Faith has always been the mark of those who desire to live righteously. Men and women from the dawn of time have either had faith that God is the creator - that He alone brings order from chaos - and that He will keep His promises, or they haven’t. Belief isn’t the same as faith.

There are no water bottles on the shelves of my local grocery store today, my neighbors here are preparing for the impact of a hurricane. The news stations are alerting citizens to get ready for the storm. “Do not be unprepared,” “Make sure you are ready,” “Be watchful and prepared for what is inevitable.” And, my neighbors are listening, they are hearing, and they are actively seeking the security that comes when preparations have been made.

Obadiah is one of the prophets of uncertain dates. It could be that it was the very first of the “minor” prophets written, but it also could have been written later during the fall of Jerusalem around the time of Jeremiah. I won’t go into the different theories on the different dates but have personally accepted the earlier date. In this article, I will just give some general context that we can determine from the book and important lessons to learn.

In the young adult class where I worship, we’ve been studying faith.  I’d like to share some of our conversations with you as we’ve focused this past month on Hebrews 11. 

After John the Baptizer is beheaded by Herod Antipas, Jesus retreats to mourn and makes the statement, “For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he” (Luke 7:28). I sure would like to meet him; I know I would like him. 

I wanted to begin a series of articles on the prophets but thought an introduction to prophets may be helpful. I know in my youth I had very little detailed knowledge of the prophets. I knew the children’s story about Jonah and knew the names, but I only had a vague awareness at best of the topics.

This year, I’ve been trying to keep up with a weekly reading schedule that takes you through the Bible in a year. To be honest, some weeks I do better than others, but a recent week’s reading was the story of Elijah and the 450 prophets of Baal in I Kings 18. It’s a great story - a familiar story.

There is a man that is part of David’s life that I find a little confusing - Joab. 

I think I would like many of the folks who spent their days in the temple courts at Jerusalem during the days of Jesus. We are not given information of the many who must have daily spent hours there. However, there is no doubt that many faithful and righteous among those referred to as “the multitudes” in the Gospel messages were awaiting the arrival of the Messiah. Though disillusioned with the political nature of the leadership in the temple they clung to the sanctification and hope in the center of religious activity in the capital city. We read of two such righteous people; Simeon and Anna, and I think I would like them both.

Have you ever felt so far away from God that you just had no idea how to turn everything around?

After recently wrapping up the story of David in my daily Bible reading, I started to really ponder the long-term consequences of our decisions. In 2 Samuel 11, we are introduced to a story that will change David’s life forever. It all starts with one little decision to stay home from war. In fairness, David had seen his fair share of battle and I am sure he was ready for some rest from war – but this one decision of choosing leisure will lead to a long list of consequences.

I think I would like several of the Roman centurions who appear in the New Testament, they are a remarkable group. R.C. Foster tells us in his Studies in the Life of Christ that “they bear witness to a high degree of valor, good judgment, and honesty as part of this second line of officers in the Roman army.” The most famous among the centurions we read of in scriptures is surely Cornelius in Caesarea, the first Gentile to be baptized and enter the kingdom; there is no doubt in my mind that I would like him.

There are many people that I read of in the Bible, who I think I would like very much; I wonder what they must look like, what their homes must have been like, who their families were.  So many details are left unknown for us as we read of those who lived in the various days of the text we are given.  Isn’t it interesting how well we know them, though very few details of their lives are made known to us?

In Galatians 6:1-5, Paul states: 

“Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted. Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Let each person examine his own work, and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself with someone else. For each person will have to carry his own load.”

I was recently told that the message of the Bible was not meant for the modern world.

As a teacher, I hear parents asking their children all sorts of questions…

Do you have your lunch? Did you do your homework? What were you thinking?

As a mother, I’ve asked all of those questions myself.

The questions of the day to day are just that…daily reminders, endearments, or reprimands.

It was a snowy winter day when I stumbled across a post on social media. A friend and sister from long ago posted a picture of a sonogram and above it were the words, “I’m so crafty, I made a baby!” I hope you’ll forgive me when I tell you my first thought was not a nice one. And when I realized my heart was being ugly, I tried to figure out why this seemingly sweet and exciting post was so hard for me. Was I jealous? My husband, Dan, and I had our two little bolts of light whom we loved and adored more than we ever knew we could. My family had ventured to Ethiopia to adopt our children. I had certainly earned my motherhood “stripes” having lived in Ethiopia with my own mother and two babies for five months. It was an adventure, and I loved the way we were blessed to do it. Truth be told, the thought of having another baby right then would have been terrifying. No, the reason I was struggling so much was because of pride. My good and godly sister was able to do something I never could, though I tried for many years - she made a baby.

I am one of those weird people who really look forward to making New Year’s Resolutions. I create a document of goals I want to accomplish in each area of my life and try to reflect on how I did for the prior year’s resolutions. However, goals and resolutions are pretty useless without a plan to accomplish them. If you read goal setting books, you will eventually get to a section about breaking them down into much smaller steps which usually break down to create a new habit. Habit is defined as “a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.” We can create good habits, and we most certainly can create bad habits as well. When we set goals, the key is to work on developing GOOD habits so that a habit does eventually become a tendency that is hard to give up.

A year ago today, I left Europe on emergency leave to go to my father’s bedside. It would be the last time I flew home to see him.

In the weeks that followed, there were many lasts. Last conversations, last words of comfort and gratitude, last touches, last hugs, and last looks…last moments, last prayers, and last breaths.

My children attend a school that uses a classical model of education. Although this entails many different things, one point that is emphasized is the classics in literature. They read ancient literature including Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil’s Aeneid, and the Epic of Gilgamesh. A few years ago, my sister and I, in hopes of trying to understand some of what our children are learning, joined a book study led by one of the teachers at the school and read some of these books. There are many things I learned in this study, but one I was pondering on again today was centered on what Paul meant when he wrote the following in 1 Corinthians 1:18-25: