James Rush Manley – Writer

The crowd swelled, clamoring to glimpse the lame man dance. A thousand eyes followed every exuberant leap—arms thrown high, hands splayed wide. Whooping shameless joy, the beggar skipped circles around Peter and John. Peter asked the gawkers, “Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness, we had made this man walk?”

So, what surprises us about God’s power? That it exists? That it works? No, we admitted some time ago that His power exceeds ours. We preach about it moving in our lives. We talk about it working on Earth. We tell its stories to kids. More adventurous souls even pray to receive a generous glop to energize a calling. read more ...

We North Americans stand, single file, patiently waiting our turn. No service for number two until the cashier finishes number one. Makes sense to us, but others call such passive delay stupid. Why wait when pushing gets faster service? We point out, correctly, that God set up an orderly creation. Effects require causes, consequences need actions, future grows only from past. No cutting in line; nothing may come before Him. We know that if we seek Him first, He’ll add everything like vine feeding branch. read more ...

At first the breeze over the stern refreshed, so without command they all raised and stowed oars. The sail snapped once and filled as Peter tightened the line, shaping the canvas belly. The water swished a quiet song to accompany the evening’s last sun. Each man settled back into his favorite place, glad for respite from labor and heat. Jesus curled up on the aft bench and quickly fell asleep.

Later that night, the wave leapt from the dark, smashed into the starboard bow, and spun the boat halfway around to the left. Wind howled in concert, ripping away one corner of the sail; the rest flapped useless in sudden gale. Shouts punctuated awakened hands grasping for oar, rope, and tiller. Control almost regained, the wind shifted, and the boat lurched over onto its left side. Even larger waves converged from fore and aft, lifted the drenched craft high between them, then dropped it down a nearly vertical face. The bow plunged deep, barely surfacing just as another wave hit from the left. read more ...

“Maybe, I picked a bad time to start a fight, after all.” Jonathan peered through a gap between boulders at the Philistine outpost atop the cliff high above. After his attack days ago, the enemy retaliated with vengeance. His father’s army fled. Thousands deserted. The remnant army trembled in caves and crags. “I really thought this would go differently.”

“What can we do?” his armor-bearer asked. “No one in our army has a single spear or sword except you and the King.” read more ...

Professional aviators plan each flight confident of success, but at the same time also expect the worst to pounce and devour the unguarded. They memorize emergency checklists for engine failure on takeoff, or fire in flight, or landing with a flat tire, or getting lost. The best always ask, “What’s the backup plan?” Their confident doubting makes commercial aviation the world’s safest transportation. And, therefore, we might reason that if contingency planning works so well in the air, it ought to serve the rest of life with equal benefit. Depends. read more ...

The student pilot stared at the compass. Alternate foot taps on right and left rudder pedals kept the assigned heading in place. “Got it!” he congratulated himself.

“Watch your altitude,” the instructor admonished.

Altitude? The student’s brow tightened—200 feet low and descending. He eased the wheel back, remembering pressure rather than gross movement.

“Let’s keep an eye on the heading,” the instructor reminded.

Heading? The unnoticed left turn had already taken them thirty degrees off course. read more ...

• Birth of a vision: Moses hears God’s call to help his people.
• Death of a vision: Moses acts, but defeat consumes promise, and he flees.
• Rebirth of a vision: God resurrects the dead dream and sends Moses back to Egypt.
• Testing of a vision: Moses acts again, but defeat consumes expectation, and his people reject him.

Perhaps Abraham spun myths. Maybe Jacob told tales. But Moses heard God, didn’t he? Who can mock his doubt as he watched deliverance sink backward? One author claims that true God-seekers live in confusion. Why can’t God speak simple instructions that achieve stated goals? He promises us the impossible and out of reach. But despite faith, nothing happens. Our failure either shouts that we missed God’s will or its whisper encourages us to wait for the invisible. What makes it so hard to tell the difference? read more ...

If God wanted to reach us, how would He do it? He might speak directly—unless we were deaf. He might paint pictures—unless we were blind. He might write a book—unless we couldn’t read. Or He could send a note.

But what kind of stationery would He use? Stone costs a fortune to mail; it scratches the furniture and renders many languages poorly. Surely He’d choose something better, something that received ink without smear, transported easily, and conveyed every nuance of His intent. read more ...

Jonah gagged, pulled slime from his mouth, then lay still in the sand. Panting hard, gulping his first real air in three days, he wallowed in half-digested flesh, bone splinters, and gritty muck that violated every pore. Blazing glare pierced his eyes. Bit by bit, first with fingers, then with hands, he dragged himself away from the sea. His vision cleared a little, and he focused on scarlet rivulets running across his white, bleached skin. Well, I’m alive enough to bleed, he mused in stupor. Then he remembered why. read more ...