Hidden in the History

Marcia LebharArticles

You’ve probably seen them…videos of dominoes cascading through multiple rooms, over and under furniture, setting in motion all sorts of events that eventually arrive at a fantastic finale. The narrative story of the Bible is a bit like that. After Adam and Eve’s reach for control in the opening chapters of Genesis, God promises that one day their descendant will deal a death blow to the serpent who tempted them to sin. This is an initial domino in the story of redemption, and many more follow. Later God declares in Isaiah 46, “For I am God and there is no other; I am God and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done… I will accomplish my purpose… I have spoken and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed and I will do it.”

The Big Story

Marcia LebharArticles

“He told me the Bible!”

Our girls’ car was incredulous. “He what? How long did it take him?”

“About five minutes.”

That was it. The girls spent the rest of the way home, and our family spent the rest of the year, trying to figure out how to tell the story of the Bible to a five-year-old in five minutes. A disciple of Jesus for almost thirty years then, I felt distressed that I couldn’t do it. My biblical understanding was siloed. I could talk about Philippians and 1 Peter and parts of the Gospels, but then there were huge black holes in my understanding of how we got from the Exodus to Galilee. Was it one linear narrative? How could it be made simple enough for a child, or for me? Working together, and with a five-year-old conveniently in residence as a ready test case, we worked at it. The surprise was how deeply life-giving the process turned out to be.

Snakes, Spiders and Bible Fear

Marcia LebharArticles

Reflections on Teaching the Scriptures   “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you … Read More

Hospitality and Heartbreak

Marcia LebharArticles

Neil likes to say that for many people, their living and dining rooms are designed solely for when the president stops by unexpectedly for dinner. Our western notion of hospitality is drawn more from gourmet … Read More

Growth by Imitation

Marcia LebharArticles

Is everyone out there brimming with confidence, or, like me, do you find the following exhortations of Paul hard to imagine saying to another disciple yourself?        I urge you to imitate me. (1 … Read More

Risking Obedience

Marcia LebharArticles

Risking Obedience The ‘OH-NO!’ Principle For parents, and anyone who disciples others: What’s one, sure-fire thing you can do to help root the faith in those you are leading . . . to protect them … Read More

Dear Friend…On Anxiety

Marcia LebharArticles

As a frequent retreat speaker, I often find the conversations that follow a gathering to be the most fruitful. This month I’m taking a break from the Fine Fire topic to share a bit of … Read More

One Warning and Two Anti-Virals

Marcia LebharArticles

I’m constantly intrigued with the threads of plot or character that run through the whole of the Scriptures. Like repeating melody lines in a symphony, or themes in a novel, they speak to the unity … Read More

Let Them See!

Marcia LebharArticles, Uncategorized

Psalm 78 voices the strangest declaration. The people of Israel are rehearsing the wonders the Lord accomplished in the Red Sea parting, and in their sojourn through the wilderness. Yet they begin with such an … Read More

Now Watch

Marcia LebharArticles, Uncategorized

When the car door closes, anxiety rises. The experience of being sent home from the hospital after the birth of a baby is practically universal, at least in the West where most babies are born … Read More

Vision

Marcia LebharArticles, Uncategorized

Wait For It … Vision. We want it. We need it. In a way, the God of the Bible promises it. God declares, “I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end … Read More