Dan R. Crawford's Page

According to Wikipedia, a benediction “is a short invocation for divine help, blessing, and guidance.” From the earliest, Christians adopted benedictions into their worship, particularly at the end of a service. Such benedictions have been regularly practiced ever since. Perhaps the best known biblical benediction is the one at the end of the tiny book of Jude, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding…

After he confessed a sin in which he had been caught, the student seated across my desk, shrugged his shoulders, and with a sigh, exclaimed, “Oh well, God has forgiven me!” While I could not disagree with him, in regard to the possibility of God’s forgiveness, I could assure him that, even though forgiven, he must now live with the consequences of the sin. I have a Bible Reading Group on Facebook with a little over three hundred members. We read one chapter in the Bible per week and comment…

Do we have to ask God to hear our prayer, or does He automatically hear? When Nehemiah was preparing to go before the King to request permission to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls of the city, he prayed, “O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant” (Nehemiah 1:11). Furthermore, Daniel prayed, “Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications” (Daniel 9:17). Finally, David prayed, “Incline Your ear to me, and hear my…

Most of my “Monday Morning Manna” columns are written on the weekend or week preceding their posting. Such is this one. If you read this on Monday, you will be reading it on the day of my ninth MOHS surgery for skin cancer. I once asked my surgeon why I had so many skin cancers. His reply was twofold: “You are fair-skinned and live in Texas.” I tried to blame my mother by asking the same Surgeon, “Is it because my mother kept sending me outside to play in the summer heat?” His reply got my…