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A person’s will usually reflects what they value as most important. In 2007, hotel owner and businesswoman Leona Helmsley died with an estate worth an estimated $4 billion. Much of that money went to a charitable trust; however, she also left a $12 million trust fund for her dog, Trouble. She left two of her grandchildren $5 million each (contingent...

Moses and the Burning Bush In the opening passage of her book Dakota, writer Kathleen Norris described its “spiritual geography”: “The high plains, the beginning of the desert West, often act as a crucible for those who inhabit them. Like Jacob’s angel, the region requires that you wrestle with it before it bestows a blessing. . . . Nature,...

Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration The end of today’s narrative says, “The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen” (v. 36). Later, however, Peter put the Transfiguration at the center of his claim to be an apostle: “We did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the...

Foolishness in the Valley of Eshkol In a book about parenting, Paul David Tripp described the nature of foolishness in the book of Proverbs: “The fool has the world inside out and upside down. The fool looks at what is foolish and sees it as wise. The fool looks at what is good and sees it as bad. The fool looks at what is false and sees...

Wisdom in the Valley of Achor David’s adultery with Bathsheba was no private matter (see 2 Samuel 11–12). An individualistic culture such as ours might see only two consenting adults, but this transgression of God’s law affected many others. Uriah lost his life. Joab became an accomplice to murder. The royal court witnessed David’s sin and...

Facing Goliath in the Valley of Elah The world record for the largest hamburger is held by a café in Sydney, Australia. It took twelve hours to cook and four men to flip the 178-pound burger, which was served with 120 eggs, 150 slices of cheese, beetroot, lettuce, and tomato—these are preferred hamburger fixings in Australia—all on a giant...

Facing Baal on Mount Carmel The hymn writer Isaac Watts wrote these classic lyrics: “I sing the mighty power of God that made the mountains rise, That spread the flowing seas abroad and built the lofty skies. I sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day; The moon shines full at his command and all the stars obey.” There is only...

The Sermon on the Mount In January, Open Doors presented its 2018 World Watch List of which countries have the worst persecution of Christians. The organization reports that 215 million followers of Christ—about 1 in 12—live where their faith is “illegal, forbidden, or punished.” Top on the list is North Korea, which has filled that spot...

“Not My Will, But Yours Be Done” The Gethsemane Church of All Nations, also known as the Basilica of the Agony, was built in 1924 at the traditional site of the Garden of Gethsemane. Inside the church is a rock, now enclosed by a wrought-iron crown of thorns, said to be where Christ prayed on the night before His crucifixion. The church’s...

Mountain of Law versus Mountain of Grace Billy Graham spent his life preaching the gospel. Through his famous evangelistic crusades, he spoke directly to an estimated 215 million people in 185 countries. Countless millions more were reached through radio, television, books, magazines, and the internet. He said: “Our eyes ought to be on eternity...