Puritan Thomas Case was arrested in 1651 and spent about six months in the Tower of London. Imprisonment taught him important lessons, and he has wise words about the sanctifying power of suffering, and the duties of obedience even in distress: “There is no condition or trial in the world that does not give a man an opportunity for the exercise of some special grace or the doing of some special duty. This is the work of a Christian in…
Forgiven Much
Her example is meant to provoke us. Her example is a compelling public display of gratefulness for the forgiveness of her many sins. Her example is presented in vivid detail by Luke in his Gospel, in chapter 7:36-50. This woman, whose name we do not know, arrives uninvited at a dinner party. She came for one purpose, known only to her. Probably, no one noticed when she entered the room. But no one could ignore what happened next. No one was prepared…
Help For Those Difficult Thanksgiving Dinner Conversations
Perhaps you anticipate your family gathering this Thanksgiving with something less than gratitude. Like dread. Are you expecting contentious conversations in the wake of the election? Now that the election is over, the prophet Micah can help.
Giving Thanks for What Matters Most
I hope this quotation from J. I. Packer will help you prepare for Thanksgiving: “Appreciate the goodness of God. Count your blessings. Learn not to take natural benefits, endowments and pleasures for granted; learn to thank God for them all. Do not slight the Bible or the gospel of Jesus Christ, by an attitude of casualness toward either. The Bible shows you a Savior who suffered and died in order that we sinners might be reconciled to God; Calvary is…
He Is For Us, and Has Always Been For Us
“That God has planned our redemption from all eternity delivers a declaration louder than any thunderclap. It is that he is for us, that he has always been for us. He was for us in the far reaches of eternity. It was there he took thought of us even before we existed. It was there that he planned to act for us. This plan was there from the very beginning. He planned to do this knowing that once we fell…