Category Archives: Bible Stories

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June 15, 2026

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Family, Friends & Fellowship, God's Grace & Love, Knowing Him

HE SEES AND HEARS US

O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. [Psalm 139:1-3 (NLT)]

The Lord is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good. [Proverbs 15:3 (NLT)]

El Roi is one of the Hebrew names for God. We find it in Genesis 16 when Hagar encountered God in the desert and addressed Him as El Roi, meaning “the God who sees me.” After God told Hagar she was pregnant, He said to name her soon to be born son Ishmael. A combination of the Hebrew el and shama, the boy’s name means “God hears” or “God listens.” God both heard and saw Hagar because He’s omnipresent and omniscient; He can be everywhere and know everything at all times. There’s no place we can hide where we’re unknown, unseen, or unheard by Him.

When you think about it, knowing that God sees and hears us in both our best and worst moments is a bit disconcerting. Like those ever-present security cameras or the traffic cop with his radar gun and ticket book, is God hoping to spot us doing something wrong or catch us breaking His law? Is He a voyeur who likes peeking at us in our most intimate moments? Is He similar to the paparazzi who try to capture celebrities in their most embarrassing ones? My life is boring; as a person of no importance, why would God be interested in watching me?

The answer came when fourteen of our extended family went to a ballgame at Wrigley Field. Out of the blue, my husband and I were offered two extra tickets by a friend. Unlike ours that were high and overlooking right field, these were in the eighth row directly behind home plate. Had there just been the two of us, we would have accepted them in an instant. Nevertheless, we declined the generous offer.

You see, watching the Cubs wasn’t our priority. My eyes weren’t focused on the field—they were focused on the ones I love. I don’t remember who won but I do remember watching the little girls get their hair French braided by an older cousin and having the nine-year-old explain a “walk-off home run” to me. The day was about making sure no one got lost in the crowd, choked on a peanut, or dropped their popcorn; it was getting to hold children on my lap, handing out water, and hearing the girls giggle while sharing secrets. I remember laughing at the children’s antics, holding their hands while singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” and watching their faces as they cheered on the Cubs. I watched my husband wipe catsup off messy faces, my son shepherd kids to the ice cream stand, and a little one fall asleep in his mother’s arms. That day I understood that the God who watches and listens to us isn’t like a Heavenly hall-monitor waiting to catch us running in the halls or making too much noise! He’s not watching us to catch us doing something wrong—God watches and listens because He loves and cares about us! We are His precious children and God loves us as much as my husband and I love our family. That’s not to say God won’t correct us when necessary and there were a few moments that afternoon when we had to offer some correction to the grands. Nevertheless, we barely took our eyes off them because it was a joy to watch them.

I cherish the moments I see and hear my children and grands. It’s not because they are exceptionally talented or beautiful (which, in my eyes, they are) and it’s not so I can judge them. My eyes and ears are on them simply because they are mine and I love them “to the moon and back!” As for being unimportant—my family is of utmost importance to me. Because we are God’s children, each and every one of us is just as important to Him! Like a loving parent or grandparent, God watches over us simply because we are His and He loves us.

The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever. [Psalm 121:5-8 (NLT)]

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June 11, 2026

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, Trusting God

OUR STRENGTH AND SHIELD

But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head. [Psalm 3:3 (CSB)]

You are my shelter and my shield; I put my hope in your word. [Psalm 119:114 (CSB)]

I share prayer requests with a group of believers. As I look through the appeals, it becomes obvious that Christians, even Christians of deep faith, are not shielded from the challenges and difficulties of everyday life. Like everyone else, we have marriage problems, unemployment, financial issues, uncertainty, poor health, depression, and chronic pain. Our family members are no different from anyone else’s either; they have addictions, cancer, lack of faith, legal difficulties, and emotional problems. Our needs are the same as anyone’s: wisdom, balance, healing, guidance and strength.

The Psalms represent God as a shield about twenty times. A shield is a weapon of defense and ancient shields were protection against arrows and spears. So, if God is our shield, shouldn’t people of faith be impervious to the slings and arrows of everyday life? Shouldn’t we be protected and sheltered from the storms that plague unbelievers?

Deep faith is no guarantee of a smooth ride in this life. In this broken world, life will inflict its inevitable challenges and obstacles with unpredictability upon us all—both believers and unbelievers. God’s shield doesn’t make us like superman, invulnerable to everything but kryptonite; it doesn’t prevent us from being bombarded with trouble. Look at Job—a man of faith, God’s shield didn’t keep him from losing wealth, family, status, and health!

God’s shield, however, makes an enormous difference when facing those troubles because it keeps us from being defeated by them. Again, look at Job—although Satan hit him with every weapon in his armory, the man never cursed God. While he wanted to know the why of his trouble, he never lost his faith in God!

God’s shield is the armor that sustains us when we have to face challenges, strengthens us when we do battle with evil forces, revives us when we tire or lose heart, guides and comforts us with His word, and provides a refuge when we need a safe haven. It assures us that God is in control, that He loves us, that He’ll never abandon us. His shield also provides us with brothers and sisters in Christ who gladly offer their prayers, support, advice and helping hands.

 You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed. Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge to Satan. [John Bunyan]

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart celebrates, and I give thanks to him with my song. [Psalm 28:7 (CSB)]

In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. [Ephesians 6:16 (CSB)]

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June 8, 2026

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Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, Fear & Doubt, Trusting God, Uncategorized

TAKE NOTHING

He sent the apostles out to tell about God’s kingdom and to heal the sick. He said to them, “Take nothing for your trip, neither a walking stick, bag, bread, money, or extra clothes.” [Luke 9:2-3 (NCV)]

I think of Jesus’ instructions every time I pack for a trip! Take only what I’ve got on my back and the one pair of shoes on my feet? He’s got to be kidding! When we’re taking a trip, wanting to be prepared for any eventuality, it seems like I pack everything but the kitchen sink!

Wanting to visit family and friends and enjoy the fall colors, we took a three-week road trip from southwest Florida north to Illinois and back a few years ago. With casual and formal occasions planned in both rural and city locales, we packed plenty of clothes and shoes. We also packed essentials like prescriptions, toiletries, camera, phones, iPads, and assorted chargers along with back packs, sweatshirts, jackets, and rain gear. The car was stocked with snacks, bottled water, maps, and Fodor’s guidebooks. Even then, we weren’t prepared for every eventuality. Unprepared for snow in the mountains, we needed a snow brush/ice scraper and I purchased a fleece vest and warm hat!

Unlike the disciples, we’d spent weeks researching and planning our trip. Because we made hotel reservations for the entire journey, we knew where we’d rest our heads during our travels. We even made some dinner reservations in advance! As for money, we had both credit cards and cash but the disciples had neither! They were expected to depend on the good will and hospitality of the towns they visited.

Jesus, however, wasn’t sending the disciples on a vacation—they were on a God-ordained mission and Jesus was training them. This was an opportunity for the disciples to put into practice the principles He taught them. Jesus wanted His followers to understand that, when doing God’s business, they could and should rely on Him (rather than themselves) for their needs. Rather than putting their faith in TripIt, Google Maps, or AAA, they had to trust God with their journey.

Moreover, Jesus knew His time on earth was short—the disciples’ assignment was urgent and He wanted them to focus on the mission rather than logistics. As for receiving hospitality—welcoming the traveler or sojourner was a cultural obligation in Jesus’ day. The sharing of food was a token of friendship and a perfect setting for them to develop relationships while passing on the good news about Jesus. The first evangelism assignments taught Jesus’ followers the simple but profound lesson that, ultimately, our provision comes from God, not gear!

Had I been one of the disciples, would I have taken nothing with me as instructed? Would I have trusted God to provide everything I needed or would I have worried about my next meal or where I’d rest my head at night? Would I have tucked away some money or a few pieces of bread in my pocket “just in case”? What about you?

Each of us may be sure that if God sends us on stony paths He will provide us with strong shoes, and He will not send us out on any journey for which He does not equip us well. [Alexander MacLaren]

Don’t worry and say, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” The people who don’t know God keep trying to get these things, and your Father in heaven knows you need them. Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well. [Matthew 6:31-33 (NCV)]

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June 1, 2026

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Church & Worship, Love & Works, Spiritual Gifts

DIFFERENT GIFTS

But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand.” The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.” [Luke 10:40-42 (CSB)]

Martha, the elder sister of Lazarus and Mary, was chided by Jesus when she complained about her sister not helping with dinner preparations. Her fault, however, was in her fretfulness and reproach more than the work she was doing. She had more than a dozen hungry men to feed but, wanting to be the proper hostess, Martha’s preparations probably were more elaborate than necessary. Could it be that she’d become more interested in impressing her dinner guest than knowing Him? “Worried and upset by many things” that night, she lost sight of Jesus. Praiseworthy service must never obscure our view of the Lord!

Hard-working Martha was a woman of action; seeing what needed to get done, she did it. It was Martha who, even in her grief at Lazarus’ death, left her house of mourning and ran to greet Jesus while Mary stayed home in her sorrow. It was Martha who spoke to Jesus about the possibility of another miracle and it was Martha who declared that He was the Messiah. Apparently, Martha hadn’t been so busy with those dinner preparations that she’d missed Jesus’ message. Without a doubt Martha, like Mary, was a woman of faith; she just demonstrated it in a different way.

While industrious Martha was the busy one, Mary was the quiet sister who sat at Jesus’ feet to learn. She was the one who fell at his feet in grief and knelt before Him to anoint His feet. Busy preparing a meal, Martha made the mistake of comparison and judgment—of thinking her work was superior to that of Mary. Later, when Mary extravagantly anointed Jesus’ feet with a year’s worth of wages in perfume, there is no record of complaint on Martha’s part even though she was serving again! After Jesus’ first rebuke, she had learned to respect the different ways of service.

Both Mary’s choice of quiet contemplation and Martha’s of service and hospitality were worthy activities. Nevertheless, when reading about these sisters, we often judge one against the other. Because Mary was the deep thinker, inner mystic, and prayer warrior, we often think of her as the more faithful of the sisters. But, if we were all Marys, not much would get done around our churches. If we only had people who sit quietly listening, praying, and meditating on God’s word, there would be no food at the pot lucks, no teachers for the children, and no one to drive the sick and elderly to church or medical appointments. Tables and chairs wouldn’t get set up, the food pantry would be bare, sidewalks wouldn’t get shoveled, grass wouldn’t get cut, the choir loft would be empty, and flowers would never get on the altar.

Martha, the doer, was the practical sister. When Jesus commanded that Lazarus’ tomb be opened, she reminded him that the corpse would smell. While, on this occasion, she needn’t have been concerned because a miracle was in the works, a certain amount of practicality is needed in even the most faithful. There are times we all need someone to tell us an idea stinks!

There are both Marys and Marthas in our churches; neither way of serving is superior to the other and both should be respected. We need both thinkers and doers, worshippers and servers, the pious and industrious, the dreamers and the practical. Those of us who are Marthas, however, might want to temper our practicality and busyness with a bit more faith and contemplation while those of us who are Marys might want to temper our spirituality with a little more helpfulness and service.

Whenever we find that our religious life is making us feel that we are good—above all, that we are better than someone else—I think we may be sure that we are being acted on, not by God, but by the devil. [C.S. Lewis]

Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different ministries, but the same Lord. And there are different activities, but the same God works all of them in each person. [1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (CSB)]

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May 21, 2026

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Bible Stories, Fruit of the Spirit, Holidays & Holy Days, Holy Spirit, Sharing Our Faith

PENTECOST

Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them. Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them. [Acts 2:2-4 (CSB)]

Following Jesus’ ascension into heaven, the apostles obediently and courageously returned to Jerusalem. They got down to business and selected a replacement for Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Christ. With the addition of Matthias, there again were twelve apostles and about 120 believers/disciples and the entire group devoted themselves to prayer. Picture this diverse group of people. How did they keep the faith? Did they wonder what exactly they were waiting for and when it would happen? Where was this baptism with the Holy Spirit Jesus promised them? When would Jesus to return? Did they grow impatient or begin to doubt what they’d seen with their eyes?

While we don’t know the words of their prayers, we do know they were still praying together ten days later—fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection. Occurring seven weeks after the Jewish celebration of Passover, that fiftieth day was the Jewish holiday Shavu’ot (or Pentecost). This Jewish holy day celebrated the first harvest and Moses being given the law at Mt. Sinai.

It was on this fiftieth day after Jesus’ resurrection that the Holy Spirit, accompanied by high winds and tongues of fire, descended upon Christ’s followers. As the believers were filled with the Spirit’s power, they began to speak languages previously unknown to them. Nevertheless, they spoke real languages that were understood by those from various lands familiar with them. Although Shavu’ot had brought together Jews from fifteen or more different regions, each with its own language, everyone was able to understand the Spirit-filled Christians as they spoke. The Holy Spirit had empowered the disciples to bring Christ’s message of salvation to all people.

It hardly seems an accident that God chose Shavu’ot for such a miraculous event to occur. One of the three pilgrimage festivals requiring all able-bodied Jewish men to come to Jerusalem, it meant the city was teeming with people from far and wide. While people went to the temple to be in God’s presence and make sacrifices on Shavu’ot, the Holy Spirit’s arrival meant that God would always be present in His people! Rather than dwelling in the Holy of Holies (the inner sanctuary), God now dwelt in His believers. On a day that commemorated the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai—an external means of keeping Israel from sin—the Holy Spirit descended. Rather than lives being Torah-centered and Torah-directed, lives were to be Christ-centered and Spirit-directed! Believers no longer had to adhere to laws carved on stone because God’s law was written on their hearts. The law told people what to do but, when Jesus poured out His Spirit, He gave us the power and ability to do it and live righteously.

Jesus told His disciples to be His witnesses but it was the presence of His Holy Spirit that empowered them to do so! That 50th day after Christ’s resurrection, Peter preached at Christianity’s first revival and 3,000 people were baptized. On a day celebrating the year’s first harvest of produce, Christ’s church had its first harvest of souls! That Pentecost day marked the beginning of the New Testament church.

While Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, Pentecost celebrates the birth of the Christian church. This coming Sunday marks the 50th day after Easter—Pentecost. While there probably won’t be cake, ice cream, or balloons at church Sunday, perhaps they should be there. Let us celebrate the Church’s birthday and the gift of the Holy Spirit!

Since the days of Pentecost, has the whole church ever put aside every other work and waited upon Him for ten days, that the Spirit’s power might be manifested? We give too much attention to method and machinery and resources, and too little to the source of power. [J. Hudson Taylor]

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” [Acts 2:38-39 (CBS)]

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May 14, 2026

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Bible Stories, Church & Worship, Holidays & Holy Days, Sharing Our Faith

THE ASCENSION

After he had suffered, he also presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. … “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he had said this, he was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight. [Acts 1:3,8-9 (CSB)]

columbineAfter His resurrection, Jesus spent forty days with his disciples. On the fortieth day, He told them to remain in Jerusalem until they received the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. Then, with his followers watching, Jesus was taken up in a cloud and ascended into heaven.

Today marks the 40th day of Easter. Known as Ascension Day or the Feast of the Ascension, we remember and celebrate Jesus’ ascent into heaven today. Although Augustine of Hippo and his contemporaries John Chrysostom and Gregory of Nyssa held that the Feast of the Ascension originated with the Apostles and dated as far back as 68 AD, no written evidence of its celebration before the fourth century exists today. From that time on, however, this 40th day has been a church holiday. Nowadays, it is observed primarily in Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and liturgical Protestant churches. Whether or not we consider Jesus’ ascension into heaven a religious holiday, it is a significant event in Christianity.

At Easter, we celebrated Jesus’ resurrection: His return to the disciples and life in this world. But, rather than stopping at the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection, we should continue through His ascension. With His ascent, we observe Jesus’ physical departure from the disciples and our world, His rise into heaven, and God the Son being seated at the right hand of God the Father.

Jesus’ ascension signified that His task on earth was complete. His time here over, Jesus was returning to His full heavenly glory to reign as the one true King. Until His return, only one more piece needed to be put in place here on earth – the giving of the Holy Spirit – which happened ten days later on Pentecost.

Unlike most partings, Jesus’ departure was not a sad farewell; it was a joyous one. What a glorious sight it must have been as the disciples stood on the Mount of Olives and watched Jesus being taken up in a cloud. If any had doubted before, they now knew for sure that Jesus truly was God and His home was in heaven! As Jesus disappeared into a cloud, the astonished men stood there, mouths agape, until two angels appeared and assured them that Jesus would return in the same way He departed. This promise tells us that Jesus will descend visibly, bodily, and literally to the Mount of Olives when He finally returns to our world.

Before parting, Jesus commissioned His disciples to be His witnesses “to the ends of the earth.” Rather than wait there for His return, the disciples returned to Jerusalem and went about God’s business—spreading the good news of the gospel. That assignment was not limited to the eleven who were with Jesus that day—that commission extends to every one of Christ’s followers. Each of us has a job to do until the day of His return!

Soon we shall be up there with Christ. God did not mean us to be happy without Him; but God would first have us to be witnesses for Him down here, to hold out as much light as we can. [G.V. Wigram]

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. [Matthew 28:19-20 (CSB)]

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