Category: JESSI STRONG

  • WHEN FRIENDS ARE NOT FRIENDS FOREVER

    Reflections on Philemon I grew up as a peace-loving middle child. Although raised in a relatively peaceful household, I still worked to resolve conflicts between siblings—and sometimes even parents. But when I found myself playing the role of “bridge” between two spatting friends, I was at a loss. I wasn’t their mother or their middle…

  • RECOVERING PHARISEE

    Reflections on 1 Timothy I asked Jesus to come into my heart when I was four years old. Growing up in a Christian home, I heard Bible stories, attended Sunday school, and learned to pray before meals and bedtime. I should have become more convinced of my need for a savior as I read more…

  • OUR (IN)SIGNIFICANCE

    Our (In)Significance Reflections on Philippians For most of my childhood, I didn’t know I was weird. I grew up homeschooled, and most of my friends came from conservative Christian households similar to my own. When I finally figured it out, I embarked on a series of attempts to fit in. Often that meant repeating jokes…

  • HOLDING OUT ON FORGIVENESS

    Reflections on the Gospel of Matthew Last year I was hurt by a close friend, and my reaction was to cause hurt in return. Actually, it may have been the other way around. The entire incident was so passive and internal that it’s hard to say how it all started. Either way, it resulted in…

  • REALLY MEANING WHAT YOU SAY

    Reflections on Zechariah My sister and I are close in age, and when we were children, we were best friends. But we fought as often as we played together, and many of our afternoons ended in tears. Our fights ended the same way—standing face to face, forced together by a parent. My mother brooked no…

  • GETTING PAST THE PAST

    Reflections on 1 Chronicles First Chronicles begins with an exhaustive chronology. A recurring theme quickly becomes apparent: But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors and prostituted themselves to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them (1 Chr 5:25). Again and again, the Israelites sin against…