Blog

And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons . . . But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him. Genesis 37:2-4 In my addiction,…
Read more

And Isaac breathed his last, and he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. Genesis 35:29 I’ve got people in my life with whom I’d like to find reconciliation one day. I think I’ve done what I can to make peace, but…
Read more

And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. Genesis 35:10 Like all of us, I’ve been profoundly shaped by my life’s relationships. I didn’t pick my parents, but I’m thankful for my childhood and…
Read more

And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. Genesis 35:5 Abject terror. That’s what I experienced nine years ago when I got a text from my boss, telling me I needed to come in to discuss some…
Read more

So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem. Genesis 35:4 I don’t struggle with opioid cravings today. There was a time though when I desired them constantly. What changed? How’d I get…
Read more

Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.” Genesis 34:30 Yesterday was…
Read more

Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. Genesis 34:1 With my daughter going off to a public university a couple years ago, I had a few things I needed to tell her. It wasn’t stuff she wanted to talk about, but…
Read more

And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her. Genesis 34:2 I used to enjoy politics, embracing the us versus them conflict. Particularly as my own life descended into my addiction, it was comforting to focus on the…
Read more

“Please accept my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” Thus he urged him, and he took it. Genesis 33:11 For years, my daughter and I have enjoyed watching Bob Ross and his Joy of Painting reruns. We’ve always wanted to recreate one and…
Read more

I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered. Genesis 32:30 Even I hate the scale at the doctor’s office – and I’m a doctor. I can fool myself for a while, avoiding my scale at home. When I go to my doctor’s office though, they want to check my…
Read more