Does communion hold significance for you? Has it become a ritual you do in church or with friends or family to remember Christ’s death and forgiveness for you, or does it still reach the core of your heart when you take the bread and the cup? I think today’s post will help reignite a deeper meaning for you so when you gather for communion, those elements will resonate in a special way.”With the first lamb offer two quarts of fine flour mixed with one quart of oil from crushed olives, and a drink offering of one quart of wine.” (Exodus 29:40)On our social media channels, we’ve been looking at the prophetic laws and offerings that proved to be illustrations of Christ. Yesterday, we learned that in the daily offerings of the Old Testament law in Exodus 29, it required a year-old lamb, fine flour, oil, and wine. The flour and…

Forward from Rachel Van Pelt – One of the greatest blessings I’ve been privileged to have in this life is to connect with many beautiful Christians around the world who are constantly living on mission for Jesus. Their letters always inspire me to grow my faith in Christ and share that with others.This week, I received one of those kinds of letters from my sister-in-love who works with a program called Keramiko Moms through Youth Unlimited in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Yes, my sister-in-love and I share the same name. It can get a little confusing when we’re together but it’s an honour all the same. My brother’s and her home is an almost constantly revolving door of community. It’s a fun house where you’re sure to find some epic shenanigans happening. It’s also a safe place to unload and share your burdens, and know you’ll be unconditionally loved. When I…

Holy Spirit does amazing work in us through our times of suffering. It is here where our hearts are most exposed to Him. It’s where we see our need for a Saviour. It’s where we cry out in dependence and desperation. And it is here where we understand Jesus as our Redeemer.

Could you do it? Could you leave your culture and relatives behind, and move to a foreign country you have not even visited, if a God you may not know well told you to do it? How about if at the time, He didn’t tell you exactly where you were going? All He said was “ Go to the land that I will show you.” I’d imagine it would feel a bit like Amazing Race. You’d receive your first instruction: “Go southwest. Follow that trail for a while until you reach your next clue. I’ll instruct you which road to take next when you get there.” You have no idea where that next road would be or how long it would take to get there.

Has your family done a generational family photo of a grandmother, mother, and daughter together, or grandfather, father, and son? It’s a precious image that captures a story of the impact of a legacy being written and passed down through each generation. You can see similarities in look and stature. The hands of the grandfather show evidence of decades of hard labour. The grandson’s vitality and freshness of young skin holding potential of learned skills ahead.As we carry on from the event at the tower of Babel, Moses continues to share the genealogy of Shem’s family down 10 generations and the promise of the blessing Noah gave his son Shem in Genesis 9 starts growing root by the end of the chapter.“These are the family records of Shem. Shem lived 100 years and fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood. After he fathered Arpachshad, Shem lived 500 years and fathered other sons…

Between Genesis 10:32 and 11:10, Moses pauses the genealogy to bring light to a defining moment in history; dare I say one of the most significant in the beginnings of time that would change the world from that moment until Christ returns! And yet, even in this event, we can see the Lord preparing our redemption. This post has been welling up within me for a year now and I’m SO excited to share it with you today! Come and commune in awe of our Great Redeemer’s work and the hope-filled detail He’s invested into His story!“The whole earth had the same language and vocabulary.” (Genesis 11:1)Wait, this doesn’t make sense. If you research the names of Noah’s genealogy in Genesis 10, it’s evident that there was more than one language. Some names are in Hebrew, others are Greek, Arabic, Assyrian, etc. This leads us to wonder, “What happened to…

In last week’s post, Genesis 10: The Most Influential Family Tree of All Time, we followed the genealogies of a fair amount of the world’s origin. By the end of that article, some of the names mentioned in Ham’s descendants caught our attention with one man in particular named Nimrod. Today’s post will continue to set the stage for most of the Bible’s plot based on the family members we’re about to explore. I don’t think you’re going to want to miss this! Let’s see where this trail of Noah’s genealogy continues to lead.Ham’s family continued:“Mizraim fathered the people of Lud, Anam, Lehab, Naphtuh, Pathrus, Casluh (the Philistines came from them), and Caphtor.” (Genesis 10:13-14, bold added)Mizraim’s (also known as Egypt) sons:It would seem by most of them remaining in Egypt that this was originally a fairly close-knit family. I think it would be safe to say that many of…

Do you have a record of your family tree? Is it something that’s been passed down from each generation or did you research it on Ancestory.com? Genealogies are something  you either find boring or fascinating. Regardless of how you typically feel about these, I encourage you to put your imagination to use and join me on an exploration of the most influential family of the world. I think you’ll walk away more interested in names than you were before today. Why? Because you came from one of these family members. Your genealogy starts here.“These are the family records of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. They also had sons after the flood.” (Genesis 10:1)“Japheth’s sons: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. Gomer’s sons: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. And Javan’s sons: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. From these descendants, the peoples of the coasts and islands spread out into their lands according to their clans…

“The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed.Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard*. He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent.” (Genesis 9:18-21 ESV, *Footnote reads: Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard)Though wild vines existed before Noah, he was the first to plant a vineyard. Cultivated vines tend to produce more grapes on them, which in turn would yield a greater amount of wine. We don’t know if wine had been established before this moment or not. Did Noah know this drink would cause him to get drunk?  Whether he did or not, he became intoxicated and stripped naked within his tent.Last…

Can you recall the last time you were in great need of something and you cried out to God for help? What happened?When God’s people follow His pattern seen in the Law of confession, sacrifice by way of genuine repentance, and worship, He always blesses us. It brings Him great joy because it reflects our love for Him and our humble submission to His authority over heaven and earth.When Noah and the remnant of living creatures exited the ark, he built an altar to the Lord and worshipped Him by sacrificing “every kind of clean animal and every kind of clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.” (Genesis 8:20) This pleased the Lord greatly, so much so, that He made an oath to Himself that He would “never again curse the ground because of man, even though man’s inclination is evil from his youth. And I will never…