Engage
-
What’s Amazing about the Annunciation!
Trigger warning: sexual assault How we experience life embodied as sexed beings affects how we read the biblical text. So how do many women do so? We do so as those who have (a) been violated ourselves or (b) as those who live in close proximity with someone who is a survivor of such violation. According to RAINN, one out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. Contrast this with the one in 33 American men who have been victims of attempted or completed rape. Women are raped more than five times as often as men. And neither of these statistics…
-
Overflowing with Thankfulness
Did you know that the book of Colossians is one of the most “thankful” books in the New Testament? The repeated emphasis on thanksgiving makes it so! Seven times in this short letter the Spirit of God reminds us through the writing of Paul that we should be continually grateful, even to the point of overflowing with thankfulness. But how is that possible? What would that look like? Thank God for Other Christians in Your Life Paul started out by saying this, “We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that…
-
Four Keys to Keeping a Clear Conscience
(My daughter Holly Hawkins Shivers is the guest blog poster today.) The holidays are upon us and well, sometimes that means coming face to face with relationships that seem hard. It can also mean thinking about the past year and ways in which we want to do better. We’ve all had moments when we say or do something we second guess. Maybe you wake up in the middle of the night thinking of something you wish you hadn’t said. Or perhaps you are in the middle of a difficult life circumstance, and you just don’t know how to respond. You want to know that what you are doing is right…
-
Do Not Be Afraid, I Am With You
Since my word for the year 2023 is “with,” I’m sharing a chapter entitled “With You” from my devotional Favored Blessed Pierced: A Fresh Look at Mary of Nazareth in preparation for the upcoming Advent season. So the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid.” Luke 1:30a The angel’s preface to his commissioning, “Do not be afraid,” is the most commonly repeated command in the Bible—with good reason, for we are people of fear. Last year, I finally admitted that I feel anxious when I travel. While I have the privilege of traversing the globe in my ministry to cross-cultural workers, I rarely travel alone. Still I worry. Will we make…
-
A Historical Review: Black Women Who Won the Battle to Preach
Any review of women’s religious history is incomplete “without an adequate grasp of the groundbreaking work” of Black preaching women.[1] Historian Bettye Collier-Thomas in her book Daughters of Thunder: Black Women Preachers and Their Sermons, 1950–1979, explains that during the nineteenth century and the twentieth century, “in most black religious traditions, women won the battle to preach.”[2]
-
You Are Free: A Lesson from the Greco-Roman World
Most of us know that the world of the earliest Christians included slavery. The book of Philemon details the return of the slave Onesimus. And elsewhere, Paul flips the usual household codes, addresses slaves directly (scandalous!), and tells masters they, too, have a master. But even more personally, Paul refers to all believers as manumitted from sin and free to serve our new master: righteousness. Here are three examples from Paul’s letters. Notice what he says about who owns the believer. Do you not know that if you present yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting…
-
My Superhero Complex
This blog was originally posted on February 8, 2016. But as many of us are feeling so weary from “doing it all” lately, I felt it time to recirculate this article to remind us (myself included) of our need for rest and reliance in our real superhero. “The caregiver needs rest, too,” our Canadian ministry cohort advised. “You need to take time out,” my former internship director urged. “You need to rest,” my husband kindly said. Who? Me? Nah, I’m fine. I just need a bigger cape. I bet you, like me, have an invisible superhero cape. I wear mine daily and take on all of the responsibilites that come…
-
Cancel the Cancel Culture
About 2000 years ago, a Samaritan woman came to a well to draw water. She came alone during the heat of the day which was unusual. Generally, women came to the well together as a social time (Gen 24:11; Exo 2:16) and during the cooler part of the day. From John 4, it seems the woman was immoral and an adulterer. Not just 1 time but 5 times. Two thousand years ago, it was typical for the other women to ostracize, ignore, or shun an immoral woman. This unnamed woman, who feels lonely and hopeless, came to the well where Jesus was at. She was surprised to be the recipient…
-
Things to Know When Studying the Old Testament
The books of the Old Testament (except for Genesis and Job) are the accounts of people living under the Old Covenant, the Law of Moses. It is important to keep that background and context in mind when studying them. So, here are some simple things to know when studying the Old Testament. These will help you to understand the truth revealed about God and His way of approaching life for you. Word meanings can be different. Here are some examples of word meanings and concepts that are different between the Old and New Testaments. People were saved by faith in the Old Testament. Throughout the Old Testament, God’s grace accepted…
-
Meekness—It Is More Than You Think
Ever since our church small group discussed meekness last week, I’ve been thinking about it—trying to make sense of it. It seems simple enough until you really pause and consider Jesus’ words. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). Meekness isn’t something we talk much about. It’s often seen as being weak, timid, or passive—hardly qualities we want to possess. But take a second look, and you quickly discover meekness is much more. The biblical view of meekness is strength under control. It’s the middle ground; the place where we struggle to live. Most of us choose to either keep the peace at all costs.…