“She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” Genesis 3:6b (NIV) Influence. Power. Persuasion. She possessed all three. She also possessed a rare beauty, at least in the eyes of the man who adored her. Without her, he knew he’d lead a lonely existence. He didn’t want…
Category: Challenges
Puzzling Pieces
“I will come back to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.” Jeremiah 29:10b NIV “Mommy, I need help!” Standing in the doorway, I stared aghast into our preschooler’s bedroom. She had found her new puzzles from Grandma. The five thirty-piece puzzles that hadn’t come with a picture. And,…
He Knows
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet is without sin.” Hebrews 4:15 (NIV) Outcast. Alone. Defeated. Sometimes this world can overwhelm and undermine the most positive of people….
He Is With HIM, Part V
Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.” Proverbs 16:20 NIV Jesus’ final day as a free man. His last chance to instruct His disciples on what they needed to know, to do, and how to make life work. Jesus knew His time with His disciples was…
He is With HIM, Part IV
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” John 12:23 NIV It was the heaviest of burdens. It was literally the world against Him. Just four days after praises from Palm Sunday still ringing in His ears, He now felt none of the accolades or the glory. Instead of a reception…
He Is With HIM, Part II
“Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” John 12:15 NIV Six days until His reunion with His Father. It’s time to enter Jerusalem, a place where Jesus is a marked man. Religious rulers didn’t like how this man riled the people and called the…
He is with HIM, Part I
Seven days and counting. Seven days before His much anticipated reunion with His Father. Walking the hot, dusty road, Jesus leads the way to Bethany with His disciples. Each step brings Him closer to His destiny, a calling His disciples could not comprehend. How did God encourage His Son throughout the most difficult week of…
Mary’s Treasures, Part V
“On coming to the house, they saw the child and his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” Matthew 2:11 (NIV) Maybe Mary was having a bad day. If you’ve ever been home with a busy toddler, you…
Mary’s Treaures, Part III
“Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” Matthew 1:18 NIV Joseph was a righteous man. He obviously was a man possessing a great amount of self-control. First, when hearing of Mary’s pregnancy he knew he couldn’t…
Lessons From Tipper, Part VII
“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man I put the ways of childhood behind me.” I Corinthians 13:11 NIV In a wild flash of black fur, seventy-five-pound Tipper raced through the living room and dove under…