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First Sunday in Advent: Running with Rahab
This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah (by Tamar), Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of… Read More
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Is it Wind or Monkeys?
Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may be spread everywhere. Song of Songs 4:16a (NIVUK) I live at the moment in a small and simple space on the edge of the Rift Valley in East Africa. The first thing I did when I arrived was drag the wooden desk to a window, where I spend most of my days writing and watching monkeys. I counted 21… Read More
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The Thick Darkness
For C, with love …Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. Exodus 20:21 I awoke to the sound of hyenas last night. In the darkness, everything seemed wild and terrifying. Anything could happen, or so I thought in the inky black of my bedroom. Are they at my window? Will they devour me? Am I safe? As my focus cut through the heavy blanket of sleep, I remembered the truth. I am… Read More
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Privileged Places
Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” John 20:26b I sit in the early morning light looking out over the pastel surface of the Brussels airport, and I see Jesus. He is here. His gentleness undulates through the mist that sits reverently over the tarmac. I can trace His order along the carefully laid lines and dashes showing luggage trucks and airplanes where to go, and where not to. I… Read More
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When You Grow Weary and Want to Give Up
Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up. Hebrews 12:3, NET Sometimes third and fourth-degree burns cause severe nerve damage, resulting in chronic pain. The problem for burn survivors and those who love them is that it takes time to know if such damage will be one’s fate. In the months after burn trauma, the miraculous human body produces… Read More
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First Stop, the Cross
For S, and all who suffer injustice. For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female —for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:26-29 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have… Read More
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Kahama
Let Your work appear to Your servants, And Your glory to their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands. Psalm 90:16-17, NKJV I'm back in East Africa for a season, and memories of my life here over two decades ago are flooding my heart and mind. Before we had children, my husband and… Read More
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Give it Away
for Keith and Hannah, whose legacy stretches across the world. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 I made my way to the hospital… Read More
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Prayer for the Persecuted
His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” Matthew 25:21 The number of secret followers of Jesus worldwide is likely in the millions. The total number is humanly impossible to track, but the Master knows every single one. The persecuted meet in secret because where they live, it is forbidden to follow… Read More
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Don’t Make Me Tug You
“I hear the Lord saying, “I will stay close to you, instructing and guiding you along the pathway for your life. I will advise you along the way and lead you forth with my eyes as your guide. So don’t make it difficult; don’t be stubborn when I take you where you’ve not been before. Don’t make me tug you and pull you along. Just come with me!”” Psalms 32:8-9 TPT As we face a… Read More
