Those dirty shepherds
“There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.”—Luke 2:8 NIV When I was a child, one of my favorite pictures of Jesus de... »
Maria Fontaine
Coming through
Light is appreciated and valued, because we’ve experienced darkness. Hope is truly valued after we’ve experienced despair. Our blessings bring us the greatest joy, becaus... »
Enduring hardship
As Christians, we aren’t exempted from the difficulties of this life, even if some think we should be. If we have the expectation that our faith should shield us from pro... »
A heart full of joy
The joy God can give you enables you to be happy even if things aren’t perfect in your earthly situation, because it reaches beyond that. God promises that things will tu... »
Mud and palaces
As much as we would like it, life is not always as wonderful as we’d wish, and we sometimes find ourselves having to brave the tumult of experiences that are hard to bear... »
Save your sanity!
Resting in the Lord[See Psalm 37:7.] is putting your weight down on Jesus and spending time in deep communion and fellowship with Him so that He can infuse you with stren... »
The value of healthy living
Staying healthy doesn’t happen automatically. It takes effort, and also usually involves some sacrifice, some reordering of priorities and forgoing certain things that wo... »
Love beyond limits
Consistently thinking of others and trying to meet their needs, especially when that involves personal sacrifice, is a tall order! It's so easy to be lazy, selfish, and s... »
The change equation
This is a time of great change in the world—technological, economic, religious, political, business, and environmental. The results are seen in governments, organizations... »
The gift of your heart
All the works that Jesus did on earth had to be extremely important for the Son of God to come down in order to do them. But when you examine those extremely important th... »
Appreciation in the workplace
Appreciation is a human need. It’s not just something that’s nice to have when possible, but something that each person needs in order to be happy and to thrive. That’s t... »
Faith fortifiers
Christians aren’t immune to difficulty—family problems, fears, uncertainty, too much to do, financial pressures, and so much more. Having faith doesn’t keep us from diffi... »