This is a story about idolatry. It begins in 2020. The pandemic was throwing the world into a panic. Government was getting so far into people’s business that it was forcing them to lose jobs, inject new vaccines, wear masks, not leave their homes, not worship, not sing or eat with one another. You were…
Three months after we announced our first pregnancy, my sister called to tell me she was pregnant, but hesitation hovered in her voice. “Erin, why do you sound weird about it?” I asked. She was worried news of her fifth pregnancy might make me feel pushed out of the limelight. And to be honest, her…
As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when…
John 13:34-35 says, “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (CSB). These words have inspired millions of people over the centuries. But as a child,…
First Kings records a sad summary of King Solomon’s life, but we have other writings from him in the Bible, including the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes seems to offer a humble reflection on significant life endeavors with an understanding of human limitations. Ecclesiastes 3:9-15 says: What does the worker gain from his struggles? I have seen…
In her book Evidence Not Seen, Darlene Deibler Rose describes something incredible that happened when she was a prisoner at the Japanese Kempeitai prison in New Guinea during World War II. After weeks of horrific living conditions, interrogation, and living in constant fear of execution, Darlene witnessed a fellow female prisoner receive a bunch of…