Dec
25
The first Christmas gift had the most miraculous label. To: sinners From: God What love! Christmas is a miracle because of what God did, but it’s also a miracle because of who He did it for—me. And you. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in …
Permanent link to this article: http://steppinginthelight.com/2011/12/25/the-label/
Dec
15
You know that line you’re tempted to use in a thank you note: “I can’t tell you how thankful I am for…”? Usually that phase would be more accurately worded, “I don’t know how to put into words…” There are very few emotions, ideas, or responses that cannot be communicated through the English language. Sometimes …
Permanent link to this article: http://steppinginthelight.com/2011/12/15/unspeakable/
Dec
09
Have you ever wanted to say, “Yes, Lord, but….” I have. Just recently, actually. I was faced with a difficulty with which I had no choice but to trust the Lord. I couldn’t control, change, or manipulate it if I wanted to. (And, frankly, I wanted to!) When my fate of no control was confirmed, …
Permanent link to this article: http://steppinginthelight.com/2011/12/09/but-or-and/
Dec
08
…marks 171 years since David Livingstone first sailed for Africa. I recently had the opportunity to read another biography about Livingstone this summer. I was especially impressed as I learned that, in the minds of many, he didn’t have much “missionary promise” when he sailed for Africa. He wasn’t a bombastic preacher, and he didn’t …
Permanent link to this article: http://steppinginthelight.com/2011/12/08/171-years-ago-today/
Dec
06
Have you ever felt too little? Like the task before you was too big? Like the role you were expected to fill was too large? Sometimes the answer is not for us to “get bigger” but for us to get wiser. Proverbs 30:24–28 tells about “four things which are little upon the earth, but they …
Permanent link to this article: http://steppinginthelight.com/2011/12/06/when-the-job-is-too-big/
Nov
27
Whoever came up with that advertising tagline was clever. Who wouldn’t want to give a gift that would “keep on giving” all year long? Far better than this tagline, however, is the reality of having a gift that keeps on giving—especially when that gift goes on forever…and ever. Friday of this past week was my …
Permanent link to this article: http://steppinginthelight.com/2011/11/27/the-gift-that-keeps-on-giving/
Nov
25
It is significant to note that not one of the thirty-four verses in Scripture that include the phrase “give thanks” was penned after Thanksgiving was declared a national holiday. They weren’t even penned after the Pilgrims began the Thanksgiving tradition. This would almost lead me to believe that God’s command to “give thanks” is not …
Permanent link to this article: http://steppinginthelight.com/2011/11/25/thanks-living/
Nov
23
Think of the sounds that may emerge from an accordion when a non-musically-inclined beginner is working at it. Now, listen to it wail out the song “Count Your Blessings”—gasping in an off tempo that is struggling to keep in sync with people singing along. You have just listened to my one-evening debut with the accordion. …
Permanent link to this article: http://steppinginthelight.com/2011/11/23/when-the-thought-counts/
Nov
18
Ordinarily, I don’t believe in celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving, but I changed my mind this week when the shipment of Striving Together’s new minibook by Dr. Paul Chappell came in. I had the privilege of helping with this book prepress, and seeing it arrive felt like an early Christmas! Christmas Is a Gift—Unwrap the Significance …
Permanent link to this article: http://steppinginthelight.com/2011/11/18/christmas-is-a-gift/
Nov
15
You can’t get much plainer than Philippians 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.” But do we? Do we just punctuate our conversations with “praise the Lord”? Or do we really praise Him? In Christ, we find unlimited reasons to rejoice. Should we look to find joy in our circumstances, we …
Permanent link to this article: http://steppinginthelight.com/2011/11/15/real-reasons-to-rejoice/
