Our teacher, Troy, fit the mold of a true trucker. His button-up shirts were always neatly tucked over his belly, his lower lip was perpetually packed with Copenhagen snus, and his unapologetic hairline looked like a freshly poured cul-de-sac. To a room full of rowdy teenage boys, Troy seemed unremarkable at first glance. We were mostly excited to mess with the CB radio inside the semi parked in the shop.

I honestly cannot recall a single technical lesson Troy taught us that year. What I do remember is the environment he created, a space where young men from wildly different backgrounds bonded in a way that far outgrew that little hometown classroom. Just a few days ago, one of those classmates welcomed his firstborn son into the world. Congratulations, Joseph Alexander.

Why does this small classroom still mean so much to me?
Because of the people.

On the first day, I felt like an outsider. I grew up in the city. Most of these guys came from farms, ranches, and what I can only describe as pure “redneckery.” In my own act of rebellion, I got my first tattoo at 18, a matching Bible verse with the man who would later stand as the best man at my wedding. We chose Proverbs 27:17: “Iron sharpens iron, as one man sharpens another.”

That next Monday in class, the loud, lovable class clown, Dalton, hollered across the room, “DID YOU GET A TATTOO?! WHAT IS IT?!” I showed him my swollen, scabbed forearm. I explained the verse and told the class that when two people work to make each other better, God is in the middle of it.

Dalton had this habit of giving everyone a nickname based on something he noticed in them. Without hesitation, he shouted, “PREACHER MAN! THAT’S WHAT WE’RE CALLING YOU!” And somehow, it stuck. Everyone, even Troy, called me that from time to time.

Was I a preacher? No. Was I equipped to be a spiritual leader in a room full of young men who suddenly saw me as a safe place to share fears and worries? Probably not.

But God used me anyway. He always uses willing hearts before perfect ones.

After the program ended, life took us all in different directions. Our day-to-day interactions fizzled out, but thanks to social media, we kept a window into each other’s lives. Years later, Dalton invited me to his wedding in another state, and I did not hesitate to make the road trip.That friendship eventually introduced me to the wonderful Brenna Brimer, who encouraged me to share this story with all of you.

God does not ask us how long we would like relationships to last. Every connection, whether brief or lifelong, carries divine timing. Some people are placed in our lives for only a season, yet those seasons can be deeply meaningful.

Even Jesus kept a small circle of close friends, but His interactions with others were never small. I believe He modeled this on purpose. We do not need to fully understand someone’s past or motives to show them Christ’s love. We are called to reflect Him in every encounter.

So pay attention to the little friendships and passing moments that have shaped you, the people who made you feel seen, valued, or strengthened.

As the last analog generation, what will we model for the kids growing up in a digital world? Our society loves to focus on long-term plans, financial goals, church involvement, and building legacies. Those things matter, but they can also pull us away from the present moments and the everyday miracles God places before us.

May we never overlook the small friendships, the roadside conversations, the unexpected bonds, the places where God sharpens us, just as iron sharpens iron.

Connor “The Preacher Man” Bland is a Colorado native with a heart for faith, community, and honest storytelling. Raised between city streets and country backroads, he writes to encourage believers to notice God’s presence in everyday relationships and small moments. Connor is a father, a lifelong learner, and a man who believes that iron truly sharpens iron. Through personal stories and reflections, he hopes to inspire others to live with intention, humility, and Christlike love.

In Jesus’s time, the Pharisees were a prominent religious group who advocated and taught strict adherence to the Law. Oftentimes, individual Pharisees would promote their own interpretations of the Old Testament and gain followers who agreed with their opinions. For the most part, Pharisees were influence-seeking scholars, not priests with actual religious authority.

The Pharisees were born out of noble intent. Jewish exiles from Babylon returned to rebuild Jerusalem in 444 BC, and a man named Ezra rose as a teacher to lead the people back to proper worship and obedience to God’s Laws. The Israelites needed to be taught God’s rules and remain obedient so they wouldn’t experience God’s judgment and be exiled again. The Pharisees were following Ezra’s leadership example when they became an organized entity around 150 BC. They wanted to push back against the Greek influences that came with the expansion of Israel’s borders (due to the Maccabean Revolt), and offer a more comprehensive way to follow God’s Laws (which usually included additional man-made rules).

Throughout the Gospel accounts, Jesus talks with and about the Pharisees a lot, and none of it is to their credit. He called them a brood of vipers, whitewashed tombs full of death and uncleanness, hypocrites, blind guides, and fools. The Pharisees often scorned Jesus for hanging out with sinners, and He condemned them for the impossible standards they imposed on His people.

The craziest thing is that, even though we are not all scholars or religious leaders, we all can become like the Pharisees. We can be hypocrites who say one thing but do another. We can seek influence not for God, but for ourselves. We can impose man-made rules or traditions upon ourselves or others in pursuit of greater righteousness. We can scoff at those who love and aid the lowly and vulnerable.

Jesus never shied away from confronting the brazen Pharisees, but He didn’t reject those who sought Him, and He pursued those who persecuted Him. Whether you find yourself resonating more with the Pharisees or with the sinners, know that Jesus loves and pursues you and will meet you where you are to set you free.

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Everything in my life is shifting, growing, and giving way to something new. Long summer days have suddenly turned to dusky evenings at 4:30 pm. Any extra energy I may have is greedily consumed by the baby growing in my womb. Days are filled with maintaining our current home and renovating our future dwelling. Emotional and mental preparation for our future child takes up most of my headspace. Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays are all still filled with things of God, but even the way I experience those is changing, too.

My insides feel very tumultuous and wound tightly. Messy, meandering emotions fueled by hormones I can’t control. Exhaustion. Not enough cooking, not enough writing, not enough working, never enough. Trying to squeeze in as much friendship, traveling, and production as I can in the next 4 months. Sadly, I realize that things I once prioritized are slipping through my fingers. Knowing I need to change my schedule to accommodate my changing life. I’m cognizant of it all, but feeling quite helpless in this cataclysmic shifting.

But God. The God of steadfast love and sameness is always there, dwelling within me as Spirit and patiently guiding, loving, and soothing. Seeing me all worked up, meeting me in my scurrying and resting and reminding me that in everything that changes, He is still the Great I AM. The one who was, and is, and is to come. Constant through floods, covenants, wildernesses, wars, and oppressions. Never leaving, never abandoning, always encouraging me to be strong and courageous.

I’m sorry this is so rambly, though rambly has been the state of my mind lately. I do apologize that you haven’t been greeted every Monday morning by a Theology on the Prairie email. I know there is grace upon grace, and I thank you for that.

I hope you will take heart in your changing seasons with the knowledge that God is still the same, and that he is still working in the background on your behalf. Only with the help of the unchanging God who is sovereign over changing seasons will we make it through. In this moment, I hope you can say,

“Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by thy help I’ve come.”
Come Thou Fount, Robert Robinson, 1757

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”
Matthew 18:1-5 (NIV)

Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.
Matthew 19:13-15 (NIV)

If you’ve heard a sermon on these verses before, the first thing that came to your mind may have been, “God wants us to have childlike faith.” And yes, childlike faith is beautiful and admirable. But what if Jesus is talking about something other than faith? What if He is telling us not to outgrow our eternal Father?

Think back to when you were a small child with scraped knees and knotted hair. After a long day, you would climb up into a safe lap and rest your head on your mother's or father’s or caretaker’s breast. You were safe, you were home. Your youth stretched before you like an eternity. It would feel like a million years before you finally arrived at adulthood. But as you grew, the evening snuggles became more sporadic. You could soon reach the shelf with the cups without tugging on your mother’s shirt for assistance. You began to fold your own laundry and schedule activities yourself. You no longer had to ask for a ride to the mall; you just got in your car and left. No more mom gently wiping the sleep out of your eyes — just you in a tiny apartment brewing your own coffee, furiously rubbing your eyes with your own fingertips. Independent.

We long to do things ourselves. As we age, that longing becomes more profound, until we are so old that we are no longer capable of doing things on our own and we once again must subject ourselves to the childlike humility of dependence. Or, if in our midlife, we are faced with such a catastrophic event or a crippling decision that we can’t help but reach out for help.

What if that’s what God wanted all along?

We age out of needing our parents or caretakers for every little thing, and we have a tendency to do the same with our Heavenly Father. “I can figure this out on my own,” “I don’t need your help,” “I don’t want to be coddled like a baby.” Somehow, we grow older than our eternal God. We reject His wisdom, peace, comfort, and aid until we face something so terrible that we are forced back into that state of scraped knees and knotted hair. We look up and cry out, “I can’t do this on my own.” It must grieve the Father when He is our last resort. But with great joy, He gathers us up into his arms, just like He did with the children in Luke’s Gospel. He calls us sons and daughters and gently wipes the tears from our cheeks, strokes our hair, tells us to cast our burdens on Him, because He cares for us.

Jesus said, “Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” Keeping our hearts young and dependent is rooted in humility. It is based on laying down our egos and the need to prove ourselves worthy. It is a daily admission that we can’t do anything on our own. It is the unabashed crawling into the Father’s lap, tugging on His sleeve for help, relaying to Him all of our hopes, dreams, fears, and misgivings.

Lord, help us to stay forever young. Keep us as humble as tiny children who have no one to look to but You.

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When you’re a moderately intellectual child with a brother who loves to argue, you grow up wanting to prove your point. Couple that with an evangelical worldview that promoted Christianity as a battle, Christians as soldiers, and God as the thing we were defending, and you get a girl who shoulders the responsibility of dying on every theological hill possible. 1

Let me take you on a stroll through that girl’s life (you guessed it, it’s me) and show you how I went from being an all-knowing teenager to an increasingly befuddled adult.

The year was 2013 or 2014, and I was participating in my high school’s speech and debate program (just the speech portion, not debate). My team sat at a cafeteria table at a school across the state, each waiting for our respective rounds to start. I have no idea how this even came up - maybe it was a rumor of Hillary Clinton’s bid for the presidency or something about Sarah Palin’s run in 2008 - but we got on the topic of women in political leadership. I puffed up my chest, looked dead in the eyes of the girl who had made the outrageous claim that a woman should be president, and said, “I don’t believe women should hold positions of power” (or something to that effect). Honestly, I don’t know why I didn’t do debate because I probably would have done better at that than my attempt at Solo Humor. I’m pretty sure I backed this statement up with some poorly constructed evidence from the Bible, which probably seemed ridiculous to the other girl since her mother was the local prison chaplain.

Skip ahead just one year. I was attending a tiny, conservative Bible college that split the men and women into separate groups for one class during the spring semester. For me, Biblical womanhood conjured images of Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, Deborah, and Mary. Instead of delving into the lives of these heroic and faithful women, I was met with a list detailing how we were to serve and support our husbands in their lives and ministries. Only one woman in the class, older than the rest of us, was married. Another classmate accurately exclaimed, “This sounds like an application to be a maid!”2 I distinctly remember one of the items on the list was to take down any phone messages while your husband was out and relay them when he returned home. 3
Unease began to grow within me. I still wasn’t on board with women in authoritative positions of leadership, but I knew marriage and life as a maid/secretary was not God’s sole calling for me or women in general. The first crack in my worldview began to form.

Enter February of 2016. I was 19, newly married, and living in the unfamiliar land of Hastings, Nebraska. We were recommended a new church plant to attend, and the small congregation felt homey. We attended for 6 weeks, when things that the pastor said from behind the flimsy music stand began to raise my hackles. He spoke of participating in Lent (the horror!) and ideas that challenged my Christian Nationalist sensibilities.4 Things just didn’t feel right. In a move of brazen courage, Dalton and I met with the pastor and told him our reasons for leaving. Young me constantly amazes older me with her bravery. But my discernment turned out to be on point. We found out a couple of years later that the pastor believed God to be a molester because of the impregnation of Mary, and there was unrepentant sin in the lives of those in the church’s leadership. 5

Next, the task of finding a new church. I diligently combed through the statements of faith for every church in Hastings, using the doctrine I had learned during my nine whole months of college education as a strict guideline. This church believed in the continuation of all spiritual gifts?6 Nope. Baptist? Probably not.7 Lectionary readings and observance of the church calendar? Pass.
We soon landed at Hastings Berean Bible Church, where Paul Knott was the pastor. I have never loved someone’s preaching more. It was beautifully exegetical and engaging. It may not have been the style for everyone, but it was perfect for me at that juncture of life. I was starving for the Word and ready to listen. A year or two later, an associate pastor named Matthew Brooks was hired. Again, it came at just the right time. Pastor Knott had grown me in my knowledge of the Bible, but Pastor Brooks showed me how the Bible interacts with the world today. He boldly addressed justice, politics, and same-sex attraction in a way that was true to Scripture, eye-opening, and winsome. Something new began to stir within me, but I made it go dormant. I wanted to be a good Christian, but I also wanted to live however I pleased, and the desires of my flesh won. I continued going to church and serving, but I wasn’t spiritually maturing.

Finally, let’s make a bigger time jump to the summer of 2021. The Holy Spirit got a hold of me with both hands and shook me out of my spiritual slumber. I had a question I couldn’t shake: What does the Bible actually say about speaking in tongues? I devoured podcast after podcast on the topic. I read and re-read what the Bible said about spiritual gifts. I slowly began to form a new opinion that my 18-year-old self would have found abysmal. At the same time, I began to understand that those who held a different view on spiritual gifts weren’t my enemies. God wasn’t asking me to live combatively and sway all people to interpret doctrinal nuances as I did. He wasn’t asking me to defend Him - He was asking me to live obediently. It was as if the Holy Spirit had opened up a new world to me, and I needed to know for myself what I truly believed.

Some topics are like a ball of yarn, taking a while to unravel and then wind up, and often having a few loose strands sticking out. To put it in contemporary evangelical terms, I’ve been deconstructing and reconstructing my faith over the last four years. I realized it’s neither healthy nor helpful to live in an echo-chamber, so I’ve intentionally reviewed familiar doctrines to see if something shakes loose and needs examination. I’ve read books and listened to podcasts that challenge my worldview. I’ve participated in Lenten fasting, something I would have never done ten years ago. What I have realized is that I am never 100% (or even 75%) right about anything 100% of the time. God is constantly molding me into the image of Christ, and molding requires change. Sometimes that means letting go of a tightly held belief, other times it means adopting a new, more beautiful idea.

There is freedom in Jesus, and freedom allows us to stretch, grow, and adapt. It also gives us the license to hold on to our own doctrinal positions without sacrificing relationships with our spiritual brothers and sisters. This summer, I was discussing my position on women in leadership with Matt Fox, a friend and pastor. I was hesitant to share my opinions too openly, because I didn’t want to rock the boat or ruin our relationship. Matt could see how nervous I was, and he offered me so much grace and wisdom that I almost started crying. He knew that I hadn’t come to hold my position flippantly or without seeking God, and he showed me that love and unity are possible within the body of Christ.

If it weren’t for the summer of 2021, I would probably still be dying on hills, defending doctrinal nuances I had once been so sure of. Don’t get me wrong, there are things which some churches/”Christians” support that clearly go against God’s Word, and we shouldn’t excuse those. But God has shown me so much grace, and I now strive to extend that grace to all of my spiritual brothers and sisters. I haven’t perfected this yet — I can still get fired up and want to debate. But, as much as it is possible for me, I will live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:18).

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I wouldn’t consider myself to be a cynic, a pessimist, or even a Debbie Downer. I tend to look at things through the lens of optimism, trusting that most humans aren’t out to get me and that everything will turn out okay. But despite my generally sunny disposition, my praises to God are often limited to, “Thank You for this day, thank You for this food, thank You for taking care of us,” the end. My thanksgiving often lacks depth and fails to expound upon the unfathomable magnitude of God’s greatness. And, my praises are generally only directed to God the Father, sadly omitting worship to the equally important persons of God the Son and God the Spirit.

How can we work toward expressing deeper appreciation for the Creator and Sustainer of the universe? What steps can we take to amp up our praise - especially when thanksgiving doesn’t come naturally to us?

Here are 4 ideas to help up your praise game.

1. Use the Psalms

Reading through the Psalms of praise can give us the verbiage to declare gratitude to the Lord. You can either pray through the Psalms themselves or pick out words and phrases to incorporate into your worship. Take the beautiful refrains of Psalm 103 for example:

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Psalm 103:1-8

2. Include Jesus and the Holy Spirit

God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit - three persons in one, equal in all attributes, power, and authority. You might not bat an eye at praising God or Jesus, but you might not be as accustomed to including the Holy Spirit in your exaltations. Try thanking each person of the Trinity for their specific roles or their shared qualities by saying something like,

“God, thank you for being all-powerful; for creating the universe and initiating the plan of salvation.”

“Jesus, thank you for being all-powerful; thank you that creation was made through you and for you, and for carrying out the plan of salvation.”

“Holy Spirit, thank you for your being all-powerful; thank you for sustaining creation and for guaranteeing our salvation.”

3. Schedule a Specific Day or Time for Praise

I like to plan what I pray for each day (though I’m not always great at sticking with my schedule). My goal is to dedicate my Sunday prayer time to praise and worship.

Sometimes we think that carving out a space and time for Christian endeavors makes them a chore, rote, or not spontaneous and Spirit-led enough. But engaging in spiritual disciplines often leads to spiritual freedom in our lives. When we purposely make space for spiritual habits to form, we make it increasingly easier to engage in those habits automatically. Yes, making yourself praise God might feel forced at first, but with time, it will become an instinctual response.

4. Create a List

This goes right along with scheduling and using the Psalms. If you have a hard time thinking up new things to thank God for, create a list and use that. Alternatively, start a list and then make it a point to add one new way to praise God every day.

Praise is an integral part of our faith. It anchors our souls in hope during trials. It draws us deeper into our relationship with the Godhead. It shows us that God is always at work, even when it’s not obvious. May an adoration of the God Most High carry you through today, this week, and this year.

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Ministry

We started youth group off with a chilly pool party on August 24th (who would have thought the high would be 70 degrees in August?? Wyoming….). Around 20 middle and high school kids showed up for free swimming and hot dogs. We’ve been doing small group discussions after the lesson time this year, which has been an enjoyable and meaningful way to connect with the kids on a deeper level.

Our friends and neighbors began hosting a Friday night Bible study. We’re currently going through the book of Mark chapter by chapter. Even though it’s the fastest-paced gospel, we’re really taking our time marveling at the ministry of Jesus.

I had the great honor and pleasure of speaking at Ladies Day at the Node, Wyoming church, on September 23rd. I taught on 1 Peter 1:3-9 and explained the ways God carries us through suffering with the hope of His promises. I hope to return as a speaker in the future!

Life

A wedding across the state. Micro-Mania Midget Wrestling (yes, you read that right.) A goat roping competition (again, yes). The last two months have been busy, but I won’t bore you with the details of goat roping. Just kidding, it was awesome, and my dad and I headed and heeled a little goat in 5.13 seconds. I want goat roping at my upcoming 30th birthday, and if you want to fund it you can Venmo me.

At the end of August, I traveled to San Diego for my cousin’s Marine Corps graduation. My constant refrain was, “This is nice, but I sure wouldn’t want to live here.” I love the food and entertainment options, and I adore the daydreamy ideas of what it would be like to minister in a more populated area, but my blood pressure cannot handle the constant claustrophobic atmosphere. We went to Sea World, the Marines’ training base, and toured a retired aircraft carrier. One of my favorite parts of the trip was visiting Mission San Diego de Alcala, the oldest Catholic mission in California, founded in 1769 by Saint Junipero Serra. The mission featured beautiful architecture and iconography scattered throughout.

My brother came to visit from Montana for a week at the end of September. We enjoyed a family outing to the Black Hills, played a round of golf, and showed him all the construction projects we have lined out for him.

This is no big deal, but we made our first pregnancy Facebook official mid-September at 14 weeks. I kid, it was a very big deal, and we barely kept the news semi-contained for that long! My husband is known as the only fella in Wyoming under 70 who wears overalls on a daily basis, so this was the only reasonable way to make the announcement. We’re excited and nervous to embark on this new journey after 10 years of marriage. I hope to remain steady in ministry and keep serving the Lord through speaking and teaching, even if it looks a little different.

Even though this month promises to be busy with traveling, doctor's appointments, ranch work, and home renovations, I promise to be more diligent in my weekly Theology on the Prairie posts. I love you guys and all your support. See you in your inbox on Monday <3

Shortly before Moses and company arrived at Mount Sinai, they were attacked by a nomadic people called the Amalekites. Through supernatural means, God gave them victory over their attackers.

As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
Exodus 17:11-13 (NIV)

Moses then erected an altar and called it Jehovah-Nissi, “The LORD is My Banner.”

The Hebrew word for banner didn’t, at this point in history, mean a cloth flag, but a decorated pole held high to signal an army’s rallying point. Yahweh was the whole reason why the Israelites were able to have victory against this opposing people group. He was the only way they were able to make it through the wilderness, even though they often doubted and wondered if He was even with them. Yahweh was their rallying point, the hope they could set their eyes upon when things got difficult.

Things are pretty tumultuous right now. Let’s remember that the Lord is Jehovah-Nissi, our banner, our rallying point. Let’s keep our eyes on who God is and what He has done. I’d encourage you to take a break from social media/news outlets and just spend some time with Jesus — worshipping, acknowledging His abundant blessings, and asking Him for a clear path forward.

May the feet of a humble, loving, and forgiving Savior always be your rallying point in times of trouble.

It’s been a while since we began our venture into the theological topic of the work and person of Christ! If you want a refresher, check out these posts:

Today, we’ll take a look at Jesus Christ’s role as priest and how it fulfills the need for a mediator between God and man.

When God established His covenant with Israel through Moses, He made provisions for people to receive forgiveness for their sins. For that to happen, someone was needed to mediate, or bridge the gap, between God and humanity. God chose Moses’s brother, Aaron, and his future Levitical descendants, to serve in this priestly role.

The responsibilities of the priests included offering sacrifices to God on behalf of the Israelites, acting as judges, declaring people clean or unclean, teaching God’s laws, and performing a myriad of other duties. Only the High Priest could enter the innermost part of the temple - where God’s presence dwelt - once per year, on the Day of Atonement.

It’s easy to see how Christ perfectly fulfills these responsibilities. The book of Hebrews refers to Him as our Great High Priest of a “better covenant,” indicating that He is superior to any priest who came before Him. Christ Himself became a perfect sacrifice to God for our sins, only needing to die once, rather than yearly.1 He acts as a perfect judge.2 He declares us clean forever, and continues to teach us God’s ways. 3 As our mediator, Christ draws us near to the Father and brings our requests to Him.4

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There is just one little hiccup - Jesus was born of the kingly line of Judah, not the priestly line of Levi. Being a Levite was the number one requirement for the priesthood. How then was Christ able to become our ultimate priest?

To answer this question, we have to travel back to the life of Abraham in Genesis 14. Abraham had just rescued his nephew, Lot, and his family from being taken captive by a conquering king. On the way home, a mysterious man named Melchizedek appears.

And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said,

Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
and blessed be God Most High,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!

And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Genesis 14:18-20 (ESV)

Someday we’ll do a deep dive into Melchizedek, but for now, just know that he was a king and a priest of the one true God, before the priesthood was even invented! Hebrews tells us that Jesus was a priest “after the order of Melchizedek.” Chapter 7 explains that Melchizedek was a king of righteousness and peace, without lineage, without beginning or end, and resembling the Son of God. Psalm 110:4 prophesied that the Christ would be, “A priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” (I hope I haven’t lost you in the weeds!) Christ inherited His kingship through His earthly lineage, but He received His priesthood through the spiritual lineage of a mysterious man named Melchizedek.

Why does Christ’s role as priest matter to us?

1. It guarantees our eternal inheritance (Hebrews 9:15).

2. His atoning sacrifice is once and for all (Hebrews 10:11-14).

3. We no longer have to look to a fellow sinner to mediate between us and God - we have direct access to the Father through Christ (1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 10:19-22).

In the 15th century, Jesuit founder St. Ignatius of Loyola created the Examen, a prayer structure that focuses on reflection, repentance, gratitude, and renewal. He used this prayer twice daily, at lunch and bedtime, to reorient himself toward God. I taught this prayer format to some of my high school campers this summer, and they loved it. I think what makes this prayer so powerful is the reflection, which invites us to take an honest look at our day and then provides space to repent and praise. The end of the prayer is all about resting in God’s presence and allowing Him to redeem every part of your day for His glory.

Want to pray the Examen? Here’s how it goes.

1. Prepare for Prayer - Find a comfortable position, take some deep breaths to calm your nervous system. Acknowledge the intent of this prayer: to grow closer to God.
   

2. Thanksgiving - Start by thanking God for the gifts of the day and anything else you are thankful for.
   

3. Review - Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see the day clearly. Replay the day in your mind like a movie. Is there anything that stands out? Any emotions or moments, maybe times where you triumphed or sinned? Take note of the times you felt closest to God, heard Him speak, or saw Him at work. Note any times you felt furthest from God.
   

4. Respond - Talk to God about what stood out to you. What might God be telling you through these experiences? Take time to ask forgiveness for moments when you weren’t obedient. Offer gratitude and thankfulness for the blessings that stood out. Whatever comes to mind, talk to God about it.
   

5. Look to Tomorrow - Is there anything in the next day that you’re anticipating? Is there anything that you're nervous about? Ask God to give you wisdom, guidance, and peace for the next day, and thank Him that no matter what happens, He is with you.
   

6. Close - Spend a few final moments with God, just enjoying His presence.

How did it go?

The Examen is a wonderful practice to incorporate into your prayer life - you can write down these steps or find an audio version to follow along with. I hope you find blessings in this reflective prayer.

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One of the hardest questions Christians face in this world is, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” The next question they will probably grapple with is, “Why does God allow good things to happen to bad people?”

Have you ever wondered this? Why does the sin-filled man sitting across the restaurant from you have a beautiful wife and four children, when you are obedient to Christ and all you want is a family? Why do corrupt leaders seem to have the most wealth, possessions, and power, while you’re living honestly and struggling to get by?

This isn’t a new question brought on by modern standards of success — it’s one that Biblical authors struggled with, too. The prophet Jeremiah questioned why God would allow those who claimed to be near Him, but whose hearts were far from Him, to flourish.

“Righteous are you, O LORD,
when I complain to you;
yet I would plead my case before you.
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all who are theacherous thrive?
You plant them, and they take root;
they grow and produce fruit;
you are near in their mouth
and far from their heart.”
Jeremiah 12:1-2 (ESV)

The author of Psalm 73 struggled with the same outlook. He was living a holy life, yet those around him who scoffed, spoke with malice, and threatened oppression were more successful than he was. He observed that they “have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills.” He lamented, “Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence.” 1 What was the point of living a life pleasing to God if those who were actively living in opposition to Him were going to receive blessings?

The question is rooted in a misunderstanding of sin and Satan, God’s justice and timing, and His heart for all humanity.

Sin and Satan

In Genesis 3, sin entered the world through a lie, a distortion of God’s truth. “Did God really say you can’t eat from any tree in the garden?” the serpent asked Eve. God had forbidden the first couple only from eating fruit from the tree in the center of Eden. The snake promised life would spring forth from the fruit, when God, the only Truth Eve had ever known, had promised it would bring death. Doubt took hold of her mind. Perhaps she wondered, “Is God holding out on me?” Eve believed the lie, and she ate.

From that moment on, everything was upside-down. Work that was prescribed to bring joy and fulfillment would instead produce toil and dissatisfaction. Bringing life into the world would be a painful endeavor, and there was no guarantee that the children you raised would walk in righteousness.2 Satan would continue to make sin look desirable, and God’s children would continue to ask, “Is God holding out on me?”

The author of Psalm 73 admits that he almost fell victim to the serpent’s ploy.

“Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.
For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”
Psalm 73:1-3 (NIV)

The Psalmist was on the path to believing a lie that leads to internal turmoil. Have you ever let your thoughts spiral out of control? One thing leads to the next, and before you know it, you’re imagining the worst possible outcome. The Psalmist was following this same thread, picturing all the wickedness of the evil and then letting his imagination run wild with thoughts of their success. He almost bought into the lie that says, “God isn’t giving you the things you deserve.”

How did the author recover? He reminded himself of the truth.

“But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.”
Psalm 73:16-17 (ESV)

With a sigh, the Psalmist admitted this philosophical question was too big for his finite knowledge. So he brought the question to God. He traded in the lie for the Truth. He meditated on who God is and His promises.

“For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the LORD GOD my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.”
Psalm 73:27-28 (ESV)

Satan will try his darndest to put you on the path to questioning God’s intentions for the wicked and the righteous. Combat the lies by focusing on the Truth.

God’s Justice and Timing

God is thoroughly and perfectly just.3 And we are terribly impatient. Long before microwaves, humans longed for instant gratification. We want justice, and we want it now. However, there are two reasons why God does not mete out instant justice for the fat cats living unrighteous lives.

First, God uses the wicked for His own purposes. Proverbs 16:4 says, “The LORD works out everything to its proper end — even the wicked for a day of disaster.”4 Ironically, in the Old Testament, God often used wicked people or nations to bring judgment on His disobedient children who were failing to delight in acting justly. He also used an evil Pharaoh to release His people from a 400-year-long enslavement.5 There is no way we can possibly know to what end God will use the wicked; “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD.”6 We have to acknowledge that we are not perfect arbiters of justice, and that God has divine plans we don’t know and can’t comprehend.

The second reason why God doesn’t act as Judge when we think He should is that He is playing the long game. God isn’t in a hurry. If He were, the Bible wouldn’t repeatedly tell us that He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and overflowing with love and faithfulness.7 Patience is the key. Psalm 37 tells us to “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land… The LORD laughs at the wicked, for He sees that his day is coming.”8 We need to relinquish our foolish notions of knowing what’s best and trust God to bring the wicked to justice, even if it’s not in our ideal time frame.

There’s actually a third reason for God’s slow pace, and it’s because of…

His Heart for All Humanity

God spoke through the prophet Ezekiel with these words:

“As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways!”
Ezekiel 33:11, NIV

God loves people, which is why He created us. And incredibly, He wants all people to love Him back — even the bad ones. The New Testament echoes the sentiment from Ezekiel in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”9

You were once unrighteous. Maybe not the worst person ever (or perhaps you relate to Paul, who told Timothy he was the chief of sinners). 10 Either way, you sinned and fell short of the glory of God,11 just like the bad people around you who appear to be winning at life. Do you remember how it felt to be far from God? Do you recall the hopelessness, the longing, or the constant dissatisfaction? Some say that we are born with a God-sized hole in our hearts that no amount of prosperity can fill. When you find yourself envious or judgmental of the wicked and their success, remember the bitter emptiness that consumed you before Christ became Lord of your life. Remind yourself that you were once wicked, and God didn’t immediately smite you — he patiently waited for you to repent and run into His loving embrace. That’s some pretty amazing grace, right?

It’s okay to be grieved by injustice (it grieves God’s heart, too). It’s good to fight against wicked schemes, especially if they oppress the poor, the widow, and the orphan.12 But when you find yourself envious of the success of evil people, or buying into the lie that how you live doesn’t matter, or you feel like God’s not acting fast enough, I hope you will remember these three things:

• Satan and sin are fighting against you. Fight back with the Truth.

• God’s justice and timing are perfect. He will make all things right in the end.

• God is patient because He loves people and wants them all, even the vilest, to repent.

I’ll leave you with this line from Psalm 37:16 (ESV).

“Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked.”

I’m on day 223 of my Bible-in-a-year reading plan. I love the sense of accomplishment at the end of the year. I love immersing myself in the entire context of the Bible and reading it in chronological order. But right now…. It’s not that fun. I’m currently in the prophets. Chapter after chapter contains proclamations of Israel and Judah’s judgment and ultimate redemption in poetic/cryptic language. I’ve settled in for the long haul because most of the 17 prophetic books historically take place one after another.

You see, I’m a story girlie. I love a fast-paced book, adventurous movie, or mind-bending TV show. When it comes to reading the Bible, even if there are page-long genealogies to slog through, I can do it if there is a storyline to follow. Reading through the prophets certainly isn’t unproductive and shouldn’t be avoided, but it can get rather boring when there is little narrative to move the story along. If you’re in the same boat as me, here are 3 tips to make reading through the prophets less of a chore.

1. Read a Commentary at the Same Time

This year, I’ve been using Tara-Leigh Cobble’s Bible Recap to get me through the Bible in 365 days. Each day has a summary of the passages and real-life applications. She can point out a facet of God’s character on any page of Scripture - even in seemingly repetitive prophecies.

A commentary is also great for understanding what in the world the prophets were talking about. If you’re not sure what a verse like “Moreover, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have shaved the crown of your head” (Jeremiah 2:16) means, a commentary can help with that.

If it helps you create an unfolding narrative, you can use the information from the commentaries to draw a timeline. Timelines can be helpful to those who are visual learners. To build a timeline, mark down events in Judah/Israel’s history, when the prophets spoke, and when/how the prophecies were fulfilled.

2. Listen to an Audio Version

Reading can be hard, especially if you struggle with dyslexia or reading comprehension, or if you are an auditory learner. Thankfully, there are numerous options available for listening to the Bible. You can listen for free with the Bible app or podcasts like Through the ESV Bible in a Year, narrated by your choice of Jackie Hill Perry, Ray Ortlund, Kristyn Getty, or Robert Smith. For a subscription fee, you can use the Dwell: Audio Bible app, which gives you a variety of narrating voices to choose from and tracks your progress through the Bible.

Some people may view listening to the Bible as a lesser form of study, but personally owning and reading a printed copy of the Bible is a relatively new way of learning from Scripture. It wasn’t until the printing press was invented in the 1450s that the mass production of reading material was even possible, and it took another 200 years for a standardized Bible to be produced. The book we can now get for free from a hotel nightstand cost the average family 3 weeks’ wages in the 1600s. From the time of Moses until around the 1700s, listening to the Bible read aloud in a synagogue, church, or cathedral was the go-to mode of absorbing God’s Word. Many churches today still stress the importance of hearing and responding to bulk readings from Scripture rather than sermons with a few verses scattered throughout.

The main point of that nerdy rabbit trail: Listening to the Bible isn’t “cheating.” It isn’t a lesser form of studying or understanding God’s Word. Audiobooks. Count. As. Reading. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

3. Change Up Your Reading Plan

You don’t have to finish the Bible in exactly one year. If it helps you get through Ezekiel, take a break every other day to read a passage from the New Testament. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can add a New Testament reading each day to stay on track with your goals and get some variety.

I think you should do a chronological Bible reading at least once in your lifetime, simply to get the big picture of how the story unfolds. But there are a lot of reading plans that mix up readings from the Old Testament, Psalms, and New Testament. Take a year or three to get through the Bible. Or don’t use a plan at all: read one book over and over until it sinks in and begins to transform your heart and mind.

Whatever you choose to do, read widely and deeply. Even though books like Leviticus and Obadiah are difficult to understand, don’t abandon them in favor of reading Colossians for the 185th time. Let all of God’s Word be a lamp for your feet and a light for your path. Let every page reveal God’s character and plan of salvation.

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Where did July go? Well, I spent the first half of it holed up in my office — researching, typing, scrolling mindlessly through Reels, and ordering more printer ink. I had twelve classes to prepare for my teaching position at Imperial Valley Holiness Camp in Imperial, Nebraska. Did I get it done? You bet! Procrastination fuels my work like nothing else.

On July 17th, I set out on the 300-mile trek to Imperial. I used to live in Eastern Nebraska, but for some reason, I’m always shocked by the climate. The next eleven days ranged from 85 to 98 degrees with 70-80% humidity. I’m definitely not suited to live in any real tropical climates.

I was away from home for twelve days and taught for ten of those. Over the course of four mornings, we studied the entire book of Colossians. The Bible study format was new to me, and it’s an area of teaching I would like to improve upon.

In the afternoons, I taught about finding Jesus in the Old Testament. Here’s what we learned and the activity for each day:

1. How the Bible is one big story about Jesus. We built a giant timeline out of poster boards to help us visualize the unfolding story of Jesus.

2. Jesus’s appearances as the Angel of the LORD. We split into groups, and each group picked a story about the Angel of the LORD. The groups had to draw a comic strip of the story and write down the evidence for why the Angel is Jesus.

3. Christ types in the Old Testament (people or events that foreshadowed what Jesus would be like). The kids acted out a skit about Jesus’s interaction with Nicodemus and Moses lifting up the bronze serpent in the wilderness. It was hilarious, and they went on to perform the skit during chapel.

4. Finding Jesus in God’s covenants with His people. We split into groups, and each group picked a covenant to write a song or a poem about. One team sang about the New Covenant to the tune of Piano Man.

5. Mini exodus stories that point forward to Jesus providing our spiritual exodus. I’ll write a Substack about this someday, because it’s quite fascinating. The kids took time to individually journal about where they are in their personal Exodus story.

6. Putting it all together, we read through the book of Ruth and picked out any connections, symbolism, types, and rhythms that pointed to Jesus and His redemption.

We learned hard, played hard, and napped harder.

My friend and camp co-worker, Sierra, was a huge asset to me while I taught, and we enjoyed many Cosmic Brownies together.

I drove home on July 28th and proceeded to sleep as much as possible the following days.

I’m incredibly grateful for the friendships made and the lives changed during this camp. Thank you to everyone who prayed for me as I ministered there. Your prayers strengthened me daily and protected me from sickness and exhaustion. Again, thank you.

I promise that Theology on the Prairie will resume its regularly scheduled posting next Monday! Until then, may the Lord make His face shine upon you!

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I think I’m hilarious. I’m teaching a class called “Finding Jesus in the Whole Bible” at an upcoming church camp. One day, we’re going to focus on Jesus’s physical appearances in the Old Testament. He took on human form, but he wasn’t yet “incarnate” - completely human (while remaining completely divine). Whenever you read, “The Angel of the LORD,” you can guarantee that it’s Jesus, preincarnate, on the scene.

Why am I so funny? I’m calling that section of my class, “Close Encounters of the Preincarnate Kind.” I tried to get ChatGPT to generate an image of a glowing Christ figure approaching a man moulding Devil’s Tower out of mashed potatoes, but apparently that was too far over the potentially offensive line. ChatGPT is not aware that both God and I have a sense of humor. This is the image it came up with:

It’s still pretty impressive for AI. Sadly, I don’t think any of the middle or high schoolers will get the reference to the 1977 Steven Spielberg film.

Back to the topic at hand!

The Angel of the LORD is Jesus stepping onto the stage of the biblical narrative before His big debut in the manger. But how do we know it’s Jesus?

He speaks with the authority of God.

In Genesis 16:7-13, the Angel of the LORD finds Hagar, Abraham’s pregnant and exiled servant, in the wilderness. He tells her, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.” A regular angel could not make this promise. He could say, “The LORD will increase your descendants,” but not, “I will.”

He does not correct those who equate Him with God.

As this account of Hagar continues, she tells the Angel in verse 13, “You are the God who sees me.” The Angel does not rebuke her. (The text gives us another hint when it says, “She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her,” which tells us that this angel is Yahweh.)

He accepts worship.

When the Israelite leader Joshua was sizing up the city of Jericho, a man with a drawn sword approached him.

Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
”Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in severance, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”
(Joshua 5:13-14, NIV)

The commander of the army of the LORD and the Angel of the LORD are the same. When Joshua fell down in reverence, the Commander did not reject his worship. In Revelation 22:8-9, John falls to worship the angel who showed him the revelation. The angel quickly rebukes him and tells John he is a fellow servant, and that John should only worship God.

He makes places holy.

The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
(Joshua 5:15, NIV)

There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush… So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight -- why the bush does not burn up….”
”Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
(Exodus 3: 2, 3, 5 NIV)

A regular angel cannot sanctify — only Yahweh can.

Angel of the Lord, God, and LORD are used interchangeably.

Exodus 3:2-7, the speaker is first introduced as the Angel of the LORD, then God, then the LORD.

Also, the use of all three titles in this passage could point to all three members of the Trinity being present!

Why does it matter that Jesus appears as the Angel of the LORD in the Old Testament?

1. It shows us that Jesus was active in God’s plan for redemption throughout the whole story, not just as the climax.

2. It tells us Jesus has always wanted to draw close to the people He would bring salvation to.

3. It demonstrates that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us — but He was also alive for us — the Son, eternally existing with the Father and the Spirit.

I hope you enjoyed this edition of Theology on the Prairie. It was kind of a two birds, one stone situation, because now I get to use this for my class! :) Have a great week!

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Life/Ranching

My father-in-law came to visit for two weeks. During that time, we took a day trip to Mount Rushmore, finished up branding our calves, and became quite familiar with the western TV show Death Valley Days. We enjoyed the time spent with him, and Dalton was sad for his departure because it marked the end of 2.5 square meals per day (I’m not much of a breakfast cook).

Ministry

June 9th-11th was Bible Adventure Days (VBS) at our church. I enjoyed leading a group of approximately eleven 4th-6th graders through five rotating stations, where they learned about the greatness of our God through science, sang fun songs, ate cool space-themed snacks, assembled a craft, and played games. At the end of each night, the pastor spoke on the hugeness and complexity of the universe and how that points to God’s love for us.

On Sunday, the 22nd, I nearly departed without my pillow when I left for Camp Grace. I’m not sure if my neck would have been more or less stiff without it. Camp Grace is an InFaith youth camp held in Douglas, Wyoming, during the last week of June. It’s a blessing to help with it, because it was so formative for my faith when I attended as a pre-teen and young adult. This year, I taught an intermediate (6th-8th grade) class on prayer and was a senior (9th-12th grade) cabin leader/counselor. My co-counselor was a woman who was my counselor 13 years ago! I loved spending the week with her, guiding nine teenage girls toward maturity in Christ and reminiscing about years gone by.

Reading

I’m currently reading The Christ Key by Chad Bird. In it, Bird proposes in simplified language (he does a great job of explaining any technical terms) that Jesus can be found throughout the entire Bible in types, symbolism, prophecies, and other allusions. It’s been a great aid as I prepare for the class I’m teaching at the Imperial Valley Holiness Camp this month.

Theology on the Prairie

Okay, I was a big-time slacker this month. But I will blame that on pre-camp preparations and post-camp recovery! With all the work I have to do for July’s camp, I’m guessing there will be fewer posts again. Please bear with me and pray for me!

In June, I wrote about Jehovah-Rapha, the God Who Heals….

And about 5 reasons why theology matters.

As always, thank you for your love and support! I cherish your prayers and look forward to writing for you as much as I can this month!

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When I started Theology on the Prairie just over one year ago, it was simply because I wanted to start writing again. But it quickly evolved into a specific vision: to make learning about God accessible. So accessible that you don’t even have to employ Google or spend time scrolling through YouTube videos or podcast sermons - just open your email Monday mornings. Accessible enough that anyone can understand it.

I know the name of my Substack can be kind of off-putting. “Theology on the Prairie?” you might think. “I’m not a Bible scholar. I’m just a rancher/farmer/accountant/teacher/oil field worker/electrician/office manager/stay-at-home mom…. the stuff in this email is going to be way over my head.”
Guess what? I’m not a Bible scholar either. I don’t have a doctorate or master’s in theological studies. In fact, I completed only one year at an unaccredited Bible college. I’m not even in full-time ministry; I take care of cows for a living! Talk about unqualified!

I’m not a certified theologian by any stretch of the imagination. Yet I believe that everyone who wants to know who God is is a theologian. By definition, theology is

the study of religious faith, practice, and experience
especially : the study of God and of God's relation to the world. 1

Studying theology/knowing stuff about God isn’t just so we can show off at social events or church (honestly, if you start yapping about the doctrine of divine simplicity, people are probably going to start inching away from you). It’s not to make ourselves more righteous. It’s because what we know about God determines how we relate to Him and live our lives.

Let’s look at 5 reasons why theology matters for everyone.

1. Theology helps us understand our human experiences.

We’ve all suffered. We’ve all rejoiced. We’ve all needed healing, provision, safety, love, guidance, discipline, support, and encouragement. We have all faced hard questions with no easy answer, or difficult situations with no apparent solution.
Portrayed throughout the pages of Scripture are stories of fellow humans who experienced life in the same ways we do today, and how God met them in each of their unique situations. We ask, “How does God relate to my suffering?” and we look at Job. We wonder, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” and we examine the life of Joseph. We say, “I don’t know why God hasn’t healed me,” and we read the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 12.
Each account shows timeless theological truths about God’s character, power, sovereignty, and love that can help us make sense of our complicated lives.

2. Theology increases our spiritual maturity.

We need a deeper understanding and knowledge of God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and Christian doctrines to grow in spiritual maturity. The apostle Paul admonished the Corinthian church for their lack of growth, telling them,

Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.
1 Corinthians 3:1-3, NIV

And the author of Hebrews said,

Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.
Hebrews 6:1-3, NIV

While new believers are considered “infants” and are taught “elementary teachings,” there is an expectation that those growing in their faith should desire to learn more complex teachings and become more spiritually mature.

3. Theology draws us closer to God.

It’s impossible to progress in a relationship with a new friend if you never get past knowing their name and where they work. If you stay at that point, your relationship will just consist of a greeting and a smile when you run into them at the grocery store. A true relationship is built on the intimacy that comes through knowing. How many kids do they have? What do they like to do for fun? And then using those facts to know them even more through interacting with the things they have built their life around.

Many people never move past being acquainted with God on a first-name basis. Or, they may have a lot of knowledge about God, but never use that knowledge to participate in a life spent with God. For theology to be effective in drawing us closer to God, we must extend it past our brains into our hearts, mouths, hands, and feet.

4. Theology leads us to obedience.

As we mature in faith and grow relationally closer to God, we are naturally more inclined to obedience. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” As our intimacy with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit increases, our desire to follow His instructions does, too.

5. Theology gives us hope for the future.

Knowing God’s will, His purposes, and His desires for our lives gives us courage and faith for each coming day. But even more than that, God has an eternal plan, and as we discover more and more about what that looks like - like receiving glorified bodies and dwelling with God forever - we set free a wellspring of hope for our weary souls that never runs dry.

Paul said in Philippians 3:10-14, “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (NIV, emphasis added)

Even the great apostle Paul, who penned 13 of the most profoundly theological letters in the New Testament, still desired to know Christ. He considered knowing Christ even more deeply a prize to be won.

My desire for Theology on the Prairie is that it would aid you in developing a greater, more mature understanding of who God is and how He wants to meet you in every area of your life. I pray that, like Paul, you continue to press on toward the prize of knowing Christ on an even deeper level.

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The name Jehovah Rapha comes from an account in Exodus 15. Let me set the scene: The Israelites just escaped their 400-year enslavement in Egypt and successfully crossed the Red Sea. God took care of their pursuers when the walls of water came crashing down. Moses and Mirriam dusted off their tambourines and sang a victory song. Things were looking up for the Hebrew people. But three days into their journey into the wilderness, a big problem arose: no water. The situation grew even more desperate when they finally stumbled upon a bitter and undrinkable spring. The people complained, Moses tossed in a log, and the water became sweet. Then God said something interesting.

There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test. He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you (Jehovah-Rapha).”
Exodus 15:25-26, NIV (emphasis added)

The account doesn’t mention anyone getting sick from the bitter water, so the statement seems to come out of left field. Considering the context of the exodus from Egypt, why would God point to His character as healer rather than deliverer when appealing for the Israelites’ obedience? Let’s consider 3 possibilities.

1. God is alluding to the Mosaic Covenant

The Lord went on to reiterate this pronouncement in Deuteronomy 28; if the Israelites would follow the Law and hold up their end of the Mosaic Covenant, He would keep them from sickness and make them fruitful. However, if they were “not careful to do all the words of this law,” they would experience “sicknesses grievous and lasting.” 1 Repentance and renewed obedience guaranteed the restored blessings of the covenant.2 If the curses of sickness and disease came upon them, Jehovah-Rapha was the only one they could look to for healing.

2. Deliverance and healing go hand-in-hand

Demonic deliverance is probably the first thing that came into your mind when you read that, especially when you consider all the accounts of Jesus restoring to health those who were demon-possessed. And while that does fit, I want to guide you to the motif that fits into our original Exodus narrative. The New Testament authors played on themes of the Old Testament to point to Christ’s fulfillment of it. When we consider the fact that we were once all enslaved by sin (as the Israelites were by Egypt), then we all experience a spiritual exodus, or deliverance, into the freedom of God’s Kingdom. We were once sick with sin, but now we are healed through the wounds of Jesus.3 There is real mental, emotional, and spiritual damage that occurs within us due to sin, and we begin to experience God’s divine healing when we are delivered from darkness and brought into the Light.

3. God is offering future hope

For the Israelites, the troubles at the bitter spring paled in comparison to the trials they faced in the years to come.4 40 years of wilderness wandering, wicked kings, a divided nation, exile, oppression… yet God said, “I am your healer.” Amid the Babylonian invasion, the prophet Ezekiel crafted a beautiful word picture of a future restoration for God’s people: rivers flowing out from a new Temple that turn saltwater into freshwater5 , a desert producing fruit, and trees that bear leaves used for healing. This restoration - this healing - is found in Jesus.

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 4:13-14, NIV

To a grumbling people at a watering hole, Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord who heals, offered them a glorious hope to cling to. A Savior who would bring healing of every kind to all people.

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Life

My birthday was on May 2nd, my last one ever! (I turned 29, the age women tell you with a wink when you ask how old they are.) I enjoyed a trip to the big city with a friend a few days prior, and relished a slow, quiet day at home the day of. We celebrated my birthday, my sister-in-law’s 26th, my youngest cousin’s sweet 16, a little friend’s 8th, and my mother’s 29th ;) Like I said, lots of birthdays!

My cousin from Texas came to visit, and we talked, laughed, and then yapped some more. I confidently put her on my bareback horse, and she fell off, cementing her disdain for horses (oops).

On the 31st, we had a kind of rom-com-esque day where we attended two weddings back-to-back. I love wedding mints, so I wasn’t complaining.

Ranching

We moved my parents’ bulls closer to home (meaning, our houses and the main corral), and we went to a relative’s branding. I roped two calves, which is down from my record of three, but I blame the 40mph winds.

We got an incredible amount of rain in May. No gullywashers yet, but a couple of slow, 1” rains that really helped the grass out.

Ministry

We wrapped up youth group for the school year on May 7th. The week before it ended, I spoke on Psalm 1 and tied it in with Jesus’s statements on life, living water, and abiding in Him as the vine. The takeaway? Choosing the path of Jesus leads to life, and spending a flourishing life with Jesus is the wisest thing you can do.

Theology on the Prairie

Had the absolute honor of hosting Kylee Logan as May’s guest writer. If you missed it, Kylee wrote about imaginative prayer and how it’s a way to really tune in and spend some quality time in the presence of Jesus.

This month I wrote about how studying the Bible should always be through the lens of Christ and His redemptive work:

How God’s common grace should inspire us to extend unparalleled love and grace to others:

And Christ’s role as prophet and what that means for us:

That’s All, Folks

If you ever have any comments, suggestions, or anything else, send me an email at prairietheology@gmail.com. Follow me on Instagram here or just look up my name, Brenna Brimer. I either post on my story three times a day or once a month; there is no in-between.

Have a great June!

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You’re probably most familiar with Jesus Christ’s role as Savior, but did you know He holds three other offices as well?

(If you missed the last post on Christology, check it out here)

Today, we’ll cover Jesus’s role as…

Prophet

A prophet is a person who relays words from God to someone else. In the Old Testament, prophets declared a message of repentance to Israel or Judah, spoke directly to specific people, and relayed God’s words to foreign nations or rulers. The messages of repentance were often not well-received. For example, Jeremiah, who spoke of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian captivity, was mocked, imprisoned, and beaten. Because of the abuse he endured and his anguish over the state of Israel, he is called “The Weeping Prophet.”

Jesus bears a striking resemblance to the Old Testament prophets and reveals Himself to be a prophet in these ways:

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Matthew 4:17 (NIV)

Jesus preached a message of repentance and a coming Kingdom.

And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”….. And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.
Luke 4:17-21, 24 (ESV)

Jesus used the words of the prophet Isaiah to demonstrate both His fulfillment of the prophecy and His own role as Prophet.

He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
“I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet…”
John 4:16-19 (NIV)

Jesus spoke of things that He could not have known unless He was a prophet.

Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
John 6:68-69 (NIV)

Jesus declared the words of God, the words of eternal life.

He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Isaiah 53:3 (NIV)

“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! ⁵² Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him…”
Acts 7:51-52 (NIV)

Jesus was mocked, persecuted, arrested, beaten, and killed because of His message.

“For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.”
Luke 2:30-32 (NIV)

Jesus came not just to Israel, but to reveal God and His plan for salvation to all nations.

Christ’s role as prophet is unique, because He not only had divine authority to teach and declare God’s words, He is the Word!

Why does this matter to us?

1. We can trust that what Jesus said was true.

2. It demonstrates the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies about who Jesus would be.

3. God’s heart, love, and will is revealed through Christ’s words recorded in Scripture.

It’s raining cats and dogs here today. Those living on the coasts might groan over a spring day ruined by precipitation, but here on the prairies, we rejoice over a full day of steady moisture. If you’ve ever attended a church in an agricultural area, you will always hear, “Praise God for the rain!” on the following Sunday. However, it’s not just those who go to church who are getting rained on. The neighbor who has never uttered a word to God or darkened the doorstep of a sanctuary? He’s receiving rain also. The abusive spouse; the one who scoffs at the needs of others; the neglectful caretaker - they’re all in the path of the same shower, and they will all benefit from it. Why?

In His “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus said,

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. 1
Matthew 5:43-48, ESV (Emphasis added)

Here, Jesus was speaking about the radical, God-like love His followers are to have for others by using examples of God’s common graces. “Common grace” is used to refer to the gifts God gives all of humanity, regardless of their relationship with Him (like natural talents, beautiful sunsets, and rain for crops).

David expressed this idea in Psalm 19,

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.
Psalm 19:1-6, NIV (emphasis added)

God displays His love and grace toward us in everything: the first steps of a child, glowing stars, the warmth of the sun, an encouraging word. He doesn’t reserve these things for those who have already dedicated their lives to Him; they’re available even to those who despise His name. The magnitude of the Father’s generosity is incomprehensible.

We can’t share this kind of love and grace with others in the exact same way - we are not all-powerful. But Jesus commanded His followers to love others (especially the unjust) in a similar way. “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.” Just as God sends rain on the just and the unjust to draw them to Himself, don’t withhold your love and grace from anyone. Earlier in the sermon, Jesus said, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16, NIV). Declare the glory of God through your life, just as the heavens do.

The rain just always gets me thinking about this. God is good, God is love, God is grace - and He desires for everyone to experience these things, through the rain and through you and me.