Categories
Devotional Making Disciples Memoir

Emptied

Emptied. 

Called to have the same attitude as Christ. 

Yet this earthen vessel still reveals trace amounts. Vestiges of pride and selfish ambition. Clutter.

And I learn my emptied is not a one-time thing.

But daily.

Emptied. Image by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash.
Categories
Crossing Cultures Devotional Memoir

Sing to Me

“Just sing to Me.”

Memory rises up. From twenty years ago. 

I’m traveling in the river of motorcycles and public transport vehicles. Cars and buses. All pressed together in the rush of a mountain city’s traffic. 

Navigating the ebb and flow as I drive. Mentally engaged. But not. 

Thoughts drift far away. Heart sits heavy. 

All around me, the hum and blare of engines revving, horns blowing, peddlers calling.

Sing to me. Image by Iqro Rinaldi on Unxsplash.
Categories
Crossing Cultures Making Disciples Memoir

Exiles

Exiles in Babylon. 

God’s Word to them felt deeply personal to us. During a particularly violent and unsettling season.

People were leaving our city. Families sent back to their home countries. Anti-American sentiment had ramped up more than ever. 

Should we leave? 

At one point my dad—who never, ever tried to interfere or direct us in any way—wrote “In my daily Bible study I keep seeing the words, ‘Flee Babylon…flee Babylon.” (Jeremiah 49:30; 50:8,16; 51:6)

Exiles. Image by Shahrukh Rehman on Unsplash.