Daily Manna | Tamil Bible Verse

When do we become who we are meant to be? If you’re watching a movie with a hero saga, it’s almost always right after the hero’s parents die that they become who they are meant to be. If you’re reading a book, the hero usually becomes “a hero” in your mind when he or she decides to go against the dominant worldview of others, for some larger purpose. Movies and books alike, it is right after our hero’s major life transition that his or her valor is tested. Meanwhile, the rest of us—who haven’t been flung into heroic situations—are just waiting for our moment. We live vicariously through our heroes, hoping that someday, we will be Captain America. But it doesn’t take government experiments to make heroes. For us normal folk, the story of Deborah the prophetess provides a great rubric. She shows us how to recognize “our moment” and act in accordance. Deborah wasn’t extraordinary on her own; it was her embrace of God’s work that made her so. When We Cry Out for Help We cann...

What does a strong person look like?  When I say “strong person,” my imagination creates a picture of someone standing tall and confident. I see him as he holds his head high, his chin pointed toward the sky. He keeps his hands on his hips, ready to conquer. He makes himself larger in the shadow of the vast world. The sky illuminates behind him as the mountains shrink in his presence. Nothing can slow him down, and nothing can stop him. He is a strong person. When we think of strength, we each—in our own way—summon images like these. We imagine a person with enough willpower to do anything they believe in. We imagine a hero. We associate strength with power and power is associated with heroic actions. This makes me feel smaller. It makes me feel like I can never measure up to the strength and dignity of a hero. I will never be that big. I will never be that important. I will never make big changes in the world. I am the person who might make little ripples—coursing lov...

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” We all get asked this question over the years. Some people know their answers, but if you’re like me, you’re patiently praying and waiting for God to show you the way. “I don’t know what I want to be,” we’ll say. “I just don’t know yet.” Whether your eighteen or fifty, you may feel this way. I’ve struggled with this question my whole life. There is so much I want to do, so many places I want to see, and so many people I want to help. God has given me passions for several different things, such as writing, missions, teaching, and law. I know I can’t do it all, but that doesn’t always stop me from wanting to. It’s when my desires take over that I have to take a step back and remember that God’s plans are always best. It’s not about what I want to be; rather it’s about who  he  wants me to be. I have prayerfully considered my future and how God wants me to use my gifts, but I never seem to get a direct answer. Sometimes, ...

If Jesus seems distant to you, you are not alone. For many, Jesus is abstract. He is like that piece of modern art you just don’t get and have trouble relating to. But this is not the Jesus in the gospels nor of early church tradition. Jesus is  right here , right now—and that idea will renew your life. 1. Jesus is indeed fully human and fully God—that changes everything. In the moment when God becomes flesh, God is  with us  in a more profound way than ever before. Jesus took on the form of a person in order to forever bond the spiritual and physical—to bridge the gap sin had created. “ ‘Behold, the virgin will become pregnant and will give birth to a son, and they will call his name Emmanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’ ” ( Matthew 1:23 LEB ) And this changes everything,  right here , right now. If  God is with us , then what can stand in opposition ( Romans 8:37–39 )? God is dwelling among us: “And the Word became flesh and took up...

“We would like to come and pray for you. Is that something you would like?” Doug, a friend of ours for twenty years, had been diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer. He was under forty and had never been a smoker, but the diagnosis came nonetheless. We had had some opportunities to discuss spiritual issues and concerns with him—though not in depth—and we knew he had attended church most of his life; still, we weren’t sure if this offer would be outside his comfort zone or not. When Phyllis asked about coming to pray, however, he enthusiastically welcomed the offer. Our church has a customary practice of praying for healing. If someone is sick, people in the congregation know they can ask the elders to come, just as  James 5  recommends. So the two of us had been called on several times to gather with other elders to pray for people with chronic, acute or terminal illnesses. The situation with Doug was a bit different in that he wasn’t a member of our church. But the...

The Man God Started With: Abraham - The Greatest Patriarch Apart from Jesus Christ, Abraham is probably the most important person in the Bible. Abraham is a giant in  Scripture  - his stature is far greater than that of Moses, David, or Paul. These latter three were great men, and God used them in great ways, even giving portions of the Scriptures to us through them. But each of them would have agreed without qualification that Abraham was his father in faith. In the early chapters of Genesis, we read of God's promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations ( Genesis 17:4 ). This was fulfilled physically and spiritually. On the physical side, Abraham became the father of the Jewish people, through whom the Messiah was born; he became the father of the many Arab tribes through his son Ishmael. On the spiritual side, Abraham has become the father of a great host of believers whose numbers are now swelled by Christians of countless tongues and nations. ...