Have you ever made a really big mistake? I’m not talking about that extra scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream, I’m talking the kind of choice that you regret years and years later. I can think of two. The thing is, I made those two fateful decisions for exactly the same reason; I didn’t […]
In a seven-week period of time, three of the seven pastors at our church abruptly and unexpectedly quit their jobs. At least one cited extreme exhaustion and burnout as the cause. Doing any kind of spiritual work can be tiring (whether vocational or voluntary), but there is something that can truly make all of the […]
If there was ever a natural-born leader in the Bible, it is Moses’ sister Miriam, found in the book of Exodus. The first thing that we know about her is that she was fiercely protective of her little brother, was intelligent, brave and resourceful. Fast-forward a few decades and cross the Red Sea, we see […]
You’ve heard that behind every good man is a good woman. In the case of Moses, from the Bible, we find that before there ever was a great man, there were five valiant women. Many years before the birth of Moses, God had told his servant Abraham that for 400 years, his descendants would be […]
There’s an interesting side story in the book of Genesis where Abraham and Sarah really dodged a bullet, so to speak. And the thing is, at the time they probably had no idea. When Abraham and Sarah set out from their home in Ur to follow God, they took their nephew Lot with them. Particularly […]
When God told Abram and Sarai, from the Bible, to pack their bags and head out into the great unknown for the rest of their earthly lives, we often forget all that they left behind. In Abram and Sarai’s day, Ur was a thriving metropolis with over 250,000 people. The people of Ur were highly […]
“Mom, how looooong do we have to keep praying this same prayer?” my daughter moaned dramatically as I tucked her into bed. For as long as she can remember she, and our entire family, has prayed for my eyes to be healed. (It’s a long story, but very, very serious.) To tell the truth, I […]
Every time I open my Bible to the first chapter of Genesis, a chill goes up my spine and I half expect a movie soundtrack to start playing a suspenseful orchestra piece. The earth was formless, empty and dark. Sounds depressing, doesn’t it? But, “the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” (Genesis 1:2) […]
My three-year-old niece has found waiting for Christmas grueling. The tree is decorated, the presents are sitting under it, what in the world are we waiting for she wonders? Hoping to hurry Christmas along, she cut off the rest of the construction paper rings on the Christmas countdown chain that she and her mom made. […]
Have you ever felt like you were working yourself to death, but never actually getting ahead? As if, no matter what you did, you had nothing to show for your effort? When a remnant of Israelites moved back to the Holy city of Jerusalem after their captivity, they found themselves in this very predicament. Through […]