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The boy Samuel heard God’s voice in the middle of the night. Have you ever wondered why God spoke to him? Or what God said that night? The scene may be familiar, but what it represents is not. It is a message as relevant today as it was when the Lord first spoke it.

From the Series: Fascinating Stories of Forgotten Lives: Rediscovering Some Old Testament Characters

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Anxiety can feel crippling and heavy with shame. Psychologist and author Dr. Ed Welch fumbled with his own anxiety, and eventually, it led him into life-altering encounters with God—who, it turned out, had beautiful things to say about faith and mental health.

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Muriel began repeating her stories without realizing it. Alzheimer’s disease had begun its insidious attack and would ultimately take over her mind. Her husband left his prestigious career behind to care for her full-time. It was a decision that had been made in his heart, years earlier, when he vowed “in sickness or in health.” Hear the lessons Robertson McQuilkin learned about true love as he provided full-time care for Muriel for over a decade.

If you're paying attention, a child will often tip you off very early as to what to expect from them later on in life. I've got movies of our daughter, and she was about five or six, maybe, singing for us using a spoon - a big wooden spoon - as a microphone and standing on something in the living room as a stage. Well, over the years, she's done singing, and a lot of speaking. It was really no great shock; we saw the first hints of that when she was little. When our son was five, he was tying our house together with string very imaginatively. I'd walk in, I'd open the back door, and it would open the drawer of my dresser in the bedroom. He had everything tied together. At the age of 13 he was the technician of the house, who loved to figure out how things work, how to take them apart, how to put them together, I hope - how to solve problems. You know what? He grew up to be a great planner and a very creative ministry technician. There's a pattern...a connective line from the past into the future in the life of every child; my child and God's child. In fact, that's true of you too.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Leading of a Lifetime."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 37. I'm going to begin reading in verse 4, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this." Verse 23 says, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in His way." Don't you get the feeling as you hear about how God is leading in these passages that His leading in our lives is a consistent, long-term pattern - not just some sudden departure. God usually leads in a straight line. He doesn't just go "boing" off on some tangent. It's a straight line from what He's been doing in your past, into the present, and consistently into your future.

Now, maybe you're at one of those crossroads right now. It's decision time; you've got a major choice to make. Well, one guideline in determining what God wants for the future is to see where He's been leading you and how He's been leading you in the past. For example, here it talks about Him giving you the desires of your heart. Could you trust your desires in this decision? Well, if you've kept the first part of the verse you can. "Delight yourself in the Lord."

Have you been, over the last months and years, having daily time with Him, where you're just enjoying Him?

Then it says, "Commit your way to the Lord." I wonder if you've said to Him over and over again about this area of your life, "Lord, anything goes. Whatever You say is okay." I'm committing to obey you, sight unseen. I don't know what it is but I will follow You. You're not giving Him a contract to sign; you're giving Him a blank piece of paper that you've already signed.

Well, with those understandings when you're trying to decide, look at those desires you've felt for a long time, especially the ones you've felt when you've been close to Him. Not just things you've felt for a few days. And if they line up with God's Word and with good counsel, and with the facts, those desires are probably God-planted.

Now, keep a spiritual diary of what He says to you through the Bible. I've been doing that for years. I'm so glad I've got that. Don't make a major decision based on one verse, but look at the things God has been saying to you over and over. Look for the pattern. God's will for tomorrow will pull together all He's been doing in your life up until now: the experiences, the fulfilling achievements, the talents, the desires, the themes that He's unfolded to you in His Word.

So before you look ahead, look back at God's pattern in your life. His will is the natural next step of following Him daily up until now. He's leading you in a st

Read: Psalm 119:9-16; Acts 2:40-44

Oliver was passing the kitchen door when he heard his little brother’s voice. “Dad, can I please have those shoes? They’re the kind Daryl Stewart wears.”

Oliver grinned and went into the kitchen. “Do you think that since Daryl Stewart is a basketball star those shoes will automatically turn you into a great player?”

Jude shrugged. “They might help.”

“Jude,” said Dad, “you know it’s effort, not a fancy pair of shoes, that will help make you a good basketball player.”

Oliver nodded. “Dad’s right, Jude. If you practice every day, you’ll get better and better, no matter what kind of shoes you wear.”

Jude looked a bit disappointed. “Guess I’ll start practicing then,” he said with a sigh and headed for the door.

Oliver grinned at his dad. “I was about to head over to Bible study at church, but I think I’ll stay and help Jude with his basketball practice instead.”

Dad motioned toward Oliver’s Bible on the kitchen counter. “Grandma gave each of you kids a new Bible for Christmas, didn’t she?” he asked. “Is that it?”

Oliver nodded. “Yep. My name’s on the cover. Isn’t that cool?” He smoothed his hand over the embossed name.

Dad nodded thoughtfully. “Nice shoes and nice Bibles are great, but just having them doesn’t make you a good player or help you grow spiritually, does it?”

It took a moment for Oliver to realize what his dad meant. “You’re saying that just like Jude needs to practice to become a better basketball player, I need to learn from God by spending time in His Word.”

Dad nodded. “And one really great way to do that is to study the Bible with other believers. After all, you can’t learn to play basketball all by yourself, can you? You need to practice and learn from the coach as a team. Jesus never meant for us to live the Christian life alone—He puts other believers in our lives so we can learn to walk with Him together and love and support each other along the way. That’s a big way He shows us who He is, and why church and Bible studies are so important.”

“Okay, Dad,” Oliver said. “I’ll go to Bible study. I don’t want to miss practice with my spiritual team!”

–A. J. Schut

How about you? Do you want to get to know Jesus more and more? To improve in sports, you need to learn the game and spend time practicing. To deepen your relationship with God, you need to learn about who He is, and a good way to do that is to spend time in His Word—both by yourself and with other believers. Spend time with other Christians so you can learn about Jesus together and encourage each other in your walk with Him.

Today's Key Verse: They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42 (NIV)

Today's Key Thought: Learn with other Christians

Do you feel overwhelmed, anxious, or stressed out—or do you feel peace? 

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Near our home is a famous garden where we often take walks with a young boy our family cares for. His favorite area is the Children’s Garden, which has a small door large enough for him to run through but small enough to force me to crouch. He laughs as I drop to my knees and wiggle through the small opening to chase him.

The small garden gate reminds me of Jesus’ object lesson in Matthew 18 where Jesus calls a little child to His side to explain the type of person who will enter the kingdom of heaven (v. 2). It was a bold example, for in Christ’s day to be a child was to be inconsequential and overlooked. Unlike today, their opinions and desires didn’t matter. Jesus uses this description to highlight our human tendency to be noticed and seek power and influence. 

Of course, Jesus wasn’t asking His disciples to become children again, but rather pointing to the traits that mark those who serve him. The biggest marker is humility—the person who “takes the lowly position” (v. 4) and serves others. 

The small garden door is a reminder that humility doesn’t come naturally to us. Believers in Jesus, however, are to be this way. We’re to follow our Savior, who modeled this way of living by making “himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant” (Philippians 2:6).

The post Hon. EC Manning – Sermons of Christ appeared first on MGO Radio/Canada's National Bible Hour.

Read: 1 Corinthians 10:13; James 1:12-15

Sierra shut her bedroom door and tossed her backpack onto the bed. She set her cat, Tommy, on the floor. “Stay away from the curtains, Tommy,” she warned. “You know you always get stuck in them.”

Sierra flopped onto her bed and opened her backpack. After digging around a moment, she pulled out a book. “What do you think, Tommy? Should I?”

Tommy didn’t answer. He was staring at the lace curtain waving in the breeze from the window.

Sierra tossed the book onto the bed beside her. “I know Mom told me not to read these kinds of books, but all my friends read them. They can’t be that bad, can they?” She picked the book up again. The cover looked interesting. She flipped it over and read the back for the tenth time. A few pages couldn’t hurt.

Sierra opened the book and soon had read several pages. Then a quick movement made her jump. It was only Tommy, she realized with relief. He had pounced on the curtain. His claws were caught in the fabric, and he hung down, his full length stretched out. He was helpless.

“Silly cat, leave the curtain alone!” Sierra freed him, and he marched across the room and sat with his back to the curtain.

Sierra turned to her book again. She knew she shouldn’t read any more, but soon she was engrossed again. She had finished the first chapter when a sound caught her attention.

She looked up and stared in disbelief. Tommy was hanging from the curtain again. The temptation had been too great. Sierra began to laugh.

“Tommy, you should know better, after all the times you’ve gotten stuck. Resist the temptation! You should—”

Sierra stopped and stared at Tommy and then at the book in her hand. She dropped the book as though it were on fire. I’m acting just like Tommy, she thought. But he can’t resist temptation, and I can, because Jesus gives me the power to say no to sin.

She loosened Tommy from the curtain again, then picked up the book and placed it in her backpack. “I’m going to return this book and ask Jesus to forgive me for disobeying Mom,” she told her cat. “I don’t want to become ensnared like you!”

–Christa Long

How about you? Have you ever given in to temptation and regretted it later? When you give in to sinful desires, it’s easy to get stuck. But there’s good news—Jesus gives us the power to resist temptation. Confess the wrong you’ve done to Him, and He will forgive you and help you do what’s right.

Today's Key Verse: God is faithful…When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)

Today's Key Thought: Resist temptation