Biblia

PREYING ON THE VULNERABLE

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”

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”

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”

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”