A Moment of Hope

by Marilynn Chadwick "Where there is no vision the people perish" Proverbs 29:18 KJV Our God-given dreams can impact the entire direction of our lives. The Bible reminds us of the importance of dreams: "Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29:18 KJV). Some of the most courageous parents I know have raised their children in fragile neighborhoods. For them, dreams can divert their...

by Marilynn Chadwick "Humility comes before honor." Proverbs 18:12 If you want to be strong, be humble. Strength comes through humility. The Bible consistently reminds us of this paradox. As believers, we are called to be servants. To give up our rights and die to self. I'm reminded of Paul's realization that only when he was "weak" was he truly "strong" (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). We hear a lot abou...

by Marilynn Chadwick "Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6 AMPC Proverbs 22:6 became one of my "go to" parenting principles. I discovered early on that one of the best things I could do for my children was to study them. What delighted them? How did they best learn? Proverbs 22:6 re...

by Marilynn Chadwick "An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels." Proverbs 31:10 What does it mean to be a godly wife? As a new believer when David and I married, this question came to mind often. There were plenty of "how to" books out there, but I wanted to know what the Bible had to say. I found some practical tips on marriage tucked into the pages of Proverbs. Widely...

by Marilynn Chadwick "My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings." Proverbs 4:20 Consider the miracle of speech. Our voice sets us apart from the animals. It allows us to communicate with each other and with God. Think of the people whose voice is familiar to you. When my husband David calls, he doesn't have to identify himself. I know his voice because I know him so well. So...

by David Chadwick "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe." Proverbs 18:10 There is power in the name of the Lord. Today's proverb reminds us of that. The name of the Lord provides safety to all who call upon it. In the Old Testament, the Jews thought God's name was so holy they would never even utter it, but in the New Testament, all of the world comes...

by David Chadwick "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will." Proverbs 21:1 This proverb is a wonderful reminder about the sovereignty of God over everything in this world, even rulers and kings. He rules and reigns above everything. This verse shares a similar truth to another proverb in Proverbs 16:9, which says, "The heart of man plans his way,...

by David Chadwick "A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold." Proverbs 22:1 Today's proverb focuses on the importance of having a good name and a positive reputation. In fact, terrorists and extortionists have found one of the greatest motivations for paying a large ransom is the threat to someone's good name. Interestingly, throughout the Bible...

by David Chadwick "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life." Proverbs 4:23 Today's proverb tells us about the importance of guarding our hearts. Out of our hearts flow the springs of all life. There is a phrase that I've lived by for many years that I want to share with you again today: "The heart of the matter is a matter of the heart." The core of everything that...

by David Chadwick "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits." Proverbs 18:21 King Solomon is the primary author of the book of Proverbs. Over the next few weeks, we are going to look at some of the simple truths and wise sayings from this book of the Bible. I pray that as you read each of these truths, your faith life will deepen and that you will gr...

by Marilynn Chadwick "Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you." Exodus 20:12 NIV Dad encourages me to finish my own race strong. Live a life of sacrifice and honor. Give yourself for the larger good. Put others before yourself. Don't give up. Family is worth it. Hold onto your faith. No matter what comes your way, persevere. And always do...

by Harper Brame as told to Marilynn Chadwick "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart." Col 3:3a NIV …Continued from Wednesday… After I graduated from boot camp, my superiors discussed my next steps. They asked if I would volunteer for submarine school. "No sir," I told the officer. "I don't want any part of that." I had wanted to go to the Hospital Corps school, the U.S. Navy training fac...

by Harper Brame as told to Marilynn Chadwick "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 NIV So how on earth did I end up working on a submarine? Well, it was definitely not my original plan. The war was wrapping up after Japan was bombed, but the military draft continued because there were still many dan...

by Harper Brame as told to Marilynn Chadwick I was barely 18 when I entered the Navy. But I have a lifetime of memories from my tour of duty as a submarine sailor. It's been such a long time since I've thought about that blue whale. It's funny how things can suddenly come to mind out of nowhere. It's sort of like the time we had a hot running torpedo on the sub. The captain quickly sent us to the...

by Marilynn Chadwick "The earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number— living things both large and small." Psalm 104:24b,25 NIV …Continued from Friday… My Dad paused before continuing the story and got real quiet. He was thinking back to the astounding size of the creature he had seen. "I was up in the shears of the conning tower. Bac...

by Marilynn Chadwick "Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps" Psalm 148:7 It was Christmas Day and the entire family had gathered at our home. Our grandchildren gazed at their great grandfather with wonder as he unwrapped his special Christmas gift. We had just finished Christmas dinner and the children crowded around "Great Grandaddy" as he opened his present. What...

by Marilynn Chadwick "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong." 1 Corinthians 16:3 NIV Daddy is one of the few remaining World War II era submarine veterans, and the last man still alive from his submarine, the USS Besugo. "Guess I'll have to turn out the lights," he smiles. He and my mom vividly remembered the war—they didn't take our freedoms for granted. So, growing up, n...

by Marilynn Chadwick "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." Galatians 5:1 Daddy was always proud of his family. Not only his parents and siblings, but also his grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. He often shared stories from his growing up years and said the way he felt about his family reminded him of the old country music song by Merle Haggard, "The Roots of My Raising Run Dee...

by Marilynn Chadwick "Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him'." Genesis 2:18 During our growing up years, Mom was more than just Dad's companion. She was what the Bible refers to in Genesis 2:18 as his "helper." The original word in Hebrew is ezer , which means a strong, often heroic, source of support. Mom was both strong and kin...

by Marilynn Chadwick "Let marriage be held in honor among all…" Hebrews 13:4a When people meet my 98-year-old dad, they often ask me, "What's his secret?" "How does he look so young and stay so sharp?" Daddy would be the first to tell you that part of his secret is that he had a great wife. When my mom went home to be with the Lord three years ago, she and my dad had been married just shy of 70 ye...

by David Chadwick Matthew 2:19-23 is how we will wrap up our study of the Wise Men. Today also completes our eight-week series where we have looked at the many characters who found themselves connected to the cradle of Jesus. Herod finally died in 4 A.D. While in Egypt, an angel of the Lord appeared once again to Joseph in a dream. He told Joseph that it was now safe to return to Israel. Joseph ro...

by David Chadwick Herod came to the realization that he had been tricked by the Wise Men. He found out that they had departed and gone home instead of coming back to tell him where the new baby king was located. Now, Herod did not know fully who this baby was, but he knew enough to make him afraid. His paranoia heightened as he knew his throne was threatened. Fear makes people do crazy things! The...

by David Chadwick Yesterday, we looked at the part in the story where the Wise Men found Jesus. Did you know that the three gifts from the Wise Men do NOT mean there were only three wise men? The Magi most likely traveled with a large number of attendants. There could have been numerous Magi who followed the star and found themselves with the Christ child. Today, let's look at Matthew 2:13-15. Aft...

by David Chadwick Matthew 2:7-12 is where the story of the Wise Men continues. After Herod heard of this Christ child they came to worship, Herod was troubled. While not exactly described with these words, one can assume that he grew in anger and jealousy at the thought of someone coming after his throne… especially a baby! Herod's desires were nefarious to the core. Verse 7 says that "Herod summo...

by David Chadwick This week, we wrap up our Characters at the Cradle series by looking at the Wise Men, or the Magi, as they are sometimes called. If you have ever heard the Christmas carol "We Three Kings," you have heard of the Wise Men. An account of the Wise Men's story is only found in Matthew 2, not in Luke's gospel. So, we are going to take a break from our verse-by-verse study of Luke and...