The gospel arrived in Europe via a divergent and unlikely path. It was divergent because the Lord thwarted man’s plans and introduced a better one. It was unlikely because it was a Jewish woman—a prominent entrepreneur named Lydia—who became the continent’s first recorded disciple.
Scripture only mentions Lydia twice. But each mention demonstrates her full surrender and hospitality.
Meeting her and a group (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…)
And the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of (more…)
Many of us remember the story of Gideon, the unlikely biblical hero whom God used to defeat the menacing Midianites. Gideon went on to judge the Israelites for 40 years.
But Gideon’s death ushered in an ugly chapter for the people of Israel.
And the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of (more…)
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…)
But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.—Isaiah 53:5
The day we call Good Friday was not a good day for Jesus. Just one week earlier, He had made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem as the crowds cheered, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes (more…)