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 as an opportunity to examine yourself and your affection for fellow believers with me? “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Continue Reading
Jesus Text {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP}
"buuuzzzz, buzzz." "Who's that?" I ask. It's not my business. I don't especially care. I'm just being nosy (usually because I'm bored.) My husband's reply is often, "It's Jesus." I roll my eyes. He smirks. It's our bit. But sometimes when we play that little game, I think about how nice it would be to get a text from Jesus. He doesn't need to say anything in particular. It'd just be nice to be reminded that Jesus is thinking of me. That's He's with me and wants to talk. Anytime. Continue Reading
Happy (In)Dependence Day! {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP}
Obesity isn’t just an issue of bodyweight. Biblically, God used the less-PC term “fat” to describe a condition of excess unto spoiling. He described Israel this way: “Israel soon became fat and unruly; the people grew heavy, plump, and stuffed! Then they abandoned the God who had made them; they made light of the Rock of their salvation.” –Deuteronomy 32:15 A life of ease had Israel so privileged they became entitled, addicted to excess, spoiled. Unhappy with any sort of restraint or Continue Reading
Seeing People as People {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP}
They didn’t see a man. They didn’t see his pain. They didn’t notice his need. They didn’t care that he was in the house of the Lord. What they cared about was entrapping their perceived enemy, the one who threatened long-held traditions and the law that elevated them to a pious, powerful place. They wanted to defend what they thought they understood. Their goal was to prove their point. So what they saw was an opportunity. “He went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled Continue Reading
Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys (Recharge Wednesday Linkup)
I was taking a month-long class in Ecuador. We traveled around the beautiful country- even into the Amazon rainforest. There, a few monkeys determined to do what non-cartoon monkeys in tourist traps do: harass people. The agile creatures stole anything loose they could grab. We tried to ask how to get our stuff back. A tour guide laughed. No one owned those monkeys. No one controlled them. He suggested we try trading goods with the animals. In the end, he might as well have said this Continue Reading
How Heroes Recharge {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP}
The name of this linkup is Recharge Wednesday. I don’t know about you, but by the middle of the week, I’m starting to wane. I need to refuel because I’m human. Our heroes in the faith were also human, and they needed to recharge too. Here’s how they did it when they were running on empty: NOAH After the flood dried up and everyone exited the ark, Noah sacrificed to the Lord. He built an altar. Then he took some of ALL the clean animals and birds and sacrificed them (presumably the Continue Reading
