The headline of this blog might be a head-scratcher for you. After all, Valentine’s Day has its origin in the ancient pagan cultures of Greece and Rome when orgies celebrating romance and fertility regularly occurred. But as the Roman Empire was Christianized, the festival of Juno Februata – the Roman goddess of love, marriage, and […]
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Why Resurrection Cover-ups Failed
Cover-ups have a bad historical track record for one reason: people talk! While that might ...
Six Reasons why Abraham is a January Role Model
With a new year, who better to look at biblically than Abraham, that Scriptural template for new starts. His life spans 14 chapters in the book of Genesis (from 11 – 25) and weaves an extraordinary story of faithfulness, mistakes, and renewed efforts. I’ve loved reviewing the sweeping events of this Patriarch of Israel’s life, […]
Six Reasons to Celebrate Jesus’ Birth
While answers to this question might appear so obvious that it doesn’t bear asking, I invite you to pause this Christmas Eve and actually write down your own answers. They probably won’t match anyone else’s list and that’s just fine. What this simple exercise does is bring the life of Jesus of Nazareth, whose birth […]
Thanksgiving Psalms for the Season
“Praise the Lord!” And so begins one of the glorious types of Psalms (Ps. 111) from the Psalter, built on a recognition of God’s many blessings. What a perfect time of year to consider the Thanksgiving Psalm more deeply and maybe even write your own! There are many types of Psalms, but two predominate: the […]
How to have a ‘wow’ moment in group Bible Study
I remember it like yesterday About 15 years ago, a group of girlfriends and I decided to meet monthly in one another’s homes to read through a Biblical book, share insights and enjoy each others’ company. It turned out to be a pretty unbeatable formula as we realized most of us thrive when two basic […]
A Surprise Lesson from Joshua
The burning bush and Red Sea parting may be some of the most well-known stories of the Hebrew Bible. But do we realize Joshua had his own exceptional signs of God’s guiding presence? This came to light recently while rereading Joshua. Some quick background: Moses had finished his role leading the Children of Israel from […]
