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A Holy Limp
I got polio at six months old. Every step of my life, I have walked with a limp. It was a source of great shame to me growing up because of people’s stares. And my limp was probably the biggest reason I hated polio and hated how I saw myself, as the “ugly crippled girl.” One day, as I studied the scriptures, God gave me a divine “lightbulb moment.” As I read in Genesis 32 about Jacob wrestling all night with God, the same Lord who touched his hip, asked me, “Do you see the souvenir I gave Jacob from his night with Me?” Jacob walked the rest of his…
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Teaching Tip # 3
Relationship! Relationship! Relationship! From the Garden to the final judgment, God is all about relationship.Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are in perfect relationship. When God walked in the evenings with Adam and Eve in the Garden, He didn’t come to check up on His creation, He came with a desire to fellowship with the only aspect of His creation made in His image. As parents and teachers, we need to start as early as possible teaching our children to have a personal relationship with their Father God. It is too easy to teach children what they should and should not do as though they can do something to…
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The Tower of Babel
Genesis 11:1–9 Time: The dawn of human history Place: The Fertile Crescent Lesson Aim: To note that God will not permit the rebellious acts of the proud to succeed. Introduction Noah’s descendants at a plain (or valley) in Shinar were so filled with pride that they had the audacity to defy God’s will. We can only imagine the conflict that arose after God confused their language. There must have been huge misunderstandings, arguments, and estrangements. When we arrogantly focus on ourselves and what makes us happy, we end up in conflict with other people who are doing exactly the same thing. Everybody can’t get his or her…
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Who is Tasting Your Stew?
Dr. Mark Bailey, former president of Dallas Theological Seminary, spoke of the need for accountability in the Christian life. "It's like making a stew…" he began to illustrate. “Each of us has our own recipe. We add a little here. We add a little there. We season the stew to our liking. We get ahead of ourselves and think our stew is good. The problem is we haven’t exposed it to the opinions of others.” He closed his illustration by claiming you have to have someone close enough to smell and taste your stew—even more so, someone who won’t lie about it! Life, like cooking, has never been an exact…
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Compassion Reflects Overflowing Joy in the Lord
One of the most amazing verses in the whole Bible is 2 Corinthians 8:2! Paul, writing to the Christians living in southern Greece, discusses the offering being collected by the Christians in northern Greece for those suffering terrible hardship in Jerusalem. “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” Oh, my, that is so radical! Extreme poverty giving generously? Those early Christians are an amazing example to all believers, including you and me, of the dynamic difference that God’s grace can make in the mindset of His people when it comes to provision. Gratefully receiving and generously giving comes from…
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The Importance of Self Awareness
“Know yourself. Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.” Ann Landers There are a number of skills that lead to success in life. Self awareness is one of them, although it is not often seen as a critical trait. However, understanding who we are, how we think, and how we operate is vital to knowing who we are and who God has called us to be. What exactly is self awareness? Self awareness has been defined as the ability to make an accurate assessment of your own personality, strengths and weaknesses. It is the conscious knowledge of one’s own character, emotions, desires, and motivations. The…
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Women Speaking for God in Mixed Groups?
Recently, when I went to look up the female prophets in the Bible, I reached for one of my reference books that claimed to list the OT mouthpieces for God. But it included only the male prophets. Yes, missing from that guide were all the females who should have been there, such as Miriam, Huldah, and Deborah. In every era of redemption history in which men have prophesied, God has raised up at least one woman, and sometimes multiple women, to speak for him as his prophet. And since the book I consulted didn’t have the info I needed, I had to create the list for myself. Perhaps you will find it…
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Waiting Out the Wait
I’m not good at waiting. Most of us aren’t. We live in a culture of instant response and immediate gratification. Even waiting out a storm can drag on. “Right now” has become the norm and expectation. But immediacy in all aspects of life is a relatively new phenomenon. In the not-too-distant past, responses and news of current happenings travelled at a snail’s pace. But as pre-iPhone kids, this created anticipation each week as we looked forward to the Sunday paper’s section of cartoon strips. My favorite: the beloved Snoopy by Charles Schulz. I still remember the picture of Snoopy laying atop his red doghouse with ears relaxed and eyes…
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Intentional Moms and Dads
This month I'm pleased to share this blogspace with the thoughtful and talented Victoria Monet Aguas. Victoria is from Georgetown, Texas. She loves her husband, son, dog, and impacting others' everyday theology through creative writing and teaching. She writes poetry and topical articles on her blog "Theology Reflected" https://victoriamonet.wixsite.com/theologyreflected. Conservative evangelical culture tends to teach and encourage certain Christian ideals for moms and dads. Moms are encouraged to stay at home full time with the kids and take care of household chores. Dads are commissioned to work full time outside of the home and solely provide for their families’ financial needs. As a result of families following these ideals, taking…
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God Questions From Little Kids
Recently I asked some of the mamas of littles in our church, “What God questions are your kids asking?” While not definitive, here are some answers I trust you’ll find helpful. Who made God? God has always existed. No one made God. Everything that has been made, has been made by someone or something else. Eventually, when we go back far enough, there has to be a Someone or a Something that is eternal—that was not created. Smart thinkers called philosophers call this an “uncaused cause.” How do we know this? Because there are some things we can’t figure out on our own, so God tells us in His word.…
