Anchor of Unity

The scene breathed life-threatening fears. Imaginations ran wild. Paul knew that staying together was the secret to their survival. The temptation was strong to abandon ship and let each person fend for himself.

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Positive Separations

Let’s be painfully candid here. I’ve had my own share of arguments, and you’ve had yours. I’ve had some that were never reconciled. Thankfully, most ended in a renewed friendship.

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The Value of Others

The Message, Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase, wraps up this part of the narrative nicely: “Things calmed down after that and the church had smooth sailing for a while. All over the country—Judea, Samaria, Galilee—the church grew.

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Good and Bad Advice

Every person reading this chapter has been the recipient of bad advice. You listened as someone gave it to you. You followed the counsel you received and then suffered the consequences.

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Without Asking

Friends care enough to come without being asked to come. No one sent a message saying to Eliphaz and Bildad and Zophar, “Would you please come and bring a little sympathy and comfort for Job?

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Look Up

Thanks to God’s kind and gentle dealing, Elijah crawled out of the cave. “He departed from there.” God graciously nurtured him through rest and refreshment, gave him some wise counsel, and made him feel significant again.

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Incredible Associations

Elijah had walked into a situation that was, from all human perspective, impossible. But the good news is that he saw beyond the difficulty. He handled the problem with faith, not fear.

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True Teamwork: What It Takes

As a lifelong admirer of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, I have devoured more than a few biographies about him. Among the best was Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, a volume that presents Lincoln’s brilliant political act of enlisting into his cabinet some of the men who had run against him. Surrounded by a […]

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