Tag: bible
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Being Heavenly Minded for Earthly Good
Our car rolled to a stop on the side of the highway. The difference between 55 mph and 0 mph was startling. Inside and out, our car looked to be in perfect working order––but now it couldn’t move. I watched my Mr. Fix-It lift the hood and investigate. His answer was sure: All the right…
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Before I Go Online Bible Study Review
Dying words tell you something about a person. The way someone chooses to spend their last few days of life on earth matters. Usually, “Before I Go” seasons are spent sharing important moments and words with loved ones. Even though Jesus was going to be raised from the dead, the same was true during the…
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7 Ways to Turn Your Bible Reading Into a Conversation with God
Silly as it may seem, I didn’t see a connection between reading the Bible and praying for a long time. Then one day in my regular Bible reading, I was desperate to understand what a challenging passage was saying. Desperation has a way of making our prayers more honest, doesn’t it? I smacked my forehead…
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Who (Isn’t) My Neighbor?
Love. That’s the spirit of God’s law. Jesus made it clear, even saying that “loving others” is the second greatest command. When talking with Jesus about the command, an expert in the law asked “but who is my neighbor?”* The question- and Jesus’ answer of the parable of the good Samaritan- are often talked about…
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Questions about Loving Well
Paul’s greeting to the church at Philippi warmly displays his godly affection for the fellow believers he was so invested in. Each expression of love in the greeting teaches us something about what it means to build one another up in Christ. Let’s not gloss over this passage as a nicety. Will you take it…
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When Sin Trails Behind Us
The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. –1 Timothy 5:24 Paul made this small but vivid remark at the end of a letter to his younger friend, Timothy. The wisdom has stuck in my mind. Sin on the Flashing Sign There…
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The Light of Summer
This past winter, we let our car pretend it was a sled as we moved from the east coast to the Midwest. Now, we live on the western edge of the Eastern Time zone. That didn’t mean all that much to me until summer sauntered in. The sun shines here until nearly 10 o’clock at…
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Exceeding Limits
“Well that’s enough of that,” I’d smile and say to the sweet toddler I was watching after he guzzled a glass of apple juice but reached for more. I say the same words to myself when I’ve gotten lost in a good book but need to get the dishes done. “Enough,” in my vocabulary, usually…
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Differences Between Complacency and Contentment
Where does complacency put you? In short: stuck. When you choose to be complacent, you choose to stay right where you are and settle for what you have. Life just is, and you’ve accepted it for what it is. The difference is alluded to in the Bible: “Wisdom is a shelter as money is a…
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God Made Martha
“What’s a Martha?” my husband asked when he saw the title of the book. “Martha from the Bible,” I replied, tapping the subtitle. He read it out loud: “good news for the woman who gets things done.” Laughing, he said, “that’s you!” Tackling common misconceptions, Reid addresses the reasons Jesus corrected Martha when she grew…