God’s Book of Life Is Your Name on the List? Chapter 2 in the book of Ezra overflows with names. We often skim it or may face the temptation to skip it altogether. Buried among this dizzying array of names is a sidenote that’s easy to miss, but...
Do You Seek God First for Healing When You Are Sick? Azariah, son of Oded, comes to Asa, King of Judah. The prophet tells the king, “If you see God, you’ll find him. If you walk away from him, he’ll walk away from you” (2 Chronicles 15:2). King...
Micah, Stop: The Prophet Speaks Truth, but the People Won’t Listen The prophet Micah gives some strong words from God to his chosen people. Although Micah’s proclamation—his prophecy—should convict them, instead they take offense. At one...
A New Church I suspect this church is only a couple years old. I later learn they’re an outgrowth of a small group. Consider these four discussion questions about Church #7: 1. Their meeting space looks abandoned. We approach with uncertainty. I...
Come Back Twelve Times and See How Your Faith Grows: Reflecting on Church #51 With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #51. This mega church...
Aristarchus Suffers for His Faith Another of Paul’s friends, mentioned in his letter to Philemon, is Aristarchus. We first hear of him in Acts. We learn that he is a Macedonian from Thessalonica who is traveling with Paul on one of his missionary...
Victorious Christian Conference Update Fresh Perspective of the Bible and God Earlier this month I took part in the Victorious Christian Conference, hosted by Emily Louis. My session was a “Fresh Perspective of the Bible and God.” We covered that...
Reflecting on Church #33: A Reminder of What’s Really Important With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #33. It seems the congregation of...
The Seven Transformations of Peter DeHaan A Personal Story of Growing in Faith and Action [This personal essay first appeared in The Transformation Project: A West Michigan Word Weavers Anthology.] A caterpillar turns into a butterfly; a tadpole...
Will You Pray for Us? The People of Israel Ask Samuel To Intercede for Them Throughout the Old Testament, the Philistines show up as a recurring nemesis for God’s chosen people, the nation of Israel. The Bible mentions the Philistines 191 times...
