By Emily Betzen Read Mark 10:46-52. This is the text that we were looking at last week in our Sunday Seekers group. I found myself all week going back to Bartimaeus – the nature of him refusing to be silent and his willingness to be completely exposed in taking off his cloak. His cloak was his identity, given to him by the world. It was to let every on passer know that he was blind. His cloak was shelter for him in bad weather, it was his gathering palette for those who chose to give to him as he begged […]

Newness of Hope With this time of keeping inside our homes, I’ve found myself in my backyard earlier in the year than usual.  This has afforded me the privilege of watching the ground around me awaken…bringing forth new life…and covering up the once barren ground with fruitfulness.  As I was removing the fallen leaves and remainders of last season’s plants in one of my beds, I discovered tiny, green sprouts of ground cover poking through the soil, and I heard the Lord clearly say to me, “Even though you feel that your world is holding its breath and in a […]

  Women of Worth My husband and I recently finished a chronological study of the Gospels. It was an eye-opening thing for me as we walked through them, verse by verse. I began to see more clearly a strong sense of compassion in Jesus as he interacted with people and I was particularly drawn to the women He encountered during his short time of ministry. I now have a new appreciation for how intentional Jesus was in every recorded event, especially those involving women.   Understanding the status of women in Jewish culture of the 1st Century is key to […]

What is your Egypt? -Erica Banta   I opened my Bible app this morning to continue my daily chronological reading of the Bible; which until yesterday, I had been on somewhat of a hiatus from for a while, to Isaiah. I love how God’s timing is always perfect. I began reading in Chapter 31.  Verse one opens with, “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help…”    And I heard clearly in my spirit, “What is your Egypt?”   And then I was flooded with everything I know about Egypt in scripture. Egypt was a refuge in time […]

Faith, Hope, and Love -Michelle Tonkin   “Until then, there are three things that remain: faith, hope, and love—yet love surpasses them all. So above all else, let love be the beautiful prize for which you run.” 1 Corinthians 13:13 (TPT – Passion Translation)          I sat down to listen to what the LORD wanted to say to you, and you want to know what I heard?! …(crickets)… I didn’t hear anything. Have you experienced this? Now instead of getting huffy puffy, I decided I’ll just find another time (trust). Again…I sat down…and I finally heard one word… HOPE. Literally, […]

    The Blessing When I was praying for you this afternoon, the Lord brought me to this beautiful song released on March 6th – before our world became the isolated walls of our own homes. I saw Him speaking these words over each and every one of you…reaching His hand out and releasing that Blessing upon you, individually. As the music continued and began to crescendo, I saw some of you come forward to the altar and kneel…and He took your face in His hands as He continued to speak favor over you… Some came and bowed low before […]

    PRECIOUS   Psalm 139:14-16 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[a] Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.   When I read those verses, I am reminded of how each one of us has been divinely appointed to this earth for “such […]

TREASURED Psalm 139:13 “For you formed my inward parts;     you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.”   I think sometimes we can take a scripture for granted…like when our children begin to tune out our voices after we begin to nag… For most of us, this passage is at least familiar to us, if not within our repertoire of memorized sections, having been quoted numerous times to encourage us into loving ourselves and His design.   But, if you read verse 13 in the King James Version, it says this: “For thou hast possessed my reins: …” That definitely gave me […]

ILLUMINATE Psalm 139:11-12 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,     and the light about me be night,” 12 even the darkness is not dark to you;     the night is bright as the day,     for darkness is as light with you.*   In college, I had a part-time job at the University that involved working in close proximity to only a handful of coworkers.  I cannot even recall how the conversation began, but after several weeks of a shared project, one colleague began to share with me her past experiences with other Believers… She said, […]

    Held Psalms 139:7-10 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. For me, it feels like I’m holding up all of the juggling balls…trying to maintain everyone’s equilibrium – everyone’s sense of serenity… but from my own daughter’s mouth, […]

                                                                                              ANOINTED   Psalms 139:4-6 ESV 4Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. 5 You hem me in, behind and before, and *lay your hand upon me.* 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. anointed /əˈnoin(t)əd/ adjective nominated or chosen as successor to or leading […]

KNOWN A couple of months ago, I did an experiment about our planets with my students that involved a large parking lot, several balls of varying sizes (ranging from a pony bead to an exercise ball), and a set of measurements to scale (each step representing x-number of miles in space).  We first placed a 16’ parachute on the ground to represent the sun.  After taking a couple of steps to place a marble to represent Mercury, we took a couple more mathematically-scaled steps and placed our golf ball to represent Mars, a few more before placing another golf ball […]