   A touching image of Pope Francis tenderly embracing a severely disfigured man in St Peter’s Square has gone viral.    Pope Francis kissed and blessed the man, whose face was covered in boils, after his general address at the Vatican on Wednesday.  The pope laid his hands on the head of the […]
265) An Uncommon Touch Read More »
By Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1939), Letters and Papers from Prison, pages 346-7, edited by Eberhard Bethge, copyright 1953, SCM Press, Ltd.    Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a young theologian of great promise.  He became active in the Confessing Church movement in Germany which took a stand against the Nazi government in the 1930’s.  His activities made him
262) Who Am I? I Am Thine. Read More »
By Don Sweeting, from his December 19, 2013 blog at http://www.donsweeting.wordpress.com   Sweeting serves as the president of Reformed Theological Seminary (Orlando, Florida)    It always intrigues me that the best Christmas stories are filled with traces of the gospel.  That’s true of A Christmas Carol, It’s A Wonderful Life, the story of St.
by Rich Flowers in the 3-20-2012 edition of The Athens Review, Athens, Texas       Sometimes life can take a turn that makes you see things in a different light.    A few weeks ago, Patrick Greene of San Antonio was known in Henderson County simply as a professed atheist who threatened to
226) Atheist ‘Flabbergasted’ at Christian Assistance Read More »
From The Early Christians: In Their Own Words, (Ch. 2; #13); Selected and Edited by Eberhard Arnold (1883-1935); Copyright 2003 by The Bruderhof Foundation, Inc.  Used with permission.  View this book and many others from Plough Publishing at:  http://www.plough.com/ Polycarp (69 – 155), was an early church leader known as a kindly pastor and a defender of
188) The Death of Polycarp Read More »
   Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”  Behind the writing of many of our best-loved hymns are stories of trouble:  personal tragedy, ill health, early death, or conflict.  And when we are in trouble, it seems, we are more likely to look to the Lord
166) The Man Who Wrote “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” Read More »
The Amazing Story of Antoinette Tuff By Eric Metaxas, http://www.breakpoint.org , September 5, 2013    How do we respond when everything is on the line?  In fear, or in faith?  Or perhaps in a little of both?  Well, one amazing story is getting national attention, and I want you to hear it.  Â
149) A Gentle Response Read More »
From Wisdom of the Sadhu: Teachings of Sundar Singh, (1889-1929), compiled and edited by Kim Comer. (Reprinted from http://www.bruderhof.com. Copyright 2003 by The Bruderhof Foundation, Inc. Used with permission.) For this and many other books on-line from The Bruderhof, see <www.plough.com> “A Warning to the West”    Christian:  Haven’t you visited America and western Europe?  What
146) The Teachings of Sadhu Sundar Singh (#3) Read More »
From At the Master’s Feet, 1922, by Sadhu Sundar Singh (1889-1929)  (see  Meditation #143)    The great gift of service is that it also helps the one who serves.  Once when traveling in Tibet, I was crossing a high mountain pass with my Tibetan guide.  The weather had suddenly turned bitterly cold, and my
145) The Teachings of Sadhu Sundar Singh (#2) Read More »
From At the Master’s Feet, Sadhu Sundar Singh (1889-1929) Â (See Meditation #143) Â Â Â Once, as I traveled through the Himalayas, there was a great forest fire. Â Everyone was frantically trying to fight the fire, but I noticed a group of men standing and looking up into a tree that was about to go up in
144) The Teachings of Sadhu Sundar Singh (#1) Read More »
