True & Beautiful Things about Bible

New Testament: Philippians Some people think it’s their job to worry. The plane won’t get off the ground without their help. By the sheer force of their worrying, they keep the tornado from their neighborhood. Worrying keeps things stable. (Ha!) “To worry” means to strangle and that’s what it does to our minds every day. To varying degrees, we all let our fears take over our thought life—which is why the Lord regularly addressed our fretful default. He said: In Matt

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39   It’s a funny question: If you were stranded on a deserted island, and you could only have one page of the Bible, what page would it be? Even with thousands of options, Romans 8 always makes that list.  The book of

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, He sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”  Matthew 11:2-3   Anyone who has walked with God will tell you—He makes you wait. The Jews had waited a long time for their promised Messiah. They hadn't heard from God, not a word, for more than 400 years. The Gospel of Matthew is a book of transition; we could call it the Jewish Gospel. Good news . . . to

“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 1:3   Most of us think that time is on our side. Ecclesiastes reminds us it isn’t. But time isn’t our enemy either. Time is a gift—God’s gift for us to enjoy life’s big and small joys. We’re usually too busy, or distracted, or driven to notice them. But every so often, something slows time down enough to see life for what it really is. King David

Judges is a good book to read when you are frustrated with yourself for “doing it again”—whatever that sinful or sorry thing is that you said you would never do. Yet, here you are, again. Israel did that for 350 years. From the perspective of history, we can spot a repeating pattern. Seven times they went from a wonderful season of worshipping God, to getting distracted, to drifting away from Him. Soon they turned away from God, to worship other things. Then God stepped in, a

Genesis is where our story begins. Yes, our story. We live in God’s universe, inside His plan, and in His hand. People sometimes talk about God coming into their lives when in reality—we came into His. He who lives outside of time, created the world and put us in it. All that we know of life exists because He welcomes us into His world. When you think of Genesis, think: beginnings .  Whatever begins, begins here.  The beginning of time. The beginning of matter.  The beginning

I once lived next door to a friend who loved to ask me to tell her a Bible story. On any given warm, snowy, or sunny afternoon, she texted, Wanna go to Sonic?  And of course I’d say, Be right out , and we’d soon be off for a snack and a chat. We’d hardly be clear of the neighborhood before she’d turn and say, OK, I’m ready for another true and beautiful story.   She wasn’t raised with the Bible. In her religious, formulaic upbringing, she hadn’t heard about the God who rescu