Engage
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Fear of Consequences Can Motivate Obedience
How do you respond to a command for obedience? What motivates you to obey? Your gut reaction to the word “obedience” is reflected in your attitude toward authority and in the resulting behavior. And this inner reaction certainly affects your relationship with God. Do you trust Him enough to obey His commands, even those that make you personally uncomfortable? “Obedient trust”1 is a huge part of living out our lives as Christians in today’s world. Knowing that our God is completely trustworthy and realistically fearing the consequences of going against Him can motivate you to obedience. Or you can give lip service claiming you are a Christian and then choose…
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Of Noah and Her Sisters
Noah—that’s the number-one boys’ name in the USA in the year of our Lord 2024, according to BabyCenter.com. I find this particularly interesting considering that “Noah” is also one of the names of the five daughters of Zelophehad found in the biblical book of Numbers. Does her name ring a bell? I hope so—it shows up multiple times. We first read about Noah and her sisters in the text that records two censuses of the people of Israel. God calls for these countings of the people forty years after the exodus from Egypt as they prepare to enter the Promised Land. Oddly enough, the story where we find the women…
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What Results When Women Exhort Men in the Bible?
I joined a Facebook accountability group of Christian online course creators a few years ago. Two of my fellow content creators and I live within driving distance, so we arranged to meet for dinner. As we discussed our upcoming online course launches, Julie had a question about her Bible literacy course. She asked, “What do I do if men sign up for my course?” The foundational question behind Julie’s concern is, “May women exhort men?”
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Hope for Healing After Sexual Intrusion
I met Lynne (nee Straton) Head in seminary. We were in the same degree program. We sang in choir together. Our future husbands were dorm mates. We both became global workers. And missionary care providers. From my viewpoint Lynne looked attractive, confident, gifted, and someone everyone wanted to be. Little did I know the battles she faced. Later I learned that Lynne had survived a near fatal car accident, suffered the tragic death of her sixteen-year old son, and endured chronic pain. So when she told me she had written a book and graciously sent me a copy, I looked forward to learning more of her story. After reading Unfolding:…
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My Summer Reading Recommendations for Leaders
Light of Assisi: The Story of Saint Clare. How much do you know about Clare of Assisi (b. 1194)? Most of us know about St. Francis. But Clare, his contemporary, outlived him by twenty years and is probably why we have such great access to his story and writings. Think Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton making sure we all rightly remember Alexander Hamilton and you get the picture. Raised in an elite home, Clare was quite literate and trained to manage a wealthy household. But Francis helped her slip out with a companion, cut her hair, and launch herself—in quiet defiance—on a path of celibacy, poverty, and service. Radical! Her elite training…
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Does Truth Matter Anymore?
Recently, I discussed with friends how much we observe that the truth doesn’t seem to matter anymore. We witness this in almost every aspect of life: politics, society, even the church, and sadly sometimes among our friends. Lying has never been so popular, it seems. All of us find our lives affected by the lack of truth. But the question is, how much do we care? Integrity and honesty used to be character qualities we looked for among our leadership and those we admire. Now, even if we’re still looking, it’s become much harder to find. Last month, number one golfer, Scottie Scheffler, had all charges dropped against him from…
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Arms Open Wide
Though I did not grow up in a Christian home, I knew the song, “Jesus Loves Me This I Know” from my childhood. God’s arms were open wide to me which drew me to Himself. In my early 20’s, I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior and began a lifelong pursuit of knowing who God is. As I studied the Bible, I soon realized God was much more than just love. God is accessible, creator, deliverer, eternal, faithful, gracious, holy, jealous, kind, life, merciful, nurturing, omnipotent, perfect, truth, and wise to name a few of His attributes! It can be easy to get focused on God’s love…
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Lincoln and Francis Schaeffer Help us Remember and Give Thanks on Memorial Day
Two of the most majestic, stirring places to visit in Washington DC are the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington cemetery. Our images of both from a trip during cherry blossom season serve as a perfect backdrop to this tribute to all those who have given their lives to protect ours. Way back in high school our chorale memorized Lincoln’s Gettysburg address set to beautiful music. I sang it softly as I read the entire address, engraved on the south wall of Lincoln’s memorial. I’m so grateful to Lincoln for capturing in such beautiful language the remembrance of the sacrifice of the fallen, giving thanks, and offering great inspiration from it as…
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Never Too Old to Have Impact for Christ
Throughout Scripture, the Lord used many older people as His instruments of grace. He even called Joshua “old, advanced in years” (Joshua 13:1) and still wanted him to keep serving because “there remains very much land yet to be possessed.” What God said about Joshua reminded me that you and I as believers never retire from our calling to witness and work in God’s Kingdom until He takes us home. Listen to this blog as a similar podcast, “Staying Faithful to God by Choice.” Anna, an Old Woman Who Impacted Others Who was Anna? Don’t forget Anna! As you recount the Christmas story and tell about the angels, shepherds,…
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Embracing the Lonely Seasons
Alone. Most of us cringe just seeing the word by itself on the page. We may welcome alone time for a few hours. We may seek out a solitary retreat. But few of us relish being alone for long periods of time. Even worse, that lonely ache you feel in a crowd. You might be surrounded by others at a gathering. You might put on a smile at the party. You may even lift your hands in worship at church. And yet you feel painfully alone. Like it or not, most of us will go through seasons when we feel alone. The ache of loneliness will tug at our soul…