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If There Is Any Other Way
Sunday morning we celebrated Easter, so in this follow up post, I want to share something I was reminded of a few days before Easter Sunday. As I ponder Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, the agony He experienced, I am reminded through the study Navigating Gospel Truth (check last week’s post for more details) of His pain. Author Rebecca McLaughlin took us back to Jeremiah 25:15-29 to show us His agony wasn’t primarily the pain and shame of the cross. That was difficult enough of course! But it was the fact that He would carry the wrath of God for sin so that we don’t have to. This was…
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Behold!
As so often happens by “design providence,” I’m flooded with all things Spring and Easter. I’m soaking up every warm sunny day I can. I wrote about spring last week in Hope that Spring Brings. All I can think is, “Behold Him, the one who became our sacrificial lamb once and for all time.” I just finished reading the gospels with my D-group as we’ve journeyed through the Bible chronologically since January 2023. I’ve also been reading a couple of Easter devotionals. Then a couple of weeks ago, I started the study Navigating Gospel Truth by Rebecca McLaughlin. She does such a great job comparing and contrasting the 4 Gospels…
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Nevertheless
What is the last experience you had that looked totally hopeless? How did it turn out? Or how has it turned out…so far? For those who know Christ, nothing is beyond His ability to remedy according to His plan, His glory and our good. (See Romans 8:28-30.) In my final week of study of Amos by Jennifer Rothschild, the word “nevertheless” stirred up my absolute love and gratefulness for the “but God” of my faith! Jennifer had us define “nevertheless” (or what I see as “but God”). Looking it up I found it means: in spite of evidence, even so, however, but, be that as it may. This is bad…
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A Podcast To Listen To: The Forgotten Jesus
If I haven’t convinced you yet (PLEASE see last weeks post The Scarlet Thread if you missed it!), then I want to recommend a podcast series that I’ve been listening to. The Forgotten Jesus Podcast, with my pastor Robby Gallaty, Andrew Bolton and Collin Wood, explains more deeply the connection between the Old and New Testaments and why we MUST read all the Bible to get the depth of the message of the Gospel. You will not be sorry you take the time to listen to these podcasts. You will have access to the episode notes on each one as well! Banner photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash
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The Scarlet Thread
Read this quote three times. If this is a new thought to you, I get it. The author, R. T. Kendall, says it so beautifully. I found it in one of his books I am currently reading, God Meant It For Good, and was reminded of not understanding this in the past. Years ago I only wanted to read the New Testament, you know, because it made more sense than all the kings, pagan nations, and prophets found in the Old Testament. In fact, when I first began serving at LifeWay Beth Moore’s first study, A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place, was about to be released. I couldn’t understand why…
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5 Women With a Connection…Part 5
Do you sometimes wish you had this idyllic background and life story that was filled with family, faith and obedience? The women we’ve studied in this series all had issues, pain and loss…just like us. This final post in this series looks at Mary (Luke 1-2). Different in many ways from the other 4. They included one who betrayed and slept with her father-in-law, one was a prostitute, one had paganism in her background, and one was an adulteress. Then there is this humble Jewish teenager. Mary engaged to a man and, no doubt, excited about planning a wedding and looking forward to a home filled with love and children.…
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5 Women with a Connection…Part 4
If you could come up with one sin you have committed that disqualifies you from being used by God, what would it be? I’d have to sort through more than one myself. But the truth is, for a follower of Christ, there is not one sin the Lord would call out to us. The fourth woman in this series is Bathsheba. Her story is found in 2 Samuel 11. Men ruled in the ancient world. Women were not in the marketplace and didn’t have a strong voice in a marriage. And the kings had supreme power over their kingdoms and its inhabitants. In 2 Samuel 11:1-5, we see the “man…
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5 Women With a Connection…Part 3
Have you ever left your home and family to move to a place you had never been? Perhaps even a foreign country? That’s what Ruth did. Maybe you are familiar with her story, maybe not. Let’s back up and talk about her mother-in-law Naomi. She, along with her husband Elimelech and sons Mahlon and Chilion, moved from Jerusalem to Moab (a godless nation) due to the famine in Israel. This was a time period of the Judges in Israel and the famine was devastating. In Moab, the sons married Moabite women. Eventually, her husband and sons died leaving Naomi, and her two daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, widows. In that day…
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5 Women With A Connection…Part 2
Have you ever done something that you think eliminates you from being used by God for Kingdom purpose? The is the second in a series so please click this category to read part 1 if you missed the intro. The woman in scripture we will look at today is Rahab. First, think about the things you already know about her, if you know her at all from Joshua 2. One word that normally describes her is her occupation: prostitute. We don’t know if she was without any support at all for her daily needs, or if she actually supported her family with this trade. One thing we do know, at…
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Helpful Blogs for Current Times
The church, and people of faith, are seeking to share the hope of Christ in a world that seems to be falling apart. People leaving their faith, sometimes in later years of life, violence occurring every day, hopelessness on every corner. It’s tough to lead when we feel overwhelmed. I pray these blogs will encourage and challenge you to endure in the place the Lord has called you to serve. 1 You have heard much about what women in the church need today. Here are some key issues that must be in place to reach and disciple women effectively. Check out What the Church Must Provide Women in Today’s Culture…
