One of the many beautiful things about our Bible is its persistent inclusion of women. From Eve on, we understand clearly that our God created us, used us, and continues to use us to tell his story. We matter to him—so much so that Jesus took special pains to minister to women throughout his earthly…
Call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. (Ruth 1:20, NLT) First, a famine sent her small family into exile in a foreign land. Then her husband died. Then her two sons married unbelieving women. Then her two sons died. Naomi knew something about profound loss. And she wasn’t so…
To me it’s the meanest verse in the whole Bible: Genesis 29:17. “Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance.” Some scholars have tried to write it off—to interpret Leah’s weak eyes as something different than a beauty deficiency. But to me it seems God uses the conjunction “but” for a…
GET TO KNOW THE STORY: Mary, the mother of Jesus, was at a wedding feast in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited and were there. When the wine was all gone, Mary said to Jesus, “They don’t have any more wine.” Jesus replied, “Mother, my time hasn’t…
The Bible tells us that Jesus was countercultural. His Jewish upbringing and the mores of his day tell us that he lived in a world with many boundaries between races, religions, and also gender. The life of women in biblical times was oppressive. In this patriarchal society, they were considered inferior and under the authority…
Despite the chaos and uncertainties 2020 has brought with her, we’re still in a hopeful and notable era when women are increasingly valued, heard, and esteemed. There’s movement both in our country and in the Church, and even if more tortoise-like than hare, progress is reason to celebrate. But, as opposed to a “Girl Power”…
Life comes with no promise of smooth roads, clear landmarks, or luxurious destinations. At times, it seems as if a Christian worldview complicates our lives. Suddenly, we are culpable not only for right actions, but for pure motives as well. In a full life with limited time for friendship or fellowship, the authors of good…
God’s timing is perfect and that is certainly true for Sheila Wise Rowe’s book on Healing Racial Trauma. In the midst of a pandemic year, which may well be the worst imaginable year to launch a book, God has allowed our present circumstances to usher in a deep need for the message of Rowe’s book….
Coming into marriage, my husband and I had very different experiences with hospitality. I grew up in a socially “quiet” family. My parents’ friends never stopped by unannounced (or practically ever) and I can only recall one memory of our family hosting a party. We only saw our relatives every few years because they lived…
Katherine James, award-winning novelist, missionary, faithful follower of God, endured a nightmare no parent ever asked for. And she and her family came out of it with more hope than ever before. In A Prayer for Orion: A Son’s Addiction and a Mother’s Love, James poignantly, honestly, heart-wrenchingly, and faithfully recounts the story of her…
My friend and I met in a trendy crepe restaurant to talk about our lives—the struggles and the successes. She sat across from me sipping her cappuccino and said with a note of sadness, “Church events end up being reminders that I’m alone. I leave feeling more lonely than before.” My friend, divorced and a…
As a physician-in-training in the late 1970s, I rotated among a variety of inner-city public hospitals, honing clinical skills with patients who were grateful to have someone, anyone, care enough to take care of them. There were plenty of street people who needed to be deloused before the “real” doctors would touch them, and there…
I was led into the conference room and seated at a massive table that filled most of the room. The solitary item on the table, a tissue box, was the first thing to catch my eye. Foreshadowing shows up in real life too, not just the movies. I didn’t want to be sitting in this…
Confession is something I used to do only in private. While I publicly confessed “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” when I was baptized and occasionally confessed to another person a sin I’d committed against them, I otherwise considered confession to be a purely personal matter. Oh, I confessed my sins…