"All of life is business with God…" John Calvin
Sow for yourselves righteousness;reap steadfast love;break up your fallow ground,for it is the time to seek the Lord,that he may come and rain righteousness upon you. — Hosea 10:12 Our women’s Bible study is currently digging into Romans chapter 8, and we have just considered verse 13, “if you live according to the flesh you … Continue reading The Peril of Prosperity
Yesterday, as we watched the livestream service of our home church from our living room, the elder-led congregational prayer was lifted to God's throne from the pulpit of an empty sanctuary. The pews may have been empty, but the Spirit of the Lord was there, helping our dispersed congregation in our weakness, interceding for the … Continue reading How We Prayed
This season of pandemic and isolation has produced much writing about lament, and rightly so. We are cut off from so much that was not only familiar, but also necessary. From fellowship with one another on personal and corporate levels (think, church), to school and work, most of what was normal in our lives has … Continue reading Think About These Things
During our worship Sunday morning, January 19, 2020, Pastor Berdj's congregational prayer emphasized God's loving, sovereign care: in making himself known, in calling to salvation and caring for his Church as a whole, and in his particular care for his individual children. We also agreed in prayer that our wise and powerful God is sovereign … Continue reading How We Prayed
Originally posted October 28, 2019, at Women of Purpose. In this, the eighth week of our study, we covered a large swath of Hosea, from 9:10 all the way to 11:11. And while there is so much in this passage which we could unpack and examine, so many details and points of history, the main … Continue reading Unfaithful Israel
Originally posted at Women of Purpose. 11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's … Continue reading The Hatred of Cain and the Love of Christ, Lesson 11
Originally posted May 4, 2018, at Women of Purpose. This is the final week of our study, and Peter finishes his epistle with strength and conviction. Urging his readers to remain steadfast in their faith and in the truth of God’s Word, based on what God has done for us in Christ, he begins this … Continue reading Standing in the True Grace of God, Lesson 25
Originally posted April 18, 2018, at Women of Purpose. In this week’s passage (actually, last week’s, as I was late getting this finished) Peter calls out false teachers and strips away their masks and pretenses to reveal the sordid truth behind their lies. This passage is not only difficult to read, it is necessary. For … Continue reading Standing in the True Grace of God, Lesson 22
Originally posted January 26, 2018, at Women of Purpose. The post for lesson 12, part 1 ended not only mid-lesson, but also mid-sentence and mid-verse! In 1 Peter 3:18, Peter pivots from Christ’s substitutionary atonement on the cross to something else Christ has done—and the rest of the sentence, which goes through verse 20, has … Continue reading Standing in the True Grace of God, Lesson 12, Part 2
Grateful 