Creation may be “very good,” but it is not yet complete. Creation ends with God’s rest and a special blessing of the seventh day, the Sabbath. “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” (Genesis 2:3). The Sabbath is part … Continue reading –>
God was there at the beginning. The Lord God spoke, and it was. Light divides day from night; firmament, sky, and seas are spoken into existence on the second day; dry land and vegetation follow on the third. God forms the basic framework of time and geography, and then He fills it during the next … Continue reading –>
Sabbath Afternoon Read for This Week’s Study: Genesis 1:1-31, Exodus 20:8-11, Exodus 16:14-31, Deuteronomy 5:12-15, Psalm 92:1-15, Isaiah 58:13. Memory Text: “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” (Genesis 2:3). Who can imagine what the acts of creation — light amid darkness, oceans brimming with … Continue reading –>
Better Than Toys By Andrew McChesney Several friends gathered around Mariah at school on Monday. “What are you doing after school?” one asked. “Can we come over to your house to play?” said another. Mariah shook her head. “I have so much to do today,” she said Nine-year-old Mariah was a busy girl in Pond … Continue reading –>
Further Thought: “With the continual change of circumstances, changes come in our experience; and by these changes we are either elated or depressed. But the change of circumstances has no power to change God’s relation to us. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and He asks us to have unquestioning confidence in His … Continue reading –>
God knows that all the running has made Elijah tired. God knows that more than being physically tired, Elijah is emotionally tired and carrying a tremendous load of guilt. Like Jesus would do for the paralytic so many years later, God wipes the slate clean and provides rest for Elijah. Finally, he can really sleep … Continue reading –>
Elijah is too tired to run anymore. And so, he prays again. This prayer is very different from the faith-filled prayer that God answered on Mount Carmel ( 1 Kings 18.36-37) in front of the priests and prophets of Baal, the members of the court, and the common people. This is a simple, short prayer of desperation. … Continue reading –>
Based on data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the most common illness worldwide, affecting more than three hundred million people each year, does not always have obvious visible symptoms. Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide and is a major contributor to the global burden of disease. Unfortunately, often depression is not spoken … Continue reading –>
The paralytic had been lowered into Jesus’ presence, and all eyes were on Jesus. Would He choose to heal an obvious sinner? Would He speak a word to rebuke the illness? How does Jesus go about healing the paralytic? What is the first thing Jesus does for him? Read Mark 2:5-12. Because we are often unaware of … Continue reading –>
If ever there is a time that we need rest, it is when we are sick. We need the physical rest so that our bodies can rally our immune system. And we often need mental rest, too. Sometimes it is just something non-life-threatening like a cold or a migraine. We lie there and try not … Continue reading –>
