We saw yesterday how anxious Mary was to see her son begin His reign as a Davidic king. She envisioned Him as someone who would sit on…

If we were watching Mary’s newsfeed in this day and age, we would see there was an utter blackout in information from the time Jesus was twelve to thirty years of age.  Suddenly, as she activates her page, we are invited…

Have you ever lost one of your children? I am the mother of four boys and I have had this experience numerous times. One such time was at Disney World…

We are all-too-familiar with the scene in the above Scripture, as it has been a major piece of the Christmas story.  However, two words jump right off the page that are often missed in the familiarity of the content—“flee” and…

Yesterday, we got to peer into the life of an ordinary young girl who willingly submitted to an angel’s extraordinary request. Her response: “Be it done…

I have always been fascinated with Mary the mother of Jesus. Not only because she is a notable figure in the Christmas story, but rather because I believe she is one of the most misunderstood and underestimated women in the Scriptures…

I am so eager to introduce you to Andrea Maher, author of Slammed, Overcoming Tragedy in the Wave of Grief. I met Andrea after…

Stop for a moment and let this truth sink in. In the middle of your deep grief, daughter or son of the King, when you are so afraid of the future you can barely breathe, so terrified of…

The angel and the message of the angel terrified Mary. How do we know? Because the angel commanded: Do not be afraid, Mary. These few words reminded Mary…

Every circumstance becomes an eternal opportunity to reflect Jesus. If you are struggling with loss, I know this is hard. Grief is hard work and…

Like countless women before me, I have sat at Mary’s feet in dark moments, longing to see inside her heart and hear her story of bearing the…

Perhaps you are in a dark place where you dread Christmas. I get that. I was there for a very long time. To this day, over twenty years after the deaths of our son…

Mary the mother of Jesus joins our motley band as we Journey to Christmas. Imagine her joy-filled eyes as she runs to embrace Tamar the Forgotten One, Rahab the Harlot, Bathsheba the Abused and…

Soon we will start putting away the Christmas decorations, sweeping up pine needles, maybe throwing out leftover sweets, determined to keep our New Year’s resolution to…

The core value of Solomon’s Book of the Proverbs is the fear of God. Where did Solomon learn this principle? Who taught Solomon how to…

For the rest of her life, Bathsheba paid a high price for the lustful desires of David. What would have happened if she had refused to…

David was at a fork in the road. Would simmering rage toward God for taking his son be the grid through which he lived life or…

Imagine that we have stopped for the night on our Journey to Christmas. We are exhausted from our preparations for Christmas and listening…

What did Bathsheba think when the King’s men came to get her. The literal translation is to get, lay hold of, seize, snatch, take…

Bathsheba, the fourth woman mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus, joins us on our Journey to Christmas. As her story unfolds you might find it hard to imagine…

Have you ever done a pregnancy test and held your breath with dread, hoping for a negative result? Bathsheba feels your…

Boaz, the Kinsman Redeemer, symbolizes our own Kinsman Redeemer Jesus. Ruth, the Gentile, symbolizes those who need a redeemer – each…

Rahab the Harlot and Salmon, son of Nahshon, head of the tribe of Judah gave birth to Boaz. What was it like growing up as Rahab’s son…

When we look back at these stories, we recognize that God intentionally included Tamar, Rahab and now Ruth, all women “outside the camp” of the Israelites. What did they have…

Naomi left Bethlehem full but came back empty. As poverty bangs on their door, Naomi tells Ruth that she can glean in the fields of the farmers during…

“Some years ago, I was visiting a place known for making the best wedding saris in the world. They were the producers of saris rich in gold and silver…

We meet Ruth as the daughter-in-law of Naomi. Elimelech, Naomi’s husband was a prominent Israelite from the tribe of Judah, but when famine hit Bethlehem he packed up his family…

“Is this really my country?” I ask myself as I glance at the terrifying headlines that shout racism, nuclear bombs, hatred, abuse, betrayal. Recent national events…

“Among God's people Rahab found a safe place in which to learn the ways of Yahweh and His people. Rahab was given a second…

What makes a conversation unforgettable? I can't remember what I did last week but this morning, a conversation I had as…

We don’t know who embraced Rahab and insisted the other women welcome her as well. What we do know is that just as Rahab provided a…

In keeping with their promise to Rahab, after winning the battle of Jericho, "the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, and her…

Rahab helped the Israeli spies on one condition. She asked them to promise to save her family. The spies agreed with their…

As we journey to Christmas with the Midwives of the Messiah, Rahab the Harlot joins us. Surprised to know that a woman of such “ill repute” shows up in the…

Rahab joins us on our Journey to Christmas and she immediately introduces us to a colorful, dramatic, and eye widening story of…

Grace flows through Tamar’s story. God includes Tamar, a Canaanite woman whose moral judgment appears deeply flawed, in the legal bloodline of…

After God killed Er and Onan, Judah feared giving his youngest son to Tamar. Instead of looking inward or recognizing God’s sovereignty over the deaths of his…

For years Tamar lived with the knowledge that Canaanite and Jewish law required Judah to care for her. When her mother-in-law died, Tamar concluded she had no hope…

Soap operas have nothing on Scripture and Tamar's story is no exception (Genesis 38). Through his father, Jacob, God promised Judah that the…

At the last minute, my friend couldn’t accompany me to the event where I was speaking but the two hours passed quickly as I drove and listened…

The pastor asked the elderly, childless widow, “What can I do for you?” Her simple response: “Don’t forget me.” I heard the same cry in…

This week Tamar joins us on our Journey to Christmas. Tamar’s story rivals any soap opera for drama and evokes emotional empathy for a sister who experiences…

What should we do while we are waiting for the Lord to “make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the…

“I was sitting behind you at the Thanksgiving Eve service and I am so glad I got to see how ornery your boys are! It gives me hope as I…

Throughout the Psalms, we read the lament, “How long, oh Lord, how long?” Many of you whisper or shout that…

Our kids call Chuck’s mother, Situ, Lebanese for grandmother. Situ is with Jesus but laughter often fills the room when family gathers and we share Situ memories. Every Christmas, someone…

Between now and Christmas, we are pulling back the curtains on the lives of five women: a wounded widow, a professional prostitute, an indomitable immigrant, a bathing beauty and a terrified teenager. Each…

I was about fifteen years old when my very talented, artistic mother coached me to sing All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth for a holiday talent contest. Seconds before I…

So what is a “midwife of the Messiah”? The Apostle Paul challenged Pastor Titus to “teach the older women so that they could teach the younger women” how to walk by faith in their own personal lives. Each o…