I started reading in Isaiah 34 this afternoon, and what took me there were brambles. If you are a lover of animals and the natural world, the Bible has alot to offer you. Rocks, gardens, trees, flowers, snakes, sun moon and stars, rivers and oceans, clouds, grapes, birds, lions, wolves, mountains, valleys, pits. God hasContinue reading “The Bramble King”
Author Archives: Valerie Hobbs
Peaceable, Faithful, even a Mother
In the two books of Samuel, we encounter alot of MEN. There are some men that give us hope, for sure. But so much of what we encounter in Samuel 1 and 2 can be summed up as MEN’S MESS. Men doing this, men arguing about that. Men betraying men. Men fighting over and oppressingContinue reading “Peaceable, Faithful, even a Mother”
The Boy(s) with Two Names
In Genesis 35, a boy with two names is born. He is a boy we don’t often talk about. His brother Joseph gets most of the attention, with his coat of many colours and the saga that is his story. Well, you know. But what of this other boy? In the account beginning in GenesisContinue reading “The Boy(s) with Two Names”
The Gospel of the Nazirites
31 Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it goes down smoothly;32 At the last it bites like a serpent And stings like a viper. 33 Your eyes will see strange things And your mind will utter perverse things. Proverbs 23:31-33 Art and literature play a powerful role in how we read and experienceContinue reading “The Gospel of the Nazirites”
Stay Close to the Bread
When you have been in a spiritually abusive church, some of the woeful work you eventually have to do is to rewrite the narrative of your past. This means that you have to reject the false reality that was imposed on you and embrace the truth. About a year ago, my husband and I startedContinue reading “Stay Close to the Bread”
Fawlty Tower of Bricks
8 Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth.9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.”10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel … Genesis 10: 9-11a Here I am, minding my own business, reading along inContinue reading “Fawlty Tower of Bricks”
Things Hard to Understand
15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort,Continue reading “Things Hard to Understand”
Who Cares about Hair Length? Also, Nazirites
Let me start by saying that I couldn’t care less how men and women wear their hair in contemporary society. And I don’t think God cares either, so long as the heart is in the right place (honouring God, loving others). As Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 10, Everything is permissible”, but not everythingContinue reading “Who Cares about Hair Length? Also, Nazirites”
The (Dis)Honour of Women in Judges
Throughout the Bible, God is reminding us, through story, of who is coming. Our bridegroom, Jesus Christ, is coming (Matt 25:6)! God tells us over and over again how far we have fallen but also how much He loves us and will save and restore us as His Church through the perfect work of JesusContinue reading “The (Dis)Honour of Women in Judges”
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