Once, there was a young Jewish girl named Hadassah. Her life was not easy. Her parents died and left her an orphan; her people had been conquered and carried captive into a foreign land where she lived with an older cousin who took her in. Through an unlikely series of events she became the Queen …
There is new life in our family (arrived and arriving soon!) It always makes me reflective to hold a new baby. So much discovery, learning, and wonder before her. A whole, wide world of possibility and opportunity. And it feels a little wistful. As if that time is behind me. But the beauty of life …
Psalm 23:6 says, ‘Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…’ Which sounds nice. Really nice. But the Hebrew word translated ‘follow’ here (radaph), suggests a much more intensive verb. More like chasing, pursuing, even hunting down. Strong’s concordance calls it ‘purposeful, even covenantal, pursuit’. Which sounds better yet. The …
January can be tough. Especially in comparison to December. December is full of light and giving and gathering. January is barren and cold (where I live) and a bit bleak. I am trying this year, however, to remember. Remember that it is Jesus who is the joy of December–He is the light and the influence …
Faith in Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel for a reason. We must first believe in order to have a desire and a motivation to follow. Without the belief, we wouldn’t have any reason to act. But there are other gifts of faith that make its preeminent position purposeful and beneficial. When …
