A Moment of Hope

by Marilynn Chadwick The sign in front of a small country church caught my eye: "It's not happy people who are the most thankful. Rather it's thankful people who are the most happy." The power of giving thanks to transform any situation is still something of a mystery.  When someone gave thanks in the Bible, a miracle often followed . Jesus gave thanks before he broke the five loaves and two fish...

by Marilynn Chadwick Can practicing thankfulness actually improve your health? Some seem to think so. I read about a study in which participants were asked to list the things for which they were thankful. They were instructed to time the writing of their gratitude list and sustain this exercise for exactly five minutes. Sounds a little like weightlifting, doesn't it? The results of the study showe...

by Marilynn Chadwick I remember an old Tarzan movie in which the famed ape man was peering at a droplet of water through a microscope. Tarzan was shocked to see the water was teeming with microorganisms invisible to the naked eye. What if we could peer into the spiritual world? Like Tarzan, I imagine we'd be  shocked to see the real source  of our battles. The Bible tells of an atmosphere filled w...

by Marilynn Chadwick Thankful . One simple word—thankful, emblazoned across the front of a woman's t-shirt, caught my eye. There was a period at the end of what wasn't even a sentence. Thankful. So, I guess you could read it this way: "Thankful, period." I would like that to describe me. I'm thankful.  Period . But I have to confess. Sometimes I'm less than thankful. Maybe I am not paying enough a...

by Marilynn Chadwick One day I was outside on my deck enjoying the quiet when suddenly, two fighter jets flew overhead at a very low altitude. Their roar was deafening. Everything around me shook violently. Now I surmised the two massive military jets were part of the game opener at a nearby football stadium, so I wasn't overly alarmed. Even so, I was overwhelmed by their sound and speed. By their...

by Marilynn Chadwick It's hard to be thankful for something you think you deserve. The world is full of people who believe their parents, their schools, or society owe them something. Such was not the case with my friend Becky. She was born with a birth defect that left her just under 4 feet tall. But I forgot about her disability the minute I met her. Becky's face was beautiful— but it was her re...

by Marilynn Chadwick By prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God (Philippians 4:6b NIV). How often do you approach your prayer time with a thankful heart? If I'm honest with myself, I often lead with my list of needs without taking time to reflect on the many prayers  God has already answered. Paul reminds us that our "prayers and petitions" go hand in hand with a thank...

by Marilynn Chadwick Willie Myrick is one of my heroes. When he was just ten, Willie was kidnapped by a knife-wielding assailant. The curious youngster had reached down to pick up a ten-dollar bill the kidnapper left as "bait," when suddenly, the man jumped from behind a tree and forced Willie into the car. Speeding across town, the man spewed profanity and threats. The frightened ten-year-old dec...

by Marilynn Chadwick Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful  (Colossians 4:2 NIV). Sometimes we move so fast, it's easy to blow past the  ordinary blessings God sends each day. Who has time to drink in the magic of the blue sky? Or be thankful for the beauty all around us? And when was the last time you took an extra minute to look into the eyes of your spouse, or children, or fr...

by Marilynn Chadwick I've learned that God often shows up strongest when I am weak or afraid. But if I will trust him and step out in faith, I'm likely to discover a new dimension of his goodness. Or as a friend of mine once said, we experience God's power when we  step beyond our capacity and into our calling. On my first mission trip to Africa, God reminded me that he can be trusted to lead and...

by David Chadwick How do you start your day? Do you want to glorify God as you rise each morning so that he can use you in a powerful way When you rise, pray this prayer: "Lord, thank you for this day. Use me as your servant.  Show me someone who is hurting. Give me eyes to find a need. Help me to find a heart and heal it. Help me to find a need and fill it." Jesus modeled servanthood better than...

by David Chadwick Sometimes life is hard and other times it's easier. But the majority of time, the hard and easy parts of life seem to  coexist together like two sides of a train track. No matter what situation you are facing currently in life, here is a great motto I have taught my kids for decades now, "Do your best and give God the rest." Doing your best with God's strength actually crushes th...

by David Chadwick How many of you want to succeed in life? Did you know that most  success happens by doing the small things on a regular basis? As you do the little things well over and over again, they actually become the big things. It's the daily, faithful, one step at a time stewardship that yields such great results. Disciplining yourself in the small daily tasks will, over time, help you ac...

by David Chadwick During World War II, U.S. Army General George Patton wrote to his troops, "Fatigue makes cowards of us all. Men in condition do not fire." Vince Lombardi had a similar message when he told his players, "You've got to keep yourself in prime physical condition, because fatigue makes cowards of us all." This famous statement was also one of Winston Churchill's favorite quotes. Why i...

by David Chadwick Everyone will fail at something at one point in their lives or another. In fact, Romans 3:23 says that we all have sinned and fall short of God's glory. If you are a human being, it's inevitable that you will mess up. The healthiest thing you can do is to come to grips with the fact that you will make many mistakes over the course of your life. So how do you handle failure? What...

by David Chadwick We have looked at some hidden heroes from the Bible this week. People who are probably not as known, but had a significant impact on the storyline of the Bible. But I want to wrap up this week with another couple of bad guys. These are two individuals who tried to thwart all of the good in God's story. Yet, in spite of their efforts,  God was still able to work it out for his goo...

by David Chadwick Balaam's donkey is today's hidden hero. Yes, my hero today  is an animal.  This may make you laugh at first to think of a donkey as a hero, but you'll see why as we unfold the story. You will find the story of Balaam's donkey in Numbers 22 and 23. Balaam was a mighty and wealthy prophet  who could pronounce blessings or curses. God told him  not to prophesy  a curse against Israe...

by David Chadwick Joshua and Caleb were a significant duo in the Bible. They are definitely more well known Biblical figures, but their daddies are two of my hidden heroes. Yesterday, we learned about Nun, who was Joshua's daddy. Today's hidden hero is Caleb's daddy: Jephunneh. Found in Numbers 32:12 and Joshua 14:6, Jephunneh is referred to as a Kenizzite. We don't know much about Jephunneh, but...

by David Chadwick Most people who have been Christians for any length of time have heard of David and Goliath. You've probably heard of Adam and Eve, too. How about Daniel? But what about the less common people? Have you ever heard of Nun? He's today's hidden hero. A lesser known figure who played a significant role in God's story. There are many hidden heroes in the Bible who are either overlooke...

by David Chadwick Hidden heroes. One of my favorite things to do is to search out people in the Bible who are less likely to be seen yet  incredibly significant players in God's story. Our two hidden heroes today are Eldad and Medad. Who are they? They are found in the book of Numbers. Numbers 11:24-25 says that Moses gathered 70 elders from Israel's camp around the tent. The Lord came down and  t...

by Marilynn Chadwick ...Continued from yesterday: How could I get my arms around such a huge nation as the Sudan? I decided to pray for a random man and called him "Sudan Sam." The Sudan now had a face. A door eventually opened for me to travel with a humanitarian coalition to deliver survival kits to women and children forced to flee their village near the Darfur region of Sudan. The suffering we...

by Marilynn Chadwick When we have a strong Christology, we pray as Jesus prayed and we serve as Jesus served. Prayer opens the door for our earthly assignments to the least and the lost. If we are praying as Jesus prayed and seeing the world through his eyes, we will naturally ask God to "break our heart for the very things that break his." This means we pray with a  readiness for action.  A well-...

by Marilynn Chadwick The doctrine of Christology is connected to how we pray, live, and serve. Prayer is a major means of nourishing and strengthening our relationship with God. We pray like Jesus prayed. A strong Christology also invites us to  share Jesus's vision for the world.  We see a lost and broken humanity as Jesus sees it. The focus of our prayers then becomes restoring people to the ima...

by Marilynn Chadwick   A solid Christology is fundamental to our relationship with the triune God. A healthy Christology influences our prayer life in several ways. First, we pray as Jesus prayed, opening the door to an intimate friendship with our heavenly father. "Jesus as God" is affirmed by his unique relationship with the Father.   Next, we pray to our Father. Only through Jesus can we call G...

by Marilynn Chadwick   Christology is one of three studies of the persons of the Trinity, the other two being Paterology, the study of God the Father, and Pneumatology, the study of the Holy Spirit. The Apostles Creed, with its affirmation of both the doctrine of the Trinity and strong Christology, was written in the second century to combat the rise of false teaching in the early church.   The Do...