Today’s Walk in the Word

By his wounds we are healed.                  —Isaiah 53:5 The dream was vivid—the whip whistled through the air and split Jesus’ flesh across bloody, gaping wounds already there from previous blows. As the soldier raised the Roman flagrum to strike again, the dreamer moved in to stop him. […]

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial.                                    —James 1:12 Duffy Daugherty was football coach at Michigan State 1954–1972. In demand as an after-dinner speaker, the colorful coach gave his rubber-chicken speech hundreds of times, proclaiming you only […]

We eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope.                 —Galatians 5:5 Paul closed his love eulogy with the triad tribute: “Now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor 13:13). Love gets top billing. But don’t slight faith and […]

The cheerful heart has a continual feast.                          —Proverbs 15:15 I confess that I have a negative attitude toward Christians with a negative attitude. To be sure, there’s a bunch of rotten stuff going on in our world. But the Christian has reason to […]

Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.                                              –Philippians 2:3 It was on television for the world to see: our at-the-time president rudely shoving smaller-nation leaders out of the way so he […]

He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen.         —Isaiah 50:4 “Call me anytime,” Carl said. “I have my cell phone on 24/7/365.” Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year strikes me as somewhat excessive for human availability. But not for divine connection, where […]

Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.                          —Luke 16:10 Trustworthy discipleship is a life of faithful attention to each day’s frequent and familiar tasks, however small and insignificant they may seem. It’s easy to be indifferent toward […]

In him all things hold together.              —Colossians 1:17 In The Gathering Storm, Winston Churchill wrote about the months prior to the Nazi blitzkrieg that leveled much of London: “The future was heavy with foreboding.” Ours is a different day, but we know the foreboding. Many of us pay more […]

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought. —Romans 12:3 I’m writing this as political campaigns are at full bore (pun intended). Getting to the top doesn’t live up to its promises: contentment, fulfillment, and satisfaction aren’t achieved by being the big cheese. Nevertheless, exaggerated need to seem important is often addictive and […]

Stand up and lift up your heads. —Luke 21:28 Without heaven, history is in the hands of humanity. Unless there is a heavenly home beyond this earthly habitation, life on this planet is the final word. The feeling that the world is in a sorry state creates a heavenly longing. The gospel implants hope for […]