Blog – Page 5 – Barbara Lynn Seibel

May 25, 2025May 24, 2025

Called from Darkness to be Living Stones

Do you recognize the plant in the picture above?

It is a lithop.

I was thrilled when I first learned about these little succulent plants that look like stones or pebbles many years ago.

They even produce a flower.

When I first learned about them, it took a while to find a local plant nursery that had some for sale.

I do not have any right now, but after studying our passage for today, I might get me one or two again.

Why, you ask?

Our passage today talks about the ultimate living stone, and tending to some lithops could be a fun visual reminder of this passage.

May 18, 2025May 17, 2025

Relating to This World and God with Hope

Hope.

A four-letter word packed with positivity.

Yet hope is often something we must fight hard to hold on to when we face hardships.

Consider how the picture above relates to this post’s title.

What part of the picture represents the world?

Where do you see hope in the picture?

How is God a part of the picture?

Why is it important to relate to the world and God with hope?

I’ll share my personal thoughts at the end of the post. But first, how does 1 Peter 1:13-21 help us answer the above questions?

May 11, 2025May 12, 2025

How Do We Know God Cares?

In September 2024, a hurricane affected the area where I live.

As I was watching the rain, I saw a tree fall that just barely missed hitting my balcony and fence in the back of my home.

Once the rain had cleared, I discovered that five trees had fallen, and another one was leaning against my neighbor’s home.

Given the amount of devastation that this hurricane caused throughout the area, it wasn’t until late April 2025 that the trees behind my and my neighbor’s homes were finally cleared.

This past week, as I was surveying the tree stumps that remain, I realized that the trees going down were a provision of God’s care for me in a way that I truly needed last fall.

And yes, it has something to do with the kittens in the picture above.

I’ll explain this as we study 1 Peter 1:3-9.

May 4, 2025May 3, 2025

Are You an Obedient Exile?

This question is not about physical exile per se.

Rather, it is a question of whether you are obedient to your faith when the stakes become higher than you expected.

Are you aware there are more martyrs for Christian faith today than at any other time in history?

If this startles you, it is probable that you live somewhere where Christianity or being a follower of Jesus is not under outright persecution.

It may also startle you if you are not someone who keeps informed about the state of God’s mission to redeem people from every group across the globe.

Today, we will study the opening two verses of 1 Peter from the New Testament.

I hope these two verses will encourage you to consider deeply what it truly means to be an obedient exile no matter where you live.

April 27, 2025April 26, 2025

Why Did Jesus Walk to Emmaus?

In the immediate days following a tragedy, we are at first in shock.

Bewilderment is a common expression along with questions of why and how this tragedy could have happened.

The followers of Jesus experienced all of this after his crucifixion on a cross. (Luke 23:26-49)

But then something remarkable happened that caused even more bewilderment.

The women who went to anoint his body with spices according to their burial customs discovered an open and empty tomb. (Luke 24:1-3)

Angels appeared and informed the women that Jesus was alive, so they went and told the disciples and others. (Luke 24:4-10)

But the apostles did not believe the women. (Luke 24:11).

Peter, investigating their report, discovered things just as they said, but no angels appeared to him at the tomb. Thus, he then went home marveling at what this meant. (Luke 24:12)

Luke then turns his attention to two followers of Jesus, who left Jerusalem for Emmaus, sharing that Jesus joined them on their journey. Neither of these two were part of the lead apostles.

The question is, why did Jesus walk to Emmaus with these two followers?

April 13, 2025April 13, 2025

Have You Ridden a Donkey?

I am sure I have been around a donkey or two at a zoo or other wildlife preserve.

But I have never ridden one. Nor have I had to lead one anywhere.

In the last year of my earthly father’s life, he shared a story with me I had never heard before about a time he handled two donkeys.

He shared he was responsible for getting these two donkeys from one location to where his father was waiting for him.

At one point, the donkey he was riding stopped and refused to move forward. The other donkey also stopped. My dad said he did everything he could think of to get those donkeys moving again.

Donkeys have a reputation for being stubborn, which my father experienced firsthand.

What does this have to do with Matthew 21:1-11?

April 6, 2025April 5, 2025

Experiencing God’s Support Through Others

On the last weekend of March 2025, I enjoyed spending some time with two childhood friends I had not seen in over thirty years.

Although connected via social media for several years, we had not been with each other until this weekend.

Losing my husband back in July 2024 prompted our decision to get together.

My friends wanted to support and encourage me even though one lived about two hours away and the other two days’ drive or a plane flight away.

We spent the time remembering experiences and people from our youth, laughing, crying, and laughing until we cried while exploring the sites, shopping and food near one of their homes.

What does this have to do with 2 Samuel 15:13-37?

March 30, 2025March 28, 2025

Can You Spot Conspiracy in Worship?

Trust.

Such a small word that has significant meaning in our lives.

Who do you trust the most?

Have you experienced betrayal from someone you trusted?

Was it a family member, a friend, or a leader in your life who trampled your trust?

Or have you ever betrayed someone else’s trust?

How do our moral failures contribute to making it hard to spot conspiracy in our and other’s worship?

Join me as we study an example from scripture rife with moral failure and trampling of trust within a family.

March 23, 2025March 21, 2025

Deep Sorrow that Led to Worship

As many of you know, I am healing from a deep sorrow since losing my husband by his own choice last July and my earthly father by natural causes last October.

We expected my earthly father’s death. But my husband’s shocked all who knew him.

Thus, the journey of healing I am on is complicated.

I shared part of my experience in my first post back after a six-month break from writing.

Today’s passage was hard for me to work through because it touches on the themes of deep sorrow.

Yet, it also provides an opportunity to learn why the Lord is worthy of our worship, no matter the source of our deep sorrow.

Join me in this study of 2 Samuel 12:15-23 and portions of Psalm 51.

March 16, 2025March 16, 2025

Elkanah Returns to Worship God

Two weeks ago, I started this series on 1 Samuel 1, purposefully studying the “minor” characters instead of the usual approach to this passage.

Several of you have thanked me for this focus, stating that you had never considered that these “minor” characters could reveal so much about the Lord’s work in our daily lives.

Today, again I want us to study the next group of verses from 1 Samuel 1.

And yes, as the title suggests, we will focus in again on the minor character of Elkanah and his faithfulness as he returns to worship God at Shiloh every year.