- You Are Who You Need To Be:Comparisons Always Fail You
@carol_mcclai n Over the past few months, we’ve looked at four mighty women in Jesus’s genealogy. All lived sinful or abused or despised lives. Despite their reputations and upbringing, each woman defied society’s definition of her life and left a legacy for Christ. Who are you? Tamar–Jacob believed she killed his sons. He deceived Tamar when …[ read more ]
- You Can Overcome Suffering: Bathsheba
@carol_mcclain Little is known for certain about Bathsheba (the fourth woman mentioned in Jesus’s genealogy)and her relationship with King David. I highly recommend reading the Jewish Women’s Archive for a Jewish perspective on this complicated woman. For certain, we know: She was beautiful (1 Sam. 11:2) Her father and husband were elite members of David’s vanguard. (2 …[ read more ]
- God Loves the Outcast: Ruth
@carol_mcclain Recently I moved from northern New York, from a rural community closer to Montreal than any US city. Tennessee offered a vastly different world, and more than the differences I found here, I was a newcomer. Friend groups had been established, and being an introvert, working my way into them proved difficult. I was a …[ read more ]
- Three Steps to Change Your Life: Lessons from Rahab
@carol_mcclain Is your past unforgivable? Definitely not. Consider Rahab, one of the ancestors of Jesus, mentioned in Matthew 1:5. She was a prostitute. No little girl–or boy–decides as a child, “I’ll be a prostitute.” What forces one into this lifestyle? Drugs? Abuse? Poverty? They say this is the oldest profession, and indeed, we read about prostitutes …[ read more ]
- Your Past Does Not Define You
@carol_mcclain Corey climbed the school bus one sunny spring day. As she took the first step, the entire bus chanted in unison, “Cooty-bug Corey, cooty-bug Corey.” They didn’t stop until the bus dropped her off at school. I believe Corey was ten-years-old, a nice girl who y I believe had the misfortune of getting head lice–a …[ read more ]