Now, we all know or have heard about Ruth’s past – was married into a household that worshiped God, lost her husband and father-in-law, and had the option to go back to her family but instead she decided to remain loyal to her mother-in-law, Naomi. We also know what happens afterwards – Naomi’s family member, Boaz, marries Ruth and they live happily ever after. This is a love story far better than any made-up Disney romance.
Read MoreEarlier this week, I tried to help someone, offering some expertise around a particular topic in which she could have benefited from some insight. In response, I received some rather abrasive words… and an opportunity. Opportunity, you say. What? Yes, that’s right. This interaction gave me a choice about how I would respond. Initially, I found myself feeling frustrated at her response, particularly knowing that she was going to face difficulty which could easily have been avoided.
Read MoreWhen I was a student at Bain School in Chennai India, this was one of my favorite choruses. I wrote my own Tamil version for Sunday School years later and sang it often. When I saw my young cousin Kalpana wearing a WWJD bracelet (What Would Jesus Do) I thought of how hard it was to actually live like Jesus in this world. Today we will look at Jesus and learn 3 specific ways we can be more like Jesus, every day.
Read MoreI wrote this verse wondering why it is that we grieve when tragic things happen to us - why should we care when tragedy is part and parcel of this world, that we created? This is the question I am essaying - attempting - to answer today. In the end, we grieve because we care about our relationships. Whether it is estrangement, divorce, or death, we grieve because we love the one who is now lost. How is it, then, that we as Christians can grieve with hope?
Read MoreDear woman in the field,
I know there are days you wake up wishing things were different.
I know there are days you feel like giving up.
I know there are days you lie wide awake with mountains of stress and anxiety looming over you.
I know there are days you cry in the nooks of your homes, cars, workspaces, public bathrooms, and any place you can find to release the heaviness in your hearts.
But, I write to you to remind you that your God hears your cries and prayers – He sees you in these intimate moments and is with you.
Read MoreTwo months ago, my life was playing out like a movie. Then two months later, the plot drastically changed. In essence, I feel like I am falling - my future was laid out before me, then the rug was pulled from under me and my plans were snatched.
Read MoreWhat is it to love? It's to surrender everything I think about a person, and to lean in and pray, "Lord, teach me to love them as you do". There is no checklist. It's different for each person we relate to. It's a matter of growing to learn to love. Beginning to see the person through the eyes of the Creator.
Read MoreOne of the most underutilized descriptions of Jesus in the American church today is that of Jesus as the truth, I think. We tend to focus on Jesus as the only way to God, and as the Life, considering how Jesus has given us abundant life. Whether it is out of ignorance or willful blindness, I cannot say. But being that truth is connected to love, such that love rejoices in the truth (1 Corinthians 13:6), we must consider this relationship and see what it reveals about the love of God.
Read MoreThere's a certain beauty in God's love, which I, yes, do love. Consider the picture of marriage, which is the physical counterpart of the relationship God has with His bride, the church.
Read MoreImagine yourself in a courtroom where you are being judged – perhaps by God (yes, I am aware that no one has seen God at any time; just imagine the context of the scene). You know that you are guilty of disobeying the law – again. You know there is no hope for you, and shame and fear fill your insides as you contemplate the just punishment that awaits. Maybe this is something you know is wrong, but keep doing despite your desire to do the right thing (Romans 7:15-17).
Read MoreIn Acts 8:26-40, we see that an angel of the Lord told Philip to go south along the road that went from Jerusalem to Gaza, to a deserted place. Philip obeys and encounters a prestigious Ethiopian official, a eunuch who had charged all over the Kandake’s (Candace in Latin) treasury and was returning to Jerusalem. Ethiopian doesn’t necessarily refer to the modern country of Ethiopia; the Greeks used the term to refer to all of Africa south of Egypt (likely similar to Sub-Saharan Africa today). In this case, this eunuch came from the kingdom of Kush - we know that from the word Candace, transliterated from the title Kandake, which the Kushites used as their term for the queen.
Read MoreDo you trust God? He is the ultimate definition of trust. We can count on Him, even when we cannot rely on others. But like anything else, even trusting in God in certain situations is much easier said than done.
Read MoreJohn 4 tells us that Jesus had to go through Samaria to get to Galilee from Judea. When you consider the subtext, that fact shines brilliantly with beauty. Jesus, as a Jew, would have been perfectly justified in not going to Samaria. The Jews hated Samarians, who believed only in the first five books of the Old Testament and were considered (prejudicially) half-breeds, being Jewish and Gentile. The Samaritans, too, hated Jews.
Read MoreIt takes great love to heal and die for sinners. But Jesus did it, and He did it because He is love. His love is kind, protective, and hopeful- it has a desired and accomplished end. And that, my sisters, is good news.
Read MoreJust as this woman saw her daughter restored to wholeness, dare to believe that God cares for you and will help you - because He is love and loves us - when You need Him.
Read MoreAt its simplest level, being a daughter means belonging to a family - a girl or woman in relation to her parents. However, connotatively, being a daughter means not only belonging to someone, either by nature or adoption but being accepted. Beloved, not for what you’ve done, but simply for who you are.
Read MoreWhile waiting for your breakthrough, when you know you cannot make progress by yourself when you desperately need God to change things around you; what do you do in the meantime? We often find ourselves complaining and murmuring, fixing our eyes on the situation instead of God’s faithfulness.
Read MoreA few years ago, I jumped on a plane, settled in, got comfortable, enjoyed the inflight snack and savoured the time to read whatever good book was in my hands at the time. Then came the announcement from the flight-crew, “We’re approaching Destination X and will soon begin our descent. Please return to your seats, fasten your seatbelts…’
Read MoreI would be very afraid. But after being swallowed by the fish, Jonah repents in prayer and is expelled by the large whale. He gives his message of doom and destruction - and to his surprise, the Ninevites repent in sackcloth and ashes (3:5-9). God relents the disaster he said he would bring upon them, and this makes Jonah extremely upset.
Read MoreIn three out of the four gospels - Matthew, Mark, and Luke - we read about Jesus sending the disciples onto a boat into the Sea of Galilee, only for an unforeseen storm to head their way. Despite Jesus being near them, fear overpowered the disciples to the point they believed they would die. (Luke 8:24)
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