Ruth became a gleaner. She and Naomi were two widows living in Bethlehem with little means of support, and they had to be in need of something to eat. And so Ruth put herself to work. She would enter into the practice of foraging in fields, collecting bits and pieces...
When we open the New Testament, we are met first with the genealogy that is at the beginning of the gospel of Matthew: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1). Included in this family record of Jesus are the...
The viper slithered out from a pile of wood arranged for a bonfire. The serpent struck fast. It sunk its fangs into the hand of the one gathering sticks. The gatherer was wet and weary after surviving a shipwreck at a beach on Malta, an island in the Mediterranean. The...
“… The sea was no more” (Revelation 21:1). This is one of the promises made in Revelation about the ultimate New Creation. No more night. No more tears. And no more sea. That fact may disappoint those of us who cherish ocean views on summer evenings, but the words are...
“I appeal to Caesar.” Paul made a final, clean, and total break with his past. His choices were go to Jerusalem or be sent to Rome, face the chief priests or face the emperor. Under whose authority would he choose to stand? “I appeal to Caesar.” This was Paul’s answer...
“They sent for Paul and heard him speak of faith in Christ Jesus” (Acts 24:24). “They” were the Roman governor Felix and Drusilla, his wife. In their custody was Paul, the man spreading the Gospel throughout the Empire. False accusations leveled against Paul at the Jerusalem Temple stirred a mob...
Little ears do hear. And they hear all too well – well enough to make a big impact sometimes. This was true of the ears belonging to the apostle Paul’s nephew. He was a kid in a place where he could somehow overhear men plotting an ambush to assassinate his...
In trouble again, Paul did something that I think he did a lot in such circumstances. He told himself and others the story of how he met Jesus. His presence at the Jerusalem Temple stirred a mob to turn against him and prompted a Roman cohort of soldiers to escort...
“The Lord’s will be done.” Paul had set his face toward Jerusalem. It was a place in agitation. He was warned that his presence could be something of a trigger to the populace. To friends and fellow-laborers, his planned visit wasn’t worth the risk. Agabus, known as a prophet, bound...
A long sermon can put a person to sleep. Not everyone can keep up. Concentration can bring exhaustion. And if a tired person just happens to be sitting in a third story window, his slumber could lead to a fatal fall. This really did happen in Troas during one of...
