Before I started my race of a day called Monday and zoomed back into the reality of American culture, I wanted to stop and share some reflections from my trip to Kenya last week. It is a little perplexing to think that just a week...
In Exodus 19:1-25, God shows fierce kindness in the way He delivers His people and draws them into a relationship with Him. Despite our brokenness, God wants to draw us to Him in the same way. Only when we recognize our need for Him can...
1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness. 2 Why let the nations say, “Where is their God?” 3 Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes. 4 Their idols are merely things...
1 Then God gave the people all these instructions: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. 3 “You must not have any other god but me. 4 “You must not make for yourself an idol...
18 You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. 19 For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop...
13 So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. 14 So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your...
I led a group of high school girls for four years, and there was a time that I was sure one of them would be married before I was. I felt stuck in my singleness, and it was just a matter of time before one...
1 The Lord is king! Let the nations tremble! He sits on his throne between the cherubim. Let the whole earth quake! 2 The Lord sits in majesty in Jerusalem, exalted above all the nations. 3 Let them praise your great and awesome name. Your name is holy! 4 Mighty King, lover of...
On the Mary/Martha pendulum, I’m a Martha. My feet hit the floor in the morning with my to-do list filling my head, strategically thinking about how I will get all of it done as efficiently as possible. It’s how I am wired up....
1 It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. 2 Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered...
In Exodus 18, we find Moses trying to care for his people alone. Jethro, his father-in-law, steps in to provide wisdom and advice on how to best take responsibility and care for others in the way that God calls us to....
1 Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings; honor the Lord for his glory and strength. 2 Honor the Lord for the glory of his name. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. 3 The voice of the Lord echoes above the sea. The God of glory thunders. The Lord...
1 Exactly two months after the Israelites left Egypt, they arrived in the wilderness of Sinai. 2 After breaking camp at Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and set up camp there at the base of Mount Sinai. 3 Then Moses climbed the mountain...
1 The Lord detests the use of dishonest scales, but he delights in accurate weights. 2 Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. 3 Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people. 4 Riches won’t help on the day of judgment, but right living can save you from death. 5 The...
When you first enter college it feels like a never-ending season—as if those four years will last forever. Graduation seems a lifetime away as your attention narrows in on classes, organizations, and new relationships. Then one day you find yourself walking across a stage to...
12 Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. 13 Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other. 14 Brothers and...
The summer after I graduated college I did two things that challenged me in very positive ways. One was spending ten days in Tanzania, Africa, where I encountered true joy and thankfulness in a way I’d never seen before. The third world is an incredible...
7 A church leader is a manager of God’s household, so he must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker, violent, or dishonest with money. 8 Rather, he must enjoy having guests in his home,...
Our words—they can bring life or death to another person, encouragement or discouragement. Proverbs 18:21 says, "The tongue can bring life or death; those who love to talk will reap the consequences." ...
9 Moses continued, “At that time I told you, ‘You are too great a burden for me to carry all by myself. 10 The Lord your God has increased your population, making you as numerous as the stars! 11 And may the Lord, the God...
It is natural for us to want to distance ourselves from the Israelites. However, we find that Exodus 16 reveals the condition of the human heart—hearts that forget, cling to nearer idols, run to comfort, and doubt God’s provision even in the face of His...
7 I will tell of the Lord’s unfailing love. I will praise the Lord for all he has done. I will rejoice in his great goodness to Israel, which he has granted according to his mercy and love. 8 He said, “They are my very own people. Surely they will...
At the end of living in Allendale for six weeks during the summer, I was more than eager to return to Greenville. I had forgotten what life was like to have Target within 20 minutes of your home and to have more than three options...
1 Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about everything God had done for Moses and his people, the Israelites. He heard especially about how the Lord had rescued them from Egypt. 2 Earlier, Moses had sent his wife, Zipporah, and his two sons back...
22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the far shore saw that the disciples had taken the only boat, and they realized Jesus had not gone with them. 23 Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed...