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Spreading Joy
When Janet went to teach English in a school overseas, she found the atmosphere gloomy and depressing. People did their jobs, but no one seemed happy. They didn’t help or encourage one another. But Janet, grateful for all that God had done for her, expressed it in everything she did. She smiled. She was friendly. She went out of her way to help people. She hummed songs and hymns.
Little by little, as Janet shared her joy, the atmosphere at the school changed. One by one people began to smile and help each other. When a visiting administrator asked the principal…
An unusual slant to the Christmas story
We all have our favorite Christmas memories, and often it’s a shared story, told from different angles. It’s the same with the various accounts of Jesus’ birth. Each gospel writer tells the same story—but from a different vantage point. Today on Discover the Word, we will discuss an unusual slant to the Christmas narrative. It’s found in the […]
Our Covering
When talking about faith in Jesus, we sometimes use words without understanding or explaining them. One of those words is righteous. We say that God has righteousness and that He makes people righteous, but this can be a tough concept to grasp.
The way the word righteousness is pictured in the Chinese language is helpful. It is a combination of two characters. The top word is lamb. The bottom word is me. The lamb covers or is above the person.
When Jesus came to this world, John the Baptist called Him “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John…
Fully embracing Christmas
At first glance, the story of a young virgin becoming pregnant by the Spirit of God sounds, well, crazy. And it is until the gold standard of proof is given in Matthew chapter one. Today on Discover the Word, we will talk about an Old Testament passage in Isaiah that’s repeated in Matthew—providing evidence of […]
Learn what gave Joseph hope in a hopeless situation
“We have a problem.” How many times have you heard someone say that to you, like a doctor, perhaps? Well, today on Discover the Word, we will talk about the “problem” that Joseph faced in dealing with Mary’s pregnancy. He felt betrayed, but how could he allow his fiancée to be stoned to death? Nor did […]
Joseph chose to lay his power down
When Joseph discovered that his fiancée, Mary, was pregnant, ancient Jewish law gave him the option of having her publicly stoned to death. Yet while that was his right, it wasn’t his heart. Today on Discover the Word, we continue the discussion of Joseph’s role in the Christmas story. In a first-century patriarchal world, Joseph had […]
Joseph’s role in the Christmas story
Any man would be both angry and brokenhearted to learn that his fiancée was pregnant and he’s not the father. Today on Discover the Word, we will look at the role Joseph played in the Christmas story. The seeming not-so-good news of Mary’s pregnancy hit him hard for several reasons causing him to have to […]
Good News!
World news bombards us from the Internet, television, radio and mobile devices. The majority seems to describe what’s wrong – crime, terrorism, war and economic woes. Yet there are times when good news invades the darkest hours of sadness and despair – stories of unselfish acts, a medical breakthrough or steps toward peace in war-scarred places.
The words of two men recorded in the Old Testament of the Bible brought great hope to people weary of conflict.
While describing God’s coming judgment on a ruthless and powerful nation, Nahum said, “Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good…
Looking at Jesus’s family tree
You know, for many, it’s a tradition to read the Christmas story aloud at family Christmas celebrations. But most of the time we skip over the loooong genealogy that precedes it in Matthew’s telling of the story! Well, today the Discover the Word team will be looking at Jesus’s family tree for a very important […]
Editor’s Picks: Top 5 Articles | Giving
In a matter of weeks—or even days—streets will be lined with dazzling displays, shops will be brimming with holiday gifts and Christmas carols will reverberate through the air. For many of us, it’s a welcome change.
The View from 400 Miles
“My perspective on earth changed dramatically the very first time I went into space,” says Space Shuttle astronaut Charles Frank Bolden Jr. From four hundred miles above the earth, all looked peaceful and beautiful to him. Yet Bolden recalled later that as he passed over the Middle East, he was “shaken into reality” when he considered the ongoing conflict there. During an interview with film producer Jared Leto, Bolden spoke of that moment as a time when he saw the earth with a sense of how it ought to be—and then sensed a challenge to do all he could to…
What Are You Worth?
There is a story that in 75 bc a young Roman nobleman named Julius Caesar was kidnapped by pirates and held for ransom. When they demanded 20 talents of silver in ransom (about $600,000 today), Caesar laughed and said they obviously had no idea who he was. He insisted they raise the ransom to 50 talents! Why? Because he believed he was worth far more than 20 talents.
What a difference we see between Caesar’s arrogant measure of his own worth and the value God places on each of us. Our worth is not measured in terms of monetary value but…
The Supremacy of Jesus Christ
The holiness movements of today have none of the rugged reality of the New Testament about them. There is nothing about them that needs the death of Jesus Christ. All that is required is a pious atmosphere, prayer, and devotion. This type of experience is not supernatural nor miraculous. It did not cost the sufferings of God, nor is it stained with “the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:11). It is not marked or sealed by the Holy Spirit as being genuine, and it has no visual sign that causes people to exclaim with awe and wonder, “That is the work of God Almighty!” Yet the New Testament is about the work of God and nothing else.
The Consecration of Spiritual Power
. . . by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world —Galatians 6:14
If I dwell on the Cross of Christ, I do not simply become inwardly devout and solely interested in my own holiness— I become strongly …
The Secret of Spiritual Consistency
God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . —Galatians 6:14
When a person is newly born again, he seems inconsistent due to his unrelated emotions and the state of the external things or circumstances in …
