Religion

There Is Hope in Brokenness, so Don't Give Up. Life is full of surprises, and often, bad things happen when we least expect them. Many of us have faced challenges that have left us feeling broken, yet we haven't lost our resilience. It's okay to feel broken, as long as we don't let it consume us. Even in our brokenness, there is a glimmer of hope.

There Is Hope in Brokenness, so Don’t Give Up

There Is Hope in Brokenness, so Don’t Give Up. Life is full of surprises, and often, bad things happen when we least expect them. Many of us have faced challenges that have left us feeling broken, yet we haven’t lost our resilience. It’s okay to feel broken, as long as we don’t let it consume us. Even in our brokenness, there is a glimmer of hope.

Genesis 32:22-32

Jacob’s struggle with the angel is a significant biblical event found in Genesis 32:22-32. During this encounter, Jacob, who was a broken man, wrestles with a mysterious figure, often interpreted as an angel or a representation of God, throughout the night.

This struggle symbolizes Jacob’s lifelong battle with both God and man, reflecting the spiritual and personal challenges he faced.

As dawn approached, the figure touched Jacob’s hip, dislocating it, yet Jacob refused to let go, demonstrating his determination and faith.

Ultimately, this encounter led to Jacob being renamed Israel, signifying his transformation and the establishment of the nation of Israel. 

So, there is hope in your brokenness. Don’t give up. Because sorrow may endure through the night, but joy comes in the morning.

My Promised Land is Jesus Christ. It's been a considerable amount of time since my last post on this site, and I'm eager to re-engage with the community.

My Promised Land is Jesus Christ

My Promised Land is Jesus Christ. It’s been a considerable amount of time since my last post on this site, and I’m eager to re-engage with the community.

Recently, I’ve been exploring Josiah Queen’s music, and one standout track I want to highlight is “My Promised Land.” Released over a year ago, this song resonates with me more deeply each time I listen to it.

My Promised Land draws inspiration from the challenging journey taken by the children of Israel as they sought the land God had promised them.

A significant aspect of this narrative is Moses, who, despite leading the Israelites out of Egypt, was unable to enter the promised land himself.

This outcome was known to God, the ultimate author and finisher of all events, which led Him to prepare Joshua as Moses’s successor.

An intriguing point to consider is the possibility that if the Israelites had not displayed rebellion and unruliness during their desert travels—which extended their journey from what should have been 11 days to 40 years—Moses might have ultimately entered the promised land as well.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. What do you think about the role of obedience, faith, and leadership in this biblical story? How does the song resonate with you? Let’s start a discussion.

Worship Wednesday.

Worship Wednesday.

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Psalm 121–KJV

The Tomb is Empty!

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came behind him and went straight into the tomb.

He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 and the cloth wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally, the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples returned to where they were staying.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels dressed in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize it was Jesus.

15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

John 20:1-18–NIV

Worship Wednesday

A Warning Against Hypocrisy

Then Jesus said to the crowds and his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. Instead, they tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.
“Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.
“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Matthew 23:1-12–NIV