Topics: Death; Ethics; Euthanasia; Evil; Murder; Suicide Reference: Exodus 20:13 Jack Kevorkian preyed on the vulnerable, says a study of the sixty-nine suicides Kevorkian assisted in Oakland County, Michigan. Seventy-five percent of those people would have lived for at least another six months. The vast majority—67 percent—were divorced, widowed, or never married, suggesting they had … Continue reading “PREYING
ON THE VULNERABLE”
Author: Administrador
CAREY’S EXTREME LOSS
Topics: Faith; God’s Sovereignty; Loss; Missions; Trials; Trust Reference: Psalm 46:10 William Carey, called the father of modern missions, went to India in 1793 and worked there for forty years, never once returning to his native England. He translated portions of Scripture into more than a dozen Indian languages. One afternoon, after twenty years of … Continue reading “CAREY’S
EXTREME LOSS”
KEEPING THE DREAM ALIVE
Topics: Hardship; Humility; Perseverance; Persistence; Testimony; Trials References: Romans 5:3–5; 11:36 While at the University of Northern Iowa, Kurt Warner was a second-string player on the football team. During college he met a single mom who had two kids, one of whom was blind. Warner married the woman and adopted both kids. He wasn’t drafted … Continue reading “KEEPING
THE DREAM ALIVE”
EMPATHIZING WITH SUFFERING
Topics: Compassion; Empathy; Incarnation; Mercy; Ministry; Suffering References: John 11:35; Hebrews 4:14–16; 5:1–10 When sportswriter Mitch Albom heard that his favorite college professor, whom he hadn’t seen in twenty years, was dying of Lou Gehrig’s disease, he began visiting him weekly. In his bestselling book Tuesdays with Morrie, Albom describes their visits, focusing on his … Continue reading “EMPATHIZING
WITH SUFFERING”
MATURING IN HARDSHIP
Topics: Commitment; Devotion; Maturity; Ministry; Obedience; Sacrifice References: Romans 8:17–18; Philippians 3:7–11 Gladys Aylward, a missionary to China during and after World War II, brought a hundred orphans, ages four to fifteen, safely over the mountains of China to Sian in Shensi. But it was not without cost. When Aylward arrived in Sian with the … Continue reading “MATURING
IN HARDSHIP”
BREAKING THE ICE
Topics: Attitudes; Caring; Compassion; Empathy; Mercy Reference: Matthew 25:31–40 Each day I worked in the emergency room, I became more insensitive to people and their real needs. Five years of emergency room exposure took its toll. Then God intervened. I was registering a young woman who had overdosed on drugs and attempted suicide. Her mother … Continue reading “BREAKING
THE ICE”
WAITING AT THE FINISH LINE
Topics: Arrogance; Endurance; Perseverance; Pride References: Hebrews 10:36; 12:1–2; James 1:3–4 I was at the Pennsylvania Relays, a famous Eastern track meet, and our relay team was running in the championship race. I was the leadoff man and in the second lane. The man in the first lane held the 100-meter dash record for prep … Continue reading “WAITING
AT THE FINISH LINE”
INSPIRATIONAL QUITTING
Topics: Caring; Empathy; Sacrifice; Unselfishness References: Matthew 20:26–28; Philippians 2:1–11 Cleveland Browns linebacker Chris Spielman had to retire from football early in the 1999 season after suffering an injury that resulted in the narrowing of his spinal canal. Spielman had skipped the entire ’98 season to care for his wife, Stefanie, who was battling breast … Continue reading “INSPIRATIONAL
QUITTING”
JUMPING OFF CHRIST
Topics: Apostasy; Invitation; Rest; Safety References: Matthew 11:28–30; 1 Corinthians 15:2; Hebrews 12:25 An extreme sports fanatic scaled the 120-foot Christ the Redeemer statue on Brazil’s Corcovado mountain and jumped from its outstretched arms. For the first ever such leap, Felix Baumgartner, thirty, an Austrian, smuggled his parachute on board the little train that takes … Continue reading “JUMPING
OFF CHRIST”
LINEBACKER GOALS FOR LIFE
Topics: Compassion; Family; Ministry; Service; Significance References: Matthew 22:37–40; John 13:34–35 “The first thing in my life by far, and the reason I do everything, is my love for Jesus Christ,” says Mike Singletary, former linebacker for the Chicago Bears who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998. “The second is … Continue reading “LINEBACKER
GOALS FOR LIFE”