I am not a fan of heights. In fact, I once wrote an entire blog about that. Despite my distaste for high places, I love hiking in the mountains. I’m not a blaze-your-own trail, wander-through-the-wilderness, hike-for-days-on-end kind of hiker—but I love a good day-hike on a well-groomed, well-MARKED trail. Several years ago, I had the …
NT 10:1 The Final Stamp
Week 10: The New Testament and Adoption Cont’d Day 1: The Final Stamp – (Ephesians 1:12-14) We always used to joke that in order to get anything done in Russia you had to have two things: A Spravka (certificate) and a Pechat’ (stamp). The stamp was particularly important because even if you had the spravka, …
NT 9:5 The Process And Price Of Adoption
Week 9: The New Testament and Adoption Day 5: The Process and Price of Adoption – (Ephesians 1:3-14) I love the book of Ephesians. If you could get a peek at my Bible, you might think that a pink ink pen had blown up all over the first half of the book. It used to …
NT 9:4 Adoption And The Law
Week 9: The New Testament and Adoption Day 4: Adoption and the Law – (Romans 10:14; Galatians 4:1-10) Over the years, I have come in contact with several children who made very puzzling decisions. They had, up to that point, been brought up either on the streets or in very bad home environments. Suddenly, they …
NT 9:3 Adoption and Israel
Week 9: The New Testament and Adoption Day 3: Adoption and Israel – Romans 9 “Can you imagine a woman giving birth to a child and then casting it out into the field to wallow in the afterbirth, unbathed, uncared for, naked and exposed to the elements? Can you imagine a child in such a …
NT 9:2 The Waiting of Adoption
Week 9: The New Testament and Adoption Day 2: The Waiting of Adoption – Romans 8:22-25; 35-39 I am not an adoptive parent, though there have been many occasions on which I wished I could be. But I have watched others go through the process. It can take months, even years. And all the while, …
NT 9:1 The Benefits of Belonging
Week 9: The New Testament and Adoption Day 1: The Benefits of Belonging – Romans 8:16-18 Have you ever felt like you just didn’t belong? When I first went to Russia, I had many of those moments. I would suddenly find myself in a room full of people having an animated conversation and all I …
NT 8:5 No Longer Slaves
Week 8: The New Testament and Adoption Day 5: No Longer Slaves – Romans 8:15 I don’t know her name, but I remember her face. She was about fifteen years old. Pretty. Blonde. Thin. Dirty. Her clothes were in obvious need of laundering and repair. Her hair hung in greasy strings about her face. We …
NT 8:4 The Spirit of Adoption
Week 8: The New Testament and Adoption Day 4: Spirit of Adoption – Romans 8:14-16 During the years that I lived in Russia, it seemed with every spring came Victory Day and with every fall came some very unwelcomed terrorist attack: Subway bombings, bus bombings, apartment building bombings, a theater siege, a school siege. Events …
NT 6:1 A Child In The Midst
Week 6: The New Testament and Children Day 1: A Child in the Midst – Matthew 18:2-5; Mark 9:33-37; Luke 9:46-48 Along the way, the disciples began arguing among themselves about who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I’m always a little amazed that they actually got up the courage to ask …
