Faithful Writers

Today, we will begin to explore the mysteries of Genesis Chapter 6. For the Complete Jewish Bible, click here. For the King James version, click here. Right from the get-go in chapter 6, we are introduced to the following strange verse: “the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were attractive; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose” -Genesis 6:2 The first question is who or what in the world are these so-called “sons of God” ? The original Hebrew here is “ Benei Elohim ." First, contrary to popular understanding, these beings are NOT angels. However, they are high-ranking spiritual beings. The Scriptures tell us that the Benei Elohim have been given charge over all the nations of the earth. For instance, in the Book of Daniel, we read how the archangel Michael had to contend with a supernatural figure described as the Prince of Persia. This Prince of Persia is also called a “Benei Elohim." We are also told these Benei Elohim mated with the daughters of men and gave birth to a race of people known as the N’filim. N’filim stems from the root word “Nephal” which means “fallen” or “cast down” as in descending from a state of goodness to wickedness. These N’filim were a supernatural people who seemed to possess extraordinary powers above and beyond normal human beings. However, the source of their power came from a evil source. Many Bible scholars have taken the position that these beings were fallen angels who mated with regular human women. Given that the offspring from these “sons of God” called N’filim means “fallen” or “cast down” , this conclusion is understandable. However, the ancient Hebrew sages had a different take. They believed that the “Sons of God” were the Godly and faithful line of Seth and the “Daughters of Men” were the line of Cain. Up until this time, in accordance with God’s will, these two lines stayed separate. But, as time passed, men from the line of Seth began to lust after the beautiful women from the line of Cain, resulting in a polluted race that the Lord could not and would not tolerate. This resulted in God sending the great flood to destroy this unholy offspring. The truth is we cannot know for sure exactly who or what these Benei Elohim are. However, one foundational biblical principle is brought to the forefront here. God desires His chosen people to NOT intimately mix with the people of the world. Our God is a god of separation, NOT assimilation! I should note that this is not a diatribe against interracial marriage. Interracial marriage is fine, as long as both of the parties are followers of the one true God of Israel. If you were to visit modern Israel today, you would encounter Israelis of many different complexions and races. I am talking about perfect spiritual unity. While it is important to be a witness to an unbelieving world perishing in their sins, one should NOT intimately connect with a God-denier, even if that person is your father or mother. From personal experience, I would also highly advise you to NOT take advice on life from an unbeliever. That would be a true recipe for disaster. Stick to the pure, undiluted truth of God’s word, and you will not stumble in this life or the next. Never forget that God has called the believer to a life of separation in both thought, diet, word, and lifestyle. CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT Do not yoke yourselves together in a team with unbelievers . For how can righteousness and lawlessness be partners? What fellowship does light have with darkness? -2 Corinthians 6:14 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father, his mother, his wife, his children, his brothers and his sisters, yes, and his own life besides, he cannot be my disciples.”-Luke 14:26 To another he said, “Follow me!” but the man replied, “Sir, first let me go away and bury my father.” Yeshua said, “ Let the dead bury their own dead; you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God!” Yet another said, “I will follow you, sir, but first let me say goodbye to the people at home.” To him, Yeshua said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and keeps looking back is fit to serve in the Kingdom of God.”-Luke 9:59–62 So, every one of you who doesn’t renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.- Luke 14:33 © Richoka

unsplash IF YOU DON’T THINK THIS IS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE YOU HAVE NOT BEEN PAYING ATTENTION. I wonder if there are many other words in the Bible that have had so many column inches spent on them than the innocuous little “a” at the end of this verse? You may be aware that people at the east end of the Mediterranean Sea did not speak Elizabethan English in Biblical Times, and we rely on documents written in the dialect of Greek at that time. ( Just joshing ya. Of course you know. ) The startling thing is, there is no Greek equivalent of “a." SO, IT IS A CONUNDRUM OF GREEK GRAMMAR WHICH HAS BECOME A FESTERING SORE OF CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY. This is not a trivial subject Fortunately, there are short version and long version answers. The short answer. One of the contenders for World Champion Greek Geek, Dan Wallace , devotes 15 pages in his book, ‘Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics,’ to John 1:1. An article by him on his insights is presented in The Puritan Board . A précis is given here. In layman’s language he is saying that, “ and the Word was God ,” remains true. Wallace argues that in John 1:1c the Logos (“the Word”) is the subject (marked by the article on λόγος), while θεὸς (“God”), lacking the article and fronted for emphasis, functions as a qualitative anarthrous predicate nominative. This construction conveys “what God was, the Word was,” affirming the Word’s full divine essence without identifying Him as the Father. Hence, the proper translation remains “and the Word was God,” countering both Arian (“a god”) and Sabellian (“the God”) misreadings by distinguishing essence (qualitative θεὸς) from person (the distinct, articulated subject). The complete article is HERE . It is not very long. A lot of people write books and articles — but there is only one Professor Dan Wallace. So that’s it. You’ve got it directly from the mouth of the Top Gun. You can go on to more important things. Yet, a can of worms has been opened. The anthem of NT Saints is, “God is Love,” as is written in 1 John 4:16 || And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love , and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him . That can’t be denied! But if the logic and syntax of John 1:1 being “a god” is consistent, 1 John 4:16 should be translated, “God is a Love” because Agapē is a noun. This will become apparent in the long answer. However . . . Professor Wallace maybe Top Gun Geek but the movies tell us there is always a Young Gun who wants to take the title. Is there a Topper Gun? Yes, the Logos Himself. But first it is necessary to see what a dog’s breakfast there is. HOW DO WE SOLVE IT? The long answer. I’ve been interested in this situation for more years than I care to remember and have always ended up in the same place — someone’s opinion based on secular reasoning which actually turns out to be circular reasoning — with, “My theologian is better than your theologian. He wrote a book that is thicker than your theologian.” Opinion is not useless. However, it is the most democratic of all methods for transferring ideas in that everyone has equal opportunity to be wrong. “I believe ….” is of no use to me. “It is written ….” is what I’m after. He (Jesus) said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. To be honest, your theologian doesn’t impress me unless he can offer me Eternal Life. IF YOUR PRACTICE DOESN’T AGREE WITH YOUR THEORY — GO BACK AND CHECK YOUR THEORY. Perusing the miles of column inches on this topic it is obvious that there is a number of clever, plausible conclusions but plausible does not mean true. That there are an unspecified number of interpretations is true but incomplete. It does not specify, or even imply, that there are an unspecified number of VALID interpretations. Everyone has a bias. On what evidence does one establish that bias? There is just soooo much noise. Most of this muddies the water so, as the investigation proceeds, the fools’ errands will be eliminated in order to declutter. Firstly define the problem. The reference translations will be the New World Translation (NWT) of the Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW), and well known New King James Version (NKJV). The NWT has been chosen because the JWs are one of the most vociferous that Jesus is a created being. It can be seen that there is an “a” in the NWT that is not in the NKJV. But more about that soon. This is a Greek Grammar topic so the Greek things must be clarified for English readers. There are a number of New Testament (NT) Greek copies but these can be distilled down to two primary influences: The Textus Receptus, from Antioch, and the Morphological Greek New Testament from Alexandria. Both of these are presented here to prevent any arguments about different sources. Some differences do occur in the different editions but it can be seen that these texts are identical for this verse. It can be seen that there is potential confusion right from thee start because the order of the English wording is different to the direct translation of the Greek. This is of no consequence because, while word order in English and Hebrew is critical, the rules of syntax in Greek render the word order not very critical (long story) so the rearrangement of the words for English has no affect on the idea being conveyed. Examining the Greek text it will be seen that there are letters/words that appear in the table below. It is not necessary to remember these items. They are added just in case you are puzzled. Number: Sing = singular, Pl = plural. Case: Nom = nominative, Gen = genitive, Dat = dative, Acc = accusative. Gender: Masc = masculine, fem = Feminine, Neut = neuter. This is one of the strengths of Greek. They give precision in articulating nouns, pronouns and adjectives which are linked. As can be seen, there are 24. ALSO — THERE IS NO INDEFINITE ARTICLE IN GREEK. (The indefinite article will be explained soon.) I could tell you that no Greek noun/pronoun/adjective has an associated indefinite article and I would be telling the truth. I could tell you that every Greek noun/pronoun/adjective has an associated definite article (the definite is redundant because there is no indefinite ) but I’d be lying. All Greek nouns have a definite article . . . except the ones which don’t. For some reason (unknown to my Greek speaking friends) some nouns have no article at all. This is called an anarthrous substantive for short. (Refer to Professor Wallace above.) Which means nothing to me, either, except that anarthrous is a term in entomology which means an insect without joints, or having the joints indistinct. An apt description for what is happening here. A rough mathematical analogy to this linguistic occurrence would be having one equation with more than one unknowns. There would be numerous potential solutions depending on assumed values. If this . . . then that. Nothing would be definite → opinions based on assumptions, which is then presented as fact. Can the other Biblical languages be of assistance? (A quick Google will confirm these.) English has two articles — the definite article → “the/that/this” and the indefinite article → “a/an.” The definite article, the, is the most frequent word in English. It is used because there is specifically only one. The indefinite article, a or an , refer to non-specific or unknown nouns. (The a or an depends on the spelling of the noun, so there is essentially only one.) Hebrew has only one article , the definite article, הַ (ha), meaning “the.” It doesn’t have indefinite articles like “a” or “an” — context does the heavy lifting there. So no help can come from going down the Hebrew trail. The Hebrew/Greek interaction has a number of friction points (another story for another time) as does English/Greek. How does one mesh one definite and one indefinite with 24 definite articles? THE GREEK ARTICLE FUNCTIONS VERY DIFFERENTLY FROM THE ENGLISH “THE." • The Greek changes form to specify the gender, number and case of a noun/pronoun → specific. • The English doesn’t change form so is not so specific. • English has the indefinite article. Greek doesn’t. Be careful of injecting the English indefinite into Greek. [This has to be constantly repeated because it is happening constantly.] What about other Middle Eastern languages? Coptic language which has a definite article (as in “the” in English) and an indefinite article (as in “a” or “an” in English) has been proposed but it obviously has the same snags as English. So that line is a fools errand and can be eliminated — the decluttering begins. What about the Church Fathers? This is an oft used refuge of (sic) modern scholarship but I look at the Letters to the Seven Churches which open The Revelation and see that the Boss was not overjoyed with everything that was going on then. More decluttering → less noise → now we can hear ourselves think. So it appears I’ve shot myself in the foot. There is nowhere else to go. Not so. God knows a lot more tricks than the Intellectual Glitterati give Him credit for. A Bible literate Communications Engineer, who knows the Narrative, recognises that the Bible has been designed in anticipation of hostile jamming. What has this got to do with Theology? Lots. Who hasn’t seen a World War 2 movie showing some resistance agent in Nazi Occupied Europe tuning in a radio to receive a message coming from London? The signal was always bad. That was not poor technology, it was deliberate. The signal was being broadcast over the entire available bandwidth. If the signal was bunched into a concentrated beam it would be clear but easily jammed. It is impossible to jam the entire bandwidth. It is intriguing to notice that the Biblical text evidences these same techniques. Here is an extract from a teaching by Koinonia Institute. "Where is the chapter on baptism? Or salvation? Or any specific critical doctrine? Every major theme is spread throughout the 66 books making up the total message. There is no concentration of any critical element in any single location. One can tear out a surprising number of pages and still not lose visibility of the essential message. (Some resolution or clarity would be lost, however.) This design intent of distributing the vital elements throughout the entire message system gives a new perspective to Isaiah 28:10 || For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little. 28:10 " כּי צו לצו צו לצו קו לקו קו לקו זעיר שׁם זעיר שׁם So what? Martin Luther is reported to have given the following advice about parts of the Bible that are hard to understand. Find the meaning of the parts of the difficult texts of the Bible with those that are easily understood . Where else is the topic of Christ’s divinity settled? JESUS IS CUTE BUT JEHOVAH’S A BRUTE? Did Jesus say He was God? Conclusion The best Scholar use as a reference to investigate the Bible is the Holy Spirit. Relying on what Man says is dicing with death. A lot of emotional energy has been needlessly spent over the years on a single, indeterminate situation which has been decided several places elsewhere. Could there be particular agendas at play? Surely not. There is an old Hebrew proverb, “Paying attention is more important than thinking.” I must admit, I got caught up in it myself. The forgoing evidence has not been presented to convince any reader but to allow a personal decision to be made. There is much more to know about this subject. Perhaps you’ll pay another visit, sometime. If you have seen something you like, I encourage plagiarism. So, always check everything I say first, then please re-cycle, re-brand, re-structure, re-issue, re-label, or regurgitate in any manner you please. No need to acknowledge me because it is the Holy Spirit Who holds the Intellectual Rights. All Glory to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (We all have a plank in our eye. It’s bigger than we think.) ネ © Brad Banardict

ChatGPT "But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” -Genesis 2:20–25 A question single believers often ask is “ how proactive should I be in trying to find my soul mate? ” Should I hit all the single bars? Should I attend every singles event that my place of worship sponsors? Should I register my profile on 20 billion matchmaking date sites? Well, I think Genesis has the answer to that question. We can see that God first appeared on the scene of human history as a matchmaker. Based on chapter 2, we can derive the following principles when it comes to marriage. 1) God Himself discerned Adam’s need and initiated marriage. Minus divine assistance man cannot understand nor make marriage a part of his experience. 2) The decision to marry proceeded from God, not man. 3) God knew the kind of partner man needed. Man did not. 4) Preparing the woman for man was 100% God’s responsibility 5) Introducing the woman to man was 100% God’s responsibility. Man did not have to make an effort to seek her out via internet dating or bar hopping etc. 6) God established the purpose of marriage which was to be a harmonious and perfectly reciprocal union between the man and woman. 7) Jesus upheld the pattern of marriage established in Genesis and maintained that it was binding on all who would be his disciples. Now am I saying that you should deliberately avoid all social situations or relationships with other singles? Of course not. What I’m saying is don’t be frantic and frazzled. Instead, be deliberate and methodical in going about your work for the Lord. I really think too many people get married because of stupid societal pressure period. I surmise that the over 50% divorce rate in our country ( I’m talking about the US ) is a reflection of this panicky “ I gotta get married now, so I don’t appear like a loser at social functions ” mentality. They’re afraid of being looked down on or being seen as a loser at parties or church gatherings. Seriously, how insecure can you get? What I can say on the authority of Scripture is that whenever man takes matters into his own hands, the results are less than pretty if not disastrous. For example, the whole problem in the Middle East today is due to one reason. Abraham and Sarah didn’t trust God that he would supernaturally provide a first-born son from Abraham’s own loins. Instead, they took matters into their own hands and now we got groups like ISIS running around cutting people’s heads off. Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself. CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT He replied, “Haven’t you read that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and that he said, ‘ For this reason a man should leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two are to become one flesh’? Thus they are no longer two, but one. So then, no one should split apart what God has joined together. ” -Matthew 19:4–6 © Richoka

Where there’s a will, there’s a destiny. Photo by Nikolas Noonan on Unsplash Have you been to a wedding lately? The officiant asks the bride and groom to make a vow to each other and God. They are asked something like “Will you love, honor, and cherish…” And their response is usually “I will.” On the wedding day, their will is strong. However, years later, if one of them violates their covenant, it is usually because their will has become weak, diluted, or distracted. How does that happen? What is the human will? Can we control it? When my children became toddlers, I read books on “strong-willed children”. I’m glad I did because they became magnificent adults and excellent parents themselves. I never squelched their will. But learned how to channel it in the right direction. And to teach them to do the same. In my limited understanding, I believe the human will is the God-given capacity to choose . It’s the seat of decision-making, where we exercise our ability to say yes or no, to obey or resist, to surrender or rebel. It’s what makes us morally responsible before God. He gave us a will so that love and obedience could be genuine, not robotic. God doesn’t force obedience — He invites it. The will is where we answer that invitation. When someone commits a horrific act, many people seek answers. And the usual response is, “Because God gave man free will.” Choices have consequences. And “ the butterfly effect ” causes ripples with far-reaching collateral ramifications. How is your will these days? Strong? Tired? In neutral, waiting for someone or something to put it back into drive? We can’t surrender our will. We must engage it. “Choose this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15). Our will is where the real battle takes place. It’s not just about feelings or thoughts, it’s about deciding. We must “will” to obey God. We must “will” to renounce the ways of this present world. When the Lord shows us what could be or what should be, the question isn’t, “What will God do?” The question is, “What will we do?” “I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life…” Deut 30:19 Just like Isaiah, when he heard the Lord ask, “Whom shall I send?”, the response must come from a willing heart: “Here am I. Send me” (Isaiah 6:8) . In the old paradigm, there were heroes, villains, and spectators. Most of us were spectators. However, in this changing and chaotic world, that is not the case. God is demanding that we choose. No better Bible story exemplifies that point than Elijah versus the prophets of Baal. “And Elijah came near to all the people and said, ‘How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.’ And the people did not answer him a word.” 1 Kings 18:21 By not deciding, they were, in effect, making a decision. By not answering a word, they were speaking volumes. The chosen people of a mighty God had been reduced to being spectators. That might have been OK in 867 BC. But not today as we close this present age and usher in the redemptive age of the Messiah. We Must Choose a Side. We Must Get in the Game. We Must Set Our Will Like Steel. We Must Stand Under an Unseen Chuppah and Recommit Our Will to God. Is God laying big decisions in front of you? If so, don’t rush. Think back. What did you do when you became aware of your divine destiny, when the truth first broke through your darkness? Remember how easy it was to trust Him back then? That was the Spirit of God at work in you. “You were running well,” Paul says in Galatians 5:7. Go back and remember that first love (Revelation 2:4) . The same God who stirred your heart then is stirring it now, inviting you again to say yes, to be loyal, to recommit. Every temptation and every crossroads comes down to a battle in the will. It’s where we either bow to God or don’t. Obeying God isn’t something we drift into. It’s a deliberate, conscious choice of will. Everything else in life waits until that choice is made. And when it comes, we shouldn’t poll the crowd, seek a sign of confirmation, or make sure our circle of influence is “OK with it.” As we continue to walk with God, fewer people will understand the steps we’re taking. That’s where the strain comes in. It’s lonely sometimes. But it’s holy ground. We don’t need to figure out where God is taking us. That’s His job. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105) . It’s not a spotlight showing the whole road. He may not tell us the destination. Do you remember what He did with Abram? But He will reveal more of Himself. That’s the only explanation He owes us: His presence. So, today, right now, speak it out loud: “I will be loyal. I will not be moved. I will persist. I will obey.” Say it to God. Say it in prayer, in tears, in faith, in repentance. Open a new door to greatness. It’s been there the whole time, waiting for you. Make the way to your destiny straight. Clear any mental obstacles. Ponder what God is saying to you today. Then move. Go! Take action! “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed” (Psalm 57:7). The moment we choose loyalty to God, to His plans, to His people, to His nation, we stand as a witness. It’s not just to the world, but against our selfish tendencies. We are drawing a line in the sand. We have learned to choose the good and refuse the evil. (Isaiah 7:15) We have set solid, unchangeable boundaries for ourselves. No more wavering. No more hypocrisy. No more sitting in neutral, idling, burning holy gas, and going nowhere. Spiritual maturity occurs when the human will aligns with God’s will. That doesn’t happen by accident. It takes daily surrender and discipline. It’s hard. But everything memorable and lasting is hard. Be tough. Will yourself to be loyal. And give honor to those who choose loyalty also. God’s people are called to strengthen, teach, sharpen, and lift one another for His glory. That’s how our Kingdom grows strong. Thank you for reading this. You might also like: Are There Mexican Angels? Where Have You Pitched Your Tent? The Real Difference Between Christians and Jews. You are here for a time such as this. God believes in you more than you believe in yourself. “Chazak, chazak, venitchazek!” ( Look it up, Christians ) -Issachar © I.M. Koen

Stephanie M. is a Christian writer and devoted mother whose work blends heartfelt reflection with Biblical truth. Her writing tackles real-life struggles—sin, faith, storms, and the challenges of motherhood—always pointing readers toward hope and redemption in Christ. With a style that is both conversational and deeply thoughtful, she weaves Scripture, personal experience, and honest observation to illuminate the spiritual and emotional battles her readers face. Through her essays, Stephanie invites readers into a space of reflection, encouragement, and practical wisdom. Stephanie M.

Sierra is a recent Graphic Design and Interactive Media graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. During her time at Stout, she came to Christ and is now following Him wholeheartedly. Sierra has always had a passion for anything creative, especially when it comes to writing and photography. She is hoping that her creative outlets can make an impact on others and bring them closer to God. When she’s not doing something creative, you can find her reading, spending time with friends (and her cat), or exploring God’s creation. Sierra Loew

unsplash.com The Forrest Franks Miracle By guest writer, Sierra Loew — The music industry is currently undergoing a significant surge in Christian music. Now more than ever, Christian artists are setting new records and landing on the Billboard Hot 100, an accomplishment that is extremely difficult to achieve.  Christian music is making waves, especially amongst Gen Z. One of the most famous Christian artists right now is Forrest Frank, whose song “ Your Way’s Better ” is going viral on TikTok from a dance created to complement the song.  This song and dance is causing all generations to break out dancing across the globe, including countries in Africa and even in Japan. It’s safe to say that God is using Forrest’s music to spread His glory, and while Forrest’s music is bringing more eyes to God, so is his back.  Yup. You read that correctly. Three weeks ago, Forrest had fractured his L3 and L4 vertebrae in a skateboarding accident in his front yard. His home’s ring camera caught the accident on camera, and he became bedridden. Over the next two weeks, he tracked and posted his journey with his back on social media and ended up writing two songs, “God’s Got My Back” (linked below) and “Lemonade”; His song “Lemonade” debuted as №1 on iTunes’ Top 100 Song chart.  Some say that it was amazing that Forrest was even able to create these amazing songs from his bed at home, but God wasn’t done. A few days after Forrest released “Lemonade”, he woke up from bed and went into his kitchen and said good morning to his son, picking him up without any pain. He wasn’t even wearing his back brace.  Immediately, Forrest started recording and explained in the recording that he wasn’t having any pain or wearing his brace. So he and his wife, Grace, head to urgent care for an X-ray, only to find out that he was completely healed .  In two weeks, God had not only used Forrest’s situation to release two trending songs that are reaching millions, but he also healed  Forrest’s back, and  it all got captured on camera!  This is simply jaw-dropping, and it shows that God will always use our situations to glorify Him! So when we are going through tough situations, just remember that God is sovereign over every season and loves us. He is going to make lemonade out of our lemons. If ya’ll are curious about this, Forrest has posted a bunch of content on his Instagram over the last couple of weeks, but here is the link to his video explaining everything.  It is truly spine-tingling. © Sierra Loew

unsplash.com She had spent months slowly counting down the days till she would have to say goodbye. Slowly counting down the memories, moments, and time left until the time arrived. Even though there had been 39 weeks, 273 days, 6,570 hours, and 394,200 minutes for her to prepare, she still hadn’t been prepared to feel such a loss. As she stood still in a room so empty that it made her breathing echo, the young woman held back her tears as she noted the strange yellow stain on the ceiling and then the cracked drywall that was causing dust to fall onto the creaky floorboards.  Gently, her fingers glided across the smooth white wall that was closer to gray, stained from the lives that had lived in this home before her. They fell to her side as her blue eyes met the bay window, the feature of the house that made her want to claim the place as her own.  The room had claimed so many late nights- working on projects, laughing with long-distance friends, movie nights, and late-night chats. This was the room where she read, learned, and prayed to God.  This was the room where she began to explore what their relationship looked like — where she could let her walls down and let Him see who she really was. After a long while, she opened the creaky door that would never stay shut. Teary-eyed, she stood in the door frame which led into the rose red and tan colored living room, soaking in the nice furniture that was her roommate’s. In that moment, another little piece of her cracked as she had always hoped that she’d get to say goodbye to this little run-down apartment with her roommate.  For a moment longer, the brunette soaked in the school like ceiling tiles and how the paint was chipping off the walls. Her mind wandered back to all the late nights with her friends watching movies, the Mario Party nights with her roommate, and the long Bible studies that the two had.  How thankful she was in that moment that God had blessed her with such a beautifully fun roommate that she got to talk about Jesus with. How many long laughs that the two had in the strangely small living space that she would dearly miss. The empty room then got filled with her friend’s presence with a soft creak of the oak floorboards, and her blue eyes met her friend’s green ones. It was time. Time to say goodbye. Silently, the two moved towards the kitchen, the dark brown walls, the green counters, and the very crooked floor filled her sight as she looked around.  The kitchen that held so many Jesus jam sessions and dance parties with her roommate. So many conversations and tears where the two had talked about their dreams, futures, and curiosities about where God would take them.  It was the room where she had made many new friends through filming a mayo commercial. The young woman would dearly miss how the floor was so loud that it could wake someone up. She stood there for a few moments before asking her friend if the two of them could go and pray over the five rooms that made up the house.  The two started with the bathroom, then moved to the living room, her roommate’s bedroom, and then her room. They took their time as she prayed to God about whatever was on her heart, part of her was trying to avoid the inevitable. Sooner or later, the two had made their way back into the large kitchen where she spoke her final prayer that she would ever pray in that house.  As she finished praying, the tears that had been welling up in her eyes for the last fifteen minutes began to fall, knowing that her time in that house was up. Her hands trembled as she struggled to get the key that was used to unlock the front door off its chain. The more she struggled, the more the tears fell because she knew she was saying goodbye to the house that had become a home in the last three years.  And while the curly-haired woman knew that a house was just walls and windows, she felt like she was saying goodbye to the memories that had made that house a home.  It was the house where she had come to Christ, where she had made so many new friends, and gotten to experience so many things that morphed her into the woman she now was. It wasn’t the walls that she was going to miss; it was the people, moments, and relationships that had developed because God had placed her in that house.  That house was a small glimpse of the season of life that she had gone through, which was now coming to a close. With a sunken heart, she set the house key onto the green countertop and made her way to the front door.  With the softest click, she closed the door to her home one last time. © Sierra Loew; UW Stout 2025 Graduate

Depression is a part of the human experience, but it isn’t your fault, nor a sin. Unsplash.com When life gets overwhelming and the weight of the world seems to be crushing you from the inside out, turning to the Psalms can offer rest, and, more importantly, reassurance.  I have previously written about this in The Beauty of Psalms .  “We will have struggles, emotional glitches, and hot mess express moments where we cry out to God, and that is ok. He is our Mighty Counselor after all.” Depression and Anxiety are real co nditions, it is not a sin. You have done nothing wrong. As a person who has dealt with severe depression and still deals with Anxiety, I used to think I was the cause, I had done something wrong, and that I was sinning, and this was a punishment from God.  Unfortunately, these are commonly held views by many churches and/or churchgoers still. This is where I got the idea that I was the problem and suffered immensely for years because of it.  Well, I’m here again to reassure you that even some of the greatest people in the Bible suffered Depression and Anxiety, and the Lord still wanted them for His work and more assuredly LOVED them despite their conditions and did not blame them for it. Depression and anxiety are medical conditions, just like Diabetes, Asthma, and Arthritis. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise; if they do, just walk away, find real support from God and others who respect your battle. Also, I want you to take any blame or doubt you may be holding over yourself, and cast it off. Let the Psalms calm, reassure, and hold you close to God. “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91: 1–2) “Preserve me, O God, for in You I take refuge.” (Psalm 16:1) Whoever clings to me I will deliver; whoever knows my name I will set on high.All who call upon me I will answer; I will be with them in distress. (Psalm 91:14–15) “The Lord is near to the broken-hearted, and saves the contrite of spirit.” (Psalms 34:18) I was already going to tell you, just as the author of the article below suggests. Grab hold of one or two verses, hold on to them tight, and don’t let go.  I wanted to provide a list of Bible verses for you to read when you are struggling, and to be able to bookmark it. Emily doesn’t just provide verses, she also tells how Psalms 13 brought her through an enormously hard storm. New Hope Nation, 50 Bible Verses to Help You Find Comfort   by Emily Rico. You may also wish to check this 👇 out, where I talk about Paul, who had at the very least an anxiety attack at one point. “ Real Christians” shouldn’t experience fear. — Wait. What about Paul, then? First published in Frontier Writers on Medium. © Jane Isley Thank you for taking the time to read, and please consider  supporting my work . Your gift helps keep this work going, blesses others, and means the world to me. You can visit me at Faithful Writers  on Medium, where other Christian writers have joined me in sharing the word of God. You can also find me on   Tumblr  and   Facebook.

Today we begin Genesis Chapter 10. For the Complete Jewish Bible, click here . For the King James version, click here . So Chapter 10 presents us with the Table of Nations that branched out from Noah’s three sons Shem, Japheth, and Ham. There are two reasons we should be intensely interested in this information. First, each and every one of us is a descendant of Noah. Second, the prophecies that Noah pronounced on his three sons are still in effect today and will continue to play their course until the coming of the messiah. So let’s take a look at the descendants of Japheth who for the most part ended up occupying Europe. Please be advised, however, that the following is by no means a 100% comprehensive record. JAPHETH In chapter 10, seven sons of Japheth are listed. They are Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Tiras and Meschech. Here is a quick snapshot of where they are today: Gomer: The descendants of Gomer generally settled in what is today Wales and Great Britain. Magog: The descendants of Magog became the Russian peoples. Madai: The descendants of Madai became the Medes. Javan: Generally speaking, the descendants of Javan became the Greeks. It is also interesting to note that one of Javan’s sons Tarshish has become what is today modern day Spain. Tarshish is mentioned in a prophecy in the Book of Isaiah 60:1–12. Tubal: A bit of controversy on this one. However, I’ll go with Josephus’s take on the matter, who identifies the descendants of Tubal with the Iberians, that is, the inhabitants of a tract of country between the Caspian and Euxine Seas, which nearly corresponded to modern Georgia. Tiras: From Tiras came a group of people known as the Thracians who became the Macedonians from whom Alexander the Great came. Meschech: The descendants of Meshech were believed to have originated from the northeast of Asia Minor, particularly in the area that is now Turkey. Then they traveled north and settled in Rosh, which is modern-day Russia. © Richoka