Scattered Moments

Share Your Thoughts Same date, two New England moments, one hard question: can you force someone into real faith — or scare them into it? On July 8, 1663, Roger Williams's Rhode Island secured one of the first charters on earth guaranteeing full liberty of conscience. On July 8, 1741 — seventy-eight years later — Jonathan Edwards preached the most famous fire-and-brimstone sermon in American history at Enfield, Connecticut. Today's Scattered Moments Almanac holds these two side by side and asks

Share Your Thoughts Welcome to Psalm Meditations, an ongoing series from Scattered Moments—quiet, reflective journeys into the songs of Scripture. Some passages of the Bible are meant to be studied. Others are meant to be lived. The Psalms have a remarkable way of finding us in our joy, our grief, our questions, and our hope, giving voice to prayers we didn't know how to pray. In this episode, "Hidden Rooms," we enter the breathtaking world of Psalm 139—a psalm that reminds us we are complete...

Share Your Thoughts Three doors. One calendar date. Three very different choices. On July 7, Lottie Moon leaves the comfort of home to carry the light of the gospel to China. Decades later, a misunderstanding at the Marco Polo Bridge erupts into a war that will cost millions of lives. Then, in 1944, the faithful ministry of George W. Truett comes to a close after nearly half a century of opening the doors of the church to all who would come. In this episode of Moments Almanac, we explore how ...

Share Your Thoughts Some passages of Scripture don't simply teach us—they find us. In this reflective episode of Scattered Moments, we journey into the haunting beauty of Psalm 42, where waves, tears, longing, and hope meet in one of the Bible's most deeply personal prayers. Through an original spoken-word meditation, we'll explore how our deepest disappointments can become the very places where we encounter God's deepest mercy. If you've ever felt overwhelmed by grief, weighed down by unansw...

Share Your Thoughts On July 6, 1415, Jan Hus was condemned and burned at the stake for insisting that Scripture — not church councils — held final authority, a conviction that would resurface a century later in Martin Luther. On July 6, 1885, Louis Pasteur risked his reputation to give an untested rabies vaccine to a dying boy. Two men, centuries apart, staked everything on a truth they couldn't yet prove — and both truths outlived them. Today's Moments Almanac looks at what it costs to hold to

Share Your Thoughts Some laws reveal the way the universe works. Others reveal the condition of the human heart. On July 5, 1687, Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica introduced the laws of motion and gravity, describing an invisible force that acts with perfect impartiality. One hundred sixty-five years later, on July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass stood before an Independence Day audience in Rochester, New York, and exposed a nation whose laws promised equality while denying it to millions. Wh...