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Levi – From Cursed to Chosen
A trip through the book of Genesis reminds us that the Bible is full of way more stories than just Adam & Eve or Noah’s Ark. In reality, some stories aren’t exactly Sunday school friendly, and many will have you questioning why God would have wanted them written at all. Take Jacob for example, the grandson of mighty Abraham, Father of many nations. Jacob wrestled with God and from him came the 12 tribes of Israel. Talk about a life of worthiness. But read about Jacob’s life of deceit, lack of faith, and poor decisions, and then suddenly you start to wonder why God felt he deserved to be a…
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If You Love Me…
Whenever I’m going through something, I always try to find someone in the Bible who went through a similar experience. Job, Paul, Jonah, Ruth – there’s always someone I can relate to and learn from. This time, it’s Peter. We all know Peter. The walking-on-water, Jesus-denying, ear-slicing, ever faithful Peter. Peter was enthusiastic (to say the least) about pleasing Jesus. He wanted to make Jesus proud and offer his fully devoted service. He wanted to show just how much he believed and how faithful he was. Yet, he was always tripping up. Always failing. Always falling. But hiccups and all, he kept pursuing Jesus. One of the last conversations Jesus…
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When God Brings Judgment – An Isaiah 1 Commentary
The following post is a commentary on Isaiah 1:2-20. Like a parent, there are times that our Father must bring judgment upon His children. But also like a parent, He only ever wants what is best for us. (Read Preface here) Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: God is calling all of creation to be a witness. Has He not give us everything? Have we not acted like rebellious children? Let the world around us bear witness to our behavior and who He is. And this is who He is: “I have nourished and brought up children, He has been a loving, providing…
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A Strange Way of Healing
Last month, I relapsed. What I thought would end as beautiful memories of the zoo and park with my family turned out to be days of pain and pressure. I overdid it, and I relapsed. You may be wondering how that can be. What happened to being healed? Trust me, I was asking God the same thing. I knew I couldn’t doubt what God had promised, but was I expected to ignore the way I was feeling? There was certainly no doubt there when it came to the stiff inflammation building in my back. There was no ignoring the pressure pushing on my eyes and tightening my neck. How could…
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Dreaming of Hell
The First Dream When I was younger, I had a dream that terrifyingly embedded itself into my mind for years to come. The dream began as normal as any dream can, until suddenly, everything turned pitch black. It was such an empty, hollow blackness, a never ending void with nothing able to be seen before you or around you. And from that desolate pit, I heard the whisper, “It’s too late.” It was hell. Without a doubt, I knew I had gone to hell. And while I knew and know that hell is far worse than that, it was enough for me. It’s too late. No second chances. No extra…
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If You Seek Justice, Seek God
Recently, I began a Bible Study with a small group of women. Upon asking God where to begin, I was led to the book of Esther. At first, I felt it was unnecessary for us to read about a woman just because we were women. But as soon as I began my research on the book, I quickly understood why He chose Esther. Because believe it or not, the events of Esther are actually very similar to what we are going through today. Overwhelmed by the situation in the world, our Bible study began with discussing racism. As younger women, we couldn’t believe we were still dealing with the same…
