Women of the Bible: Pontius Pilate’s Wife

You may not realize it, but you’re faced with a decision that will define your life. Everyone around you is screaming for you to do something you know isn’t the right thing. You want peace, though you realize it comes at a high price.

But one person, one whose opinion should carry significant weight, begs you to ignore the crowds and act (more…)

Women of the Bible: Huldah

What would you do if you knew the decisions you made could affect the lives of countless people over multiple generations? How would you verify your  path forward?

Chances are, you would seek the counsel of a wiser person.

That’s exactly what Judah’s King Josiah did when a temple repair project unearthed a forgotten biblical scroll. The scroll terrified and convicted Josiah because (more…)

Women of the Bible: Mary and Martha

Most of us know the story of Mary and Martha, the one in which Martha got it wrong  while her sister got it right.

But the sisters’ story is more nuanced than it appears. It begins with hospitality.

As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She (more…)

Women of the Bible: Daughters of Zelophehad

In a culture in which women were generally seen but not heard, five sisters dared to speak up for their rights. As their father’s only children, it was up to them to preserve their family legacy. Their names—Mahlah, Noa, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah—may be unfamiliar, but their courage and integrity remain as an example for us today.

We meet them first in (more…)

The Miracle of You

One Sunday, an inquisitive man in our church small group posed the question, “What is a miracle?” His former pastor had told him a miracle is something beyond the realm of the explicable.

I thought about the countless physiological and neurological processes at work within him as he spoke. I was struck by how each one of us, and every moment of (more…)