A Life of Faithful Service
And Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So it was called Allon-bacuth…
Read ArticleBroken Living in a Broken World
To be honest, there is part of me that wishes Genesis 34 were not in the Bible. This chapter is painful to read, with its account of sin piled on top of sin, pain stacked on pain. Yet, at the same time, I am grateful for the fact that the Bible doesn’t pretend life is all sweetness and light. Genesis 34, like so many other passages from Scripture, tells the story of human depravity without flinching. Thus, it speaks to our broken world, to the pains and longings of the twenty-first century, to the struggles we face in our lives.
Read ArticleDo You Have Enough?
As you know, Lord, we live in a culture that encourages us not to be satisfied with what we have. Enough is rarely enough. Help us, Lord, to think about our possessions differently. Give us wisdom to know when enough is enough. Teach us to be satisfied with, and, yes, grateful for what we have.
Read ArticleThe Sweetness of Reconciliation
Broken relationships are sour. Alienation within families can be among the bitterest of all things in life. Conversely, reconciliation is sweet, with reconciliation in families even sweeter.
Read ArticleWrestling with God
Today, we return to Genesis, where we left off with Life for Leaders in mid-December. Now that Advent and Christmas have passed, it’s time to return to our meandering, devotional walk through Genesis.
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When Trusting God Isn’t Good Enough
The main storyline of Genesis 31 features the departure of Jacob and his family from Laban, Jacob’s father-in-law. Included in this narrative is a minor story of Rachel stealing her father’s “household gods.” This is a strange and sad tale, since it involves a daughter stealing from and deceiving her father. Yet, I believe this aspect of Genesis 31 can speak to us about our relationship with God.
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Supervising Someone in the Middle of BOOM
Using insights from psychologist Daniel Levinson, I’ve suggested that Jacob is a great example of a man in the middle of what Levinson calls BOOM: becoming one’s own man…
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Godly Leadership of Someone in BOOM
The title of this devotion will make absolutely no sense to you if you missed the devotions from Wednesday and Thursday. So, let me supply a bit of context…
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Where is God in the Middle of My BOOM?
In yesterday’s devotion, I summarized a portion of Daniel Levinson’s theory of adult male development. In his book entitled The Seasons of a Man’s Life, Levinson shows that a man goes through a season in which he has a powerful desire to “become one’s own man.” Levinson calls this season BOOM. In my devotion, I suggested that we can see an example of BOOM in Genesis 30, as Jacob seeks to break away from his boss and father-in-law, Laban, in order to provide for his own family. Jacob wants to become his own man.
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Jacob BOOMs
In 1986, psychologist Daniel Levinson published a groundbreaking book entitled The Seasons of a Man’s Life. On the basis of extensive interviews, Levinson showed that human development does not end when a man becomes an adult…
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Hearing Silent Voices
Because the narrative in Genesis 29 focuses primarily on Jacob and his interaction with Laban, we can forget to pay attention to two of the most important characters in the story, Laban’s daughters, Rachel and Leah. For most of Genesis 29, they are silent. We don’t learn how Rachel felt when, for example, on the night of her wedding, her father sent her sister in to sleep with her husband. We don’t hear how Leah responded to her father’s command that she take the place of her sister in the bed of her brother-in-law. We can sense, however, the powerlessness and voicelessness of these two women whose lives were governed by their father, Laban, who had complete authority over them.
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A Taste of Your Own Medicine
Today, we get back to the story in Genesis of Jacob, the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham. As you may recall, in chapter 28 Isaac instructed Jacob to take a wife from his own kin, from the daughters of Jacob’s uncle Laban rather than from the neighboring Canaanite women. So Jacob made the long journey to Paddan-aram. Along the way he had a profound encounter with God, which renewed Jacob’s commitment to the covenant God had made with Abraham.
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Practicing the Presence of God at Work, Part 6
Throughout this past week, I have been using the wisdom of Brother Lawrence to help us learn how we might recognize God’s presence in our workplaces. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were to get to the point where, unlike Jacob in Genesis 28:16, we might say about the places where we work: “Surely the Lord is in this place and I did know it! In fact, I know it every day!”
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Practicing the Presence of God at Work, Part 5
Recently, I was speaking to a group about the challenge and opportunity of seeing our work as an essential element of God’s own work, and a central part of our discipleship. After I finished, a man approached me. His face suggested that he was upset. After we shook hands, he said, “I’m not happy about what you taught tonight. All of this faith and work stuff is just fine for people who work in executive jobs, for business people and other professionals. But I’m getting sick and tired of faith and work conversations that feature business owners and entrepreneurs. Sure, they can be creative in following Jesus at work. But what about ordinary people? What about those of us who go to work, punch a clock, and do manual labor? What about those of us whose jobs are physically demanding or very boring? How does God make a difference in this kind of work?”
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Practicing the Presence of God at Work, Part 4
If you’re new to these devotions, I should say that my usual approach is to examine closely a passage of Scripture, drawing out from the text wisdom concerning the difference God makes in our life and leadership. This week, however, I’m doing something a little different. My devotions are based on Genesis 28:16, a passage in which Jacob recognizes God’s unexpected presence. But I’m drawing wisdom from a classic Christian book, The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. I believe we have much to learn from our mature brothers and sisters in Christ. I know I do.
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