Engage
-
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.…
-
Meaning-full Holidays Benefit from Advance Planning
My shopping list includes “Halloween candy,” and my neighbors’ yards feature cobwebs, ghosts, and the Grim Reaper. Yet I just received a gift catalog from an aid organization, an invitation to a holiday brunch, and ads for Advent products in my social media feeds. It feels too early to think about whether to include marshmallows on the sweet-potato casserole. But we also know planning ahead will help make the holidays more meaning-full, right? Here on the Engage blog, I have annual tradition of offering suggestions for doing so. Here’s my 2023 Top Ten list: Prefer a book? I love Fleming Rutledge’s Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ. I get…
-
Gaze On God, Not the Wicked
News headlines are bleak these days. Factual events are spun as fiction to benefit the guilty. Differing accounts cause confusion and disguise the truth. And just when it seems things can’t get worse, violence breaks out again, communities are displaced, and thousands tragically perish. The marginalized suffer (again) while the wealth of the privileged increases. It can seem like the wicked are winning. We can feel like Asaph, the writer of Psalm 73. 3 For I envied those who are proud, as I observed the prosperity of the wicked.4 For they suffer no pain; their bodies are strong and well fed.5 They are immune to the trouble common to men; they do not suffer as other men…
-
Refuting the Lie: Woman is Defective in Her Nature
I've lost count of how many times I've wanted to climb the highest summit and roar like a lion. For too long, I believed the lie, that by God's design women are less valuable than men.
-
A New Resource for Global Workers, Their Pastors, and Their Sending Churches
Grit to Stay Grace to Go: Staying Well in Cross-Cultural Ministry, by Sue Eenigenburg and Eva Burkholder, Littleton, CO: William Carey Press, 2023. It has been nearly 3 decades since my husband and I left the Asian country where we worked cross-culturally to return to the United States to serve with the same agency. Before we left, I remember sitting at our dining room table wringing my hands as we shared our decision with our in-country colleagues. Churches and agencies invest a lot of time and money preparing cross-cultural workers, yet the workers themselves sometimes flounder on the field or leave before their senders expect. Authors Sue Eenigenburg and Eva…
-
What We Can Learn about Jesus from a Goddess
I love Wonder Woman. But I’m less of a fan of Diana, that is, Artemis, on whom the Wonder Woman character is based. But one thing I do love about Artemis is this: knowledge about her helps me understand parts of the New Testament (NT). The NT writers, while seeing Greek gods as false, certainly didn’t shy away from referencing them. The author of Acts, presumably Luke, mentions a ship with the Dioscuri (the sons of Zeus, namely the twin brothers Castor and Pollux) for its figurehead (Acts 28:11). And he recounts how the people in Lystra thought Paul was Hermes, “because he was the chief speaker” (Acts 14:12)—Hermes being…
-
I would “kill” for what you have; tackling the strength of jealousy
Recently, one of my older boys had a headache. I swooped in with all my Mom might and offered comfort, medication and syrupy words of compassion. It only took seconds for me to meet the gaze of my preschool boy and watch him suddenly declare that his stomach hurt; he too was in need of Mom’s attention and affection. At one point or another, nearly all of us have stood by and witnessed someone else receive something we desperately long for ourselves. Whether it’s affection, praise, opportunities, promotions, relationships, the heart longs for so much and nearly always notices when someone else has the thing we want. The story of…