Numbers 13:31-32 “… ‘We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.’ And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored….” Do you recognize these names: Shammua, Shaphat, Igal, Palti, Gaddiel, Gaddi, Ammiel, Sethur, Nahbi and Geuel? Probably not. These are the ten Continue Reading…
Luke 3:23 “Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph” I love the little caveat Luke inserts into the genealogy of Jesus. Everyone thought Jesus to be the son of Joseph. Why wouldn’t they? As Mary’s Continue Reading…
John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” “Friends are friends forever if the Lord’s the Lord of them…” A lot of truth in those Michael W. Smith lyrics. It’s hard to overestimate the value of spiritual friendship. When I think Continue Reading…
James 4:2-3 “…You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives.…” During the presidency of George W. Bush, he challenged educators to avoid the “soft bigotry of low expectations.” He wanted schools to stop subtle discrimination by expecting Continue Reading…
Isaiah 53:1 “Who has believed our message…?” Are you having trouble believing for things unbelievable? The prophecy describing the coming of the Messiah in Isaiah 53 shocks us to the core. The Creator God of all majesty and power was coming to the earth as a suffering servant. Rather than Continue Reading…
John 11:21-22 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” “Yet Lord, I know even now you can deliver her.” I was surprised to find myself writing those words while praying Continue Reading…
John 10:10 “…I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” [ESV] The other morning I woke up with the word adventure on my mind. Since I was alone in a somewhat secluded setting by the woods for a few days of writing, it didn’t seem like the Continue Reading…
Hebrews 11:16 “Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” Do you think of yourself as a risk-taker? Some risks are relatively harmless. One time my husband pursued aerial photography. He would Continue Reading…
1 John 5:21 “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.” Have you ever noticed how disappointments can take on a life of their own? I think of young women I’ve counseled who have had bad breakups with their boyfriends. Their disappointment pushes them into a kind of fantasy land. The more Continue Reading…
Mark 2:4-5 “Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins Continue Reading…