My husband and I bought a new home a few days ago. We are camping out in it while we wait for our furniture to arrive from the other place. In other words, we are sleeping on an air mattress, using paper plates, and eating a lot of fast food (when we aren’t too tired to eat), because the refrigerator is coming next week after the furniture is delivered. Sleeping practically on the floor and eating out of bags while sitting in camp chairs has been challenging….and also revealing. The really interesting thing: I actually enjoy camping. Tent camping, even, with no plumbing. My husband and I have had some…

I taught Sunday school this morning. Something I do once a month for the 4th and 5th graders. Even though it is a challenge every time, I am always glad that I participated and that I am getting to know these young people. The challenge for me is teaching this particular age group. I don’t have much confidence in my ability to connect with them. However, they generally respond well, and that is due to their parents placing a priority on Bible teaching and good manners. Our lesson this morning was about the captive Israelites being repatriated to their homeland after 70 years of exile in Babylon (Ezra 1-3). The…

In Matthew 10:8, Jesus says to His disciples, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.” To us, this may seem far-fetched, even impossible, but to Jesus, this is the everyday stuff of life in His Kingdom. So, rather than skip over this passage as belonging to another time, let’s linger here and ponder. When you care for someone who is sick and unable to care for himself, you touch on something in the very nature of God who is full of compassion and mercy. When you attend with careful diligence to someone you love who is dying, you are close…

There are things I have presumed to know. The definitions of “presume,” according to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary: to undertake without leave or clear justification; to expect or assume, especially with confidence; to suppose to be true without proof; to take for granted. As I look at these definitions, I am struck by the arrogance of presumption. Presumption is not knowledge. The New American Standard version of the Bible uses the phrase “true knowledge” in Colossians and in 2 Peter. So truth and knowledge must go hand in hand. Colossians 2:2-3 says, “…that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in…