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Going to God with Open Ey...

When Dr. Samuel Johnson was ill with his last illness, he asked if doctors would tell him honestly if he could recover. The doctor said that he could not recover without a miracle. “Then,” said Johnson, “I will take no more [medicine], not even opiates, for I have prayed that I may render up my soul to God unclouded.” When Jesus arrived at Golg...

What Makes Jesus Differen...

Dr. Emil Grubbe was a pioneer in the use of x-ray technology for the treatment of cancer patients. In fact in 1896 he was the first physician ever to use an x-ray beam in the treatment of a cancer patient. Because of Emil Grubbe, even though you may have never heard of him, many of you have found hope for a new life and an extended life because of what x-ray technolog...

Be Like Jesus

Fast Lane Magazine once conducted a poll among 400 men between the ages of 18 and 34. Their question was, “Other than yourself, what person would you like most to be like?” In response to the question, number one on the list of those polled was Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North. Number two was President Ronald Regan. Number three was Clint Eastwood, and tie...

God Speaks to Us through...

In his book Life Sentence, Chuck Colson tells about trying to win a Jewish lawyer friend to Christ. He had tried again and again to find an opening—a way to introduce the subject of Christ so he could share the Lord with this Jewish lawyer friend. Finally one night at a dinner engagement the opportunity came, and much to his surprise, the lawyer friend by the na...

Jesus Christ – Take a Goo...

I read about a slave woman, just out of slavery, holding the hand of her little grandson when the body of Abraham Lincoln was being transported up Pennsylvania Avenue where it would lay in state in the Capitol building. And as that body passed by, that old grandmother said to her little grandson, “You take a good look at that man. He died to set you free.”...

Jesus Cannot Be Ignored

The man’s name was Dwight D. Eisenhower. The time was the early days of his presidency. The occasion was the Christmas season. And he sounded more like a preacher and prophet than he did like a politician when he said, “A person may deny Jesus Christ, but he cannot ignore him.” Because of who he was and what he did, Jesus cannot be ignored. We must d...

What Jesus Did to Death

O. Henry, the famous short-story writer, was dying. His nurse surmised that death was coming very soon, and so as was the custom in that day, she reached up to pull the shades down and leave the room dark. O. Henry opened his eyes as if he were aware of what was going on and he said to her, “Push up the shades. I don’t want to go home in the dark.”&n...

Do You Know That He Saved...

In 1736 John Wesley entered in his journal an account of going to German pastors to ask them some questions concerning his conduct. One of those German pastors said, “My brother, I must first ask you a question or two. The first question is this: Have you the witness of the Spirit within yourself? Does the Spirit bear witness with your spirit that you know the S...

Jesus Is the Path

E. Stanley Jones, that great Methodist missionary who spent his life in India, said one day he had planned a trip to the jungle. It was his first, so he hired a guide. The guide had a machete and they came to the edge of the jungle and being unfamiliar with the ways of the jungle, Stanley Jones asked the guide, “Well, where is the trail? Where is the path?&rdquo...

Today's Devotional

Senseless Tragedies

Once we buried a young lady who was only 21 years old. She was killed in a head-on collision while on her way to church. The night before the funeral, my daughter asked why God allows things like this to happen.

I wish I knew. Things like this have puzzled saints, wise men, and philosophers since the world began.

There is simply no one easy answer as to why tragedies like this happen. The answer may lie in the fact that God made us free. He created us with the ability to make our own choices, and choices always involve consequences. If we are careless or foolish in our choices, or if others are, we may suffer because of them. If God did not allow us freedom, we’d be less than people. We’d be robots.

This may be the only explanation we will ever have for some suffering. However, we do not have to know why things happen in order to be victorious over them. On the cross Jesus cried out “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) But the heavens were as brass. God was silent. He didn’t even answer his own Son. Jesus might have despaired and become bitter against God. But instead he said, “Father, into thy hands I commend [entrust, hand over] my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

This kind of faith is far more important than any answer we might receive. In our lives, as in the life of Jesus, it is faith that makes the difference between victory and defeat.

So keep believing in God no matter what. Commit your life to him and regardless of what happens, God will help you.

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