What Martha Missed
Read: Luke 10:38-42 One thing is necessary. (v. 42) “If you’ve come to see the house, come another time. If you want to visit Mom, make yourself at home.” That’s what Jenny’s daughter said nearly every time I visited. The house was by no means unkempt. They just marched to a different beat. Nearing 100, […]
August Prayer Guide 2021
BHUTAN — The ministry team in Bhutan organized a special one-day children’s program on the theme, “There is Hope for Our Children.” The goal was to encourage the children with the gospel in the midst of fear, anxiety, and hopelessness brought on by the pandemic. “Praise be unto God, for Christ is our hope!” shared […]
One Thing
Read: Psalm 27:1-6 . . . that I may dwell in the house of the LORD. (v. 4) If you could ask God for one answered prayer, what would it be? When I asked an old pastor that question, he quoted Psalm 27:4. He caught me a bit off guard but shouldn’t have. I confess […]
Nebuchadnezzar’s Folly
Read: Daniel 3:1-30 Fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. (v. 5) I owe a debt to Jeff Barker of Northwestern College, whose theater troupe performed this story as satire. I’ve come to agree with that interpretation. The repetitive lists of musical instruments and various officials and even the […]
Baldhead and the Youths
Read: 2 Kings 2:23-25 Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead! (v. 23) This story definitely was not in my family’s Bible storybook! It’s often seen as an embarrassment, especially when we imagine 42 innocent schoolboys being mauled because Elisha was sensitive about his hair loss. As someone whose hair went into retreat decades […]
A Story about Trust
Read: 1 Samuel 17:1-54 For the battle is the LORD’s. (v. 47) David and Goliath featured prominently in my children’s Bible storybook. David was a boy, after all, and Goliath a giant, a familiar figure in children’s literature. When I was a kid, I expected Goliath to say, “Fee-fi-fo-fum”! This story has a sort of […]
Rahab’s Legacy
Read: Joshua 2:1-12 I know that the LORD has given you the land. (v. 9) Sometimes it takes hundreds of years for a story to pay off. The book of Joshua begins with the peculiar story of the God-fearing prostitute Rahab, who protected spies sent to scout out Jericho. Rahab had heard about the mighty […]
A Snowball Effect
Read: Exodus 3:19-22; 32:1-6 And he received the gold . . . and made a golden calf. (Exodus 32:4) Have you ever wondered where the recently enslaved people of Israel, wandering around in the wilderness, got the gold that Aaron made into the golden calf? How could they have jewelry? There is a clue in […]
Careful What You Wish For
Read: Exodus 3:1-15 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” (v. 14) Mystery abounds here: I don’t know why the bush didn’t burn up or what exactly the burning bush is supposed to mean. God’s “I AM WHO I AM” name is enigmatic yet perfect. And I long for an encounter with God […]