God’s Power Never Goes Out

Ruth Gulbranson

The diagnosis was grim: stage three ovarian cancer. My friend, Joyce, had no forewarning of a serious illness. Her regular check-ups brought no indication of a problem, and now she faced a major surgery and an uncertain road toward what we all hoped would be recovery.

In Pain and in Prayer

Within a matter of days, surgery was scheduled, and Joyce and her husband, Michael, called for a group of friends and elders from church to pray for them. We gathered with hearts sobered by the frailty of life and tender with gratitude for Michael and Joyce. We were serious—knowing the gravity of the prognosis—but hopeful that God would be pleased to grant healing and restoration.

Strong winds had blown all day, and when we met at Michael and Joyce’s condo, their electricity had gone out because of the storm. The dim, overcast evening left the home in shadows. With a lone camping lantern on the table, our group of fifteen or so crowded into the living room.

Luke : The Man Who Wrote the Most Beautiful Book in the World

Luke, Lucas [Lo̅o̅ke,Lo̅o̅'cas]—light-giving or luminous.

The Man Who Wrote the Most Beautiful Book in the World

Less is known of Luke than any other New Testament writer. This we do know, he was a Gentile and probably the brother of Titus (2 Cor. 8:16; 12:18). Paul speaks of him as a “beloved physician.” Luke must have been a man of some wealth, otherwise he could not have traveled with Paul as his friend and useful companion (Acts 1:1; Col. 4:14; 2 Tim. 4:11; Philem. 24). Tertullian said of this native of Antioch that he received his illumination from Paul.

Luke was a man of learning and knowledge, an exact observer and faithful recorder. His medical training taught him to be exact. He is in the first rank as a reliable historian, scholarly, skillful and sympathetic (Luke 1:1-3;Acts 1:1-3). His gospel is the most literary of the four. With his Greek mind he had a sense of form, a beautiful style—studied and elaborate. A poet, he was unsurpassed as a word-painter. Luke’s gospel has been described as the most wonderful book ever written, the most beautiful book in the world. Above it and within it we hear the rustle of the angels' wings, the music of angels’songs.

Why Beyonce Is Not A Role Model for Today's Youth

ALYSSA SHULL

 

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For many girls, the Super Bowl performances on Sunday were a celebration of femininity and girl power. Talented artists like Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson sang and danced on the media’s largest stage of the year: The Super Bowl. But imagine with me for a moment if all of this star power, talent, femininity and glamour was used to exalt the name of Jesus.

How amazing would that be?

I want to show you the difference between two performers, Jennifer Hudson and Beyoncé. They had the same audience, same platform, yet completely different showmanship and performances.

Don't Speak--Shout Your Victory!

"From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised." (Psalm 113:3)

Praise God. Praise Him in the morning. Praise Him at noon. Praise Him at night. If you've never praised God in your life, then get started right now. Praise Him for freedom. Praise Him for healing and Calvary. Praise Him for the Name of Jesus.
You ought to be shouting your way to work and shouting your way back home! If there's anything the devil can't stand, it's praise.
If you've taken territory from the devil and he's coming against you to get it back, this is not the time to sit down and whine about how things aren't working out. It's not time to decide that God has taken His hand off your life.

SINGING TO THE LORD

One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple…Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord. Psalm 27:4, 6

Brother Zhang, a young medical doctor and preacher in Zhejiang, China, refused to join the government Three Self Patriotic Church. He was arrested and spent eighteen years in prison eating poor food, being beaten and drowning in the stench of cellmates. He shares this testimony:

“The eighteen years were a tremendous spiritual challenge, which brought great blessings I never before thought possible in my life. Prison officials ordered me to empty the camp night-soil pit, the prison’s cesspool. While I had little experience of physical labor, its hardship and suffering did not frighten me. Although most of the other prisoners dreaded night-soil pit duty as the most difficult task in prison, I accepted this assignment without complaint. 

The Power of Love

Love never fails. —1 Corinthians 13:8

The power of love is what it achieves. Stephen demonstrated the immense power of love when he prayed for the people stoning him: "Lord, do not hold this sin against them" (Acts 7:60). This is what God wanted—this display of love.

Stephen, who almost certainly was Paul's role model, is one of the most outstanding people in the Bible. I cannot express how much I admire him. And then I examine his mastery of the Old Testament (Acts 7) and observe how he put his opponents in the succession of the disobedient in ancient history: "You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!" (v. 51). Although no one was immediately converted, never had one spoken with such power.

The whole time he spoke, the pure love of God flowed through him and from him. The proof of this was his concern for them, not himself, when they were stoning him. He, therefore, fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." It was a virtual reenactment of Jesus' prayer on the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34).