Brave Fathers of the Bible

Posted on June 21, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Since I wrote about Brave Mothers of the Bible on Mother’s Day, I thought it only fair to write about fathers of the Bible for Father’s Day. I think my audience is mostly female. I have women in mind as I write, but I don’t mind if men read, too. But even as women we can learn from and be inspired by fathers.

Noah experienced a lot of firsts. He was the first person to build a boat the size of the ark, as far as we know. His family was the first to experience a worldwide flood–the only ones, in fact. He and his family had to start civilization all over again, not in the garden of Eden like Adam and Eve, but on an earth recovering from devastation. I can’t imagine what all they faced. Noah displayed some faults later on. But Hebrews 11:7 commends him: “By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” By faith he believed and obeyed and was saved.

Abraham was also not without fault. Actually, no earthly father is–or mother or anyone else. That’s encouraging to us, though, because if God could work in and through these people, He can work in and through us. Abraham obeyed God by leaving his home and all that was familiar, “not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8). I don’t pretend to understand everything that was involved in God’s asking Abraham to sacrifice his promised son, Isaac. But “He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back” (Hebrews 11:19). Though God does not call anyone else to give up their children in that way, there is a real sense in which we need to yield them to Him. We’re reminded over and over that they belong to Him; they’re just ours temporarily. We’re not to hold them to our dreams and plans for them, but yield them to His.

David was a man after God’s own heart. He failed miserably at times, and some of his children suffered for it. But he repented (Psalm 51). Much of the counsel David’s son, Solomon’s, shared in the book of Proverbs came from David. In the last stretch of David’s life, he did everything he could possibly do to enable Solomon to build the temple that David was not allowed to. I think I wrote David’s words to Solomon on each of my son’s yearbooks or graduation cards, or at least the first part of it: “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever” (1 Chronicles 28:9).

Joseph, Jesus’ stepfather, is one of the unsung heroes of the Bible. When his bride-to-be was found pregnant, he knew he was not the father. So he arranged to break their engagement quietly. But God sent an angel to tell him the baby Mary carried was the Son of God and it was okay for them to marry. Later, when God instructed Joseph to take Mary and baby Jesus to Egypt to flee from Herod, and then a few years later to bring them back to Israel, Joseph obeyed unquestioningly. We’re not told what he thought or felt. His life was not turning out as he had thought it would. But he accepted the responsibility God placed on him and fulfilled it faithfully.

Jairus came to Jesus, “and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying, ‘My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live'” (Mark 5:22-23). This was a desperate father, urgently seeking the best help for his child. Jesus agreed to go with Jairus. But on their way, Jesus was stopped by a woman who’d had an issue of blood for twelve years. The Bible doesn’t say what Jairus was doing while Jesus talked with the woman. But I probably would have been pacing and growing more frustrated by the moment.

And then a messenger cameto tell Jairus his daughter had died. What agony he must have been in. But Jesus told Jairus, “Do not fear, only believe” (verse 36). When they got to Jairus’ house, Jesus raised his daughter from the dead.

Talk about a roller coaster of emotions that day. When we’re desperate, when the answer is delayed, when hope is gone–we still don’t need to fear. God doesn’t always deliver–sometimes He gives grace to endure instead.

Jesus said of another person He healed, a man who was born blind, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:3). Sometimes we’re caught up in our own or our family’s daily needs and forget there are larger issues at stake. God might allow something to happen in our family so that others might see Him.

What can we learn from these fathers?

God uses flawed people. We’ll make mistakes, but God can forgive and use us for His glory.
God uses ordinary people. Most of these giants of the faith came from humble means: David was a shepherd; Joseph was a carpenter.
God requires and honors faith. In some ways, it has taken more faith to trust God for my children than for many other things.
God requires obedience, but He gives grace to obey.
God is faithful when life spirals out of control.
God’s goal is not just for us to have a sweet, happy family, but to live for His honor and glory. Sometimes that happens through hardship and pain. The end of Hebrews 11’s “hall of faith” says that both those who experienced great deliverance and those who suffered were commended for their faith, even when they didn’t receive what they were promised in their lifetimes. But this lifetime is not the end. Earlier in Hebrews 11, God said His people searched for “better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city” verse 6).
We can trust God with our parenting and with our children.

These are just a few faithful fathers in the Bible. Do any of them or any biblical fathers I haven’t mentioned inspire you?

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

A Mother’s Nightly Ritual

Posted on June 14, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Around this time of year, I see blog or Facebook posts from moms processing their children’s graduation from high school or college and the realization that they are about to leave the nest for good.

That time is such an emotional roller coaster–happy and excited for them, yet lamenting over the changes to come. Wondering what life is going to be like without the daily presence of one we nurtured and loved for 18+ years. Hoping we adequately taught them what they needed to know. Missing them before they even leave. Being concerned for the life changes and multiple decisions they’ll face as they step into adulthood. Praying, praying, praying.

When my children were little, I had a habit of going to their rooms and checking to see that they were breathing before I went to bed. That practice morphed a bit as they grew up. In their teen years, it looked like not being able to go to bed until I knew they were safely home.

I don’t delve into poetry often–I have trouble getting the meter just right. But several years ago, I wrote this poem based on that experience. I’ve shared it before, but it seemed timely to share it again. I hope it’s a blessing to you.

A Mother’s Nightly Ritual

Before a mother goes to bed
She checks each little downy head,
Places a hand on back or chest
Of each sleeping child at rest,
Making sure that all is well
Before succumbing to sleep’s spell.

As children grow and youth abounds,
Yet Mother still must make her rounds.
She can not rest at ease until
Her little ones are calm and still,
Safely tucked into their beds.
Then softly to her own she treads.

From childhood into youth they grow,
And she waits up until she knows
They’re settled safe and sound at home
Til the next day when they roam.
Though now they stay up long past her,
She can’t rest til they’re home, secure.

Her birds fly later from her sight.
Their beds are empty now at night.
She cannot check the rise and fall
Of sleeping breaths within her walls.
Yet she trusts they’re safely kept
By Him who never once has slept.

Though now they sleep beyond her care,
They never move beyond her prayer.
Her nightly vigil now is to
Trust them to the same One Who
Watched o’er Jacob while he roamed,
And kept him safe though far from home.

Barbara Harper
Copyright 2010

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

“He Knows, Yes, He Knows”

Posted on June 9, 2026 by Barbara Harper

I was reading None Like Him: 10 Ways God Is Different From Us (And Why That’s a Good Thing) by Jen Wilkin this morning, just starting the chapter on God’s omniscience. Jen began with a stanza from an old hymn titled, “He Knows, Yes, He Knows.” by Georgia C. Elliot. I was so taken by the few lines she shared that I looked up the whole hymn.

He Knows, Yes, He Knows

He knows and He hears
When you cry unto Him,
Though it may be your tears
Make the pathway seem dim.

He knows and He sees
When your soul’s in distress,
And if oft on your knees
With His presence He’ll bless.

He knows and He cares
When you’re troubled and tried,
Though it seems that your prayers
Fall so empty and void.

He knows, yes, He knows,
Why not trust in Him then,
And confide joys and woes
To the Savior of men?

What rest, what joy, what comfort that Jesus knows through and through, loves us anyway, sympathizes with us in our weaknesses and failures.

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

No Perfect Homes Here

Posted on June 7, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Some years ago while in the hospital, I took advantage of their cable system to watch HGTV. There were several popular makeover shows on HGTV at the time, but we didn’t get that station in our cable plan. This was before almost every network had a streaming service.

Unfortunately, the day that I watched, none of the popular shows were on. The station was showing a marathon of a series about people who had won the lottery and were looking to upgrade their housing.

As I watched these families tour several houses worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, one thing stood out to me. Even at that level, with amenities most of us could only dream about, none of the home buyers found a perfect house with everything they were looking for. Sometimes the couple had different opinions about what they wanted in a house. Other times, two different houses had some, but not all, of the features they wanted, and they had to decide which was closest to their ideal.

I think most of us who have ever bought, or even rented a house have found the same thing. No one house has all we want. One house might have a beautiful, roomy kitchen, but the roof is going to need replacing soon. Another might have a nice garage and workspace, but only one bathroom for a large family.

We’ve lived in five homes over our 46 years of marriage. We rented a small mobile home from a professor at our college when we first married and lived there six years. We had not thought we’d stay in that area after graduation, but it seemed the Lord was leading that way. So we bought our first home there, a fixer-upper that needed much more than we had to give.

We’ve lived in three more homes since, each necessitated by my husband’s workplace moving him to a new area. Each had plusses and minuses. But our previous home in SC was the one I had the most trouble with. We had looked at many houses that were much nicer and prettier. But this one had the room we needed at a price we could afford.

The family room had red and black checked carpeting–and our furniture was a pink and blue plaid. It was years before we could replace either the furniture or the carpet.

I had gotten used to a carport and not having to carry groceries through the rain. This house had no carport. Plus the previous house’s driveway was right next to the kitchen door. At our new house, we had to go through two rooms and up seven steps to get to the kitchen.

I don’t like peach at all, or orange except in fall decorations, but the kitchen had peach and blue flowered wallpaper. And pink and blue floral linoleum.

The living room had wallpaper on one wall that looked like a mural of a Mediterranean scene. My kids loved it, but I couldn’t stand it.

We just one and a half bathrooms here (and no master bathroom). We had to do showers and breakfast in shifts–whoever wasn’t in the shower was eating.

Our previous houses had wooded areas behind them. This one had the back yard of another house right behind us. When the trees were bare, I could see the recliner and its occupant in their family room from my kitchen window.

Our previous house had a fence, and we got our first and only puppy while there. It was nice to not worry about the kids wandering off. Our new house didn’t have a fence.

The kitchen area was cramped. There was so little storage in it, my husband put shelves in the coat closet in the living room for the bigger kitchen items. Our dining room table, which seated six, barely fit in the space for it.

Over time, one project at a time, we replaced wallpaper, painted, replaced carpet, and eventually replaced family room furniture. We never could figure out what to do about the kitchen. We talked about removing a wall or adding on to the outside. But our finances, time, and energy levels were never up for that big of a project.

I had to continually battle discontentment with that house. But, after we moved, it occurred to me that most of our sons’ growing-up years took place there. Most of their family memories were developed there. I imagine they’ll remember having friends over for pizza and video games, crowding around the table for meals or birthdays, riding some mattresses we were getting rid of down the stairs, playing in the nearby “bamboo forest,” jumping on the trampoline, helping with house projects, the bulk of their school years, the first serious girlfriend and wedding of one of them.

They’ll remember the home more than the house.

I don’t think it’s wrong to want to make our homes comfortable, pleasing, and attractive. I’ve appreciated Edith Schaeffer’s emphasis in her book, The Hidden Art of Homemaking, that God didn’t make the world just functional: He made it beautiful as well. She says, “If you have been afraid that your love of beautiful flowers and the flickering flame of the candle is somehow less spiritual than living in starkness and ugliness, remember that He who created you to be creative gave you the things with which to make beauty and the sensitivity to appreciate and respond to His creation” (p. 109).

We have to balance those desires for creativity, beauty, and functionality with the time, finances, and energy we have. And we need to remember that even some of the humblest homes here will look luxurious to others.

But we usually have to be content with a less than perfect house to some degree. Probably no house will ever have every little feature we might like. One reason for that might be that if we had a perfect house, we’d be too tempted to nestle down into it, too content in this world and not looking forward to the next.

C. S. Lewis has written, “Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.”

The Bible reminds us, as the old hymn says, that this world is not our final home.

“We do not have an enduring city here; instead, we seek the one to come” (Hebrews 13:14).
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).
“In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:2).
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

Like all of God’s tangible gifts in this world, we appreciate them, but we hold them loosely. It’s not wrong to ask for a better or bigger house, but if God says no, we seek His grace to be content where He has us. We can effectively serve Him and minister to others in whatever kind of home He allows us to have. And we can let that longing for a perfect home remind us we’ll never find it here and fuel our desire for the heavenly one to come.

Prayer for the Home

Peace, unto this house, I pray,
Keep terror and despair away;
Shield it from evil and let sin
Never find lodging room within.
May never in these walls be heard
The hateful or accusing word.

Grant that its warm and mellow light
May be to all a beacon bright,
A flaming symbol that shall stir
The beating pulse of him or her
Who finds this door and seems to say,
“Here end the trials of the day.”

Hold us together, gentle Lord,
Who sit about this humble board;
May we be spared the cruel fate
Of those whom hatreds separate;
Here let love bind us fast, that we
May know the joys of unity.

Lord, this humble house we’d keep
Sweet with play and calm with sleep.
Help us so that we may give
Beauty to the lives we live.
Let Thy love and let Thy grace
Shine upon our dwelling place.

Edgar Guest

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Helps to Remember What You Read from the Bible

Posted on May 31, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Helps tom remember what you read in the Bible

If you’re like me, you can often draw a blank if you try to remember what you read in your quiet time with the Lord a few hours before.

On one hand, we’ll never remember everything we read (that’s one reason to keep rereading it). But we can still trust that God’s Word nourished us. In a similar vein, I might not remember what I had for lunch yesterday, but it still did its job.

Still, the Bible tells us to meditate, to think on, to turn over in our minds what God has said to us. We can’t do that if we don’t remember it.

Here are some tips that I’ve found helpful.

Read in context. I’m thankful that my first pastors emphasized reading a book of the Bible at a time rather than reading randomly. I usually average a chapter a day on weekdays, depending on the chapter length and subject matter. It’s easy to read a few chapters of a Bible narrative, but I like to slow down in the densely-packed epistles. If we take a moment at the beginning of our reading time to look at what we read the day before, then we get back into the flow.

Pray as you read. We often think of prayer and Bible reading as two separate components of devotions, and do one after the other. But we can pray as we read. If we read about a particular sin we’re struggling with, we can pray about it right then. If we’re reading praise to the Lord, we can read those passages to Him. If we come across something we want to incorporate into our children’s lives, we can ask God for wisdom and for receptive hearts.

Read actively. If we’re following a Bible-reading plan, it’s easy to fall into a passive “get the assignment done” mentality. But if we ask ourselves questions as we read, or look for particular things, we’re more engaged, and the information stays with us.

Some years ago, I heard someone say that Jesus never claimed to be God. I knew He didn’t declare Himself as openly and plainly as some wished He would. But He did proclaim His deity. So the next time I read the gospels, I put a “C” by every place where Jesus made a claim about Himself and a “P” by every verse which indicated a fulfillment of OT prophecy. Actively looking for that emphasis revitalized my reading.

We can also look for the writer’s main point or ask ourselves questions like, “What does this passage teach me about God? About myself? About how to live for Him?” Another good question is “Why is this here?” The Bible says that God’s thoughts are more than can be numbered. One pastor used to say the Bible is divinely brief: out of all the things God could have shared with us, the Bible contains what He wants us to know. 2 Timothy 3:16a tells us, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable.” So God has every part of Scripture there for a reason.

Mark your reading. Some people don’t like to write in their Bibles. That’s understandable. But many of us get more out of them when we underline passages that stand out to us, underline repeated words, draw arrows from the word “therefore” back to what it refers to, etc. One solution might be to have a study Bible you use for devotions and a different, unmarked Bible you use at church.

Make notes. I used to journal what I studied in my devotional time, but I found I was spending more time writing than reading. So I abandoned the practice for a while. Yet writing does help us process what we read and make it more permanent.

Journaling for the Soul: A Handbook of Journaling Methods by Deborah Haddix shares a plethora of journaling styles that would appeal to a variety of personalities. I ended up with something similar to a bullet journal. I look for one main takeaway from my Daily Light on the Daily Path reading as well as whatever Bible passage I’ve read that day and jot them down in a simple, cheap spiral notebook. Sometimes I’ll write a little more if I feel I need to, but I try to keep it brief.

Review. When I finish my Bible reading for the day, I quickly review what I’ve read. But that review doesn’t always stay with me through the day. In Overcoming Your Devotional Obstacles: 25 Keys to Having Memorable Devotions, John O’Malley recommends writing down a few key points from your Bible reading on a 3×5 note card and then putting it where you’ll see it throughout the day. You could do the same with a Post-It note or the notes app on your phone. Some might want to set a reminder on their phones to go off a few times a day with the main points they read. That would bug me, personally. I keep my phone notifications to a minimum because I get irritated at my phone dinging through the day.

What works for me is this: I keep my Daily Light, ESV Study Bible, and whatever commentary or Bible study book I’m using, along with my little spiral notebook, stacked on my desk. When I go to my desk throughout the day and see those books, I’ll take a moment to remind myself what the main points were that I wrote down. If I can’t remember, I’ll look in my notebook.

Share with others. When I was in a Christian college, the dorm students had assigned tables for dinner which switched every few weeks so we could get to know more people. Each table had a host and hostess who were supposed to try to keep conversations going. Some were better at this than others. My very first host and hostess were the best. The host would bring up that day’s chapel message and invite everyone else’s comments. I probably remembered the chapel messages more during those weeks than at any other time during my college years.

When I talk about what I’ve read, whether with my family or with a Bible study group, I remember more of it. I don’t know if a formal family “What did everyone learn in their devotions today” conversation would work. That might become too mechanical. But it’s natural for what we’re thinking about to come out in our talk.

Memorize. Of course, most of us can’t memorize a Bible verse every day. But we might mark a key verse in our reading, or one that especially spoke to our hearts, and try to commit it to memory over the next few days.

Have you tried any of these helps to remember what you read from the Bible? Or have you tried something else? What works best for you?

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Sharing From Our Experiences with the Lord

Posted on May 24, 2026 by Barbara Harper

When I was in college, the dorm rooms were formed into smaller prayer groups, usually three dorm rooms to a group, that met almost every night for devotions. The people in the rooms took turns sharing a devotional each night, then we spent a few minutes in prayer before getting ready for bed.

One of my roommates got extremely nervous when her time to share was coming up. She stressed over not knowing what to say. “How am I supposed to know what other people need to hear?’

We tried to encourage her to just share something God had been teaching her. It didn’t have to be a sermon. It didn’t have to be the last word on a given subject. If God wanted her to share something for Him, He’d give her what He wanted her to say.

When our ladies’ Bible study group was going through True Woman 201: Interior Design–Ten Elements of Biblical Womanhood, one section stood out to me. The authors emphasized that mentoring “simply means drawing on your life experience, in the context of everyday life, to provide encouragement and exhortation to those who are younger” (p. 219).

Of course, the whole book talks about being a godly woman by spending time with Him, in His Word, and reflecting Him. So we’re not just drawing on our personal life experience, but our experience within the bigger picture of our walk with God–what we’ve learned along the way.

It’s the same with any kind of ministry to each other. We draw out of our own experiences with God. We can’t teach or model or share what we don’t know. That is another reason for growing in grace and knowledge of Him–not just for our own benefit, but to have to minister to others.

This doesn’t mean that only women who have miscarried a child can minister to a woman in that situation, or only a single woman in the business world can mentor a younger single businesswoman. There are some truths of faith and practice that can be applied across the board.

Sharing with others from our lives also doesn’t mean that we have to have everything together and know all the answers. That would eliminate everyone. Sometimes sharing from our failures encourages others that there is hope and forgiveness and grace

Ministering to others also isn’t restricted to official, formal, or even church-related venues. It’s amazing how often in my life, a seemingly chance, off-the-cuff statement from someone else was just what I needed to hear that day.

I’ve often been encouraged by this excerpt from a hymn by Fanny Crosby:

Now just a word for Jesus:
Your dearest Friend so true,
Come cheer our hearts and tell us
What He has done for you.

Now just a word for Jesus-
‘Twill help us on our way;
One little word for Jesus,
O speak or sing or pray.

—Fanny Crosby

God can use each of us as we interact with each other in everyday life to encourage and uplift. As we ask Him to fill us with His Holy Spirit, seek His guidance, and pay attention to the needs of others, He can work through us to point them to Him.

(Updated to add: The day after posting this, it occurred to me that it could be taken in a wrong way. I’m not exalting experience above the Word of God. I’m talking about sharing from our own walk with God and our time in His Word–how we’ve found Him faithful, how He helped us through various trials, how He kept His promises to us.)

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Weariness in Serving God

Posted on May 17, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Do you ever get weary serving the Lord?

It’s possible, because Paul encourages us in Galatians 6:9, “Let us not grow weary of doing good.” He shares one reason not to grow weary: “In due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

We can get weary of laboring without seeing results. But Paul says we will reap. We may not see the results we’d like in our lifetime. But God promises His Word won’t return to Him empty; it will accomplish what He purposes (Isaiah 55:11).

We can also get weary just because we’re tired. Spiritual work does take a lot out of us. Plus our physical lives can make us weary: if we’re not getting enough sleep because of a new baby in the house, or we’re working two jobs to make ends meet, or we have a lot of obligations on our plate, naturally we’re going to feel worn out.

And we can too often feel weary because we slip into doing things in our own strength instead of relying on God’s.

Jesus’ welcome invitation is, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

But there is a type of weariness that’s dangerous. In the book of Malachi, God rebuked the priests for giving “polluted” offerings.” God had given them specific instructions for the type of sacrifices they were to offer: the animal being offered needed to be in the best condition: not lame or sick or attacked by another animal and on its way to death anyway. There is a lot of symbolism to the sacrificial system that we can’t go into completely here, but some of the sacrifices representing Christ had to be perfect. Yet the priests weren’t offering the kind of animals God had told them.

Even worse, they said, “What a weariness this is.” Some translations say “nuisance.” or “tiresome.” Then they “snorted” at it–other translations say “turned up your nose” or “sneered.”

When God’s service seems tiresome, wearying, even a nuisance, our hearts are in trouble.

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). We don’t keep His commandments to earn His favor or to go through the outward forms of religion. We keep them, and serve Him, out of love.

John repeats this truth in 1 John 5:3, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.” But he adds this statement: “And his commandments are not burdensome.” (“grievous” in the KJV).

God’s commands may not be easy to keep. We may not always understand them. But because we know Him, we know His character, and we love Him, we want to do what pleases Him.

Malachi’s prophecy holds out hope, though. In chapter 2, verse 1, God tells the priests, “If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name,” then He lists the punishments that will come upon them.

But notice that little word, “if.” That indicates it was possible to listen and take His word to heart. Throughout the Bible, God’s warnings are to encourage people to reconciliation, to a right heart.

And if our heart’s desire is to honor and love Him, then He promises:

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.

Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)

May God give us grace to serve in love with with the strength He gives.

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Brave Mothers of the Bible

Posted on May 10, 2026 by Barbara Harper

It’s daunting to try to raise little humans. There’s no instruction manual. What works for one doesn’t always work for another.

We worry about their health, the possibility of getting hurt physically or mentally, whether they’ll make friends, the influence of bad friends, their character formation, their spiritual formation, their future spouses, their future work, our failures, and so much more.

We can draw inspiration from a few mothers in the Bible.

Eve is the mother of all living (Genesis 3:20). We’re not told much about her everyday family life. How dismaying it must have been to navigate a world affected by sin, so different from the garden where she first came to life. How confusing to raise children with no other examples before her. How crushing when one son murdered the other.

When Eve’s first son was born, she said, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” Then after Cain murdered Abel, and Seth was born, she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him” (Genesis 4:2, 25).

These two statements show me that she trusted God, depended on His help, and saw her children as gifts from Him. Eve knew God’s grace in forgiving her after she had miserably failed.

Some think that she might be referring to God’s promise of a coming redeemer at the birth of her first son. If so, she demonstrated faith that God would fulfill His word, even though the timing would be far different than what she thought.

Jochebed lived when the children of Israel were enslaved by Egypt. The Israelites had become so numerous that Pharaoh decreed all male babies should be thrown into the Nile River. Can you imagine being in that situation?

Somehow Jochebed managed to hide her pregnancy and newborn until he was three months old. The Bible says she saw he was a “fine child”–some translations say “beautiful” or “goodly.” The NLT says “a special baby.” Some commentators believe this means she saw something unique about Moses. Others think she was just a normal mother who was enamored by her beautiful new baby boy.

When Jochebed could hide her baby no longer, she technically obeyed Pharaoh: she put the baby in the Nile. But first she made a basket and waterproofed it before putting the baby in.

I’d always thought she did this at random, and Pharaoh’s daughter “just happened”–by the providence of God–to come along at the right time and take the baby home for her own. But one source I read said that Egyptian royalty would have had indoor bathing facilities. So Pharaoh’s daughter being in the Nile might not have been for the sake of hygiene, but rather a ritual bath. And Jochebed may have known she would be there.

Whichever way it happened, it took faith for Moses’ mother to send her baby off in a basket in the Nile River. What if it overturned? What if a crocodile found it first? What if the waterproofing didn’t hold?

God answered beyond Jochebed’s dreams. Not only was Moses safe, but the daughter of Pharaoh herself rescued him. And Jochebed herself got to nurse Moses, which meant in those days that she would have had him for another two to three years, at least. Little did she know how God would use her son in the future.

When people ask, “How can we raise children in such a world as we have today,” I think of Moses. God can keep our children safe in any kind of world. And He just might use them to help turn it around.

Hannah was infertile, which is a cause for grief to anyone desperately wanting a child. But in the culture of this time, having children was thought to be a sign of God’s favor. So not having children, and experiencing torment from her husband’s other wife, grieved Hannah.

Hannah’s husband didn’t seem to understand. “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?” (1 Samuel 1:8).

So Hannah went to the temple and poured her heart out to the Lord. She prayed so fervently, Eli, the priest, thought she was drunk and rebuked her.

Hannah promised God that if He gave her a son, she would give him back to God. And when God gave her Samuel, she kept her vow and gave him to the Lord.

Sometimes those closest to us, and those who are supposed to help us, only cause more pain. But, like Hannah, we can pour our hearts out to the God who sees and understands.

Hannah also teaches us that our children are gifts of God and belong to Him.

Mary‘s motherhood was unique in many ways. An angel announced that she would conceive and bear the Son of God, the long-promised Messiah, while she was a virgin. She knew who He was, but she didn’t know how everything would work. She might not have understood that the cross was coming, though Simeon forewarned her that “a sword will pierce through your own soul also” (Luke 2:22-35).

But she had to learn early on that Jesus must be “about His father’s business.” She must have delighted in His miracles, teaching, and followers. But she was likely confused when the religious crowd turned against Him.

God sometimes calls our children to hard things, for His glory and the good of others. We may not understand His leading, but we can trust Him.

An unnamed Syrophoenician woman asked Jesus to cast a demon out of her daughter (Matthew 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30). Jesus’ initial negative answer to her is puzzling. Mark’s account says Jesus was in Gentile territory and didn’t want anyone to know, and one source says that’s why He seemed to put her off. Another source said the gospel was first shared with the Jews, and later came to the Gentiles. Though that’s true, Jesus healed other Gentiles. Many sources say He was testing her faith. But one said He was showcasing her faith. I think that might be the most accurate. Matthew’s account says the disciples wanted Jesus to send her away because she was crying after them. Maybe He wanted to show them that this woman they didn’t have time for, this woman they wanted to get rid of, had great faith despite many obstacles.

Though this woman was a Gentile, she addressed Jesus as the Son of David. The ESV Study Bible notes on Matthew’s account say that she evidently knew that through Abraham, “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). She was humble before Jesus, yet persistent.

What can we learn from these mothers?

Jesus provides grace for past sin and failures when we repent of them and believe in Him.
He is more than able to take care of our children.
We can pour out our hearts to Him.
He understands our deepest needs when no one else does.
He may call our children to difficult things, but His grace will be sufficient for them and for us.
Our circumstances may not always make sense. But we can cling to His Word in faith and hope.

Are you inspired by these or other Biblical mothers? Please feel free to share in the comments.

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Are We Doing It for Him?

Posted on May 3, 2026 by Barbara Harper

The people wanted to know if they should keep fasting.

The children of Israel had been in exile in Babylon for seventy years. They had begun fasting in the fifth month of the year to commemorate the destruction of their temple.

But God had miraculously moved kings and events to send them back to their land. They started rebuilding the temple, but got distracted. Haggai and Zechariah encouraged them to put first things first and get the temple built.

So a group of men came to Zechariah to ask about those fasts. They were back in the land now and working on the temple. Did they need to keep fasting?

God replied with a question of His own: “Was it for me that you fasted? And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves?” (Zechariah 7:5-6).

As I understand, from what I have read, this was not a fast that was proclaimed by the law. It was something the Israelites started doing on their own. Had they started it for the wrong reasons? Were they feeling sorry for themselves and their plight rather than truly grieving over the sin that had caused them to be given over to their enemies?

Maybe, like the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, they fasted and prayed for show. Jesus warned, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 6:1-21).

Or perhaps they did start fasting for good and right reasons. But over seventy years, it’s easy to fall into routines and forget why and for whom we are doing them.

The following verses indicate that their ancestors had not obeyed the Lord He had told them:

‘Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.’ But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. (Zechariah 7:9-12).

All the religious rituals in the world will not make up for disobedience, hard-heartedness, and mistreatment of others.

The ESV Study Bible notes on this passage say, “If the people had learned the lesson that the destruction of the temple was intended to teach, and had truly repented and turned from their sins, then they could stop fasting. The temple was being rebuilt. But if they have simply been fasting for themselves all along, then their fasting was a waste of time (p. 1759).

It’s easy for us to fall into the same practices, isn’t it? Maybe we start spiritual routines like Bible reading, prayer, church attendance, and giving, with right hearts that want to grow closer to the Lord, glorify Him, and be used of Him. But in the day-to-day routines, we forget why we’re doing these things and for whom. They just become rituals without meaning.

Or we only do these things because we don’t want to appear unspiritual by not doing them.

Or we think that if we do these things, we’re okay with God, and it doesn’t matter what we do with the rest of our lives.

In Revelation 2, the Lord sent a message to the church at Ephesus. They had been doing well, patiently enduring, weeding out false prophets, and bearing up for His sake. But, He said, “I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent” (Revelation 2:4-5). They were doing the right things, but they had forgotten their first love.

May we renew our love for Him by remembering His love for us, His character, His greatness, and all He has done for undeserving people like us. May we renew our focus to, “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Broken Pieces

Posted on April 26, 2026 by Barbara Harper

In a recent Laudable Linkage post, I shared an unfamiliar quote from Elisabeth Elliot: “If your life is broken, it may be because pieces will feed a multitude.“

I don’t remember where I saw the quote, and whoever shared it didn’t list the book or program it came from. But I’ve been thinking about it ever since.

Elisabeth is alluding to what we call the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:1-14). As you recall, people streamed to hear Jesus preach. He had compassion on the multitude and asked Philip where they could buy food for the crowd. John tells us Jesus “said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.” Philip responded that two hundred denarii ( a denarii being a day’s wage then) wouldn’t be enough to give everyone even a little. Andrew said a boy had a lunch of “five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”

What happened then?

Preparation in faith. Jesus had the disciples seat the people just as if they were going to have a feast.

Gratefulness. Jesus thanked His Father for what they had.

Blessing. The account of this miracle in the other gospels say Jesus blessed the food.

Brokenness. The other three gospels also say Jesus broke the bread before passing it out.

Distribution. Jesus gave the food to the disciples to hand out to the people.

Sufficiency. “They all ate and were satisfied” (Luke 9:17).

Abundance. Not only did everyone eat their fill, but there were enough leftovers to fill twelve baskets of broken pieces–enough to feed many more.

We hear a lot of lament these days when people feel they are “not enough.” I always want to say, “Of course we’re not enough!” Paul writes, “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us” (2 Corinthians 3:5).

But Paul goes on to say, “Our sufficiency is from God.”

When we give what we have to Jesus–whether it’s money, time, counsel, a listening ear, a word in due season, or whatever–and He blesses and breaks it, it can feed many.

We don’t have to wait for perfection. We’ll never reach it in this life.

We don’t have to bemoan what little we have. He can work with it.

We don’t have to compare ourselves to those who have more (time, money, talents, skills, etc.). Jesus commended a widow who gave two small coins because that was all she had.

We don’t even have to wait until we “have it all together”–God can use our incomplete and broken pieces.

And often those broken pieces nourish others, who then minister from their broken pieces, multiplying God’s grace far beyond what we can see.

Paul said he came to the Corinthians “in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Corinthians 2:3-4). In his next letter to them, Paul wrote. “He said to me ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

We don’t have to be sufficient. God is. And He can bless and use our weaknesses and broken pieces to minister grace to others.