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A King’s Request In the story of Aladdin, a young man finds a mysterious and tarnished golden lamp. When he rubs it, a genie appears, granting him three wishes. In that moment, Aladdin’s world is changed because he has the ability to receive whatever his heart desires. Maybe you have wondered what you would request if you had the opportunity...

The Gift of Wisdom King Solomon was the third king of Israel. Known for his incredible wealth and power, Solomon reigned for 40 years during one of the most prosperous times in Israel’s history. According to Scripture, “The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones” (2 Chron. 1:15). Solomon was known for his extravagant lifestyle,...

How Great a Love According to the book and movie Love Story, “love means never having to say you’re sorry.” A chart-topping pop song declares “love hurts.” If popular entertainment is any indication, we are obsessed with love. One researcher asserted that 60 percent of songs in the modern era were devoted to the subject of love and relationships.

The Gift of Grace “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound / That saved a wretch like me. / I once was lost, but now am found / was blind, but now I see.” The words of this famous hymn were penned by John Newton. In the mid-1700s, Newton worked on a slave vessel and was described as the most profane man the captain had ever met. During a storm,...

The Gift of Unity The human body is a complex, intricate system. The basic parts include the head, neck, torso, arms, and legs. But that is only the beginning. There are five vital organs: brain, heart, kidneys, liver, and lungs. We have 650 muscles that help our body move, 206 bones, 78 organs, and 30 to 37 trillion cells. Each part works...

Partners Through Prayer As a junior high school student, I received a letter from an elderly woman in my home church. She wrote that she could not do much physically any longer, so she saw her primary ministry as prayer. She wrote to let me know that she would be praying for me daily for the rest of her life. Paul similarly encouraged the...

Knowing God Since 1995, Oxford University Press has been publishing a series of books called A Very Short Introduction. The purpose of this series is to provide readers with an overview of an entire complex subject in a very short book. The series has been quite successful with over 600 titles, ranging from introductions to animal behavior...

Free and Forgiven Celebrated children’s television host Fred Rogers was also an ordained Presbyterian minister. When he was dying of stomach cancer, he often read Matthew 25 where Jesus tells the parable of the sheep and the goats. “Am I a sheep?” he would ask his wife, Joanne. She would reply, “Fred, if anyone is a sheep, then you are.”...

Jesus the Creator John Calvin once declared, “There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice.” One of the fundamental beliefs in the Bible is that the world is not the result of chance, but rather that God is the Creator of all things. This belief leads to a sense of purpose in our...

The Hope of the Gospel “I now pronounce you husband and wife!” In the right context and spoken by the right person, these are beautiful and powerful words. Philosopher J. L. Austin calls this type of statement a “speech-act.” That is, in the speaking of certain words, an action is taking place. With this statement, the bride and groom, who...