servant ⁽²⁹⁾

Genesis 24:1–27, Ruth 2:1–16, 1 Corinthians 7:1–9, Hebrews 11:13–22 (read online ⧉) Arranged marriages are nothing new. Many arranged marriages were and are political, financial, or just friends “knowing” their children should be together. The story of Isaac and Rebekah doesn’t quite fall into those…

Isaiah 44:21-23, Matthew 20:22–28, John 12:26 (read online ⧉) What is a servant? That isn’t a small question. In fact, in our culture, it is a huge thing. The cultural implications are generally demeaning (Alfred notwithstanding). That probably has a lot to do with the…

Mark 10:42–45, John 21:15–17, 1 Peter 4:7–11 Power to control. That’s what Jesus is talking about in the passage in Mark. The Gentile “rulers” (though the same applied to many of the Pharisees and scribes, as well) lorded their power, influence, and wealth over others,…

Psalm 127, Matthew 25:14–30, Luke 22:35–38 The question is often asked, “when you get to Heaven, what do you want to hear?” The common answer is, “well done, good and faithful servant.” It is a feel-good statement. Truthfully, we would all like to hear that…

Joshua 7:3–15, 1 Thessalonians 4:1–12 The pivotal character in the book Dune at one point talks about having a “stamp of strangeness” put upon him. This stamp was definitely a different context, yet “stamp of strangeness” was and is exactly what God does to us…