Family of Origin – Household Words:

FAMILY RESEMBLANCE. 2 Timothy 1:3-5.

This picture generated with AI. We are family–each person begins life as part of a family. We inherit traits from our parents. But shouldn’t we focus on today and forget the past? Does ancestry matter? YES. The Bible contains over 25 genealogies, and while readers often skim them, God put them there for a reason.Continue reading “FAMILY RESEMBLANCE. 2 Timothy 1:3-5.”

Inherited Faith. 2 Timothy 1:5.

Yesterday I found a copy of a detailed family tree that I thought was lost. It goes back nine generations! It is mostly Germans, Brits, and a single line of Frenchmen. Most common vocations? Teachers, farmers, lawyers, and business owners. I suppose you can inherit leadership and the gift of gab. I’m sure you canContinue reading “Inherited Faith. 2 Timothy 1:5.”

The Time Machine.

What if you could go back to the days of Job or Abraham? There are no written scriptures. Everything you know about the One True God came to you by word of mouth passed down through generations: stories about families and wars and the flood and animal sacrifices and a God who might be listeningContinue reading “The Time Machine.”

Dirt Farmers and Horse Thieves: Dregs. Genesis 38.

My dad used to joke, “My ancestors were all dirt farmers and horse thieves.” Actually, his farmer-ancestors were hard-working, honest, kind, and willing to reserve judgment until they had heard all the facts. Yet my grandfather’s nine siblings were not untouched by scandal and rumor. Every family tree has rotten limbs—it’s a mathematical certainty. ForContinue reading “Dirt Farmers and Horse Thieves: Dregs. Genesis 38.”