The Journey

Photo by Gene Jeter In Genesis 11, we read the biblical story of the Tower of Babel and the group of people who in their arrogance believed they could build a tower that would reach the heavens in order to "make a name for themselves." This egotistical plan was soon thwarted by God in an interesting manner. He could have destroyed the tower with one breath or sent an earthquake to swallow up the little peons. Perhaps, even a torrential rain or a consuming fire could have destroyed their scheme, but God saw a different way, a better way. He "confused their language." No one was speaking the same language; therefore, they could not communicate effectively. The work stopped. The people scattered. In like manner, Christians today are speaking a different language. An independent, lone-ranger vernacular of self-gratification and idolatry more consistent with the I-Must-Fit-In Syndrome and God's-Grace-Is-Sufficient-So-I-Can-Do-Whatever-The-Heck-I-Want Disease that h...

Photo by: Tiko Giorgadze I love research. When something piques my interest, I am always compelled to dig a little deeper into the subject matter. Of late, I have been delving into the biblical book of Esther. There are so many takeaways and life lessons in just a few, short chapters. The narrative is as riveting as anything Hollywood or Disney could conjure up. My favorite Old Testament book chronicles the life of King Xerxes and his marital woes with a disobedient queen who would later be replaced by Queen Esther, a Jewish orphan child reared by her doting cousin in the Persian country. The Bible tells us "she won the favor of everyone who saw her." (Esther 2:15) Before becoming a royal bride, however, there was a two-part, purification process that took place over the course of one year. The prescribed beauty treatments consisted of six months of oil of myrrh and six months of perfume and cosmetics. Having only heard of myrrh in reference to the gifts presented at the bi...