Devotionals
2021
“Now” Is Better Than “Back Then”
A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford When you are talking to me, don’t wistfully long for the “good old days.” I was born in 1927, the week Charles Lindberg flew the Atlantic alone in his fragile “Spirit of St. Louis.” I know all about the good old...
“It’s An Honor to Serve You”
A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford Our fifteen-year-old grandson is loving his new job at a fast-food restaurant. His Christian employers have given him his first priority: “Make your customer feel valued.” It’s easy, perhaps, to do that, if you’re...
Loving the Lord your God with All Your Strength
The Gospel of Luke chapter eleven tells us of a lawyer who was trying to discredit the Lord Jesus, so he asked, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" (Luke 11:25). Jesus responded, “What is written in the law?” “You shall love the LORD your God with all...
A Wonderful—But Really True—Paradox
A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford Were you mystified as a child when you first heard Stephen Foster’s song, “Oh! Susanna, Don’t You Cry for Me”? Was it silly or supposed to be funny? What in the world did it really mean? “It rained all night the day...
“Swift to Hear, Slow to Speak”—Really?
A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford Recently a friend whom I hadn’t seen for a while dropped by to see me. Her heart seemed full, and so I mostly drank coffee and listened as she talked of many different things. But as she talked, it seemed as if...
A Vicious Cycle That Must Be Broken
A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford “It’s easy for you to be a good Christian, Libby,” a friend once said to me. “You grew up in a Christian home, and your parents were good Christians.” “You’re right, Anna. You know how grateful I am for my godly...
My Inheritance
A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth R. Handford Walt and I had a dear friend who was a multi-millionaire. We were very careful never to presume on his generosity because we had heard too many of his “friends” hint without subtlety of their needs. He once said to...
Keeping Your Balance In an Unbalanced World
A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford If you are a follower of the Lord Jesus, you can’t help feeling the enormous pressures of our culture against our faith. I sometimes feel like Nik Wallenda, the first person ever to cross Niagara Falls on a...
Something Even Better Than Situational Awareness?
A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford Walt and I were flying home from a conference in Michigan in our sturdy airplane, 1368 Juliet. We had almost reached the altitude we had been assigned when suddenly the door on my side of the plane popped open with...
One of the Most Comforting Verses in the Bible
A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford People often ask me what my favorite verse in the Bible is, and my answer depends on what I am troubled about at the moment! Sometimes it has been one that you probably can quote from memory: “For God so loved the...
