In the final analysis Packer writes, “What matters supremely is not that I know God, but the larger fact which underlies that knowledge: He knows me.”

I thank God today for the service and the sacrifice of 24.5 million veterans in America.

Twice a year, members transform the church’s fellowship chapel into a free foot-care clinic. Local residents, many of whom are homeless, receive professional care from trained nurses.

The book is filled with anecdotes about Khandjian’s own foibles — from pouting over a poor performance at a church softball game to careless comments toward a gang member on a Miami beach — as well as stories of witnessing God’s work of restoration in the lives of his friends and family.

We must deal with pain and suffering truthfully — as Scripture does — and following the example of Christ.

People may put themselves forward rather than trusting God to promote them in His season. This kind of behavior is almost always a failure to remember the gospel. Only God’s opinion really matters, and He has said that in Christ, believers are the apple of his eye.

Before Bridges, Chavez said the only help most refugees received was from the overburdened refugee-resettlement agency. With so many families in need, Bridges stepped into refugees’ lives.

“Christian relationships go deeper than friendship, deeper than even family ties. We are connected to one another through our union with Christ, and our bond is forever. The fellow believers we sit next to in worship on Sunday morning are the same people we will sing with in eternity.”

The tidal wave of sexual harassment accusations and disclosures gives us an opportunity to discuss something God cares about: that word reputation.

Your deepest distress is deeply distressing. But the God who loves you is Master of your significant sorrow. He calls you to go through even this hard thing.