Today’s Walk in the Word

[Return] to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.                   —Isaiah 55:7 Dave Short’s sermon on the Hosea story was beautiful. That good man’s concluding compassionate words were touching: “Come home. Come home.” I drove away that morning thinking of the long-range impact his message is destined […]

Give thanks in all circumstances.           —1 Thessalonians 5:18 Paul’s injunction to “give thanks in all circumstances” is met with a great deal of spiritual indigestion. How in the world can we do that? Note the preposition: give thanks “in” all circumstances, not “for” all circumstances. As I write these words, […]

We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.   —2 Corinthians 4:18 “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our […]

God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.                    —John 3:16 The measure of love is how much it gives. Paul contends that God’s supreme love gift of his Son is the guarantee of all other gifts: “He who did not spare […]

We are [God’s] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.                  —Ephesians 2:10 The late Dr. Norvel Young often told people, “You’re doing more good than you know.” My friend Allen Isbell, who preaches for the Broadway church in Galveston, recently cited Young’s statement, saying he thought […]

God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.                   —2 Timothy 1:7 Self-control. You can’t succeed without it. No athlete consistently wins without it. No musician achieves excellence without it. No weight-loss program is maintained without it. No exercise regimen […]

Be completely humble and gentle.              —Ephesians 4:2 Cultivating gentleness is hard work—it isn’t a highly regarded virtue in our self-assertive age. The Greek word means “gentleness, humility, courtesy, considerateness” (Arndt-Gingrich). It’s an attitude that diminishes the drive for preeminence: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, […]

Well done, good and faithful servant.                      —Matthew 25:21 “Do you faithfully promise to be hers, and only hers, as long as you both shall live?” I asked. “I do,” he said. Eleven years later, a phone call informed me that he had lied. To her. […]

Let us do good to all people.         —Galatians 6:10 The opening lyrics of Velna Ledin’s hymn run this way: God is so good / God is so good / God is so good / He’s so good to me. Every meal, every night’s sleep, every possession, every pleasure, every moment is […]

Be kind and compassionate to one another.                       —Ephesians 4:32 Kindness. “I love that word,” said R.C. Sproul. “I want to be a kind person. I don’t want to be known for being mean. I hope it will be chiseled on my tombstone: ‘This was […]