My seatmate on the flight told me she was non-religious and had immigrated to a town that was home to numerous Christians When she mentioned that most of her neighbors went to church I asked about her experience She said she could never repay their generosity When she brought her disabled father to her new country her neighbors built a ramp to her house and donated a hospital bed and medical supplies She said ldquo If being a Christian makes one so kind everyone should be a Christian rdquo Exactly what Jesus hoped she rsquo d say He told His [... more]

After I had a conflict with my mother she finally agreed to meet with me more than an hour away from my home But upon arriving I discovered she had left before I got there In my anger I wrote her a note But I revised it after I felt God nudging me to respond in love After my mother read my revised message she called me ldquo You rsquo ve changed rdquo she said God used my note to lead my mom to ask about Jesus and eventually receive Him as her personal Savior In Matthew Jesus affirms that [... more]

A hotel chain rsquo s commercial featured one little building standing amidst a dark night Nothing else was around The only light in the scene came from a small lamp near the door on the porch of the building The bulb cast enough illumination for a visitor to walk up the steps and enter the building The commercial ended with the phrase ldquo We rsquo ll leave the light on for you rdquo nbsp A porch light is akin to a welcome sign reminding weary travelers that there rsquo s a comfortable place still open where they can stop and [... more]

I came to learn about Catherine Hamlin a remarkable Australian surgeon through reading her obituary In Ethiopia Catherine and her husband established the world rsquo s only hospital dedicated to curing women from the devastating physical and emotional trauma of obstetric fistulas a common injury in the developing world that can occur during childbirth Catherine is credited with overseeing the treatment of more than women Still operating at the hospital when she was years old and still beginning each day with a cup of tea and Bible study Hamlin told curious questioners that she was an ordinary believer in Jesus [... more]

I felt nervous about a five-week prayer class I agreed to teach at a local church Would the students like it Would they like me My anxiety was ill-focused leading me to over-prepare lesson plans video slides and class handouts Yet with a week to go I still hadn rsquo t encouraged many people to attend In prayer however I was reminded that the class was a service that shined light on God Because the Holy Spirit would use the class to point people to our heavenly Father I could set aside my nervousness about public speaking When Jesus taught [... more]