“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34, 35). Although familiar with Jesus’ command, I balked when it applied to a sister in Christ. Elaine and I […]

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It is safe to assume that almost everyone has taken part in creation. Most people have played a part in creating something. It may have been a small something; it may have been a massive something. As children, we make art out of dry noodles and paper plates. As adults, we build cabinets, manufacture cars, […]

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It is fitting to end our Focus on the Faithful series with John, the beloved disciple and author of the last book of the Bible. In the stories of the Gospels and Acts, we usually find John in Peter’s shadow. But as a writer, only Paul was more prolific. And as for distinctiveness (his Gospel, […]

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Genesis and Revelation are bookends to God’s big story. Genesis tells us how everything got started; Revelation explains how it will all end. Their similarities and contrasts are intriguing: creation of heaven and earth, creation of new heaven and new earth; a garden, a city; tree of knowledge, tree of life; death pronounced, death destroyed; […]

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You may be wondering which Mary this article is focusing on. You have probably noticed that there are many Marys in the New Testament. At the cross, we are told that “many women” followed Jesus (Matthew 27:55), but of those named, Mary is the most common. John indicates the popularity of the name when his […]

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In 1959, my family moved thirty miles across Los Angeles. We brought our two cats with us — Cheeses and Crackers. After a few days in our new home, Cheeses disappeared and never returned. But Crackers seemed content with her new surroundings and stayed with us for the next ten years until she passed away […]

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On the outside, I am probably what many would deem an average millennial youth — aiming to get established into my career and learning to navigate the nuances of adulthood. However, those in my inner circle would attest that I have made some different choices from most youths around me. For one, I am 27 […]

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Habakkuk is a little book written by a little-known prophet. His name might mean “to embrace,” but we aren’t even sure about that. Nor when the obscure book at the back of the Old Testament was written — perhaps during the evil reign of Manasseh, or closer to Babylon’s siege of Jerusalem, from the mid-to-late […]

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Editor’s note: The following two articles were written as class assignments given by Martha Rohrbaugh to her English students at Spring Vale Christian School for this issue. Find more student submissions on the faithfulness of God in Online Exclusives. The Faithfulness of God by Nathaniel Fedoriw Author David Jeremiah said, “God is faithful, and that […]

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The Early Church In the last two issues we’ve looked at the personal faithfulness of two giants of the Old and New Testaments, Abraham and Peter. We have examined the relationship of living faith between individuals and our heavenly Father, but faithfulness is also a communal reality. We are God’s people, so what does a […]

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The Bible instructs us to be like God, but many attributes of His we cannot attain to or even mimic: His eternality, His knowledge of all, His power over all, His transcending presence, and His perfection, to name a few. But some attributes we may properly aspire to, such as His loving-kindness, mercy, grace, and […]

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Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths (Proverbs 3:5, 6, ESV). Barreling down the freeway toward Grandma and Grandpa’s house, I heard the dreaded “low fuel” warning come on. I knew, but had forgotten, that the gas was low. […]

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