Instead of seeing our difficulties as loss, we need to view them as a means God uses to build endurance.
From James 1:2-4: “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Searching the local bookstore for one of the all-time classics to read, I find myself wandering the nearly infinite rows of bookcases, overflowing with books of every kind. I am not looking for just any book, mind you. My reading appetite hungers for something rich in prose, but the book needs to fit my personal definition of a classic.
As I walk around, my eyes notice many classics of American literature. I flip through pages of book after book. Hmm, “not this one” becomes my common response. Frustration is beginning to set in, and the time is growing late.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
While these books would fill many lists of some of the most treasured novels to read, my appetite is still looking for something with the “crowning glory” of literature. My vigilant book search continues.
Coming around a corner, the final section of the enormous store is laid out in front of me. This overly small section of is buzzing with activity. A large gathering of book lovers are digging all over its shelves. What stories are these readers of classic literature finding here?
“Jonah and the Whale”
“Moses Leads Israel Home”
“Daniel in the Lion’s Den”
“David vs. Goliath”
“Abraham and Isaac”
“Noah Builds an Ark”
Feeling the excitement now as well, my eyes capture a beautiful volume with the above stories, but I also discover “The Greatest Story of All-Time” about a Galilean named Jesus Christ.
My spiritual journey has finished at last. The Holy Bible will fill my spiritual hunger for an eternity. Amen!
A great many people are trying to make peace, but that has already been done. God has not left it for us to do; all we have to do is to enter into it.
From John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”
From Deuteronomy 8:3: “He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
Life’s darkening journey
Never exempt from pain
Evil always prowling
Adversity’s campaign
Seeking life’s foundation
Holy Word, God alone
Heavenly love provides
Troubles no longer groan
Praise our Great Comforter
Treasures open, His love
Understanding God’s law
Commandments from above
Freed from harsh wilderness
Rejoice with faithful trust
Delighting in God’s love
Filled with hope, life adjusts
Depend upon the Lord
Manna nourishing needs
Trials teach bold lessons
His great love always leads
From Romans 8:28: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.”
If you quit every time things don’t go your way, then you’ll be quitting all through your life.
A setback only paves the way for a comeback.
Evander Holyfield is a former American boxing champion, who competed from 1984-2011. Throughout his life, he has found the inner strength to overcome many challenges in both his youth and his boxing career.
Every couple of months or so different snapshots about the Buckeye State of Ohio will be featured.
Just like the place where you live, Ohio is loaded with facts which very people may actually know. Being relatively new to Ohio (arriving here about 13 years ago), I am still searching and discovering more.
Ohio is sometimes referred to as the “Buckeye” state. But, how many people really know what a Buckeye is? The Buckeye tree is found throughout the state, and its nut is also called a Buckeye. While the trees are found in other Midwestern locations, only Ohio has adopted it.
Besides being a nickname for the state, Buckeyes is also used as the name for The Ohio State University’s athletic teams. To be honest, it seems a bit strange to use the name of a “worthless nut” for a college sports team name.
Ohio was granted statehood in 1803 while Thomas Jefferson was President. However, does anyone know the rest of the story? When the American Congress approved statehood for Ohio, they forgot one significant step. Ohio’s state constitution was not ratified by the federal government. This error was overlooked until 1953 when President Dwight Eisenhower signed legislation approved by Congress to rectify this oversight.
Ohio is home to eight of America’s Presidents. Any Americans who can name them all should be applying for a spot on the game show “Jeopardy.” With the exception of William Henry Harrison, all were born in Ohio. Harrison was born in Virginia, but lived in Ohio when he was elected President.
The remaining Presidents include: Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, and Warren G. Harding. There has not been a President from Ohio since Harding (elected in 1920). Seeing that Harding has been ranked as one of the most inefficient Presidents in history, one might understand why Ohio has been on the Presidential sidelines ever since.
Man is created for the glory of God.
From Genesis 1:27: “So God created humankind in His image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.”
G. Campbell Morgan (1863-1945) was a British preacher, evangelist, and author. He was one of the most reverent and competent Christian voices during his lifetime.
Anchor
God’s Word
Answers life’s doubts
Steadies each shaky step
Grace
Wilderness
Testing faith
Facing certain adversity
Christ walks with us
Strength
Guideposts
God’s wisdom
Growing in trust
Before life reaches new
Crossroads
This series of poems (written in the German-inspired style of Elfchen or Elevenie) shares a total of eleven words in each poem, with a sequence by line of one, two, three, four, and one words.
Real communication is an attitude, an environment. It requires more listening than talking.
Control your own destiny or someone else will.
From 1 John 4:17-19: “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us.”
Bringing anxiety
Life’s darkness encroaches
Where can we always turn?
Father’s light approaches
Bitten by sinful grief
Burdened at life’s abyss
Time to admit these fears
Seeking truth to dismiss
Frightened by life’s trials
Being honest with self
True feelings now exposed
Finding Bible on shelf
Coming to our Father
Reaching out to His hand
Time now spent in prayer
God’s Word faithfully stands
God’s hand vanquishes fears
Lasting comfort and peace
Heavenly rod and staff
Salvation, life’s new lease
Father’s infinite love
Grace casting out these fears
Supportive hand and Word
Conquering fear-filled tears
From the words of American pastor and Christian teacher, Charles Stanley: “When fear begins to sink in, I pray harder, study longer, and read my Bible more closely. God wants to cast out the fear and doubt in your life.”
Big Sky Buckeye 