At the ACC after-school tutoring program a few weeks ago Pastor David casually mentioned to me that he and Sobeyda were going to be hosting a refugee family from El Salvador. My heart jumped with excitement...what an opportunity for ACC to show the love of God! I also was encouraged by their willingness to share their living space with strangers, knowing they give so much already as a Pastor and Counselor. The next day Carolina and her almost 11 year old son Onandy arrived....
One of the themes of the Advent season is the theme of preparation. For centuries, faithful Israelites prepared for the coming of the Messiah. They did this by believing God's promises and obeying God's Word. Today, we prepare for the Messiah's return in the same way. Malachi 3:1-4, a traditional Advent reading, points to two ways God helps us in this work of preparation....
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When I was a kid, my family took a trip to Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. Mammoth Cave is the world's longest known cave system with over 400 miles of underground passageways. I don't remember much from our visit, but I do recall one moment during the tour when our guide asked us to stand quietly while all the lights were extinguished in one of the underground cav...
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I recently heard (thank you, Lourine Clark!) about a spiritual discipline that Eugene Peterson practiced throughout his life. He prayerfully selected seven psalms from the Bible that he felt would "cover the waterfront" of his spiritual needs. He then made a commitment to let those psalms change his life. He would read them, meditate on them, commit them to memory, and pra...
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Throughout Scripture, God reveals himself as one who protects those who are vulnerable and who shows compassion for people who have been hurt. He is the defender of widows, the father to the fatherless, a refuge for the foreigner, and the champion of the poor. (See, for example, Psalm 146:7-9.) Scripture also reveals that God expects the leaders of his people to protect vu...
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Have you ever had to wait for God? You pray and hear no answer. You look for God to work in your situation, but nothing seems to change. Waiting is never easy. It is even harder when we see no reason for the delay. How should we respond when we are forced to wait for God? The Apostle Peter tackled that question in 2 Peter 3:3-18. Writing to Christians in the first century...
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