The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh…” But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. — Jonah 6: 1 and 3, NLT My friend Becca had it…
Read MoreHis name is Russ. We met a month ago in a Zoom meeting. Imposing is a not I word I would have used if you’d have asked me what he was like during that online meeting. Instead, I would have used words like thoughtful, measured, and professional. This…
Read More“Why should we shed any blood? Let’s just throw him into this empty cistern here in the wilderness. Then he’ll die without our laying a hand on him.”… So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off the beautiful robe he was wearing. Then they grabbed him and threw him…
Read MoreThe sky has not fallen as Henny Penny feared it would. However, our region experienced a considerable amount of smoke from Canadian wildfires at the start of the week of June 5th. Our usually blue skies became not just dangerous but ominous. Some described the oddly pink and eerie-looking sun…
Read MoreOne day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh. Swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite…
Read MoreWe hear a polished pitch or well-plastered promo and think to ourselves, “Now, that’s too good to be true.” We know what’s next. It IS too good to be true. The hoax, scam, or the something so hyped disappoints us. Sometimes the disappointment is minor. Eh. Shrug. It…
Read MoreBut Abram replied, “O Sovereign LORD, how can I be sure that I will actually possess it?” — Genesis 15:8 Stand on the free throw line in front of the basketball net. Players line up to your left and right ready to attack. Perhaps you ball bounce once or…
Read MoreWhat scripture says is important. Sometimes what scripture doesn’t say is important, too. For example, in the story of Noah and the ark, we read rain falls for forty days and forty nights (Genesis 7:12). We also read God tells Noah to keep the pairs of all animals aboard…
Read MoreThe Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. And the Lord…
Read MoreCopyright William Hagenbuch. All rights reserved.