in the atonement, I told them, but heaven is in the atonement, too. When we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are instantly forgiven but we do not instantly go to heaven. Some of the blessings of the atonement we have in a partial sense now, and some we will have in a complete sense in the future, when we get to heaven.

One day we shall all be perfectly healed of our diseases when we stand before the throne of the Lamb and sing His praises. It is God’s will ultimately that all His people be healed. Sometimes it is His will that we be healed instantly, but sometimes He has something better for us, because our illnesses and infirmities can be part of His wonderful work for our sanctification. God did not heal Joy Anne in the way we were praying for, I said. He healed her by taking her to heaven.²

In his book When God Doesn’t Heal Now, Larry Keefauver tells a story of two situations, one in which a woman is hospitalized with an unknown condition which put her into a coma. The doctors had no idea what the problem was. Over the months, specialists were brought in from top hospitals to attempt various procedures, but to no avail. The doctors told the husband his wife was brain dead. The husband believed God for his wife’s healing and continued to pray for her. He took her home and cared for her for months on end. In time, she began to regain consciousness, and after many more months she was completely healed.

He relates another account of a Christian couple who were serving the Lord for twenty years when the wife was diagnosed with cancer. After much prayer, over a period of time she improved, but not for long, and eventually she died of the cancer. After sharing these two accounts, the author concluded: “Both couples walked by faith. In one instance, God healed physically in a miraculous way in time and space. In the other instance, God healed eternally.”³

Keefauver makes the case that God always heals. He heals some people “in time”—that is, in this life—and others He heals “in eternity,” meaning that He heals them through delivering them from this life and taking them into eternity, where they are healed forever.

For his part, healing evangelist Curry Blake makes the case that since healing is in the atonement, when someone is prayed for, their healing in this life is just as sure as salvation. He teaches that healing in this life is always God’s will. His premise is that because healing is in the atonement, it is always God’s will to heal, so healing in this lifetime is guaranteed. Therefore, if someone is prayed for and they aren’t healed, or at least the process of healing doesn’t start, then there is some failure on the part of the person praying.

There are some other Christians who practice healing (such as from the “prosperity gospel” and “Word of Faith” movement) who believe that if someone is prayed for and doesn’t recover, then the fault lies with the sick person for not having enough faith. Some also believe that in a case where a child of Christian parents dies, the parents or others who prayed are responsible for not having enough faith.

Most theologians and many other healing evangelists I have researched don’t agree with these points of view. Although they affirm that healing is in the atonement, they also believe that while many people will be healed in this lifetime, others will be healed in eternity. While God’s divine healing is part of TFI’s core beliefs, Maria and I also don’t believe that the case can be made from Scripture that everyone prayed for is guaranteed to be healed in this lifetime. Nor do we believe that if they aren’t healed, this means that there was a failure somewhere, whether on the part of the person who prayed for healing or the person being prayed for.

Healing is part of the atonement. When Jesus was resurrected and then ascended into heaven, it wasn’t only His spirit that rose from the dead and ascended into heaven—His physical body did as well. When Jesus returns at the Rapture, we will meet Him in the air, and not just our spirits but our bodies too. We will have supernatural bodies like Jesus does, and those bodies will be fully healed for eternity. That’s the ultimate fulfillment of the atonement.

While there are differences of opinion on whether healing in the atonement means everyone who is prayed for must be healed now, or that some will be healed now and others only in eternity, one thing we can count on is that because of Jesus’ suffering and death we will live forever, with resurrected bodies which will suffer no pain and will never be sick.

We can also know that healing is available to us and others while we live on earth, through Jesus’ atonement. We can be instruments for the healing of others, if we have the faith to step out and pray for those in need, thus bringing them the opportunity to receive healing at God’s hand in accordance with His will.

Healing for evangelism

One of the main points of agreement among some of the contemporary healing evangelists that I researched, such as John and Sonja Decker, Don Dunkerley, and Curry Blake, is that one of the primary purposes for the gift of healing is as a tool for evangelism. Praying for the sick in this case is a means of sharing the good news of the gospel and bringing people to salvation.

While these healing evangelists do pray for other Christians who need healing, they each make the point that healing is a very effective means of preaching the gospel. When you pray in the name of Jesus for someone who is sick and they are healed, it is a powerful testimony that what you are preaching about Jesus is true.

Don Dunkerley wrote the following about the effectiveness of healing in evangelism:

Using healing prayer in evangelism is a major emphasis in developing countries and is a reason for the meteoric rise of Pentecostal and charismatic churches in the twentieth century… My advice to missionaries is to pray for the sick and distressed on every appropriate occasion. Pray for the healing of believers, and pray that unbelievers will be healed and saved.⁴

Wayne Grudem wrote the following about the purposes for healing:

As with other spiritual gifts, healing has several purposes. Certainly it functions as a “sign” to authenticate the Gospel message and show that the kingdom of God has come. Then also healing brings comfort and health to those who are ill, and thereby demonstrates God’s attribute of mercy toward those in distress. Third, healing equips people for service, as physical impediments to ministry are removed. Fourth, healing provides opportunity for God to be glorified as people see physical evidence of His goodness, love, power, wisdom, and presence.⁵

The ministry of healing was evidenced in the lives of the apostles and others in the early church, and was a part of their evangelism. In Acts 3, we read of Peter and John healing a man who was lame from birth, resulting in a witness to a multitude of people, and “many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand” (Acts 3:1–10, 4:4). Acts 19 recounts healing miracles performed by Paul (Acts 19:11–12). Praying for those who are in need of healing can be an effective method of evangelization for those who are called to this ministry.

Originally published March 2012. Adapted and republished October 2025. Read by John Laurence.

¹ Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (InterVarsity Press, 2000), 939.

² Don Dunkerley, Healing Evangelism (Chosen Books, 1995), 61.

³ Larry Keefauver, When God Doesn’t Heal Now, Chapter 2 (Thomas Nelson, 2000).

⁴ Dunkerley, Healing Evangelism, 20–21.

⁵ Grudem, Systematic Theology, 1064.

Reflections on Friendship

October 8, 2025

By Gabriel García V.

I had never before appreciated friendships as much as I did during my recent health crisis. After a major heart operation that took eight hours, followed by two days in an induced coma, I woke up and found that my wife and I were being held up and cared for by an amazing network of dear friends, not to mention the literal hundreds of messages from all over the world that I received by phone and email. The encouragement and empathy from my friends gave me the boost I needed to regain strength. Through this experience I have realized the value of friendship.

Suddenly, I discovered that every bit of time that I had dedicated to all those folks—every phone call, every visit I had made, and every message I had written—had built something special. At times I am so caught up in my work that I procrastinate in answering a personal message or stopping to seek the Lord for a prayer request. Yet, after my recent ordeal, I realized the value of taking time for a friend or focusing my attention on a colleague who needs a listening ear.

On the other hand, sincere friendships don’t always require a big investment of time. We had a friend we hadn’t seen in several years who showed up inside the emergency room of the hospital right before my surgery. She is a well-known doctor, and when she heard of my plight, she rushed to the hospital to cheer me on. So quick was her response that she actually arrived at the hospital before my ambulance! I can’t tell you how encouraging that was to me at that crucial moment.

While lying in my hospital bed that week, reading the different messages from friends and acquaintances played an important part in my recovery. “A word spoken in due season, how good it is!” (Proverbs 15:23).

We tend to hear about friends that betray us or that are not there when we need them, and the Bible speaks of them as well, particularly Judas in Jesus’ case and many others in David’s life. But we need to also hear of those who stand by our side or who show up in our time of need! As I have seen in my moment of adversity, scores of friends were there to bolster me in my weakness and to give our family support.

All it took to build that loyalty was a little bit of time and genuine concern, a prayer for one who was in a predicament, a word of confidence to another in a moment of anxiety, a timely phone call, a touch of humor, a compliment for a job well done, etc. As the Proverb goes, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17).

Let’s keep in mind that Jesus, despite being the Son of God, treated us as friends. (See John 15:14–15.) And for inspiring reading on deep friendships, read the stories of Ruth with Naomi (Ruth 1:16–17) and David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:1–4).

A few years ago, “networking” was the buzzword, the idea being to create a list of contacts that could prove to be useful later. But the biblical concept is quite different. Jesus said to do good and freely give, not expecting anything in return. (See Luke 6:35.) He also said, “Freely you have received; freely give” (Matthew 10:8). If we give with the hope of being repaid someday, we could miss out on the joy that comes with selfless love.

The famous Brazilian singer, Roberto Carlos, wrote a song a few decades ago that has left its mark in all of Latin America and is still heard on radios all over the continent. It says, “I want to have a million friends so we can sing with a stronger voice. I want to share this friendly song with anyone that might be in need.” Indeed, in my moment of affliction, I felt I had a million friends.

If you feel lonely or are in an isolated situation or are prone to being a recluse, I want to encourage you to reach out to others. Take the initiative and start a friendly conversation. Listen with empathy. Offer a helping hand. Like the little poem says:

I went out to find a friend,
but couldn’t find one there;
I went out to be a friend,
and friends were everywhere.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!” (Ecclesiastes 4:9–10).

“For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend; so that he does not abandon (turn away from) the fear of the Almighty” (Job 6:14).

“Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel. Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend. … Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away” (Proverbs 27:9–10).

“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17).

Alone, But Not Alone

October 7, 2025

A compilation

Audio length: 12:20

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When you are alone and lonely, it is easy to believe that a spouse, or family, or church family will drive loneliness away. Yet even the best moments of marriage and parenting and friendship always lack something; the moment of harmony passes too quickly. The warm feelings of care slip away. Human relationships ebb and flow. Even at their best, we sense that something is missing.

We should be glad to realize that the best of this life leaves us wanting something more, longer, and better. As wonderful as these earthly gifts are, the fact that they don’t satisfy makes God’s promises to fully satisfy us forever even more astounding. It means our joy in Him and each other will be better, deeper, and yes, happier (Philippians 1:23). Every loneliness on earth is an internal confirmation that our greatest relational joys lie ahead of us. Absence should make the heart look forward.

This doesn’t blunt the pain of loneliness, but it does assure us that this pain is part of the fleeting and temporary world that is passing away (1 Peter 1:24–25). Our future is completely free of loneliness and filled with relational fullness far beyond what we can imagine. The next time loneliness shows up, thank God that your loneliness powerfully reminds you of the glory of what lies ahead for you with Him.—Steve DeWitt¹

It is both ironic and tragic that in a time where we are more connected technologically than ever, we also see some of the highest recorded rates of loneliness in history. Loneliness is not about being with people—we can feel lonely surrounded by others and not feel lonely when we are alone. Loneliness is an emotional state in which we feel isolated or completely alone in the world. And though it seems this emotional state is becoming more commonly chronic, loneliness itself is not a new phenomenon. Throughout Scripture, we see the importance of companionship, friendship, and fellowship. People were built for relationship—with both God and one another. Although relationships are not perfect this side of heaven, they can be restored, established, and strengthened by the grace of God.

From the Old Testament:

The first mention of loneliness is found in Genesis 2:18, where God states that it is not good that man should be alone. God’s remedy for Adam’s loneliness was the creation of Eve and the institution of marriage (Genesis 2:21–24). God provided Adam with a companion—a helpmate also made in the image of God—to join him in life.
When Adam and Eve sinned, relationships broke down. Not only was humanity separated from God, but human relationships were also damaged (Genesis 3:16, 24).
Even as God pronounced the consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin, He also granted hope: the protoevangelium (Genesis 3:15). This hope was the promise of a Savior, who would defeat Satan and restore peace between God and mankind.
From the New Testament:
The Savior promised in the garden is Jesus Christ, and He is the only true and lasting remedy for loneliness (2 Corinthians 5:18–21).
Jesus laid down His life for His friends (John 15:13–15).
In Jesus, we are never isolated or alone. Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to live inside us and be with us forever (John 14:15–17). God promises that He is with us always (Matthew 28:20).
Through God’s work, we are also reconciled to other people (Ephesians 2:11–22).
Having received the Spirit of God and the example of Christ, we learn to put pride aside and seek to meet the needs of others and not ourselves only (Philippians 2:3–8).
God has put us in families to practice loving and serving others. As husbands and wives grow in their love for and service to Jesus Christ, they learn to love and serve one another (Ephesians 5:22–25). Likewise, children learn loving submission to parents, and parents learn not to exasperate their children (Ephesians 6:1–4). Restored relationships functioning in mutual submission mean less loneliness.
As believers in Christ, we’ve joined God’s vast spiritual family, far greater than any natural one. While loyalty to Christ may cause tension with our earthly families, God more than compensates, both now and eternally (Matthew 19:29). In this family, no one needs to be lonely—we can love and value one another.

If you are feeling lonely, ask yourself if you have been reconciled to God by believing in Jesus Christ. If you have, then remind yourself of the promise that God has made to you, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus, who died for you, has gone to prepare a place for you where you will dwell with Him and all who belong to Him eternally (John 14:1–3). In the meantime, He has given us His Spirit to dwell within us, teach us, and comfort us (John 14:16–18). No believer in Christ is ever truly alone.

Regarding human relationships, we must ask what we are doing about our loneliness. There is no reason to despair. God has given us opportunities to reach out to people, express how we are feeling, and seek to love and serve well. Loneliness is very real, but we can combat it by living the way God calls us to live: in real community with others. That requires us to do something about it, but we have God’s strength to do it.—CompellingTruth.org²

In the tempestuous, stormy moments of our lives, it’s easy to feel alone. We often focus so intently on finding a way of escape or rescue that we altogether forget about the most reliable and true source of companionship, shelter, and refuge.

Last night, sleep seemed to totally elude me. I had been facing a low moment of discouragement, doubt, and frustration. I was restless in both mind and body.

It was raining fairly hard outside. Although in the physical I was sheltered, warm, and dry inside the house, my spirit felt the exact opposite. The rain outside seemed to pour in unison with the ongoing difficulties I’ve been facing for a while. Inside, I felt alone, exposed and unprotected from the cold winds, soaked to the bone and drenched by the rain that seemed would never stop.

I was quickly losing my grip on hope, and my faith was flickering low. I told God that I wanted with all my heart to hang on and be faithful, but that this would only be possible with His help. I was led to listen to the song “Hiding Place,” by Steven Curtis Chapman.

I listened to the song, not expecting much. Yet, each word seemed to hit the spot like a cup of hot coffee on a cold, rainy day, or like the sensation one feels when coming in from the winter cold to a warm embrace.

I’m not asking You to take away my troubles, Lord.
’Cause it’s through the stormy weather I learn to trust You more.
But I thank You for the promise that I have come to know.
Your unfailing love surrounds me when I need it most.
You’re my hiding place,
Safe in Your embrace,
I’m protected from the storm that rages.
When the waters rise,
And we run to hide,
Lord, in You we find our hiding place.

As the song continued to play, God spoke to me. Are you taking shelter in My promises and My love for you? I am with you, I will never leave you. Let Me be the refuge and shelter I promised to be for you until the storm runs its course.

With these words came flooding back promises I have known for as long as I can remember:

“I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed” (Psalm 57:1).

“The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you” (Deuteronomy 33:27).

“Since God assured us, ‘I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,’ we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I’m fearless no matter what” (Hebrews 13:5–6).

With this renewed perspective, I can now fully trust and rest in Jesus to be my refuge and shelter and constant companion for as long as the storm lasts.—Steve Hearts

Published on Anchor October 2025. Read by John Laurence. Music by John Listen.

¹ Steve DeWitt, “Loneliness Has Been My Faithful Friend,” Desiring God, May 17, 2020, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/loneliness-has-been-my-faithful-friend

² Compelling Truth, “Does the Bible say anything about loneliness?” https://www.compellingtruth.org/Bible-loneliness.html

Empowered by His Grace

October 6, 2025

Words from Jesus

Audio length: 9:41

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I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.—Ephesians 3:16–17

I will never leave those who trust in Me without comfort (John 14:18). I am with you always, and I will strengthen you in times of trouble and infirmities. I came to Earth to live among you to experience all that you do, and to suffer and to die for you. I understand your struggles and I intercede for you in your suffering, sickness, sorrow, and pain (Romans 8:34).

Always remember that I will never let you be tempted beyond what you are able to bear. I provided a way of escape when I took your infirmities upon My own shoulders (1 Corinthians 10:13; Matthew 8:17). I suffered for you when I died on the cross and paid the price for your eternal redemption, and now I always live to make intercession for you (Hebrews 7:25). So come to Me and cast your burdens on Me, for I will always sustain you and keep you (Psalm 55:22).

Many people in the world have given their lives for another and have suffered and died for a worthy cause. But when I gave My life for you, I did not merely die for you, but I took upon Myself the weight of your sin, suffering, and pain. When I died on the cross, I died for every man, woman, and child who has ever lived and will yet live. I was wounded for your transgressions and crushed for your iniquities, and by My wounds you are healed and have entered into My peace (Isaiah 53:5).

When you cast your burdens, cares‚ anxieties, and suffering on Me‚ I will always sustain you because I care for you (1 Peter 5:7). I already took on your pain and suffering, so that you may find redemption, healing, and relief in every time of need. I paid the price for your sin, and everyone who believes in Me and My Word has passed from death to life (John 5:24).

When you face times of trouble, remember that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in you (Romans 8:18). My grace will always be sufficient for you and I will always be a very present help in every time of need (Psalm 46:1).

My heart for single mothers and widows

I delivered the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to help him. The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.—Job 29:12–13

I understand the pain of the single mother and the widow, and the loneliness, fear of rejection, and times of despair. My mother on Earth experienced the prospect of single motherhood and was also widowed. My heart is moved for the plight of single mothers and widows, as well as orphans, and I have promised that My Spirit will always be with you to comfort and guide you (John 14:15–18).

I empathize with your every weakness and trouble. So come to Me with all your cares and burdens and receive My mercy and find grace to help you in every time of need (Hebrews 4:15–16). I watch over and sustain the fatherless and the widows (Psalm 146:9), and I have called you to do the same (James 1:27).

Grace for today

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.—Deuteronomy 31:8

It is human nature to worry about the future at times. You cannot know the future, but you can trust that I know the future and the plans I have for your life, which will always work together for your good because of your love for Me (Romans 8:28). You may not have the grace now to meet an unknown future, but you can trust that you will have what you need when the time comes. As your days, so will your strength be, and when the time comes you will have the grace you need to meet the challenges of the day (Deuteronomy 33:25).

My grace will always be sufficient for you—for today, tomorrow, and the future (2 Corinthians 12:9). So if you are worried about the future, place all your tomorrows in My hands and focus on what I have given you to do today and be faithful to Me and My Word today. As you put your trust in Me and rest in My grace, you will be able to weather whatever storms tomorrow or the future may bring.

Bring all your cares to Me and place them in My hands. Don’t be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble and care (Matthew 6:34). Remember that your tomorrows are all in My hands.

Staying focused on kingdom goals

When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.—Mark 6:34

During My time on Earth, My heart was moved with compassion when I looked around at the people that surrounded Me, who were harassed and helpless (Matthew 9:36). As I walked among the crowds, I witnessed their needy situations and the intensity of their suffering and their desperate need for truth and the way to eternal life.

When I looked upon the multitudes—the needy souls, the hungry hearts, the sorrowful ones, the desperate and the destitute, those dying without answers—I was compelled to accept the cup of suffering at the cross. My prayer was “Not My will but Your will be done” (Luke 22:42). I taught My disciples to pray to the Father, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10), and they witnessed a living example of that through My choice to die on the cross for your eternal salvation.

My children, today I also call you to lift up your eyes and look on the fields that are white and ready to harvest (John 4:35). Be encouraged, knowing that you hold in your hand the keys to truth and eternal life that will soothe people’s troubled minds, bring them peace and comfort and good cheer, heal their broken spirits, and set them free.

If you would follow in My footsteps, keep your eyes on the kingdom of heaven and do not allow yourself to become weighed down with the affairs of this life (2 Timothy 2:4). Stand strong in your faith, and allow it to flourish by giving to others what I have given to you. Proclaim the kingdom of God. Freely you have received, freely give, and know that you will receive in great measure in return (Matthew 10:7–8).

Originally published August 2005. Adapted and republished October 2025. Read by Jon Marc. Music by Michael Dooley.

The Return of the King

A compilation

2021-08-17

In his epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien transports us to Middle Earth where the evil forces of Sauron, Lord of Mordor, have brought great darkness throughout the land. There has been much debate about whether The Lord of the Rings was written as an allegory. Tolkien himself stated that he “dislikes allegory in all its manifestations.” Later, however, Tolkien wrote, “Of course, Allegory and Story converge, meeting somewhere in Truth.”

Prophets and seers throughout the ages have foretold a cataclysmic end of the world, not unlike that described by Tolkien. Nostradamus wrote in his quatrains of a final “antichrist” and a fiery, bloody great war: “By fire he will destroy their city. A cold and cruel heart. Blood will pour. Mercy to none.” The prophets Isaiah and Daniel predicted in the Bible that in the time of the end “there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time;” and “darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people.” Jesus also warned His disciples that in the last days “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.”¹

“One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them, in the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.”—J.R.R. Tolkien

In the book of Revelation, the prophet John envisioned an unearthly creature rising from the depths, a monster that derives his power from a dragon representative of the powers of darkness. “I saw a beast rise up out of the sea … and the dragon gave him his power, and his throne, and great authority.” According to numerous biblical prophecies, this beast is personified in a powerful political figure who will unite the globe into a one-world government and demand the allegiance of all nations. “And the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?’ … And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation.”²

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” —J.R.R. Tolkien

Although The Lord of the Rings describes an unthinkable evil, the underlying message is that there is always hope in the face of great darkness. When asked about Frodo’s efforts to struggle on and destroy the ring, Tolkien said, “That seems more like an allegory of the human race. I’ve always been impressed that we’re here surviving because of the indomitable courage of quite small people against impossible odds.” With so much darkness, we can be tempted to wonder what’s the use of a little light, a little good, a little love.

This message of hope for the meek, the weak, the powerless, and the downtrodden that is central to The Lord of the Rings was proclaimed by Jesus when He said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.”³ Jesus was not born in power, but in meekness. His life began in a humble stable, His father was a simple carpenter, and His disciples were unlearned fishermen. He was scorned and persecuted by the religious leaders of His day, who finally had Him crucified to stop the spread of His gospel that threatened to overthrow their religious establishment.

Jesus’ radical message that brought such fear to the hearts of the ruling powers of His time was a message of truth and love—the love of God and the love of fellow man—the greatest force in the universe, which will ultimately vanquish all evil. Man’s rejection of God and His loving laws has caused man’s inhumanity to man, which is so apparent in today’s weary world with its oppression, mental illness, addictions, exploitation, and war.

“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater. Some there are among us who sing that the Shadow will draw back and peace shall come again.”—J.R.R. Tolkien

When Jesus was cruelly crucified, it seemed that the lights had gone out in the world and that His message had been quenched. But three days after His death, He rose from the dead. Before ascending to heaven, He promised His disciples that His Spirit would live on in them as they spread the light of His truth and love to others. He also said that He would one day return to conquer evil, hatred, and all the wicked works of the Dark Lord and establish God’s kingdom of love on earth. “Even so, come soon, Lord Jesus!”⁴

When will Jesus return?

Matthew chapter 24 speaks about Jesus’ Second Coming, when He is going to return to gather all those who have received Him as their Savior and take them with Him back to heaven—an event commonly referred to as “the Rapture.” For nearly 1,800 years practically every Christian believed Jesus would come back after the period He refers to as “Great Tribulation, three and a half years of intense persecution.”

It is only in the last hundred or so years that interpretations such as that by C. I. Scofield (1843–1921) emerged with the false doctrine that Jesus would come before the Tribulation. This interpretation put forth this idea: “Don’t worry, Jesus is going to come and take you out of this world before the trouble comes, so you won’t have to suffer.” But what does the Bible say?

In Matthew 24, when Jesus’ disciples ask Him what sign will signal His return, Jesus answers with not one but a number of signs—wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, persecution of Christians, a proliferation of false prophets, lawlessness, a pervading lack of love, and the gospel being preached in every nation. “Then,” He says, “the end will come.”⁵

Beginning with the next verse, Jesus tells us what we can expect during the Great Tribulation—the last three and a half years leading up to His return, which is also the last half of the Antichrist’s reign. Jesus also tells us what specific sign to watch for, so we’ll know exactly when that period is beginning:

“When you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place … then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.”⁶

We find out in the book of Revelation that this “abomination of desolation” is an image of the Antichrist, or Beast.⁷ Both Daniel and Revelation tell us that this image will be set up in the holy place at exactly the middle of the Antichrist’s seven-year reign.⁸

When does Jesus come back? “Immediately after the tribulation of those days” Jesus returns.⁹ Jesus doesn’t say that when you see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place He’s about to return to rapture His followers away from the Antichrist and the trouble to come. He warns His followers to “flee to the mountains” and to prepare for a time of great tribulation.¹⁰ In other words, His followers will still be here.

Why did the Lord and the prophets go to so much trouble to document exactly how long the Great Tribulation would last—the exact time in terms of days, months, and years—if His followers didn’t need to know these things, if they won’t be here, counting the days and the weeks?¹¹ Jesus told us these specifics because He wants those of us “who are alive and remain” during that time ¹² to be able to take heart in knowing that the Tribulation isn’t going to last forever, and that every passing day is bringing the glorious end closer.

Jesus warns us not to expect Him sooner than has been foretold. He also warns us to not be deceived by false prophets who will try to tell us that Christ’s coming is imminent or that He’s already here somewhere.¹³ He tells us to not believe them, because when He comes, we will know it!

Some people who teach a pre-Tribulation Rapture even state that it’s going to be a secret Rapture, and that nobody is going to see Him except the saved. However, His Word tells us that He’s going to “come in the clouds with great power and glory.” The sky will light up from one end to the other, and there will be such signs in the heavens that we couldn’t possibly mistake the fact that Jesus is coming. In fact, it says that “every eye shall see Him.”¹⁴ Everyone will know that Jesus has returned!

Everyone will also see the dead in Christ—all the saved people who have already died—rising to meet Him in the air as He comes. They will hear Jesus, too, because He’ll “descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and a great sound of the trump of God.”¹⁵ It will be the greatest spectacle the world has ever seen!

After the dead rise to meet the Lord, “then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”¹⁶ And so will we be forever with the Lord.

Compiled from material from Activated. Adapted and republished August 2021.
Read by John Laurence.

¹ Matthew 24:7–8 ESV.

² Revelation 13:1–4, 7 ESV.

³ Matthew 5:5, 9 KJV.

⁴ Revelation 22:20.

⁵ Matthew 24:4–14.

⁶ Matthew 24:15, 21.

⁷ Revelation 13:14–15.

⁸ Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15–21; Revelation 13:5.

⁹ Matthew 24:29.

¹⁰ Matthew 24:16–22.

¹¹ Daniel 7:25; Revelation 12:6, 13:5.

¹² 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

The King’s Return

1984-01-01

With trumpet’s blast and mighty call,
The Earth will quake and towers fall.
Graves will open, dead will rise,
His children join Him in the skies.
For in the clouds the King will come,
To welcome Home His faithful ones.

When He walked this Earth nearly 2,000 years ago, He and His message of Love and salvation were rejected by the leaders of His Own people. Yes, they wanted a saviour, a Messiah, a great King, but not One who was born in a barn, raised as a poor carpenter and who chose humble fishermen, tax-collectors, drunks and prostitutes as His friends and followers.

Few of the rich and powerful of His day were interested in the freedom of spirit He offered to all who would receive the Truth He spoke.—They only wanted freedom from Rome and Roman taxes! Nor did they desire the eternal treasures and rewards He promised to all who would follow Him.—They wanted a Messiah, a King who could make them a wealthy and powerful material kingdom here and now on Earth.

This Man, Jesus Christ, the Son of the Creator of the Universe, said, “All power is given unto Me in Heaven and in Earth” (Matthew 28:18).—He could have taken over the World and made Himself King in one day. He told the Roman governor who gave Him to the Jews to be killed, “You could have no power over Me at all, unless it was given to you by My Father. I could lift My little finger and thousands of angels would immediately deliver Me from your hands” (John 19:11; Matthew 26:53).

When His naked body hung dying on the cross where He was crucified, and the religious leaders taunted, “You saved others.—If You’re really the Son of God, save Yourself!” (Mark 15:29-32), He could have jumped off the cross and slaughtered them all in a moment.—But He chose to die for you and me. After He rose from the grave He could have shown Himself to the high priests, to the governor, to Caesar himself, and proved to them and the World that He was indeed the Son of God, the Messiah, and forced them all to worship Him.—But instead He appeared only to those who already believed on Him and loved Him, to strengthen, comfort and encourage them.

For 2,000 years He and His Kingdom have remained unseen to this World, manifest only in the hearts and lives of those who love and receive Him by faith. He offers each of us a choice, to receive or reject Him and His Love.—This is the mystery that many of His Own people in His day couldn’t understand, and that many today cannot seem to grasp: That He wants us to love and believe in Him because we choose to of our own free will.—This is still the Age of Grace, of choice, when we must simply believe His Word and receive Him by faith.

But the day is coming when this present Age will be over and all the World will “see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of Heaven with Power and great Glory” (Matthew 24:29-31). For He has promised to come again, and according to countless fulfilled prophecies describing World conditions before Jesus returns, the time is at hand and we are living in the final “Last Days” of Man’s cruel and destructive rule on Earth.

The last seven years of Man’s history will begin with the rise of a totally Godless, anti-Christ, One-World Government which will be led by a Devil-possessed Dictator, the Antichrist, who will at first bring temporary peace to the Earth. But the ultimate price to pay will be enforced worship of himself as the imitation messiah and a final 3-1/2 years of “Great Tribulation”, including Nuclear War! (See Daniel 8:23-25; 9:27; 11:21-45; Matthew 24:15,21; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12; Revelations13.)

Jesus said, “Immediately after the Tribulation of those days, shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in the sky! And then shall all of the wicked of the World mourn, for they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:29-31). This time He’s not coming as a meek and mild babe in a manger, God in the hands of Man, but as the Almighty King of Kings, and it will be Man in the hands of God!

At the end of the darkest night that the World has ever gone through will suddenly dawn the Brightest Day! The trumpets of God will sound and Jesus’ mighty Voice will thunder from the heavens, “Come up!”, and all of His saved children will be caught up together with Him in the clouds, rising in immortal victory over the forces of the Satanic Antichrist (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17; Revelations 11:12).

For when Jesus returns, a tremendous, supernatural miracle takes place: The Resurrection! The bodies of all of the billions of saved people who have ever died will be instantly resurrected and come bursting out of their graves. And all of us who are still alive and living for the Lord in spite of the Antichrist and his persecution will be miraculously raised with them to meet Jesus in the air (Matthew 24:31).

With one sudden, miraculous, mighty stroke of God, He waves His wand of Power and presto!—We who are alive will be changed!—Translated and raised in new super-bodies! People talk about the thrill of skydiving. Well, we’re not just going to fall or fly down, we’re going to fly up!—To meet the Lord and be with Him forever (1 Corinthians 15:51-57).

Just imagine!—Graves bursting open and saints arising from the dead!—And we believers who are still alive being caught up together with them in the air, right in front of the eyes of the whole World. Every one of God’s truly saved, born-again children will be resurrected, translated and changed, and we will all have new super-bodies, eternal resurrection bodies, just like Jesus had when He arose (Philippians 3:21; 1 John 3:2).

In His new body, Jesus was able to appear or disappear, walk right through solid walls or locked doors, and fly from one place to another with the speed of thought (Luke 24:30,31,51; John 20:26).—And we will be able to do the same! Billions of us will take off for His Heavenly City in the Sky, just like all the people flying up in this picture.—Leaving this World and the followers of the Antichrist far behind, who will suffer the horrible Wrath and Judgements of God, Hell on Earth, until we return with the Lord to finally take over the World and set up His Kingdom of Love on Earth in the Battle of Armageddon.

“Behold, He comes in the clouds, and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: And all the wicked of the Earth shall wail because of Him” (Revelation 1:7).—When they see Jesus in the sky and billions of His children rising to meet Him in the air in this tremendous, glorious, Earthshaking, World-quaking event, they’re going to be scared half out of their wits, almost to death, because then they will know that they were wrong not to love Him.

After our resurrection, we will all fly away with the Lord to the “Marriage Feast of the Lamb” in the Heavenly City (Revelations 19:6-9).—The greatest Party ever held!—A wonderful reunion with the Lord and all of our loved ones, our Victory Celebration over all the forces of evil.

That beautiful golden pyramid floating in the distance in the picture is God’s great Heavenly City. This beautiful clear-as-crystal golden City of God is 1,500 miles long, wide and high, prepared by Jesus Himself for all of His billions of children who have ever lived.

Will you be ready to meet Jesus when He soon returns? Are you one of His Own who will rise up to meet Him in the sky? Will you believe on and receive Him now by faith?—Or will you have to wait until you see Him first, coming in the clouds, when it will be too late. The way to enter the Kingdom of Heaven is to let the King of Heaven, Jesus, enter you.—Then you’ll be ready for His return.

You can have Jesus and His Heavenly Love in your heart right now by simply praying this little prayer: “Lord Jesus, I believe that You are the Son of God and that You died for me. Please forgive me for all my sins. I ask You, Jesus, to please come into my heart and give me Your free Gift of Eternal Life. Help me to love You and to love others by telling them about You and Your Love. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”

Trust God in the Storm of Chaos

October 3, 2025

By Rick Warren

Life can be tough, leaving us feeling lost and defeated. Pastor Rick reminds us in this message that expressing our feelings to God is crucial for healing. By embracing our struggles and accepting support, we can find the strength to rise again and truly live despite life’s disappointments.

Run time for this video is 29 minutes.

https://youtu.be/0-pZP-Wv9uk?si=k_9Apd18b1lg4oBU

God’s Divine Healing, Part 1: Cornerstones of Healing

October 2, 2025

By Peter Amsterdam

Audio length: 00:00

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The subject of God’s divine healing is a multifaceted one, and not simple to address given the many factors surrounding the topic. While there are differing and sometimes conflicting stances amongst Christians regarding healing, we know that God, in His love and compassion for the sick, chooses to use a variety of methods to heal those in need. We also know that God works differently in each person’s life and answers our prayers for healing in different ways.

Some TFI members have incorporated the gifts of healing into their witnessing or prayers for others and have shared their experiences along these lines. Others have expressed their questions about healing, including whether something is wrong if someone who is prayed for isn’t healed immediately, or if the person being prayed for is to blame if they aren’t healed. Some people have experienced deep discouragement when they or their loved ones didn’t get healed after prayer, while others felt that they were being judged by others for lacking faith for their loved one to be healed.

Healing isn’t a new doctrine within TFI. Members have faithfully prayed for one another since TFI’s early days when a member was sick, as well as prayed for the healing of those they’ve spiritually ministered to. While healing hasn’t generally been used as a major evangelizing method, members have experience in praying for the sick and seeking the Lord for healing.

The healings of Jesus

It is clear from Scripture that supernatural healing was an important part of Jesus’ ministry. He had compassion on people because they were “as sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). As the Good Shepherd, He loved and cared for them by healing them and setting them free from pain and disease. Jesus’ healing miracles also validated His ministry, His message, and His identity as the Messiah. The fact that He healed people proved that the words He spoke came from God. His words were backed up by His actions and served as signs pointing to the reality of God’s kingdom.

When the scribes questioned Jesus’ forgiveness of the paralytic man’s sins, His healing miracle testified to His power to forgive sin.

Some people brought to Him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Take heart, My son; your sins are forgiven.” And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men (Matthew 9:2–8).

When John the Baptist sent his followers to ask Jesus if He was the Expected One, Jesus responded by pointing to the healings He had performed and the gospel that was being preached to the poor as proofs that He was the one sent by God.

Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them” (Matthew 11:2–5).

Jesus’ power to heal showed the people of His day that He had authority from God, and thus that the message He gave and the words He spoke were from God. They authenticated His claim that He was “the way, the truth, and the life,” and that no one could come to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). People recognized that His works were miraculous, showing that He was from God.

This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him” (John 3:2).

They were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes (Mark 1:22).

They were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him” (Mark 1:27).

Jesus healed the sick and He commissioned and empowered His first twelve disciples to do so as well, as He sent them out to “proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal” (Luke 9:1–2). In Matthew’s version of this event, Jesus told the disciples to “proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons” (Matthew 10:5–8). (See also Mark 6:7–13.) Later, Jesus sent out the 70 to heal the sick and proclaim the kingdom of God (Luke 10:1–9). Just before His ascension to heaven, He commanded the disciples to preach the gospel, to make disciples, and to observe His teachings (Matthew 28:19–20).

God’s gifts of healing today

Like other aspects within the Christian faith, different denominations or general categories of Christians interpret certain scriptures differently, and even within denominations and churches, individual members may hold different beliefs on some aspects. While Christians generally agree on core doctrines of the faith, we often hold differing views on some of the secondary points. These differing viewpoints regarding issues that are not core principles don’t make one person more of a Christian than someone else, or a better Christian; they are just different outlooks, interpretations, or applications of the faith. There seems to be a similar situation within the healing evangelism community regarding gifts of healing.

In Scripture we read that the gifts of healing are among the gifts of the Holy Spirit made available to Christians (1 Corinthians 12:7–9). However, not all Christians believe that divine healing is available today, and some denominations don’t believe that healing miracles happen today. They believe that the day of miracles is past. Other Christians who believe that the gifts of healing are still active today use this in their evangelism and witness.

In general terms, within Christianity there are two differing points of view concerning the gifts of the Spirit. There are those who believe that all the gifts of the Holy Spirit are active today, and there are those who believe that the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit—namely prophecy, tongues and interpretation, miracles, and healing—are no longer active.

The belief that the miraculous gifts have continued on throughout the history of Christianity and are present today is known as continuationism. The belief that the miraculous gifts are no longer available to believers is known as cessationism. In brief, cessationists believe that the miraculous gifts were only available during the apostolic age, while the apostles were alive. They believe that such miraculous gifts were given in order to authenticate the apostles’ preaching of the gospel—so that when people saw the apostles perform miracles, they would believe the message the apostles were preaching. Once the apostles died, their belief is that these gifts ceased because they were no longer needed.

One of the main arguments for cessationism is based on 1 Corinthians 13:8–12. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul spoke about the gifts of the Spirit and then went on to express that no matter how many gifts one has, love is a more excellent way (1 Corinthians 12:31). In 1 Corinthians 13:8–10, we read: “Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.”

One of the key cessationist points of view rests on the statement “but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.” In the cessationist view, the “perfect” came when the canon of Scripture—the writings in the New Testament—was determined, and therefore there is no further need for the imperfect means of finding God’s will, such as the gifts of prophecy, knowledge, etc. Because that which is perfect has come (the Word of God in the New Testament) or because miracles are no longer needed to affirm the message of Christianity, cessationists conclude that the manifestation of spiritual gifts came to an end once the apostles died.

Continuationists believe that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit will continue until the Lord’s return. They interpret “when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away” as being when Jesus returns at His second coming. In this view, at that time the present gifts, which are imperfect, will no longer be needed, but until that time the Holy Spirit still apportions these gifts to Christians.

The core beliefs of TFI fall within the continuationist interpretation of Scripture. We believe that God continues to perform miracles according to His perfect and sovereign will and plan, as per our Statement of Faith:

We believe that the Holy Spirit’s presence may be manifested in believers’ lives through different spiritual gifts, which include wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, and prophecy.

While Jesus was on Earth, He not only expressed His love to humanity through healing people’s hearts and spirits, but He also performed miracles to feed the hungry and to heal people’s diseased and crippled bodies. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), and we therefore believe that He still performs miracles today. (TFI’s Statement of Faith: The Holy Spirit and Divine Intervention)

Originally published February and March 2012. Adapted and republished October 2025. Read by John Laurence.

The Heroic Life

October 1, 2025

By William B. McGrath

George Matheson (1842–1906) went through the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, seeking out the various times where God’s divine Spirit is recorded as having said certain things, or as having influenced others to say certain things. One of the occasions he found was in 1 Chronicles 12:18: “Then the Spirit clothed Amasai, chief of the thirty, and he said, ‘We are yours, O David, and with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers! For your God helps you.’ Then David received them and made them officers of his troops.”

As Matheson reflected on these words, and how God’s Spirit moved Amasai to express such dedication to David’s cause, which was God’s cause, he wrote:

Spirit of Christ, who of old didst make men soldiers for the times of war, make me now a soldier for the times of peace. … Give me the soldier’s discipline, the soldier’s fortitude, the soldier’s chivalry, the soldier’s sacrifice. Nerve me for the battle of peace, more hard than the battle of war. Nerve me for the trials of the marketplace, more arduous than the marches of the field. Nerve me, not by drugging my sensibilities, but by giving me a new sense—the perfected sense of duty. Make me brave, not by lessening but by intensifying my conviction of life’s glory. Make me strong, not with the strength of recklessness, but with that strength which comes with an increased burden of care. Inspire me with Thy sacrificial love, and I shall be a stranger to selfish fear; I shall have the courage to dare all things when I am made a captain of Thy band.¹

There are challenges that enter into our lives, interrupting us and arriving uninvited; like some large, dark shadow hitting—the loss of a loved one, a doctor’s diagnosis, stinging words of betrayal, or some other grave disappointment. Sometimes we have the support of true friends, but not always. Sometimes we are left all alone, with no one to turn to but the Lord. It matters much to us in these times if we have kept Him in a place of supreme importance. How we need then His mercy and love. Even if we know we have failed Him in a certain area, He is always there for us.

John Newton, once a slave ship commander, who later became a great Anglican cleric, an abolitionist, and hymnwriter (1725–1807), tells us about the severe shadow that came into his life when the Lord took his wife home. Undoubtedly, he endured a season of grief, but also, he may have fought off accusing, self-condemning thoughts. Maybe he partly blamed himself, that it seemed to happen prematurely. And possibly John Newton was tempted to feel condemnation and guilt for his past sins, making him feel deserving of the deep sorrow. But deep down, John knew that all in his past was now forgiven. He shares with us his ordeal, and in doing so, he is giving us an example of what it means to have a strong, Christlike character; one that is meant to pull us through such ordeals, victoriously.

In his autobiography, Out of the Depths, John Newton writes:

I had often told my hearers that a trial, if rightly used, was to the Christian a post of honor. … I saw what I knew before, but never until then so strongly and clearly perceived, that as a sinner I had no right and as a believer I could have no reason to complain. I considered her [his wife] as a loan, which He who lent her to me had a right to recall whenever He pleased. … His sovereignty is connected with infinite wisdom and goodness. Consequently, if it were possible for me to alter any part of His plan, I could only spoil it.

John had obviously become practiced in mature thinking; he had grounded himself in God’s unfailing love, and came out of the battle even stronger.

Sometimes in life, God allows us to make some blunders, even some serious mistakes, in order to help reveal to us our need for Him. But if we make the right choices, seek His forgiveness, seek a closer walk with Him, He will honor that and forgive us. He will help us to become better and stronger, more useful soldiers for the furtherance of His kingdom. That is properly handling and facing the “shadows” that enter our life, and successfully overcoming them. God always has a way of escape, and He never tempts us beyond the measure. (See 1 Corinthians 10:13.)

Helen Keller tells us:

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.

I have sometimes thought about how those who are born with a very strong-looking appearance seem to be evaluated almost automatically as having greater courage and bravery than people who have a weaker physical appearance. But I have learned that, while appearance may tell us something, it can be misleading. Each of us is brought to task with the shadows that the Lord allows to enter into our life. Our Creator knows better than we what our gifts and strengths are, and He knows just what to allow to come our way. The physically strong person may also be very strong in character, but he may not be. A humble, meek-looking person may have a highly developed character, although it may remain hidden from view. Amy Carmichael tells us:

Manliness is not mere courage, it is the quality of soul which frankly accepts all conditions of human life and makes it a point of honor not to be dismayed or wearied by them.

Amy Carmichael spoke of this inner, silent strength—the strength that is built up by making many small decisions, daily, that lead us into a life of obedience to Christ and of service to others, a life of Christian virtue.

N.T. Wright, a Christian author and theologian of our own time, covers this topic very well in his book After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters. He wrote:

Courage is not what happens when somebody who is about to go into battle takes a very strong drink of something that will fire them up, and then goes charging off to the field of battle waving their sword and shouting some awful war chant. That’s not courage; that’s second cousin to folly, I should think. Courage is what happens when you take a thousand small decisions, consciously thought out, to put somebody’s safety ahead of your own. So that then on the thousandth and first occasion … you will unhesitatingly and instinctively, by second nature … go … putting the other person’s safety first. … Jesus taught that when your character is fully formed you won’t be thinking about your character at all. You’ll be thinking about how much God loves you and whether it’s your turn tonight to visit Mrs. Jones in the hospice, loving God and loving your neighbor. ²

It may sound quite difficult, even overwhelming, to be persistently training and reining in our thoughts, words, and actions, making those thousands of little choices to put Jesus and others first. But it is actually liberating, and it releases much of our anxiety. Jesus is a kind taskmaster who invites us to join with Him, bearing His yoke together. (See Matthew 11:28–29.) Our own human nature tends to want to obsessively plan out our own time, life, and career; and while doing so, human nature wants us to place ourselves at the top of the list. But there is a certain joy to be had when we sincerely give up our own plans and surrender them into His hands, telling the Lord we wish to prioritize His plans instead. Then we have the great privilege of working alongside Him, and trusting the wonderful guarantees in His Word for true success, joy, and meaning in our lives. His plans are not to harm us but to prosper us. (See Jeremiah 29:11.)

¹ George Matheson, Voices of the Spirit (A. C. Armstrong & Son, 1890), 25–26.

² N. T. Wright, After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters (2012).

Citizenship in Heaven

September 30, 2025

A compilation

Audio length: 13:32

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But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.—Philippians 3:20–21

According to Philippians 3:20, “our citizenship is in heaven.” This does not mean simply that we get to go to heaven after we die. Rather, it means that we are to live on this earth according to the values of heaven. We are committed to the agenda of the one who is sovereign in heaven, the King of kings and Lord of lords. In all we do, we are to seek God’s justice and mercy, for God’s purposes and glory.…

Though we are also citizens of nations on earth, we are supremely citizens of heaven, people whose ultimate loyalty and submission is to our Lord Jesus Christ. Because our citizenship is in heaven, we have a perspective from which to evaluate the countries of our earthly citizenship. We can celebrate when they reflect God’s goodness and grieve when they fall short. In all we do we can seek “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly” with God (Micah 6:8).

I’ve heard it said that our heavenly citizenship is mainly a matter of what we experience after death. I have no doubt that this is part of what it means to be a citizen of heaven. But, from a biblical perspective, heavenly citizenship is not just about the afterlife. It’s also about how we live on this earth in our cities and countries, companies and churches.

Consider the example of the Philippians. … The Philippians had a kind of dual citizenship in that they were citizens of their local city, Philippi, and also the imperial capital, Rome. This was uncommon in the Roman Empire. Because of their special class of citizenship, the Philippians received blessings from the Roman government and they were expected to live in a distinctly Roman way. They were an outpost of Roman power, law, and society in northern Greece. The fact that they were citizens of Rome did not mean they should move to the capital city. On the contrary, they were expected to remain in Philippi in order to advance the Roman agenda in that location.

So it is with those who are citizens of heaven. Our loyalty to heaven and to heaven’s Lord is something we live out right now, each day, in real, earthly time. In everything we do, we seek to honor God and advance his kingdom agenda on earth. …

Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Jesus wants us to ask for the coming of God’s kingdom, both now and in the future. Moreover, right now, we are to ask for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. How is God’s will done on earth? Mostly, it is done by those on earth who are citizens of heaven, whose allegiance is to the Lord of lords. In other words, it’s done by you and me as we live out our heavenly citizenship right here and now.—Mark D. Roberts¹

Sojourners on this earth

The reminder to each of us as believers in Christ of our heavenly citizenship should encourage us and challenge us daily to walk in such a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ (Philippians 1:27). Because of our profession of faith in Christ, our conduct should be different than those who do not know God, and our primary focus should be on eternal things rather than worldly or temporal passions. This wonderful citizenship grants us the promise of eternal life and glorification through faith in Jesus Christ.

In his letter to the saints at Philippi, the Apostle Paul reminds them of this certainty and promise, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). The second coming of Jesus Christ will result in the glorification of physical bodies for those in Christ Jesus, and it will be by His power (Philippians 3:21).

When speaking of being citizens of heaven, Gregory Brown said, “People should be able to identify us as citizens of heaven because of the clothes (righteousness, patience, forgiveness, compassion, humility, and love) that we wear, the attitudes we display. Our position in Christ should affect everything.”

Being a citizen of heaven leaves us as sojourners in this world. We are temporary residents, awaiting a heavenly city much like those described in the letter to the Hebrews. Charles Spurgeon said, “If our citizenship be in heaven, then we are aliens here; we are strangers and foreigners, pilgrims and sojourners in the earth, as all our fathers were.” …

As sojourners, we realize that this world is not our home. We do not set our hearts on the things of this world nor do we store up treasure where moth and rust can destroy. We, as citizens of heaven, do what Colossians 3:1–2 tells us to do, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Rather than having an expectation for the things of this world, we have an eager expectation for the return of our Savior.

The promise of our citizenship leaves us in a state of now but not yet. As believers in Christ, we are justified before God. At the same time, we have not yet received our glorified bodies, nor have we realized being seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, a future promise of our eternal security as citizens in the heavenly city. … As citizens of heaven, Christ has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3). We are a new creation, and the old has passed away (2 Corinthians 5:17). We have such glorious promises both now and in the future to come as citizens of heaven and Christ Jesus as our King.—Dawn Hill²

A heart full of heaven

All God’s children of faith since the beginning of time have been looking for “a city that has foundations”—eternal foundations—“whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10). They were not satisfied with being citizens of this world, but rather they looked for a country made by God, a heavenly city built by God.

For these all “confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly, if they had called to mind that country from which they came out, they would have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them” (Hebrews 11:13–16).

If you’re looking for the perfect country and the perfect government, look to the only country where we as Christians truly belong—the kingdom of God. That’s our nationality, our citizenship, our country—a country that has never persecuted the poor or oppressed the weak or discriminated against ethnic or racial minorities; a country that has never fought an unjust war.

We are citizens of the only righteous nation in the universe, the kingdom of Jesus Christ. We, in effect, renounced our citizenship in this world when we received the King of kings and the Prince of Peace, Lord of lords, God of heaven, Son of Righteousness and His kingdom into our hearts.—The Family International

God is going to prepare a place for us (John 14:3)

Heaven is not an imaginary place, an idea, or a celestial dream that you and I will experience forever and ever and ever. Jesus said, “I’m going to prepare a place.” That is, a place where a glorified, literal body is going to communicate with other people and walk around and be somebody, and where we’re going to know each other. God, the ultimate Creator, is making this heaven for us. Our citizenship is in this place (Philippians 3:20).

God said our citizenship is in heaven. He also said in Luke 10 that our names have been written in heaven, in the Lamb’s book of life (Luke 10: 20; also Revelation 21:27). So, if we have received Christ’s gift of salvation, our citizenship is in this place and our names are recorded there, which means we will be there one of these days. …

Dear God,

Thank You for loving us enough to prepare heaven for us. Thank You for giving us Your only Son as a door into this heavenly home, this place where You have allowed us to belong. You have created the sun, the moon, the stars, and worlds beyond ours that are unimaginable and brilliant. …

You have prepared us for heaven by giving us glimpses of the wonder and grace, the community and the fellowship, that will exist in heaven. We are excited to live forever inside our relationship with You. We want that oneness and that closeness and that fulfillment and that love. Please guide us on earth now, so that we may live eternally by Your side. Thank You for this miracle. Thank You, God, for our heavenly home, amen.—Charles Stanley³

Published on Anchor September 2025. Read by Lenore Welsh. Music by Michael Fogarty.

¹ Mark D. Roberts, “Living as Citizens on Earth as in Heaven,” Fuller, De Pree Center, July 5, 2020, https://depree.org/life-for-leaders/living-as-citizens-on-earth-as-in-heaven/

² Dawn Hill, “What Does It Mean That Our Citizenship Is in Heaven?” Christianity.com, March 18, 2022, https://www.christianity.com/wiki/heaven-and-hell/what-does-it-mean-that-our-citizenship-is-in-heaven.html

³ Charles Stanley, The Gift of Heaven (Thomas Nelson, 2017).

More on Communication in Marriage

September 29, 2025

By Maria Fontaine

Audio length: 14:38

Download Audio (13.4MB)

In the previous post on this topic, I talked about how marriage is a valuable illustration of many of the principles that encompass what love is, what it often entails to build a loving relationship, and how important it is to have the Lord and your faith as a foundation in your marriage. I also included Bible verses on the subject.

In this post I will share some more tips that may be helpful in strengthening your marriage relationship, as well as some personal lessons that Peter and I have learned in our marriage.

I pray that the Holy Spirit will help you to find ways to apply these tips to continue to strengthen your marriage or other relationships in your life, including your friendships, your familial ties, and your all-important relationship with Jesus.

A personal example

I remember at one point, for a short span of time, when I would ask Peter a question, he would sometimes respond rather impatiently, which was unlike him. It took some effort for me not to react negatively. It felt like I was being misjudged or that he felt I was doing something intentionally that was bothering him.

Especially when you wonder if it’s your fault, it can be difficult to broach the subject because it’s unpleasant to have something negative pointed out about yourself and it can seem easier to just not say anything. However, when I prayed about it, the Lord reminded me how important communication is, whatever the problem. So I decided I’d have to ask him about it.

I said something like, “It feels as though when I ask you things recently that I’m trying your patience. Have I done something wrong?”

He quickly replied, “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. I know I have been impatient. I just don’t know why. It’s nothing you have done, and I really feel bad about being this way.”

That cleared the air for us both, and we were able to pray that we could find out what was causing the problem and how we could remedy it. The Lord indicated that it could be due to some medicine that had been prescribed after one of Peter’s surgeries. When we described what was happening to the doctor, he prescribed a different medicine that did not have the same potential side effects, and the problem was resolved.

If I hadn’t asked Peter about this, it might have continued to happen and might have gotten even worse. But open communication enabled us to search for a solution.

We have to be willing to ask awkward or uncomfortable questions sometimes; that’s an important aspect of building a healthy relationship. Even if we think that a problem is something that we have caused, we need to get that out in the open so we can do something about it.

It’s amazing how taking the humble seat and apologizing, even if we don’t think a problem is our fault or at least not entirely, can often break down walls, remove friction, and open the door to meaningful communication.

There are so many factors in all our busy lives that can cause stress or impatience or feeling destabilized. It’s also important to remember that a change in a person’s health or job or a death in the family or a time of being housebound—almost any significant change in your life—can potentially impact your emotions.

We’re all vulnerable at times and we need each other to help us regain our balance. It’s important that we work together to find the root of any problem.

Your first reaction shouldn’t be to assume that negative comments are intentionally directed at you, because in most cases they’re the result of a combination of many factors, some of which may have little or nothing to do with you. There will be times when something is your fault, and if you realize that it is, then be open and honest about it, apologize, and do what you can to remedy the situation. Your honesty and desire to improve things can help your spouse to do the same when they are faced with something they need to address.

A good rule of thumb is to never assume things about your spouse, because in doing so, you are judging them and you’re more likely to be wrong than right. The Lord has made you a team, and He wants you to help each other through the hard times.

The importance of courtesy

Courtesy, doing those many big and little things that show thoughtfulness and consideration for your spouse on an ongoing basis, is a powerful, tangible proof of your love for them. Making courtesy a consistent part of your marriage shows that you value your spouse. To feel valued is a great need in all of us, and when it comes from someone who means a lot to us, it is even more meaningful.

Marriage counselors often tell you to remember those “courting” days when you showed a lot of courtesy to each other. Perhaps as a man you held the restaurant or car door open or pulled out the chair for your wife to sit down. Or, as a woman, you went out of your way to make yourself look extra nice or you took the time to prepare something special for your husband to show that you cared about him.

You may have said thank you to each other frequently to let the other know that you appreciated the other’s efforts. You might have gone out of your way to show interest in what your spouse had to say.

Author Gary Chapman made an insightful statement about courtesy in his book Love as a Way of Life: Seven Keys to Transforming Every Aspect of Your Life. He said, “Just as leaks in a dam reflect the potential of larger problems, giving up on courtesy in marriage reflects the bigger issue of not valuing each other.”

The wonderful thing is that the habit of courtesy can be resurrected, and there are things that both of you can do together to restore those courtesies.

What about holding an umbrella over you both?
What about greeting your spouse at the door when he or she comes home?
How about cleaning your extra stuff off the bathroom counter? (And doing this even if your spouse doesn’t seem to notice.)
Even if in your relationship you’ve assigned different jobs for each person, what about changing that from time to time? You can do the unexpected or what’s not “required.” For example, you might voluntarily carry the plates to the sink after supper and join in on washing them, just because it means a little extra time together.
How often do you pause to look at your spouse and see something good that you can comment on?
When your eyes meet, smile!
Tell your spouse something nice you said to someone about them.
When you introduce your spouse, say something nice about your spouse to show the person you’re meeting that you value the one you’re married to.
The man can walk on the street side of the sidewalk to protect his wife.
Take time to do something to make the daily routines that you share special. You might sometimes set the table with lit candles or bring home a bouquet of flowers every so often.
Don’t forget to hug and say, “I love you.”

Even if your spouse doesn’t seem to notice or doesn’t have a positive reaction, remember that you’re not just doing these courtesies for your spouse. You’re doing them to honor Jesus, and to show His love and to serve one another in love.

No one is perfect, and we all need forgiveness and patience as we learn and grow in our relationships. Remembering that we all have flaws and faults and that we all need forgiveness can help us work together in humility and love.

Many times, we notice good things that our spouse does, but in our rushed and busy lives, we forget to acknowledge them in a meaningful way. Someone said, “Courtesy isn’t a luxury in marriage—it’s a necessity.” Courtesy—including saying thank you often—demonstrates how much you value your spouse.

There are many ways you can say thank you to your spouse. You can make your own list, but some of the things Peter and I say to one another are:

“Thank you for putting up with me.”

I often tell him, “Thank you for cooking such a delicious meal. And, not only that, for washing the dishes afterwards.” (He says that he can do it so much faster than I can, which is true, but I think his motives are more because he loves me.)

He thanks me for making the bed.

We always agree on the “Thank you for marrying me.” There’s no question about that.

We both have worked to develop the habit of having those “thank-yous” right at the tip of our tongues. We might tell each other, “Thank you for smiling at me.” I often tell him he has such twinkly eyes.

Another thing that I frequently tell him is “Thank you for listening.” He’s a tremendous listener, and he doesn’t interrupt when I’m struggling to express something clearly, and that really does help me to feel valued.

We often thank each other for choosing to do what’s right, like giving to people who are in need, even when we feel the pinch, just like I see so many of you, dear ones, giving to others who need it even to your own hurt.

We each thank the other for praying for us, and we say, “Thank you for loving me.” Not only do we say thank you to each other, but we say thank you to Jesus most of all for how He brought us together and how He helps us to love Him and love each other.

Marriage can provide love, care, companionship, the satisfaction of knowing that you are valued and needed, the joy of loving and being loved, and the beauty of serving one another in love and loving the Lord together.

Marriage has its ups and downs, and there may be situations when a marriage might not be lifelong for some reason, but it is an opportunity to learn and to enrich your life and that of your spouse. It can help you to understand what love is about on a personal level.

* * *

God blesses unity in all kinds of relationships—friendships, marriage, parents and children, and our coming together before the Lord. Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). When our bonds of love are intertwined with His Spirit, it is a powerful bond indeed.

Here are a few more Bible verses to consider in relation to your marriage.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. And a cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:9–12).

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34).

“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves” (Romans 12:10).

“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8).

“And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:14–17).

Originally published September 2022. Adapted and republished September 2025. Read by Debra Lee.

Why the Bible

David Brandt Berg

2018-10-08

The Bible is well known and a well-recognized authority. Most people have at least heard about it, and a lot of people respect it, and millions of people believe in it. If you can quote the Bible to people, or if you can find the verses you are quoting or the proof in the Bible and show it to them, a lot of people will believe it.

Even for the people who may not believe it, God’s Word is powerful just the same and very convicting. “Sharper than any two-edged sword,” full of the power of the Spirit and very convincing.¹ I’ve used the Bible with a lot of people who didn’t believe in God or the Bible at all, but it sank in and it drove home.

A lot of people will accept what you say if you can show it to them in the Bible, that the Bible says so. They’ll believe it, or at least they’ll respect it, or they’ll stop and think about it and it will impress them in some way. So it’s important to at least be able to find the verses that you want to show people when you’re witnessing.

Most people have heard about the Bible, and a lot of people claim to even believe in the Bible. But we have found that most people, though they have heard about it, know about it, and believe in it, don’t know it. A lot of people know about Jesus, but they don’t know Him.

Fulfilled prophecies

God wrote the 66 books of the Bible through about 40 men who were yielded to His Holy Spirit. As Peter said, “The prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”²

The countless fulfilled prophecies contained in its books are the greatest proof that the Bible is the Word of God. Some outstanding examples of fulfilled prophecy are seen in the Old Testament predictions about the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. There are approximately 300 such predictions, all written four to five centuries before His birth. Micah 5:2, Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6 foretold that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem of a virgin and was to be called “the Prince of Peace,” who had been in existence “from everlasting.” His betrayal by Judas is seen in Zechariah 11:12–13 for “thirty pieces of silver,” His crucifixion in Psalms 22:16,18 (“pierced my hands and my feet”), and His resurrection in Psalm 16:10 (“will not leave my soul in hell”).

These prophecies, of course, are merely a few of the literally thousands of fulfilled prophecies about empires, individuals, and world events which the biblical prophets have predicted with unerring accuracy and which prove beyond a shadow of a doubt the Bible’s divine authorship. As Jesus said of His own prophecies, “These things have I spoken to you … before it come to pass, that when it is come to pass, ye might believe.”³

God’s plan

The Bible is God’s plan for eternal life, that gives genuine and eternal immortality through the resurrection, to everlasting heavenly bliss with God. The Bible is the greatest book in the world, with the only author in the world who can guarantee life and love and happiness and heaven forever.

Whether people accept and believe in its teachings or not, it cannot be denied that the Bible is the most remarkable, amazing, and absolutely unique book that has ever been written.

If people have an open mind and are sincerely searching for the truth, they will discover that the Bible is not merely some religious book, but it is the most amazing, marvelous book in the whole world, which has the answers to everything: where we came from, how we got here, why we’re here, how to survive and be happy while here, and how to love and have happiness forever.

Let’s consider the following seven facts that set it apart as a unique volume:

The Bible is unique in its continuity. It was written over a 1,500-year time span by over 40 authors from every walk of life, including kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, shepherds, soldiers, poets, statesmen, scholars, etc. Nevertheless, from beginning to end, its authors spoke on hundreds of controversial subjects with harmony and continuity, outlining one unfolding story: God’s love and purpose for humanity.
The Bible has been read by more people than any other book. It has outsold every book that has ever been written, and it still sells more copies every year than any other book in the world.
The Bible has been translated and published in more languages than any other book in existence. As far back as 1966 the whole Bible had appeared in 240 languages and dialects, and one or more of its books appeared in 739 additional ones.
The Bible, compared with all other ancient writings, has more manuscript evidence than any ten pieces of classical literature combined. Although originally written on perishable materials, having to be recopied by hand for thousands of years before the invention of the printing press, its style, correctness and accuracy has been preserved as has no other book in history. The Jews had special classes of scholars within their culture whose sole duty was to preserve and transmit the books of the Bible with perfect accuracy, counting the very consonants, vowels, syllables and words per manuscript as a means of double-checking. Thousands of ancient manuscripts in the original languages have been unearthed which prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the Scriptures have come down through the ages to us as they were originally written.
The Bible has withstood vicious attacks as has no other book. Many have tried to burn it, destroy it, and outlaw it, from the days of the Roman emperors to some present-day countries. Its very existence today and the fact that its teachings and truths have been preserved despite the countless campaigns and tirades against it is in and of itself miraculous.
Discovery after discovery by modern archaeologists has confirmed the Bible’s accuracy and has proven it to be a source of history. Archaeologists following Old Testament references have rediscovered whole nations.
The Bible is the only volume ever produced which contains a large number of prophecies accurately predicting the future of individual nations, peoples, cities, and the coming of one who was to be the Messiah. The Bible is full of countless detailed, specific prophecies that have been miraculously fulfilled—except, of course, those yet to be fulfilled.

What an amazing and remarkable book! Yet so many people today ignore the Bible completely. Time and time again we talk to people who have read hundreds and hundreds of books, yet have never even cracked open the Bible, the most fascinating book in the world!—In which you can find drama, love, hate, peace, war, romance, poetry, prophecy, history, mystery, etc. Just think about it: words of wisdom from thousands of years ago, from the days before Moses! It’s such an important book, and one of the oldest books in the world, yet a lot of people don’t even bother to read it. In doing so, they neglect the very words of life.

One of the greatest proofs that the Bible really is the Word of God Himself is that it works! Each of us is on a long journey, and if you’ll take the Bible and simply read it, believe it, and follow it, you will be on the right path and wind up at the right place. It’s the greatest, most enduring, wisest, most truthful book in the world—an absolutely inexhaustible source of wisdom and knowledge, out of which we can constantly find “treasures new and old.”⁴

Of course, the most wonderful thing about the Bible is that, through its words, we can get to know its author. The Bible is God’s great love letter to us. Its life-giving words make it the greatest book in the world, with the only author in the world that can guarantee life and love and happiness and heaven forever through believing in its main character, the one who loved us so much that He gave His own life to save us—Jesus Christ, the Son of God. All the wonderful things written about Jesus in the Bible can and do happen today too, for “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever.”⁵

So as you read the Bible, sincerely pray, “Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy [Word].”⁶ As you read the wonderful words of Jesus in the Gospels—not as fairy tales of the past, but as God’s Word for today—you will see how inspiring, uplifting, and encouraging the truth of the Word of God truly is, and you will discover the spiritual depths of the love of God and His salvation plan for mankind.

Compiled from the writings of David Brandt Berg. Adapted and republished October 2018. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.

¹ Hebrews 4:12.

² 2 Peter 1:21.

³ John 14:29.

⁴ Matthew 13:52.

⁵ Hebrews 13:8.

⁶ Psalm 119:18.

01 – Laboring to Enter into His Rest

Resting in the Lord, Part 1

Words from Jesus

2006-05-23

Resting in Me is not a new principle, it goes all the way back to when My Father set the seventh day as a rest day, when He instructed the children of Israel in the Ten Commandments to “remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.”¹ This was a safeguard put in place from the beginning, because I knew how important it was to learn to rest—to have a mandatory time when people would set the burdens down that they were carrying.

No matter how light, any burden that you don’t ever set down, anything you carry for too long a time, will wear you down. This is true mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. And for you who are engaged in the spiritual warfare of being My light to the world, one of the only ways to get true respite from the battle and strengthening is by not only resting physically and mentally, but by being recharged spiritually through coming to Me, committing your burdens to Me, and receiving My strength.

As the world grows darker, it’s important for all My children to take the time to set their burdens down, to step away from the challenges and struggles to receive renewed strength from Me. You need to do this physically and spiritually; both are important. Neglecting either form of rest will open the door to problems.

So often you sacrifice your personal needs and time, and while your intentions may be good, you need to learn where to draw the line, realizing that if you don’t take care of your need for physical rest and spiritual recharging, you run the risk of wearing out. The only way to know that you’re going to hold up under the stress or strain you face is by learning to rest in Me, take shelter in Me, and pace yourself. Remember My promise that “the people who know their God shall be strong and do great exploits.”²

Choosing the way of the Spirit

When you set aside time to rest in Me, you’re choosing to strengthen your faith and to activate trust and peace in your heart and life. You’re choosing dependence on Me over anything you can see or do in your own strength. You’re choosing to place all your bets on Me—the author and finisher of your faith—and trust that I am able to keep and strengthen you. You’re choosing to lean on Me, on My power. You’re resting in Me, trusting in Me, believing in Me.

You can make the choice to refuse to let pressure settle on your spirit. You can resist the temptation to start moving things faster and faster, and instead commit them to Me and ask Me to help you to find the right pace and stride. You can consciously slow things down, give yourself more time, and then use that extra time to commit things to Me, rather than trying to sort them out yourself. In stopping to rest in Me, you find your strength. But it takes you coming to Me, that you stop all feverish activity and rest in Me, putting all else aside.

Resting in Me also means leaning fully on Me as you go about your work, putting your full weight down on Me. Resting in Me is casting your burdens and your cares on Me. It’s not always a “full stop”; it’s also going ahead—but the difference is that you are going ahead in faith, with the quiet confidence and assurance that comes from resting in Me.

While you are resting in Me, you are receiving My signals, being recharged and energized with My power. Resting in Me is constant renewal. It’s putting yourself in a position where I am the wind beneath your wings, and because of this, you feel confident. You are secure in Me because you know that I am with you and will keep you from falling.

Overcoming stress

I will always give you what you need as you enter new situations and face new challenges and you need more strength, even at times when the struggles you face go far beyond anything you can manage yourself. You may face times where you feel that you are on the brink of collapse and are barely hanging on, trying to keep from falling, and you realize you are unable to rely on your own strength.

Do you feel like the mountains of work you see before you are never going to go away? Do you feel like the heartbreaks, the despair, and frustration are making your whole life seem useless? Or like in the final analysis all you did can still never outweigh all you neglected to do?

It is in stopping to rest in Me that you find your strength, and it is in resting so fully in Me that you have submitted your will and have chosen to commit completely in your heart that you gain the faith and peace that will allow you to trust Me for whatever you may face.

Don’t wait till you’re floundering or overwhelmed to rest in Me and commit every care into My hands. When you open your eyes in the morning, place yourself, your mind, and your heart completely in My hands. Ask Me to help you to rest fully in Me throughout the day. Then when pressure begins to build during the day, take a moment to stop and release the pressure by reminding yourself that it’s not your burden, it’s Mine now. Then as we walk together, let Me guide you, and trust Me for the rest.

You can become so addicted to stress that you feel as if you’ll collapse if you don’t keep driving yourself. And you will collapse, if you don’t learn to commit your cares to Me and rest in Me. If you are feeling stressed, if the pressure is causing you to feel the warning signs of irritability, despair, or frustration, it is time to stop, take a moment, cast your cares on Me, and rest in Me.

It’s one thing to feel very tired at the end of the day, but if that tiredness is mixed with anxiety, frustration, negativity, or a sense of pressure that shrouds the joy of My Spirit, and you don’t have a peace and inner joy of knowing you are fulfilling My will, it is time to come to Me so that I may give you rest. You may be doing a great work, but it may crumble and collapse unless I am the mortar that is holding it together. The sand of your own works isn’t going to last.

Come to Me. Simply place yourself in My hands and ask Me to give you My peace, and My strength to do what I want you to do—not what you think you need to do and think you need more strength for, but what I want you to do. Determine that your life is now blended with Mine, and ask that My will be done in your life.

Originally published October 2006. Adapted and republished May 2019.
Read by Simon Peterson. Music by John Listen.

¹ Genesis 2:2–3; Exodus 20:8.

² Daniel 11:32.

Who God Says You Are

September 26, 2025

By J. John Hitchcock

Speaking to an enthusiastic crowd of two thousand women, J. John uses his trademark humor and compelling stories to convey four traits that God sees in each of us: We are lovable, we are valuable, we are forgiven, and we are capable.

Run time for this video is 35 minutes. The talk ends at the 24-minute mark, followed by a time of prayer—for salvation and for healing.

https://youtu.be/PrKBQ-ohQZ0?si=1KWCJ6xYP2w52z0G

The Presence of Peace in Our Lives

September 25, 2025

By Peter Amsterdam

Audio length: 12:55

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Peace, one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, is rooted in our being in right relationship with God, which is possible because of His gift of salvation. ¹ Peace is also the outworking of our trust in God and our confidence in His love for us.

The Hebrew word for peace used in the Old Testament, shalom, along with its New Testament Greek equivalent, eirene, had a fuller meaning than the standard definition of peace in modern-day English. In addition to meaning tranquility, a state of exemption from the havoc of war, and the absence of anxiety or stress, these Hebrew and Greek words convey the concept of being whole or sound, completeness, safety, health, and prosperity.

Throughout the New Testament, God is referred to as the God of peace (Romans 16:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:23). Peace as spoken of in Scripture is expressed from three angles: peace with God, peace within ourselves, and peace with other people—all of which complement one another and contribute to the manifestation of the fruit of peace in our life.

Peace with God

The salvation we have in Jesus has repaired the breach between God and us that was caused by our sins, so that we are reconciled with the Father. “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

This peace has brought us back into relationship with God which was lost due to sin. It is because of this reconciliation that we can have wholeness and completeness; the peace of heart, mind, and spirit of shalom. Jesus is the pathway to this kind of peace.

A firm trust that God has forgiven us and that we are reconciled with Him, coupled with our knowledge that God loves and cares about us, gives us the true sense of full peace spoken of throughout Scripture. “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3). “Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble” (Psalm 119:165).

The foundation of true peace is God’s love for us and the reconciliation He made available through Jesus, and it is because of His gift of salvation that we can put our trust in Him and His promises and live in peace with Him. Salvation is the basis for our peace with God, which makes peace within ourselves and peace with others possible.

Peace within ourselves

We tend to feel at peace when things are going well; when we’re healthy, doing well financially, and not facing any major challenges. But biblical peace goes far beyond the peace we experience when everything is running smoothly. True peace transcends circumstances, and it’s a steadying anchor even in turbulent waters. It has to do with God’s presence with us, with living in His kingdom, letting Him reign in our lives, and trusting that He is our Father who loves us and always has our best interests at heart.

While we may have peace with God through salvation, this doesn’t necessarily mean we have the peace of God in our lives. Sometimes it’s more natural for us to go to the Lord when something major happens, whereas we forget to do so with petty and reoccurring everyday difficulties. Often we are robbed of peace because we worry and fret over fairly minor events or challenges. We try to deal with them ourselves instead of bringing them before the Lord and casting our burdens upon Him in faith and trust that He is with us and cares for us.

It’s interesting that Jesus spoke to His disciples about peace the night before His crucifixion. In John 16, He spoke to them about the sorrow, trials, and tribulation they would face, but also of the peace they would have in Him. “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world”(John 16:33).

These two promises that Jesus made to His disciples hold true for us as well. First, He says that we will face difficulties in our lives. The difficulties we encounter can rob us of joy and peace by bringing uncertainty. We don’t know what the outcomes will be, so we worry, become anxious, apprehensive, and fearful. Second, Jesus promised that we could have peace in Him.

We are to take heart in times of difficulty and uncertainty, because Jesus has overcome the world. This awareness brings us peace, as we put our trust in the Lord. Jesus also said: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27).

The apostle Paul provided a powerful formula for combatting anxiety: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7).

The remedy for worry is to bring our cares to the Lord in prayer and trust that He knows all our troubles and that He loves us. We are not promised that when we bring our concerns to the Lord we will always be delivered from them, but we are promised that peace in Jesus is available for us.

Sometimes the reason we don’t find peace in trying times is that we’re unwilling to settle for anything other than full deliverance from a problem. The promise, however, is that we can pray for the resolution of whatever is causing our anxiety, and we can then have that unexplainable peace which allows us to put our well-being into the Lord’s hands and trust that He knows our circumstances and will guard our hearts and minds against anxiety.

While praying for a solution is completely legitimate, often a solution takes time—sometimes a great deal of time—during which we can still find peace because we’ve put these matters into the Lord’s hands. We’ve made our requests known, and having petitioned the Lord for help, we can have His peace.

Peace with others

Throughout the New Testament, there are a number of references to being at peace with others: “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Romans 12:18). “Let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” (Romans 14:19). “Strive for peace with everyone” (Hebrews 12:14).

We are to pursue peace, strive for it, seek it, and do as much as we can to live peaceably with others. Of course, being at peace with others doesn’t only depend on us, which is why Paul said, “so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Sometimes the other party doesn’t want peace, but in such situations, we are called to do what we can to be at peace with them.

As those who seek to live godly lives, who want to be ambassadors for Jesus and to draw others to Him, we are called to strive for peace with everyone.

Having peace in our lives

When we have Jesus in our lives, we follow His Word; and following His Word, living in alignment with what Scripture tells us about how to live, gives us peace. The byproduct of living in conjunction with God’s Word is a life blessed with wholeness, contentment, security, and peace of mind.

We’re told in the Bible that “blessed are those who keep my ways” (Proverbs 8:32). When we make God’s Word the foundation of our lives; when we look to it for guiding principles for our thoughts, decisions, and actions; when we pattern our lives after what it says, we can experience the peace that comes from God. It’s not as if we will never face difficult problems, or suffer or worry; but when we do, we can still have the peace which comes from knowing and trusting that our Father will make it all right in the end. We may not find the resolutions to some problems in this life, but we can still be at peace knowing that His truth, justice, and love will prevail in the life to come.

We find the path of true and lasting peace in communion with the Lord, abiding in Him, trusting Him, and following Him. Our possessions, relationships with others, finances, or circumstances are not what bring us peace that will endure through the storms of life. Abiding in God, living His Word, and trusting Him for everything is how we find “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).

Living in accordance with God’s Word and peace go together. Having a relationship with the Lord, living His precepts, and walking in His ways result in a soul full of peace, regardless of the challenges and adversities of everyday life—and this is something to be prized above all possessions and relationships.

If we truly value peace, the road we travel will need to be the “path of righteousness” (Proverbs 12:28), of living God’s Word, following its direction, committing to do those things which will enhance the spiritual fruit of peace. Most of all, knowing that our Father loves us and has sacrificed His Son for us is the foundation for the confidence to trust Him with every aspect of our lives, no matter what our circumstances. That confidence is what ultimately gives us lasting peace.

Originally published August 2017. Adapted and republished September 2025. Read by John Laurence.

¹ Points for this article were summarized from The Fitting Room: Putting on the Character of Christ, by Kelly Minter (David C. Cook, 2017), and The Practice of Godliness, by Jerry Bridges (Navpress, 1983).

Do You Struggle to Pray?

September 24, 2025

A Simple Shift That Helped Me

By Vaneetha Risner

Do you pray?

If someone asked you that question, how would you answer? Not, ‘do you believe in prayer’ or do ‘you think prayer is important,’ but—do you actually pray?

I’ve had to wrestle with that question myself.

On the wall in one of our rooms, we have this verse stenciled: “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly” (Psalm 5:3).

I love that verse. I want to live it every day. But if I’m honest, as those of you who have followed this blog know, prayer has always been harder for me than reading the Bible.

I’m grateful that’s changing. And today, I want to share what’s helped me grow in prayer.

(Read the article here.)

https://www.vaneetha.com/journal/do-you-struggle-to-pray

Kindness in Action

September 23, 2025

A compilation

Audio length: 12:00

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Kindness is the characteristic that led God to provide salvation for us (Titus 3:4–5; Romans 2:4; 11:22). Kindness leads God to give us green pastures, quiet waters, and the restoration of our souls when we’re weary (Psalm 23:2–3). It is God’s tender care that makes Him want to gather us under His wings, to protect us and keep us close to Him (Psalm 17:8; 36:7; 61:4; Matthew 23:37).

God expressed kindness when He provided for Elijah and the widow of Zarephath during a drought—and He showed more kindness later when He raised the widow’s only son from the dead (1 Kings 17:8–24). When Sarah exiled Hagar and Ishmael, God gave the outcasts kindness in the form of water and hope (Genesis 21:9–21).

On multiple occasions, kindness induced Jesus to stop what He was doing and help others in need (Mark 6:34; Mark 7:29; Mark 10:46–52). And kindness leads the Good Shepherd to rescue us when we stray (Luke 15:3–7). In kindness He “gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young” (Isaiah 40:11).

When we exhibit the kindness of God, we are tender, benevolent, and useful to others. Every action, every word will have the flavor of grace in it.—Got Questions.org¹

Within one week I met kindness at least four times.

A colleague commented that Plato urged, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

I read that playwright Douglas Jerrold (1803–1857) described a man so kind that “he would have held an umbrella over a duck in a shower of rain.”

Someone remembered a sermon in which I had said, “Perhaps the most important thing to look for in a potential spouse is kindness.”

And in The New World, a film about the Native American princess Pocahontas, she asks John Rolfe, “Are you kind?”

Human kindness is a dim reflection of God’s kindness. In a lengthy discourse on our sin and God’s wrath, Paul wrote, “Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness … not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”

We have lost hard battles with sin. But Christ’s umbrella is cross-shaped, protecting us from a deluge of God’s just wrath. God, our Father, is kind beyond measure. Why? “In order that … he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”

Jesus, thank you for holding the umbrella of your grace over us. Thank you for your everlasting kindness and faithfulness. In your name we hope. Amen.—Dale Vander Veen²

“Solomon said, ‘You were extravagantly generous in love with David my father, and he lived faithfully in your presence, his relationships were just and his heart right. And you have persisted in this great and generous love’” (1 Kings 3:6).

God is a specialist in kindness, or in what Solomon here calls “great and generous love.” Kindness is one of the most beautiful virtues. Kindness can be defined as the act of showing someone gentle consideration and generous love when they are too poor or lost to do anything for themselves. It can be understood as an attitude of heart that accepts and honors others even when they are in a mess, sometimes of their own making.

Seen in that light, God truly is kind. He continually turns His face towards us and shows us love that we haven’t deserved and do not deserve. He constantly honors us even when we have wandered far from Him and, like the prodigal son, come home with nothing but our shame.

God is the kindest Father in the universe. He continued to show kindness to King David, Solomon’s father, even though he made mistakes. He continues to show kindness to us, too. Pray for more of this kindness today. It is the most life-changing quality in the universe.

“Do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4).—God’s Word for Every Need

None of her friends or family understands why she has done it, and most of them would like to shake her out of her foolishness. Their objections make sense. After all, May is in her mid-forties and has been living alone ever since her daughter moved out. May is also in debt. And yet, here she is, raising her ex-husband’s child by another woman.

May married early and was divorced by her early twenties, but even before that, she had been raising her first child alone, as her ex-husband had a drug addiction and spent as much time in prison as out.

Then twenty-some years later, he reappeared out of the blue and asked for a favor. He had fathered a new baby with another woman, and he wanted May to arrange for the baby to be taken into an orphanage before he went to jail again. Little Joline had been abandoned by her mother, and it seemed she was destined for a childhood spent in an institution.

Instead of that, May arranged to keep the baby and has been raising her for the past five years. It hasn’t been easy. May is working hard to make ends meet, and Joline is a handful. But May is undeterred.

“People have been telling me what a big burden Joline is, and how she isn’t worth the sacrifices I make to look after her. But no one ever asks me how I feel or really listens to why I’m doing this.

“After my last failed relationship, I felt I had lost everything to live for and that I’d never have a normal family. But when I first saw Joline’s smile and felt her little hand clasp one of my fingers, I knew then that there was someone who loved me and needed me. Joline is not a burden, she’s my source of love and joy.”

Just then, Joline came over and placed her arms around May’s neck and kissed her cheeks. “I love you, Mommy. You’re the best in the world!” May’s face lit up as the proud mother she is.

It dawned on me then. May was right, even though others had misjudged her. Rather than letting life’s misfortunes and struggles drag her into a spiral of self-pity, she had chosen to focus on kindness and giving what she still had. And in doing so, she also found the happiness that had been eluding her.—Renee Chang³

Ephesians 6:18, “Always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people!”

Intercessory prayer is a vital and powerful spiritual practice. It is an essential part of the Christian life, modeled throughout Scripture as an act of love and compassion towards others, and obedience to God.

This selfless act of praying for other believers reflects the compassionate heart of Christ, who constantly intercedes for His redeemed people. This sacred duty of intercessory prayer is a tangible way for believers to demonstrate Christlike love, and to bear one another’s burdens.

Intercession is perhaps the greatest way we can help other Christians. Let us never be slack in it.

Earnest intercession will be sure to bring love with it. I do not believe you can hate a man for whom you habitually pray. If you dislike any fellow Christian, pray for him doubly, not only for his sake, but for your own, that you may be cured of all unkind feelings.

Love is the cement on which the living stones of the church should be laid, if they are to be united together. I ascribe lack of brotherly love to the decline of intercessory prayer. Pray for one another earnestly, habitually and fervently—and you will knit your hearts together in love.

Dear brethren, when you pray for one another, not only will your sympathy and love grow, but you will have kinder judgments concerning one another. Prayer is a wondrous blender of hearts, and a mighty creator of love.

I urge you, my brethren, if there is any member of this church who has treated you unkindly—then revenge yourself upon him by praying for him more constantly and more earnestly.

Intercessory prayer is one of the holiest, and most heavenly exercises in which a devout man can possibly be occupied.

Oh, let us be done with murmurings and complainings, criticisms and fault-finding, and take the whole of it up to the mercy-seat. If half the breath that is vainly spent in censorious complaints were turned into intercession, there would be much more holiness in the church!

For myself personally, I say that no man can do me a truer kindness than to pray for me.—Charles Spurgeon⁴

Published on Anchor September 2025. Read by Jon Marc. Music by John Listen.

¹ “The Fruit of the Holy Spirit – What is kindness?” GotQuestions.org, https://www.gotquestions.org/fruit-Holy-Spirit-kindness.html

² Dale Vander Veen, “Thinking About God’s Kindness,” TodayDevotional.com, March 19, 2012, https://todaydevotional.com/devotions/thinking-about-gods-kindness-2012-03-19

³ Renee Chang, “A Mother’s Choice,” Activated, July 2013, https://www.activated.org/en/relationships/love-for-others/growing-in-love/a-mothers-choice/

⁴ Charles Spurgeon, GraceGems.org, https://www.gracegems.org/2024/spurgeon_no_man_can_do_me_a_true.htm

The Secret Place—Renewing Your Mind

September 22, 2025

By Virginia Brandt Berg

Audio length: 8:30

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We go today into the inner chamber of prayer, which is the secret place where we meet God alone in fellowship and meditation. Let’s review Matthew 6:6: “But when you pray, go into your most private room, and closing the door, pray to your Father, Who is in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open.”

Let’s also think about Romans 12:1–2: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

So, we have here this little jewel, “the renewing of your mind.” There is no place where the mind can be so fully renewed as in the secret place of prayer alone with God. When we come aside from temporal things that distract us, and there in the presence of God we put our mind on the things of God, His majesty, His glory, His transforming power then begins to work in us and we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.

This is vital, because it’s in the mind that sin is first conceived and that doubts are first brought about. The Devil attacks us first in our thoughts. You have surely found, as I have, that in the hard places of trial, we are tempted to entertain discouraging thoughts, and the one that has not learned this secret of renewing the mind will, as God’s Word says, soon faint in his mind.

In Hebrews 12:3 we find these words: “For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your mind.” That is the secret! Our mind is where we first faint and become discouraged. It’s no use to talk victory and use a lot of cheerful, bright words, but then think thoughts of defeat and discouragement.

We can, by an act of our will, take our mind off such thoughts and instead think on the Lord and His truth and His Word. It’s so vital that we have scriptures memorized so that we can quickly wield the sword of the Spirit when the enemy attacks us. And in doing so, soon you’ll be lifted out of the dark, discouraging thoughts, and you will feel the transforming power of the Lord Jesus Christ renewing your mind. Try it! Keep your mind on Christ.

Uplifting and transforming scriptures and the power that God has promised can give you the victory over doubting thoughts. As you form the habit of thinking according to God’s Word, gradually 2 Corinthians 10:5 will be fulfilled: “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”

Now please note that it’s the word Christ that makes all the difference in this verse. Last year I visited the home of a woman who was deep in the study of science of the mind, and she was constantly struggling to think positive thoughts, but she was always being defeated.

This woman would put on a veneer of control, but inwardly sometimes she was so angry she was boiling. She wasn’t a Christian. And when she gave up her negative thinking, she had nothing to hold on to. She didn’t have Christ to help her, nor the wonderful truth of the Bible to think on.

What an advantage the Christian has over that. Yes, I do believe in positive thinking, but she was exalting her mind above the mind of God. Note this verse again, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

So, there is a science of the mind, but there is no salvation or eternal life in it. God’s Word says there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we can be saved, and in none other is there salvation (Acts 4:12). You’ve got to give people something to hold on to and something very positive to think about. What is more positive than the living Word of the living God?

You’ll never know God’s will for your life unless you are transformed—I might say by the controlling of your mind, but God’s Word says here the renewing of your mind. John Brown said, “We need someone to write a book about the lost art of thinking.” Many people go through life without ever getting alone and probing the resources of their minds, much less getting the mind of God, which can never be accomplished in the turmoil of the world.

Never can you find the mind of God on the streets or in your social life or in the hobby shop. Getting hold of God must be done where there are no distractions; that’s why He says to go into your most secret place—or your closet, as it says in some translations of the Bible. This must be deliberately planned; it cannot be done in leftover moments of time.

The great giants of faith all through the ages deliberately shut themselves off from everything for a while, alone with God, until faith came into a white-hot focus, and they got through to victory. David said, “Thy testimonies are my meditation” (Psalm 119:99). And 2 Corinthians 11:3 tells us, “But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”

In closing, let’s remember what the psalmist said: “I hate vain thoughts, but thy law do I love” (Psalm 119:113).

At first it isn’t easy to deliberately, by an act of the will, put your mind on God, His love, His truth. But gradually as you yield to Him, then by the Spirit—the principle of repetition—your thoughts will be brought into captivity to Christ. And remember, it’s Christ that counts, not just some system of thinking, and not some science of the mind, but Jesus Christ and His truth. God never asks us to do what we cannot do.

This is His Word, and His Word is true. He has never failed in one of all His good promises. God cannot lie. His Word stands unchanging, everlastingly steadfast—the blessed Word of God. It is so because God said so. Remember, He’s still on the throne, and prayer changes things.

From a transcript of a Meditation Moments broadcast, adapted. Published on Anchor September 2025. Read by Lenore Welsh.

05 The Great Tribulation

Book of the Future, Part 5 (part2)

The church in Tribulation

Back in the last century, some Christians decided that they shouldn’t have to go through the Tribulation. They developed a theory, the “pre-Tribulation Rapture” doctrine, which gained wide acceptance with many Christians. The adherents of this doctrine believe that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to resurrect and rapture His church will occur before the 3½ years of the Great Tribulation.

They believe the Lord will rapture them before the Tribulation and before they have to do any suffering for their faith, before they have to be tested for their testimony, before they have to really be tried in order to triumph. They hope to be wafted off into heavenly places, out of their comfortably cushioned pews and lovely church buildings, right on up into the heavenlies.

I’m afraid this is a false doctrine—the Bible says just the opposite. Jesus Himself, when speaking of His second coming, said, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all of the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:29–31). Jesus is coming to rapture or “gather together” His “elect”—which means all of His saved, set-apart children who have received Him into their hearts—immediately after the Great Tribulation period. (Part seven of this book will cover the Second Coming of Christ and the Rapture and Resurrection in much greater detail.)

Let’s look at other scriptures describing this Great Tribulation period and the “dragon’s” persecution of the church through the Antichrist: “I beheld, and the same horn”—the “little horn” of Daniel 7, the Antichrist—“made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of Days came”—Jesus Christ in His Second Coming. “And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”—The 3½ years of Great Tribulation (Daniel 7:21–22, 25).

“And his”—the Antichrist’s—“power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished” (Daniel 8:24; 12:7). The temporal power of God’s church on earth is going to be destroyed before Jesus comes. The Lord is going to allow the Devil, in the person of the Antichrist, to destroy the temporal power of the church and to destroy all the strength and the riches and the wealth of Christendom throughout the world.

God is going to turn the world over to the Devil for a while, and he is even going to have power over the saints and overcome them. “And there was given unto him”—the Antichrist—“a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations” (Revelation 13:5, 7).

Therefore, contrary to Pre-Tribulation Rapture doctrine, the church, the saints, the Christians, the people of God, are certainly going to be here during the Tribulation. The Lord will protect and keep them through it, because He needs a witness, lots of witnesses, to tell the world what’s happening.

“More than conquerors through Him that loved us” (Romans 8:37)

Even though the Antichrist will be allowed to overcome God’s children physically, obviously destroying the organized temporal power of the church, he will not and cannot overcome them spiritually. The Lord says, “And they”—the church—“overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Revelation 12:11). This time may well be the greatest outpouring of the power of the Spirit, resulting in the greatest witnessing the church has ever done.

I believe this will be a time of greater power even than the early church, greater manifestations, mightier works, mightier witnessing than has ever been done before. The gospel is going to be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations (Matthew 24:14). “Where iniquity doth abound, grace doth much more abound” (Romans 5:20). In the world’s darkest hour of greatest iniquity, even then His followers are going to miraculously witness and shine brighter than ever before. “For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee” (Isaiah 60:2).

“And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he”—the Antichrist—“corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits” (Daniel 11:32). The people who really know the Lord are going to be strong—in spite of the Antichrist, in spite of the image of the Beast, in spite of all their persecution. The worse things get, the more God’s Spirit is going to be poured out from on high to help His children withstand the dark evil forces that will be warring against them.

“And they that understand among the people shall instruct many” (Daniel 11:33). Our major job as Christians will be to stand up as God’s witnesses before the world to explain to them what’s happening and to lead and to encourage God’s children till the very end. There are going to be so many people seeking instruction, information, as they cried unto the apostles of old, “What shall we do to be saved?” (Acts 2:37; 16:30).

People are going to be more desperate than ever then, just as they are now in times of personal trial and emergency and catastrophe and illness and accidents. People are going to need salvation and need the good news. There’s going to be a great harvest of souls won to His kingdom in that last hour of earth’s history, a great harvest of souls that His followers are going to help reap.

“And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed” (Daniel 11:35). What is the Tribulation for? To test the believers, to try, purge, purify them, and make them white—to prepare a Bride fit for her Bridegroom and for His Coming. “Even to the time of the end.” It goes right up to the time of the very end, when Jesus comes and catches away His Bride.

It costs something to witness, and in that day it is definitely going to cost some their lives. The Antichrist is going to try to wipe out the believers because they’ll be telling the truth and exposing him. They’re going to be “instructing many,” warning them of who he really is. He pretends to be the messiah, the savior of the world, but we’ll be telling the world that he is the Antichrist, the Devil in the flesh. We’ll say, “Don’t take the Mark of the Beast; you’ll go to hell. Don’t take the 666. Don’t become a part of his kingdom. Don’t be one of his subjects. Don’t fall down and worship him.”

So God is going to test the church’s faith, to see if they have real faith, if they really do believe and if they’re really going to be willing to witness for Him before others. Or are they going to be ashamed of Him and try to save their lives by not witnessing? He’s going to purge and refine with fire, He says, to make them white (Daniel 11:33–35)—to try them, to test their faith and to see if they’re really willing to die for Jesus.

But there will be lots of victories and wonderful witnessing and lots of souls won, and you won’t even mind dying. After all, when you die in His service, that’s your graduation, your promotion. So even if they kill you, you can be thankful to get out of that Tribulation. And even if it’s painful, it’ll only be for a moment. The Lord will never let it be unbearable—He’ll take you first (1 Corinthians 10:13). Down through history the martyrs have died singing in the fire, praising God—joyful deaths.

Whether we live or whether we die as martyrs for Jesus, “laying down our lives for our friends” (John 15:13), we live and die for the Lord and for love and for others. And there will be Christians doing so till the very end of the world, witnessing for Jesus till He comes. For according to what His Word says, there will be some of us here right up to the bitter end, enough of us to be raptured and enough to have some witnesses still going strong.

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: And the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). Multitudes are going to survive right until the very coming of the Lord, otherwise there wouldn’t be anybody left to rapture. So there are going to be many people still functioning for the Lord and surviving and living by faith and preaching the gospel, without the Antichrist and his damned Mark of the Beast.

God is going to protect His children supernaturally, miraculously, powerfully, in many ways, and the message will get out all the more in spite of everything they try to do. They are going to be the worst days the world has ever suffered and it’s going to be the worst time the people of faith have ever endured, of persecution and suppression and death. But some will survive. The Lord has promised supernatural protection.

God Himself will defend His people during those very last days with mighty signs and wonders, and even monsters and plagues that will afflict His enemies in their defense. In Revelation chapters 8 and 9 where we’re told about the terrible trumpets of Tribulation and the mighty judgments, we read about some horrible monsters released from “the bottomless pit,” sent by God to torment the ungodly, the wicked, the unsaved, because He gives them a strict command not to hurt those which have the seal of God in their forehead. He says, “Hurt not any green thing, neither any tree, but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads” (Revelation 9:4).

During this Tribulation period when the Antichrist and his followers are attacking the followers of Jesus Christ, God is going to let loose pestilences and plagues to attack the people of the Devil, the kingdom of Satan and the wicked. They’ll have so much on their hands defending themselves that they won’t have much time to persecute His followers. As His Word has said, “It is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you” (2 Thessalonians 1:6).

Don’t fear the Tribulation if you love the Lord. Don’t worry about that 3½ years of Tribulation. The Lord is going to give His men and women, His prophets, prophetesses, and witnesses supernatural, miraculous powers to defend themselves and even to attack the forces of the Enemy, to enable them to survive and continue witnessing until the Lord returns. Revelation 11 says that the Antichrist forces won’t be able to do anything against God’s final witnesses until the very end, because His witnesses will have power to bring curses and plagues upon the wicked and to actually call down fire from God to devour their enemies. What a picture of mighty men and women of God fighting victorious battles against the demons of hell!

There will be nothing the Antichrist can do against them, nothing he can do to stop them until just 3½ days before the Lord comes. Then he will finally be allowed to kill them, that the cup of the iniquity of the wicked may be filled. While they’re actually rejoicing over their death, suddenly the Lord will return in power and great glory and will resurrect and rapture them—a mighty triumph, showing that God even has victory over death.

Those coming Tribulation days are going to be like the last days of Israel in Egypt. Most of the trouble and Tribulation is not going to happen to God’s people; it’s going to happen to the Antichrist and his kingdom and his followers and those who take the Mark of the Beast. Until finally, just as God did in those days when He finally removed His people out of the land of the Egyptians to a place of safety, He’s going to remove His people completely out of this world to heaven in the Resurrection and the Rapture. Then He’s going to wipe out the Antichrist and his kingdom in the final wrath and judgments of God.

It’s going to be a time of great victory and marvelous testimony so that the whole world will hear, and every last person that can possibly be saved is going to be saved. So don’t worry about the Tribulation. It’s not going to be all lopsided, a rampaging victory for the Devil. We’re going to win miraculous victories over him and all of his powers. Don’t think that we’re all just going to be cowering, hunted victims. Most of us are not going to be cowering, but powering in our fight and battle and defense of the gospel right up to the end—with all the forces of heaven on our side, including the curses and plagues of God.

Although there’s going to be the most hell the world has ever known, there’s also going to be the most heavenly power and defense and help and protection. It’s going to be a time of great victory over the forces of Satan and tremendous triumph over the Antichrist and his kingdom. So thank God we’re on the winning side and we’ve got everything going for us. I’m sure that many are going to survive miraculously, protected supernaturally, to the very end, in spite of persecution and in spite of suppression. God will care for His own right to the end.

When these awesome, apocalyptic, earthshaking events unfold, will you be ready? Will you know what to do? Will you be prepared to survive, and will you know how to help others to do so, as well as continue to worship God and encourage others in the faith during days not unlike those of the catacombs church of martyrs under Roman persecution?

Only those who have the seal of God in their foreheads, His own children, who have Jesus in their hearts, will be hidden and spared by the miracles of God until the Coming of Christ, when they will join Him in the air. The only way out will be up. And the only ones saved will be those who have had the supernatural, regenerative rebirth of the Spirit of God’s love in Jesus, being born again by accepting Him into their hearts. Have you?

Are you ready? Probably not. But you can get ready now by reading, studying, and learning His Word, and giving your time to the Lord, your whole worship, and serve the Lord and love the Lord with all your heart, all your strength, all your mind, everything you’ve got, starting right now—until the very end. May God bless you with His truth and salvation and loving protection and provision forever, throughout eternity.

05 The Great Tribulation

Book of the Future, Part 5 (part1)

Book of the Future

Compiled from the writings of David Brandt Berg

1983-03-28

When the Antichrist reaches the “midst of the week” and tries to wipe out all religions and establish his world religion of self-worship and worship of his idol, this is when he really starts getting into trouble—both with the peoples of the world and the religions of the world and their followers—and he begins having all kinds of wars. He has wars with different areas and nations and peoples, no doubt with those who are the most religious. He has a lot of problems in those last days of his reign, and God Himself will give him a lot of problems, too.

That final 3½ years will be the most difficult, as Jesus Himself said, “Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21). Many will refuse to accept the Mark of the Beast, obey him, or bow down to his image, and as a result many will be killed. It says many shall “fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity and by spoil” (Daniel 11:33). There will be 3½ years of horrible persecution of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc. All religions will be forbidden, banned and persecuted. (See Daniel 11:36–37.)

When he first arises as a great world leader, the whole world thinks he’s great and follows him, except, of course, those who really know God’s Word and will recognize who and what he really is. Millions will believe in the Antichrist and follow him. It even says, “All the world wondered after the beast” (Revelation 13:3). They may all be deceived by him and wonder and wander after him for a while, at least until the middle of his reign, but when he suddenly invades Jerusalem, sets up an idol of himself in the holy place, and sits in the temple of God saying that he is God, at that point, obviously, many millions of people will reject the mark, refuse to worship him and his image, and will rebel against his satanic kingdom, resulting in nothing but trouble from then on according to the Bible.

There will be literally millions who will reject the Mark of the Beast and refuse to fall down and worship his image, and who will, even as nations, rebel against him and fight him, which accounts for some of the wars and turmoil detailed in the book of Daniel. The whole world is not going to be in perfect peace during those last 3½ years, and he’s not going to have absolute control. Many people will rise up and realize that he’s not the right guy and he’s not good for them or the world, that he’s demonic and the worst thing that ever happened to the world, and they’re going to rebel and refuse to follow his orders. They’re going to refuse to take the Mark of the Beast.

In Revelation 12, when Satan was finally cast out of heaven down to earth, “having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time” (Revelation 12:12), what was the first thing he began to do? “And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman”—the Bride of Christ, the church—“and the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:13,17). He’s particularly going to be out to get anyone who loves Jesus and is a part of His Bride.

The Bible says, “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name” (Revelation 14:9–11).

The true Christians, the true believers in God, will not accept that mark. The Bible says that we who love Jesus will already have the invisible mark of God in our foreheads—faith in Jesus Christ. Those who are following the Antichrist, this horrible beast, will have the Mark of the Beast in their foreheads or in their hands as they follow and worship him. But we who love the Lord cannot accept that Mark of the Beast, and we will not. If you love Jesus, you will refuse the Mark of the Beast, because you’ll have God’s mark in your forehead already. (See Revelation 7:2–3; 9:3–4.)

Although the beast commands that no one can buy or sell without the mark and that anyone who refuses to worship his image should be killed, we will refuse. We will refuse both the mark and the worship of the image, and therefore they will try to kill us, and we will not be able to buy or sell food or clothing or shelter or the necessities of life. We will undoubtedly have to flee into the “wilderness” for survival, to prevent our being killed for not worshipping the image of the beast and to survive without being able to buy or sell. But God is going to take care of us.

Just because they tell you to stop worshipping the Lord and to worship the Antichrist, do you have to? Even if they tell you that unless you get his mark, 666, in your forehead or in your hand you can’t buy or sell anymore, you can’t go to the grocery store and buy groceries, and if you’re a farmer you can’t sell your produce, does that mean you have to? No. He only threatens to kill everybody. The Devil’s been trying to kill God’s people for thousands of years, but he’s never succeeded. He’s managed to kill a few, sometimes quite a few, but he’s never managed to kill them all. So he may get a few of us—if he can catch us.

During this Tribulation period, for Christians it will be impossible to survive except by miracles of God and faith and living independent from the system, without its mark and without its approval and benefits, unable to buy or sell. Christians will have to subsist in a survival situation, underground, and do the best they can to survive and continue to witness, much like the early Christians did from the catacombs during the Roman persecutions. The time of suffering and persecution under the Roman Empire during the early days of the church may be similar to what will happen under the coming Antichrist Empire, because Rome was also very anti-Christ.

Of course, if you’re really following the Lord, your very life and your light and your example and your love are a constant witness in themselves and sufficient and all that God may expect of you, until they come to you and ask you why.

(to be continued)