#storychanging
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us… John 1:14 The song “From a Distance” by Bette Midler describes God as “watching us from a distance.” Some people picture God as a blurry cloud, somewhere out there, squinting through the universe at this mess He made. Or they imagine a stern taskmaster, frowning…
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My life will never get better. (Ruth 1) Naomi had reached her breaking point. First, her husband died and then both her sons, leaving behind their destitute young widows. Naomi couldn’t even take care of herself. How in the world was she supposed to care for them too? So she packed up and moved…
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What will people think? (Luke 1:26-38) If anyone had the right to worry about what people might think, it was Mary. Her teenage dreams, good reputation, and dreamy fiancé faded into the background when the angel showed up and ruined everything. That’s how Mary could have looked at it. In order to say yes…
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My worth is connected to how someone else feels about me. (Genesis 29:31-34) Leah had always felt invisible. Maybe a bit overweight, squinty eyes, an overbite, awkward. People looked right past her to gawk at her gorgeous little sister, Rachel. Ever since high heels replaced Barbie dolls, Rachel’s social calendar had been full and…
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My past disqualifies me. (Joshua 2:1-21, 6:25; James 2:25) All she’d known from men was rejection and abuse. As long as she could remember, she’d been selling her soul for a few coins. Life was hard, but her heart was harder, softened only by stories of Israel’s strange God. The idols of Jericho certainly…
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I am not enough. (Genesis 3) Eve laughed aloud because she liked the sound of it when it bounced off the cool blue water and echoed from the distant hills. She smiled at her reflection and marveled again at the goodness of her Creator. How magnificent He was to make her so much like…
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My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27 Pandemonium swept through the village ahead of the flames that consumed everything in their way. Sheep, donkeys, and cattle mingled with panicked people running toward the edge of town. Screams and shouts combined with the brays and bleats of…
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“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me.” John 10:14 A herd of black cows covers a grassy pain like paint spatters on green canvas. Under a shade tree, a dozen identical calves sleep while their mothers graze acres away. In the distance, a cow looks toward the…
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… some thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him. John 12:29 What does the voice of God sound like? We might imagine a booming voice, speaking in English, sounding a little like Morgan Freeman. There are a few times in scripture when God the Father actually spoke from…
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Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Proverbs 8:33 “I don’t know whether I should divorce my spouse. I’m not happy, so surely it’s okay to find someone better.” “I’m really angry with some people at church, and I’m thinking about dropping out. Should I?” “My girlfriend wants us to start…
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