Risen, Indeed!

No need to prolong the story. Or complicate it. Or embellish it. Or try to explain it. Or defend it. Just declare it. The facts speak for themselves. Jesus of Nazareth said He would “suffer . . . be killed, and be raised up on the third day” (Matt. 16:21).

Our Ultimate Hooray

What gives a widow courage as she stands beside a fresh grave? What is the ultimate hope of the handicapped, the abused, the burn victim? What is the final answer to pain, mourning, senility, insanity, terminal diseases, sudden calamities, and fatal accidents? The answer to each of these questions is the same: the hope of bodily resurrection.

Grace and Freedom

With all this talk about grace and liberty, perhaps it’s time for me to clarify something. Some may be asking: Doesn’t liberty have its limits? Shouldn’t folks restrain their freedom and occasionally hold themselves in check? Yes, without question. Grace can be and sometimes is—abused.

Understanding Grace

What exactly is grace? And is it limited to Jesus’ life and ministry? You may be surprised to know that Jesus never used the word itself. He just taught it and, equally important, He lived it. Furthermore, the Bible never gives us a one-statement definition, though grace appears throughout its pages . . . not only the word itself but numerous demonstrations of it.

Self-Praise

“Self-praise,” says an ancient adage, “smells bad.” In other words, it stinks up the works. Regardless of how we prepare it, garnish it with little extras, slice and serve it up on our finest silver piece, the odor remains. No amount of seasoning can eliminate the offensive smell. Unlike a good wife, age only makes it worse. It is much like the poisoned rat in the wall—if it isn’t removed the stench becomes increasingly unbearable.

The Final Priority

Somebody copied the following paraphrase from a well-worn carbon in the billfold of a thirty-year veteran missionary. With her husband, she was on her way to another tour of duty at Khartoum, Sudan. No one seems to know who authored it, but whoever it was captured the essence of the greatest essay on love ever written.

Taking Time

If you planned to ride with Snake Stabler, you had to be ready for one sustained roar during the trip. Somehow there was this itch inside him that wasn’t scratched, apart from the scream of an engine and the blur of salt water waves rushing beneath to the tune of 80+ miles per hour. Once you got in and sat down, you had the distinct feeling that shutting up and hanging on would come naturally. Once you’ve committed yourself to such an accelerated velocity, nothing short of survival really matters.

Newborn

Two hours away from our own front door we traveled completely around the world. We didn’t miss a continent. From Paraguay to the Congo. From the Serengeti Plains of Tanzania into the tropical rain forests of Malagasy, across the Indian Ocean to mysterious Malaya. Then it was the tundra of the Arctic Circle, Scandinavia to Mesopotamia, Egypt to China, Manchuria to Siberia.

Friendly—Inside Out

Are you attractive? I’m not referring to external beauty nor facial features. I’m asking if you are attractive—magnetic, winsome, charming, friendly. Listen to Proverbs 18:24a (KJV): “A man that hath friends must show himself friendly.” Do you see the point of the proverb?

Dialogues of the Deaf

Listening. I don’t mean just hearing. Not simply smiling and nodding while somebody’s mouth is moving. Not merely staying quiet until it’s “your turn” to say something. All of us are good at that game—cultivated in the grocery store, local laundromat, or on the front steps of the church building.