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Tamar’s “Wrong” Makes It Right
Today I’m happy to host guest columnist Katherine Tucker. You can read her bio below. In honor of Women’s History Month, consider the hope of Easter through the story of a woman in the Bible. Her story is obscure, often misunderstood, and frequently passed over. Those familiar with it tend to cringe a little at her name. “Tamar.” It invokes ideas of prostitution, seduction, and revenge. What could this harlot have to do with our LORD, the incarnation, and the resurrection? As it turns out, literally everything. The truth is that we have Tamar “the prostitute” to thank for Jesus’s family tree. Tamar is one of three women named in…
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What Difference Does the Resurrection Make?
What difference does the resurrection make in our lives? It’s the most important event in all of human history. Where’s the “so what” for today? I meditated on this question for weeks, eventually creating a list too long for this blog post. So let me share my favorites. All pain and suffering will be redeemed and resolved. I’ve lived in a body with a disability since I got polio at eight months old and was paralyzed from the waist down. I got some use of my left leg and hip back, but I had to wear a steel and leather brace for the first several years of my life. Every…
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The Beautiful Attitudes – Part VI: Blessed are the Pure in Heart
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Matthew 5:8 NET)
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Be a God-Dependent Woman
Do you fight any need to be dependent on someone? Does that attitude find its way into your relationship with God? God wants for us women to be God-dependent women—not “independent except for when we need Him.” That is very hard to accept in our culture that continually tells us to be self-sufficient. But the Bible teaches that we, as believers in Christ, should live our lives dependent on God all the time. We are to be God-dependent in our strengths when we are using our gifts and skills and opportunities well. We are to be God-dependent in our weaknesses that drive us to Him for help. And we are to…
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Unpacking the Spectrum of Views on Women and Church Leadership
Authoritarian, Libertarian, the Left, the Right…political polling data of United States voters reflects a broad spectrum of beliefs about organizational leadership and governing policies. Similarly, but in a different context, Christians hold a spectrum of beliefs on what the Bible teaches about women and their pastoral leadership.
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Ten Principles From Scripture to Guide Engagement
“I can’t believe you just said that!” I look aghast at my screen. “Does she really believe that?” “This can’t be happening again!” My heart starts beating faster. I feel a mixture of anger, astonishment, disgust, disappointment, confusion, fear, exasperation, and superiority. I waffle between wanting to fight or to flee. I can’t go on this way. How do I respond when social media, news, and typical conversation is fraught with fear-driven division? When I read a disturbing post, when a friend purports a conspiracy theory, when my least favorite politician wins, should I turn off all devices, quit reading the news, and only talk about the weather? I need…
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Bottling Civility: Engaging Politely about Controversial Topics
“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.” James 1:19 I wrote a series of blogs in 2017 on civility. As we enter the season of a new presidential race, civility is more needed than ever. So I will be re-posting them again over the next three months. May you and I be reminded how to engage with others in a God-glorifying way. How can we talk about controversial topics in a meaningful way? I’ve witnessed or been in on some contentious political discussions in the last several months. Some on Facebook have included profanity and name calling—and…
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Show and Tell
A 5th grade Sunday School class talks about Show and Tell.
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How Then Shall We Live? (Contextualization, Part III)
“Will you burn incense for your dad?” My mom looked at me expectantly as she asked. Within a month, we fly back to Taiwan to take my dad’s ashes home. My grandparents have already purchased a family lot, where we will lay his remains. Because they practice Buddhism, they will expect us to burn incense in honor of their deceased son. According to traditional Chinese belief, the smoke from burning incense carries one’s prayers to the heavens. A person can burn incense both to honor a deceased family member and to ask them for blessings. For example, one relative would ask her deceased husband to bless their grandchildren’s studies. Because…
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The Beautiful Attitudes – Part V: Blessed are the Merciful
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. (Matthew 5:7)