A Peculiar Family
Read: Genesis 11:27-32 Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. (v. 27) What an uninspiring introduction to one of the Bible’s grandest stories! You might also find some of it rather curious. Terah’s three sons, for instance. Why is “Abraham” spelled “Abram”? Isn’t Haran the […]
The Cost of Hospitality
Read: Deuteronomy 10:12-22 Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners. (v. 19) Beginning in Deuteronomy 5, Moses recounted the love of God for his people and the kind of obedience God required in response. The spirit of God’s requirements is not rigid obedience to the dictates of the law. Rather, he wants their heart: […]
Our God Fights for Us
Read: Psalm 18 In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall. (v. 29 NLT) The term mama bear is meant to be endearing, used of a loving mother who would do anything for her family, a mother who protects her family with ferocity. The Bible offers several […]
Paul’s Letter to a Slave Owner
Read: Philemon 1-25 So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. (v. 17) Onesimus was Philemon’s runaway slave. He met Paul in prison and became a Christian. Paul came to trust and value him. Philemon was a trusted Christian who Paul believed would have an open mind to the […]
Clothed in Beauty
Read: Proverbs 3:27-28 If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, “Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.” (v. 28 NLT) Clothes. Unless you’re a toddler, you have to wear them regularly. Whether you enjoy shopping or dread it, do you ever think about who made your clothes? Where did the materials come […]
Chocolate
Read: Matthew 7:7-11 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. (v. 8) Every time my family has a bonfire, my nephews and niece ask for s’mores. My mom always has graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate ready for them. Our family isn’t […]
Coffee and Tea
Read: Matthew 25:31-40 And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” (v. 40) My husband loves coffee, especially iced Americanos. I enjoy tea more. I enjoy the ritual: choosing a nice Earl Gray, chai, […]
Modern Slavery Around the World
Read: Matthew 5:13-16 You are the light of the world . . . Let your light shine before others. (vv. 14, 16 NLT) Now more than ever before, it is simple for human trafficking to occur because of the Internet. Sexual exploitation can be easily broadcast to viewers over the Internet. Victims can be lured […]
Child Labor
Read: Matthew 18:1-6 But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to . . . be drowned in the depths of the sea. (v. 6 NLT) Child labor is any form of enslavement of a child—domestic servitude, forced marriage, forced […]