Many years ago, my friend Peggy Donaldson sent me some stories from her life that informed her theology. As I look back over them, indeed I find that they are treasures! I’d like to share one with you today. Once when she and her husband Bob were on vacation in Jamaica, they were looking for […]
Sometime back as a part of my morning devotional time, I was reading Eugene Peterson’s Message version of the Bible. One morning I was struck by the following: In his introduction to the book of Joshua, he wrote, “God’s great love and purposes for us are worked out in the messes, storms and sins, blue […]
In his first letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul writes this: “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” He ends this famous chapter with these words, “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But […]
Several years ago, there was an article in the Chicago Tribune by a writer named Jim Yardley about a great bridge that spans the Yangtze River in China. Thousands of pedestrians cross this bridge every day. Unfortunately, some have used the Yangtze River Bridge to end their lives. In fact, at the time of the […]
Football coach, Chuck Noll once said, “The nice thing about football is that you have a scoreboard to show how you’ve done. In other things in life, you don’t. At least, not one you can see.” We like to keep score, don’t we? We like to know how we measure up, know where we stand. […]
It is interesting. Throughout the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, the scribe Ezra continually remarks, “The gracious hand of God was upon me.” He makes this claim through good times and bad; through celebrations and opposition; through success and danger. Ezra had spent his life, not only studying his faith but living it. Over the […]
I’m reminded lately of the story of Jesus feeding the multitudes. He’s been teaching in a remote place and as the day wears on into the evening, the disciples begin to worry. They approach Jesus and say, “We’re out here in the middle of nowhere. It’s getting late. Send the crowds away so that they […]
There is a story about an old Cherokee who one evening told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two “wolves” inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, worry, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, […]
I read recently that the great Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini was legendary for his fits of rage. The librarian of one of Toscanini’s orchestras was particularly vexed by the maestro’s habit of throwing valuable musical scores at the musicians when angry. Watching closely, the librarian observed that Toscanini’s first act when enraged was to take […]
Dial Hope is made possible by folks who donate so the word of God’s love might reach others through this ministry. Perhaps, you would like to do the same. Check out our website – www.dialhope.org. Many years ago, after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans, hundreds of people became trapped in the Super-Dome Football […]
