You have been a pariah for more than a decade. Cries of “unclean!” and stares of condemnation follow you everywhere. The social isolation and loneliness add insult to injury. You’ve been bleeding for 12 years, and doctors have done nothing more than bleed your pocket dry.
You’re weak. You’re broken. You’re desperate. You have no money and have earned no sympathy.
But then (more…)
In the eyes of the world, Mary was a nobody living in a nowhere town. She expected her life to take the traditional trajectory. She would marry young, have children, and live a quiet life of servitude, eventually fading into obscurity.
But the Lord foresaw a different trajectory for her life. He would grant her the highest honor among women. She, a (more…)
I often think of the Lord as the ultimate recycler. He wastes nothing—not our heartache, our choices or our years of wandering. He transforms broken people, relationships and situations into something new. And He takes what was meant for evil and uses it for good.
Joanna’s story is proof.
It begins with her being under enemy influence while living large on enemy support. (more…)
For years, a little girl lived and thrived in the care of her Israeli parents, who taught her the word of God. But then the Arameans came. They abducted her, ripping her away from her family and the only home she had ever known.
She became a slave in a foreign land. Her master: an Aramean army commander.
Had she seen her parents (more…)
Imagine you’re a woman of ill repute living among a people you know in your heart are doomed. It’s likely your story will end right there.
But for Rahab, a resident of Jericho, that’s not the end of her story. It’s just the beginning. Hers is a story of faith and redemption.
With Moses gone, God had given Joshua the job (more…)