Jesus in Paul’s Letters
When tasked with finding Jesus in Paul’s letters, I searched for common themes among his messages to the churches in Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, and Colossae. Certainly, there is more than one I am about to address, but the word I found is the very one that takes me back to my favorite verse in the Bible—Genesis 3:8.
When Adam and Eve fell into the sin the LORD had warned them about (disobedience to His word of truth) and tried to cover their shame, the scripture says: they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.
What was He coming to do?
Learning to Pray God’s Word When Our Own Words Fail Us
It was late summer in Colorado, and I’d spent the last few months exhausted. But like the “good mom I was trying to be,” I would walk to our community pool with Titus, who was 18 months at the time, at least once a week. Michael, my husband, had been giving me a hard time lately, “Why aren’t you taking him to the pool more?” as I was a stay-at-home mom, and Titus begged me almost every day to walk him to the pool to swim. (He was a pretty cute kid and could puppy-dog-eyes like the best of them!) But I was exceedingly tired until it dawned on me, “I think I’m pregnant!”
I remember how giddy I was and how many pregnancy tests I had taken to share the news with Michael. I’d painted “I’m a Big Brother” on one of Titus’ favorite green onesies and prepared a “pregnancy test bouquet” (thanks, Pinterest; but it's so weird now that I’m typing it) to surprise Michael.
The Goodness of God: In the Epistles
I had been battling debilitating headaches for months. I went through testing and tried medication. When relief and answers didn’t come, I was scheduled for an MRI. Those results did not come back with good news. I was diagnosed with a brain tumor in January 2000 and scheduled to see a neurologist immediately. When this situation came into my life, I was a brand-new believer. I had not yet experienced the goodness of God in a way that allowed me to trust Him fully. I didn’t know for sure that He would walk through whatever was to come in the days and weeks ahead. I was fortunate to have people in my life who pointed me to God during this season. I was surrounded by encouragement, support, and love. While I couldn’t understand why I was walking through this diagnosis, I fully experienced His presence and peace.
Paul wrote his letters to the early churches in the Bible for various reasons. These are filled with encouragement, instruction, and clarity.