I recently read Luke 16 in my morning Bible reading. This chapter presents what we call the Parable of the Unjust (or Shrewd) Steward. In the parable, a steward, or manager, is discovered squandering his master’s wealth. The master decides to fire him, and the steward finagles some accounts with his master’s debtors, reducing the […]
If you’ve seen the show The Chosen, you may know the fictional backstory given to one of the disciples, James the son of Alphaeus (fondly called “Little James” in the show). Little James has a physical condition that limits his movements and affects his appearance. Throughout the episodes we see Little James tired, sore, self-conscious, […]
Last week we looked at two reasons we are valuable, reasons that come from God Himself and that define us with truths that cannot be changed: we are made in God’s image, created in His plan, and redeemed into His family by the priceless blood of His own Son. These next two reasons include truth […]
Last week I shared the first half(ish) of a sermon our pastor preached a couple of months ago, titled “Humbly Ministering for His Glory.” The text is II Corinthians 4:7-18 and offers so much encouragement to those of us in chronic illness. Here are the main points so far: God identifies you as precious vessels. […]
Have you ever listened to a sermon that fit in all the right places where you needed that exact encouragement, perspective, or conviction (or all three), as if God custom built the message to your current situation? That’s how I felt when I listened to a Youtube sermon on the life of Joseph, preached by […]
Do you like the rain? Most people I talk to prefer sunny days over rainy ones, in both weather and life, where we associate sunshine with warmth, life, happiness, and prosperity and connect rain with sorrow, gloom, pain, or hardship. Of course we value sunshine. Of course we dislike or even hate the rain–the discomfort, […]
Thank you, Oksana, for sharing the rest of your story with us! (Two weeks ago we published Part 1, and last week we published Part 2.) What Scriptures spoke to you in your times of need? At that time of my wilderness, there were a lot of Scripture messages that helped me and God used […]
The word kept appearing throughout the week: in my morning devotions, in my notes from Sunday School, in that little sermon reminder I’d sketched for myself at least a year ago, still lying on my desk. PERSPECTIVE In Hebrews 10:34, the writer commends his brothers for suffering the loss of their goods with joy. I […]
We study the life of Job with the gift of perspective: we know how his story ends. We know what goes on behind the scenes. We know, as readers, what he as the main character never learns in his lifetime, a biblical study of dramatic irony. We watch and learn from his life like […]
The Valley