great expectations
Most parents have great expectations for their children. I’m sure the world’s first parents, Adam and Eve, had high hopes for their first child. We see this in Eve’s response: “With the Lord’s help, I have produced a man!” (Genesis 4:1). The reformist Martin Luther taught that this rendering does not quite capture the intensity of the optimism Eve had for her firstborn. Knowing of God’s promise of a Savior (Genesis 3:15), Eve honestly believed that her son was the promised Messiah. There’s a sense in which Eve said: “I have the man from the Lord!” Or as found in the NASB footnotes: “I have gotten a man, the Lord.” One Bible expositor translated it as, “Here he is. The Redeemer is here.”
home again
Tracy Orr’s home had been repossessed by the bank. She had lost her job and couldn’t keep up with the mortgage payments.
While attending a real estate auction during which her home would be sold, she tearfully told a total stranger about her plight. The stranger, Marilyn Mock, reacted out of compassion and suddenly began bidding on Tracy’s property. In…
