The late Peter Marshall, an eloquent speaker and for several years the chaplain of the United States Senate, used to love to tell the story of “The Keeper of the Spring,”1 a quiet forest dweller who lived high above an Austrian village.
Read MoreCategory Archives: Love
Jesus’ Portrait of a Servant
Shortly before her death in February 1971, my mother did an oil painting for me. It has become a silent “friend” of mine, a mute yet eloquent expression of my calling. It is a picture of a shepherd with his sheep.
Read MoreI Know a Peacemaker
A man I have admired for decades, the man who taught me Hebrew in seminary many years ago, is Dr. Bruce Waltke. He is not only a Semitic scholar par-excellence, he is a gracious servant of our Lord.
Read MoreMercy Is More Than Words
Shocking stories make headlines today with remarkable regularity. A young woman was brutally attacked as she returned to her apartment late one night. She screamed and shrieked as she fought for her life.
Read MoreA Promise for ”The Gentle”
What comes to mind as you read Jesus’s words, “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5)? Truth be told, we may get a false first impression. We may think, Blessed are the weak for they shall become doormats.
Read MoreA Promise for ”Those Who Mourn”
I remember an incident many years ago when a man in our church fell while taking a shower. As he slipped on the slick floor, he fell against a sheet of glass with all his weight.
Read MoreWhen You Are the Offender, Part 2
Let’s say you’ve mustered the courage to approach someone you’ve offended. You’ve confessed what you did with sincerity. You’ve asked for forgiveness. But he or she refuses to forgive you. Now what?
Read MoreThree Basic Ingredients of Servanthood
The Word of God lays a solid, biblical foundation for what it means to have a servant mentality. But let’s get some handles on what’s involved in pulling it off. For starters, let me suggest three basic ingredients of servanthood.
Read MoreHumility and Inferiority
Having “humility of mind” is really an attitude, isn’t it? It’s a preset mentality that determines ahead of time thoughts like this: “I care about those around me.” “Why do I always have to be first?”
Read MoreThe Servant as a Giver
I like the tongue-in-cheek definition of philosophers one of my seminary professors would occasionally use. It’s classic: Philosophers are people who talk about something they don’t understand and make you think it’s your fault!
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