Once we believe our basic physical needs have been met, we begin to yearn for love and belonging. As we look for love and belonging, we ask questions like "who will treat me the way I'm willing to treat them?" These thoughts indicate a movement from taking from the world to a willingness to match it. What if God was a matcher?

One consistent message we get from our culture is that whatever we have isn't enough. Believing we don't have enough, we begin to think we're in survival mode, that we can't possibly help others. Combined with the false belief that we are the only source of our provision, we may become takers in our never-enough world. What if the widow would've treated Elijah that way?

One consistent message we get from our culture is that whatever we have isn't enough. Believing we don't have enough, we begin to think we're in survival mode, that we can't possibly help others. Combined with the false belief that we are the only source of our provision, we may become takers in our never-enough world. What if the widow would've treated Elijah that way?

How often do we avoid doing things that we need to do? From the basic everyday things like avoiding the doctor’s office or getting your car fixed to having difficult conversations, many of us will try to hide instead of facing the hard things in life. Jonah does everything he can to avoid sharing a message that he does not want share, yet God remained faithful even through the ridiculous lengths Jonah takes to avoid. Isn't it funny that we think we can hide from God?

There are times in our lives when we lose our way, when we don't know what to do next, or when we feel like we are going nowhere. In those moments we need reminders of God's presence and direction. Sometimes the key to moving forward is a good laugh that gives us perspective.

When we imagine the ideal life, we might think of a life that is clean, simple, and easy. But that's not the reality. Sometimes life is messy. Sometimes we have to do the dirty work. And this is true of every single person. No one is exempt from a little messiness here and there.

Bathsheba didn’t have agency in her circumstance when King David summoned her. She was taken advantage of and treated with significant injustice through King David’s actions against her and her husband. And yet, she gives birth to Solomon, and fights for his rightful place on throne, ensuring the lineage to Jesus.

Bathsheba didn’t have agency in her circumstance when King David summoned her. She was taken advantage of and treated with significant injustice through King David’s actions against her and her husband. And yet, she gives birth to Solomon, and fights for his rightful place on throne, ensuring the lineage to Jesus.

Rahab, a prostitute, uses her unlikely livelihood to protect and deliver the Israelite spies and provide them with the information they seek. She professes her faith in God and risks everything to protect God's people. In so doing, she becomes among the ancestors of Jesus.

Seemingly out of nowhere is this story of a woman, Tamar, who was betrayed by a member of her family. But her sorrow and unjust treatment isn’t the end of her story. Through a scheming plan, the tables turn and she gains not only a double blessing with the birth of her twins, but her story becomes a part of the narrative of Jesus’s birth.