The astonishing mercy of God and why it matters
March 20, 20262 Kings 13:1-25 Many people respond to a near-death experience with a deeper appreciation of the supernatural, and it can create an openness for living differently than before. Some who are miraculously healed or narrowly escape an accident can likewise come to value life more and may want to make it count in how they live afterwards. Whether someone seeks God specifically may be a different matter, but generally people re-evaluate their priorities in the light of nearly losing their lives. Yet even this is not a given. I remember reading the testimony of a man who insisted that his…
How to be deeply rooted in God?
2 Kings 12:1-21 I read once the reminiscences of a church member in an American mega-church. She describes how as a teenager, it was a wonderful and exciting place to be. Having the support of her friends and the structure…
How to create the potential for lasting change among God’s people
2 Kings 11:1-21 In my previous post, I mentioned the debates around past leadership in Eastern Europe after Communism. However, it is not enough to restrain earlier influences in governance, the thinking of ordinary people on the ground also matters.…
Lessons from a renewal of God’s people gone wrong
2 Kings 10:1-36 During the early years after Communism fell in Hungary, there was a lot of debate as to what should happen to those who played prominent roles in upholding a repressive regime. There were different models followed in…
Why must God judge evil?
2 Kings 9:1-37 God’s judgment is a great stumbling block for many Westerners, often even for Christians. How can a loving God judge and condemn people to death, even hell? Although the Old Testament is often singled out for criticism…
The heart and commitment of God
2 Kings 8:7-29 Christian friends of mine struggled with their youngest son from a tender age. While their other children made a commitment to the Lord, their youngest was a trouble child from the start. Rebellious and angry, he would…
God’s mercy in our weakness
2 Kings 8:1-6 During my gap year in Israel, I started having toothache one Friday that got progressively worse. I spent the night tossing and turning as much from the pain as from the worry over paying for treatment (my…
Is God involved in the world?
2 Kings 7:3-20 During my theological studies on an evangelistic placement, a couple of us were chatting with a man who started the conversation saying that he did not believe in God. However, he then recounted strange happenings in his…
The missing piece: How to respond when God is slow to act
2 Kings 6:24-33; 7:1-2 Have you ever wondered why it is that God sometimes fixes a problem in our life quickly and reveals His hand in obvious ways, while we struggle on in other matters waiting for help but without…
The gift of seeing right and how to get it
2 Kings 6:8-23 One time my husband and I were travelling in New Zealand, and we got to a bridge over a deep gully with a river flowing way down underneath. As we came closer, however, we noticed that the…
The kindness of God in the ordinary
2 Kings 6:1-7 One of my students whom I taught at Bible college moved up to Auckland with her family from another part of the country, so she could study and be prepared for future ministry. The move and her…