Many of our readers in the United States are celebrating Thanksgiving this week, complete with turkey dinner and pumpkin pie. It’s easy...
A positive attitude begins with gratitude, as we remember God’s good gifts in the past and look forward to what he’ll do...
“Blessed” is Jesus’ first word in the Sermon on the Mount. The first time the word “bless”...
Do you know about the dark side of The High Calling? No, Darth Vader isn’t one of our editors, nor any of...
Standing around the kitchen that night, we all knew that we weren't there together because of luck, and the food we were...
Every now and then while I'm channel surfing on TV, I pause to listen to a preacher. And it's not uncommon to...
Today is Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week. On this day, Christians remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and we prepare for a deeper participation in the crucial events of this...
On this Thanksgiving Day in the United States, I want to reflect on a verse from Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians: “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for...
In Genesis 12, when the Lord first revealed himself to Abraham, he promised that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him (v. 3). In Genesis 28, God reiterated to Jacob that he...
Building on the sacrificial system described in Numbers 4 and 7, two passages in Numbers 15 and 18 describe the offering of...
In case the commandments, statutes, and ordinances in God’s covenant might come to seem like nothing but a burden to Israel, Moses...
Moses concludes with a third speech, a final appeal for obedience to God’s covenant, which will result in human thriving. It reinforces...
In Ruth 4:13, we encounter only the second instance in the book (in addition to Ruth 1:6) where an event is expressly...
How could king after king fall so easily into evil? The story of Uzziah may give us some insight. He ascends to...
At the beginning of the Book of Job we are introduced to an exceptionally prosperous farmer/rancher named Job. He is described as...
The problem of pain comes when times are hard. When we are passed over for promotion or lose a job, when we...
Jonah disobeys God’s call because he objects to God’s intent to bless Israel’s adversaries, the nation of Assyria and its capital city...
The Sermon on the Mount opens with the beatitudes—eight statements beginning with the word blessed.[1] This word affirms a state of blessing that already exists. Each beatitude declares that a group of people...
In recent times the word blessing has gone out of favor.
Blessing is one of the most powerful ways human beings can express love, especially in a family context.
Understand and apply the characteristics that Jesus calls "blessed."
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