• Bible Studies

    Nehemiah’s Turnaround

    I met with a ministry this week whose situation reminded me so much of Nehemiah’s challenge.  He was having to rebuild an organization from the ground up with resistance from both the inside and outside.  It was wearing him down.  He was dependent on a single donor.  His board had very little sense of responsibility.  His people were fearful and comfortable with the situation.  The previous leadership had created a culture of entitlement and low standards. In Chapter 1 and 2 of the book we read the story and the response of Nehemiah to the situation in Jerusalem.  When he heard the news about the state of Jerusalem and those…

  • Bible Studies

    Joseph’s Bones

    In the last several weeks we have been in the life of Jacob.  He has stolen a blessing, duped his father-in-law, run from his brother, wrestled with an angel, been crippled, lost his favorite child and , last week, moved to Egypt so his family and tribe could survive.  This week Jacob is dying. Dying was different then.  It was talked about differently.  People talked about being “gathered to my fathers” which meant even in death you were a part of a larger family and you were taught your whole life that even in death you had certain responsibilities toward the family that remained – especially if you were the…

  • Bible Studies

    Jacob in Egypt

    If you could divide your adult life into four stages how would you do that? Marriage, first job, kids, retirement? There are probably any number of ways we mark transitions and it was the same in Jacob’s life ­ except a little more dramatic. His life is marked by four encounters with God at different times in his life. But, they share one thing in common. They all come at a time when he is running from someone or about to be on the move. God never says to him, “Stay where you are and keep doing what you are doing.” The first time in Chapter 28 he is on…

  • Fred's Blog

    Seven

    A few years ago I heard an earnest, well-intentioned speaker present a message on the topic of the Biblical model of giving. It was the story of the widow’s mite and, as you might guess, the conclusion was we should be willing to give everything we have. I started thinking about that because I had heard almost my whole life that this story was the Biblical model for giving and, ideally, the gold standard. However, as I started looking at the different stories about giving in Scripture I realized there is a wide diversity of giving styles in Scripture — not just one. David. A leader gives leadership gifts. When…

  • Bible Studies

    Rebekah’s Dilemma

    If you visit Elk Lake, Minnesota and the headwaters of the Mississippi you will see a stream that is about 20 feet across and 2 feet deep. It flows about 6 cubic feet per second. Sometimes it is so obscured by reeds that people lose sight of the stream altogether. But if you keep going for 2,300 miles you will end up in New Orleans where the Mississippi is 200 feet deep and 7600 feet wide. The flow has increased from 6 cubic feet per second to 12,000 cubic feet per second. It’s one of the largest rivers in the world that begins from a very unremarkable source. Stories about…