Beauty for Ashes

The Shield of Faith In The Edges of His Ways, Amy Carmichael reminds us of a tremendous principle concerning fear and God’s ability to overcome it. She wrote, “The word used for shield signifies a great oblong shield, which covers the whole body. The dart mentioned in Ephesians 6:16 is the kind which when it strikes a hard object catches fire—‘taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.’ “The promise is that when the dart strikes the great shield of faith, though it is set on

My Utmost for His Highest IF YOU TOOK A CLASS from TFC missions professor Dr. Norm Allison, you were sure to hear Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest read to you on a regular basis. Dr. Allison introduced many of his students to this devotional book that is prized by thousands of Christians who have received inspiration, comfort, and challenge from its succinct meditations. I confess to daydreaming at times when Dr. Allison read the devotional of the day. Why did he take valuable class time to read word-for-word the thoughts of an author far removed from our contemporary

The Truth about Fear In his sermon notes Dr. Forrest writes, “God commanded His servants from Abraham to John on Patmos to ‘Fear not.’ Even though we make strong professions of faith, there are times when we act very atheistic in our belief in God’s ability to protect, provide, and keep us from harm. Hasn’t He said, ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind’? (1 Tim.1:7) When trials or tribulations come we are tempted to cave into fear, but God commands us to rise up on

Are You Willing to Wait In Achieving the Impossible, Dr. Forrest wrote about several occasions when he had to wait for God’s answer to a pressing problem. No doubt he thought about how easily Jesus turned water in wine. Surely, providing for a financial need or insight into a pressing issue could not be as difficult as this. Several times in the Gospels, Jesus admonished His disciples to wait. When His mother urged Him to perform the miracle of changing the water into wine, He replied, “My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4). He did the miracle but He

Jesus Never Fails With the storm clouds of war hanging heavy in Europe, Dr. Forrest wrote these words, “The world is seeking leadership. It seems that chaos is in charge but it is not. Newspapers and radio bulletins are full of talk about the kind of leader we need. Where are we going to find a dependable person to lead us through the storms that are swelling? All have human limitations. Many already have turned against the president. This has always been true with human leadership. Napoleon experienced this along with Alexander the Great, and Charlemagne. “While these men were

Setting the Pattern I KNOW SOMETHING about patterns. Among my earliest recollections are those of my mother using a pattern to make a dress for herself or shirts for her seven sons. I also remember my father using a rafter as a pattern to cut other rafters to be used in buildings on our farm. Later, when I was employed by the LeTourneau Company of Georgia, I saw again the extensive use of patterns in making the huge earth-moving equipment for which this company was famous. In these instances I learned two important truths. First, the pattern is an important

Not Just For Today I CLOSED MY BIBLE and prayed, “God, You have brought me to this place. There is no question about this. Therefore, I’m going to trust You to fulfill Your promises to me. I don’t know how You will do it, but I believe You will provide the money I need for this semester.” Even though I had received two grants, they were not enough to cover the complete cost of my tuition and books. I was out of money, my bank account was empty, and I was tempted to believe I also was out of hope.

Be vs. Do SOME YEARS AGO we moved into a professional-class neighborhood in Guayaquil, Ecuador. We were to plant a church among this least-reached people group. We didn’t know anyone, and God impressed upon us that we needed to ‘be’ and not worry so much about ‘doing.’ We needed to be His love in a place where people’s houses and garages are full, but their hearts are empty. What we are is more important than what we do. The fruit of the Spirit is much more important than the gifts of the Spirit. Recently my husband and I had the

The Secret to Packing Light Are you ready for the unexpected? Most of us want to believe that we are. We try to prepare for what “may happen,” but we never truly know what waits for us around the next bend in life. We pack for a trip while going over a list of things we believe we must have with us. But Jesus told His disciples, “Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way” (Luke 10:4). Mark records the Lord’s command this way: “Do not put on two tunics,” (Mark 6:8). In

Your Greatest Need What is your greatest need today? Is it money for a pressing financial obligation? Peace for a restless, anxious heart or a sense of reassurance that what you are doing is right on track with God’s will for your life? Jesus told His disciples, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8). Why do we avoid asking God for wisdom, favor, insight, direction,