Verse Meditation: 1 Chronicles 21.20

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Alisa Hope Wagner — 1 Comment ↓

“Now Ornan turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves, but Ornan continued threshing wheat” (1 Chronicles 21.20 NKJV). King David’s reign had become mighty, and he decided to take a census of Israel against God’s wishes. Since censuses have been done in the past without dire consequences, it could be assumed that David’s motives instigating this particular census found in 1 Chronicles 21 and in 2 Samuel 24 were not pure. Pride was probably the main motivator of this census, and God sent an angel to destroy Israel (21.15). David wasn’t the Continue reading →

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Faith as a Second Language

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Alisa Hope Wagner — 4 Comments ↓

In graduate school, I was required to tutor a person learning English as a Second Language (ESL). I decided to talk with the local ESL teacher, and she allowed me to sit in a few of her classes. I befriended a beautiful woman from Vietnam. She and her husband owned a convenient store. Her husband spoke English fairly well because he ran the cash register and had to communicate with the customers. However, since she spent most of her time in the back of the store taking care of her home and family, her English was underdeveloped. We met a Continue reading →

The Gears of Grace

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Alisa Hope Wagner — 1 Comment ↓

Lately, I’ve taken up cycling at the gym. I really enjoy my Spin Class because I can zone out and let me brain relax. I’m not going anywhere on my stationary bike, so I don’t have to worry about my surroundings. I just pick up the speed, change my gears and sit and stand when my instructor tells me to. By the time I leave, my body and mind are purged and refreshed. By now I’ve learned my settings for the different terrain scenarios we ride. I know what gears I need to take it easy, to race and to Continue reading →

Verse Meditation: 1 Chronicles 19.12

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Alisa Hope Wagner — 2 Comments ↓

I Got Your Back “Then he said, ‘If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the people of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will help you’” (1 Chronicles 9.12 NKJV). king David’s men were about to go to war; however, David’s military leader, Joab, discovered that “the battle line was against him before and behind” (1 Chronicles 19.10). In a nutshell, the army of God’s Chosen People was surrounded. Instead of running away in fear and declaring defeat, Joab divided his soldiers into two units, and each division fought a Continue reading →

Internet Cafe: The Language of God

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Alisa Hope Wagner — No Comments ↓

A language that is actively being spoken transforms. Only dead languages, like Latin, stay the same as the years roll by. English is no different. There is a remarkable difference between Chaucer’s Old English, Shakespeare’s Early Modern English and today’s English. New English words are being formed every year, especially with the advancement of technology. Words unheard of less than ten years ago, like Blog, Tweet and Wi-Fi, are now commonplace. As language is being used, the pronunciation of words also changes. The vowel sounds shift and some vowels become long, while others become silent. Groupings of consonances begin to take on unique articulations, and words Continue reading →

A Sticker and A Whisper

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Alisa Hope Wagner — 5 Comments ↓

As I sat in church before the music started, I looked down at my white washed denim jeans. A two inch square sticker with a combination of letters and numbers clung to my pants just above my knee. This piece of insignificant paper represented my three children who were enjoying Children’s Church and learning about Jesus. I would need to give this sticker to the children volunteers in order to collect my lovely little ones after the service. My eyes would travel down to this sticker every now and then during the one hour of worship and preaching, and I Continue reading →

42 and 5 Spiritual Truths

Posted on April 20, 2013 by Alisa Hope Wagner — 2 Comments ↓

I thoroughly enjoyed 42, the movie based on Jackie Robinson’s first two years as America’s first black ballplayer on an all white team, the Brooklyn Dodgers. I admired the raw faith that was captured in the real-life plot of the movie, and I greedily ate up the multitude of parallels to God’s Word. However, the theme that resounded heaviest in my heart was that sometimes God uses our hardships to accomplish His greater good. God will use our pain, our heartache and our difficulty to break open the doors of limits, so we can run in the fields of His Promise. Continue reading →

Internet Cafe — Closed Hibiscus Bloom

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Alisa Hope Wagner — 1 Comment ↓

My daughter loves to pick me flowers. I have to watch her as we walk our church’s lawn, because she will pick the beautifully landscaped flower bushes along the way. I have taught her that she can’t pick flowers outside our gym, neighbor’s house or at the store. But at home, she is able to pick flowers to her heart’s content. Since spring has begun, she has brought me several sweet bouquets of wild flowers from a nearby field and cultured flowers from our hibiscus bushes. One day I was sitting at my computer typing, and my daughter came in Continue reading →

The Faith Necklace

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Alisa Hope Wagner — 4 Comments ↓

“He replied, ‘Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you’” (Matthew 17.20 NIV). A dear friend of mine gave me a faith necklace. The pendant strung on the slender rope of silver was a little glass jar with a single mustard seed in it. The gift was a beautiful symbol of Matthew 17.20, which contains Jesus’ words about having faith of a mustard seed. I greatly valued Continue reading →

Verse Meditation: 1 Chronicles 13.9-10

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Alisa Hope Wagner — 2 Comments ↓

Uzza’s Hand “And when they came to Chidon’s threshing floor, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, for the oxen stumbled. Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzza, and He struck him because he put his hand on to the ark; and he died there before God” (1 Chronicles 13.9-10 NKJV). David, his commanders and almost all of Israel were celebrating the beginning of David’s kingship over the entire kingdom of Israel (previously, David ruled only Judah). King David sent out men to go find and invite all the people who weren’t with them Continue reading →

Faith Imagined

Communicating the Attainable God