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March 10, 2003 Dealing With Self-Doubt Read: Psalm 26I will walk in my integrity; redeem me and be merciful to me. My foot stands in an even place. —Psalm 26:11-12 Bible In One Year: Judges 13-15 Sometimes, when I've been falsely accused, I have found myself questioning my sincerity. When I do, I follow the example of David in Psalm 26 as he responded to his critics. Appealing directly to the Lord, he expressed his firm conviction that he had walked in "integrity" (the Hebrew word means sincerity, not faultlessness). He asked God to vindicate him, for he had renounced...

March 9, 2003 A Passion For The Word Read: Psalm 119:97-104How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! —Psalm 119:103 Bible In One Year: Judges 9-12 The Bible—how much of it do you know and understand? Does it seem overwhelming? Do you feel it's too late in life to study it seriously? Consider Cyrus' story. Although his parents were Christians, he didn't have much use for the Bible. He was more interested in Shakespeare and history. By the time he was 12, he had charted the entire course of human civilization. But the Bible?...

March 8, 2003 Good News Or Bad? Read: Luke 12:35-40Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. —Luke 12:37 Bible In One Year: Judges 5-8 A teacher tells her young students, "Class, I'm going down the hall to the school office for a few minutes. I don't expect to be away long. I'm sure there won't be any trouble. I'm trusting you to work on your assignments while I'm gone." Fifteen minutes pass, then 20, then 40. Suddenly the teacher returns. Dennis has just thrown an eraser at Carol, who is doing her math. Steven...

March 7, 2003 Prayer Malfunction Read: 1 John 3:21-24This is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another. —1 John 3:23 Bible In One Year: Judges 1-4 In a box of my father's old tools I found a hand drill that was at least 60 years old. I could barely get the wheel to turn. The gears were clogged with dirt, and the pieces that hold the drill bit in place were missing. But I wanted to see if I could get it to work. I began by wiping the...

March 6, 2003 Hard Sayings Read: Luke 6:27-35To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. —Luke 6:29 Bible In One Year: Joshua 22-24 Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy tells a story of an old cobbler named Martin. After the death of his wife and child, he cried out in despair to a godly old friend, "What now is a man to live for?" His friend replied, "For God, Martin. For God." "And how must one live for God?" Martin asked. "Christ has shown us the way," said the believer. "Buy the Gospels and read. There you'll...

March 5, 2003 Follow Me Read: Mark 8:34-38Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. —Mark 8:34 Bible In One Year: Joshua 19-21 During World War II, B-17 bombers made long flights from the US mainland to the Pacific island of Saipan. When they landed there, the planes were met by a jeep bearing the sign: "Follow Me!" That little vehicle guided the giant planes to their assigned places in the parking area. One pilot, who by his own admission was not a religious man, made an insightful comment: "That...

March 4, 2003 So Many Blessings Read: Ephesians 1:3-14Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. —Ephesians 1:3 Bible In One Year: Joshua 16-18 When disaster strikes, people are exceedingly generous in their outpouring of assistance. After the terrorist attacks in September 2001, New York City was flooded with an estimated $75 million worth of towels, blankets, flashlights, water bottles, canned beans, shovels, toothpaste, stuffed animals, radios, rubber boots, and thousands of other items. There was so much stuff that those affected could not use it all. This reminds...

March 3, 2003 A Life-And-Death Matter Read: Romans 8:12-18If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. —Romans 8:13 Bible In One Year: Joshua 13-15 Nature is violent. Life and death are the law of field, stream, and jungle. A lion stalks a gazelle. A heron stands motionless at the edge of a pond, its sharp beak poised and ready to kill. High overhead a red-tailed hawk holds its deadly talons close to its body, watching for movement in the grass below. A leopard family exists at a zebra's expense. Each survives on...

March 2, 2003 Credit Due Read: Romans 16:1-16Phoebe our sister . . . has been a helper of many and of myself also. —Romans 16:1-2 Bible In One Year: Joshua 10-12 In 1946, when the US Army unveiled its 30-ton computer called ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer), two men named John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert received all the credit. But it was six women behind the scenes who made the computer work. Before Mauchly and Eckert took the stage to demonstrate ENIAC, the women had programmed the complex machine. They received no recognition at the time, but historians...

March 1, 2003 Special But Not Spoiled Read: Ephesians 6:1-4Do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. —Ephesians 6:4 Bible In One Year: Joshua 7-9 Family counselor John Rosemond asks, "Is your child special . . . the most exceptional person in the world?" He answers, "Of course—to you!" Rosemond says that letting your child know he's special to you is healthy, but no child should grow up thinking he's more special than others. "That child," he warns, "is likely to think he's also deserving of special things and...

February 28, 2003 A Purpose That Sustains Read: 2 Corinthians 11:21-29For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. —Philippians 1:21 Bible In One Year: Joshua 4-6 Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl was imprisoned by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Once set free, he wrote Man's Search For Meaning, which became a perennial bestseller. In it, Frankl shared an all-important lesson he had learned from his suffering: "There is nothing in the world, I venture to say, that would so effectively help one to survive even the worst conditions as the knowledge that there is a meaning in...

February 27, 2003 A Long Obedience Read: Philippians 2:1-13Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. —Philippians 2:12 Bible In One Year: Joshua 1-3 Every January, health club memberships dramatically increase and exercise rooms become crowded with what some people call "the New Year's resolution crowd." Fitness regulars know that by March many of the newcomers will be gone. "They don't see results as quickly as they think they will," says one club director. "People don't realize it takes a lot of work and perseverance to get in shape." It's a phenomenon we experience in the spiritual realm as...

February 26, 2003 At The Cemetery Read: John 11:25-44He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. —John 11:25 Bible In One Year: Deuteronomy 32-34 When a loved one dies and we go to the cemetery, we may join a long processional. We may sit or stand around the gravesite and listen respectfully while the minister commits the body to the earth and reads Bible verses about the resurrection. Then the casket is lowered into the ground. We may return later to leave some flowers and stand with heads bowed in memory and respect. Our loved one...

February 25, 2003 Yes Or No? Read: John 5:24-40This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. —John 17:3 Bible In One Year: Deuteronomy 29-31 If God were to give professing believers a quiz on Christianity, many would score well. They would be able to answer "Yes, it's true" to questions such as: Did Christ die for your sins? Did He rise from the dead? Is He coming back to earth? Pastor and author Bruce Larson says that he grew up saying yes to these types of biblical doctrines....

February 24, 2003 Eagle Flight Read: Isaiah 40:29-31He gives power to the weak. —Isaiah 40:29 Bible In One Year: Deuteronomy 26-28 I was watching an eagle in flight when for no apparent reason it began spiraling upward. With its powerful wings, the great bird soared ever higher, dissolved into a tiny dot, and then disappeared. Its flight reminded me of Isaiah's uplifting words: "Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles" (40:30-31). Life's heartbreaks...

February 23, 2003 God's People, God's Honor Read: 2 Samuel 21:1-14I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went. —Ezekiel 36:21 Bible In One Year: Deuteronomy 23-25 God's reputation is either enhanced or maligned by the attitudes and actions of His people. Today's Bible reading illustrates this truth. During the reign of David, God punished Israel with a 3-year famine because David's predecessor King Saul had attempted to exterminate the Gibeonites (2 Samuel 21:1). His action violated a solemn promise Joshua and the rulers of Israel had made with...

February 22, 2003 Who's Going To Heaven? Read: Romans 3:21-28We conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. —Romans 3:28 Bible In One Year: Deuteronomy 20-22 A poll for U.S. News & World Report asked 1,000 adults their opinion about who would likely make it into heaven. At the top of that list, to no one's surprise, was a well-known religious figure. Several celebrities were also listed. But it was surprising to me that of the people being surveyed, 87 percent thought they themselves were likely to get into heaven. I can't help...

February 21, 2003 Is Work Your God? Read: Exodus 20:1-6You shall have no other gods before Me. —Exodus 20:3 Bible In One Year: Deuteronomy 17-19 The ability to work is a wonderful gift, but are we taking it too far? In the past, people left their jobs at the office, but now they come home to e-mail and phone messages. Dr. Dave Arnott, associate professor of management at Dallas Baptist University, says, "I don't know whether work is taking over family and community, or whether family and community are giving up their place to work. But I know the movement...

February 20, 2003 Life After Miracles Read: Exodus 15:19-27Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. —Exodus 15:22 Bible In One Year: Deuteronomy 13-16 On the other side of every miraculous intervention by God on our behalf, there is a road of faith to travel. Whether God's power has touched our health, finances, or family relationships, we must not only praise and thank the Lord but obey Him as well. After God opened the Red Sea for His people, then released the waters to overwhelm Pharaoh's pursuing army, there was a great...

February 19, 2003 It Takes Just One Read: Ephesians 4:17-32A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates the best of friends. —Proverbs 16:28 Bible In One Year: Deuteronomy 10-12 In 1520, one person stepped off a Spanish ship in Mexico and caused the deaths of thousands of people. The man was a soldier under the leadership of Pánfilo de Narváez, and he had smallpox. The soldier didn't know it, but wherever he went he exposed the citizens to a new disease. As a result of the ensuing smallpox epidemic, many thousands of Mexican citizens died. One man. That's all...