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If you've ever met a 5-year-old, you'll know they're full of questions.
If you’ve ever faced difficult times—and who hasn’t?—then the next Grace to You could provide the much-needed word of encouragement you’ve been looking for. In remembrance of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, be here for an interview with John MacArthur that originally aired just days after September 11th, 2001.
As a secret service agent, Darin Kinder was trained to handle emergencies. As a Christian, he was gifted with compassion for others. Hear his eyewitness account of the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York City on 9/11/2001 and how he was able to serve other people and make it out alive.
Receive a copy of "Bury Me in a Dirty Suit" and an audio download of "Serving and Surviving in New York on 9/11" for your donation of any amount! Plus, receive member-exclusive benefits when you make a recurring gift today. Your monthly support helps families thrive.
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Mel Gibson's 2004 epic The Passion of the Christ is returning to theaters for a nationwide run. Should you take your family to see the 4K-remastered and Dolby Atmos-upgraded version of this faith classic? Plugged In has a review that will answer any questions you may have about this R-rated re-release.
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9/11 survivor Darin Kinder tells about rescuing people from the rubble of collapsed buildings.
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Immediately after the Mount Carmel experience, Elijah instructed Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain” (1 Kings 18:41 NIV). But then we read that the sky was cloudless. How do we explain his announcement? I found the answer in the Hebrew word that is translated sound. Elijah was choosing to hear God’s covenant and disregard the circumstances.
The circumstances: the silent sky, the blazing sun, dearth of clouds. The promise of God, the words spoken to Elijah, said, “Pull out your umbrella.” Elijah chose to hear the “voice” of God’s promise.
What about us? Multiple times each day, we choose the message we follow. Are we reeling from the problems, or are we standing on God’s promises?
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For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
I happened to be there when my friend, Rick, tried a jet ski for the first time. Now, you may have seen those little water machines that look kind of like a baby snowmobile, and they’re a lot of fun. But it takes some skill to stay balanced on them as they start to take off across the water. Rick actually handled it pretty well for a while; he’s a good water skier, and that didn’t surprise me. But it was inevitable that he would eventually fall off. I expected that when he hit the water, that jet ski was going to take right off without him across the water. I wondered how he’d ever get back! It didn’t happen. That jet ski is designed to start going in a circle near you, and it did, and it circles until you can get back on. Well, that’s exactly what you need when you fall off.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “There When You Fall.”
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Lamentations 3, and we’re going to begin reading at verse 19. Now, you probably were not discussing Lamentations over breakfast this morning, but Jeremiah wrote it. It follows this long book that’s named after him. Of course, he’s a great man of God, but he’s a great man of God who knew about failure too. In fact, here’s what he says; maybe some things you and I can relate to. I’m sure we can. Beginning with Lamentations 3:19 and then ending with a phrase that you may have sung in church many times.
“I remember my affliction in my wandering…” Can you relate to that? He says, “the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them.” See, his mind is playing back failures. “My soul is downcast within me,” he says. “This really gets me depressed,” in other words. “Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope.” Okay, the sun’s coming up now. “Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.”
Jeremiah is reflecting on times when even the most committed of us believers fall off, so to speak, as my friend fell off that jet ski. And he captures the feelings very well. “When I fail my Lord I feel discouraged, I feel depressed, sometimes like, ‘What’s the use?’ But every new day, every morning His compassions do not fail, His mercies are new every morning. Every new day I find my Lord circling near me to pick me up even though I fell off.”
The prophet Zephaniah says, “Every new day, He does not fail.” Yes, when I looked at how that jet ski operated, I couldn’t help but think of how our Lord deals with us. It could be that even now you’re feeling crushed by a feeling of failure; you’ve let your Lord down, you’ve let yourself down, and you’ve let other people down. And maybe you feel like you’re just going to stay down. In fact, at times like these your feelings are telling you, “Hey, you fell off! And you know what? The Lord’s going on without you, buddy!” Wrong. “His mercies are new every morning.”
Jeremiah said, “My hope is every new day is a new start. Great," he says of God, "is Your faithfulness.” Not great is our faithfulness; great is His faithfulness. So, no failure needs to last more than 24 hours. Because there’s a new day, and there’s new mercies.
Today your Lord is there, circling faithfully. See, He stopped when you fell off, and He’s been lovingly waiting to pick you up and to get you off to a fresh new start.
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