family ⁽²¹⁹⁾

Deuteronomy 18:9–14, 1 Samuel 28:3–25, Galatians 5:16–26 The list of people not to listen to is interesting. As part of the Israelites' preparation to enter the Promised Land, these people were to not be sought out. From a cultural standpoint, this is not a small…

1 Thessalonians 4:9–11 Imagine being told that we don’t need encouragement or training or discipling to show brotherly love. That would be wonderful. Paul tells the Thessalonians that their love is displayed far outside of their home church(es) to the greater region. In other words,…

Psalm 119:169–176, Psalm 121, 1 Peter 5:1–11 No matter how strong your faith, there has been (or will be) a time when you desire nothing more than to be relieved from your burdens. It may be a job, finances, family, health, death. Often we just…

2 Samuel 13:11–39, Ephesians 4:13–19 Parenting is hard. Parents struggle with their own failures personally and with their children. For the deeply afflicted parent (and child), parenting is not just brutal, but it is unending pain. For a normal parent, having children is a blessing…

Genesis 37:16–27, Deuteronomy 30:15–20, Matthew 12:46–50 One of the most heartbreaking things taught by certain Christian traditions is that God wills bad things to happen to people. One of the reasons they draw that conclusion is that we are able to look back at stories…