Vow

January 10, 2026

After Jacob had his dream of the ladder, he set up a stone and made a vow. “Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God. And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.’” This is the longest-formulated vow in the Bible.

A vow is a solemn promise, often made to a deity, and in this case, Jacob made a vow to God. Now, the wording seems conditional: You do this for me, and I will do this for you. However, when we consider the context of the story, it becomes clear that this is not the case. “He was responding in faith and commitment to the assurance that he had just received.” (Andrews Bible Commentary, Vol 1, p 174) We should see that it is always God who initiates the act of reaching out and provision for us. It was God who appeared to Jacob in a dream, and in Genesis 31:13, God reminds Jacob of the vow he had made and tells him to return home. “I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.” God fulfills His part of the vow and invites Jacob and his family to go back home.

We are in the second week of the new year. Making a vow isn’t something we typically do, but we know that God will lead us as He always does. Knowing of His goodness and leading, may we also make a vow to our Father in heaven, and express our commitment to Him. God is leading us all the way to the end.

And Found

January 3, 2026

Here’s another story of lost and found. This week we went to a natural history museum together with family and friends. I had a lot of fun there. There were a lot of dinosaur skeletons on display on the first floor and they were massive! I was fascinated and I really enjoyed taking videos and pictures! After that we moved on to the second floor and it was getting warm for me. I was carrying my daughters’ jackets (father duties!) and on the second floor I had to take off my beanie to let out the heat. I had the beanie on one hand and with the other I was holding onto the two fluffy jackets.

After seeing the displays on the second floor, we walked up the stairs to the third floor and we enjoyed learning about the Native American history. We were watching videos of it and then, I realized my beanie was missing. I dropped it somewhere. I had to think. Do I go back and find it? Or should I just move on and buy myself a new one later on? It wouldn’t cost too much anyways. At first I decided to forget about it and we all went downstairs. But then I said, maybe I will look. I handed the jackets to Hyemi and went up the stairs and started looking all over the floor. Not there. Went up to the third floor, and scouted the whole floor, not there. I even talked to the staff and she didn’t see anything. I said to myself, I am going to check one more time. So I walked to the third floor once more and, finally, there I noticed my beanie on the floor, camouflaged by the dark carpet colors! It was only a piece of cloth that goes on top of my head, and yet with all the history, I was so glad to find it!

When you read all the three parables in Luke 15 about finding what (who) was lost, there was always great rejoicing and celebration. When the lost sheep was found, the shepherd called friends and neighbors. When the coin was found, the woman once again brought friends and neighbors. When the prodigal son returned home, the father said, “Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” Luke 15:22-24. What great joy there is in heaven when the lost is found! The new year has begun, it’s time to seek the lost and bring them back to Jesus. Happy New Year, and happy Sabbath.

Lost

December 27, 2025

It was Christmas morning and the kids were eager to open the presents that were carefully displayed under the Christmas tree. We had our nephew and niece over with us and as soon as they got up early in the morning, they kept asking, “When can we open them?” With some negotiations we managed to have the kids wait until we had morning worship and breakfast was over, as we were expecting my brother and his wife to join us in the morning. The kids couldn’t wait (I couldn’t wait, too).

Finally it was time, and everyone rushed in front of the tree. One by one, we got to open the gifts and there was much laughter and joy in the house. What a beautiful scene it was. My nephew, Paul, was ecstatic. One of the gifts was a lego set he always wanted. He was ready to start building it. It wasn’t going to be a short project, and we knew it would take him a few hours to finish. Paul was right on to it. He occupied my desk and nothing could distract him, he was focused. When it was lunchtime, he decided to bring the legos down to the dining table. Since he was so happy, we let him continue building while eating. This is when the problem occurred, a tiny but essential piece was missing. We all started to look for it, and we couldn’t find it. It wasn’t there. No one knows how it disappeared. Maybe Paul dropped it somewhere, or the piece was never in there. We couldn’t find it. Eventually, his mother had to message the manufacturer to get the missing piece.

Jesus told of the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15. Thankfully, in this parable, the shepherd finds the lost sheep. The parable is short, but we can imagine the effort the shepherd took to find that one lost sheep. It could have taken him hours in the dark. It could have been a risky, dangerous search and rescue effort. But he didn’t give up. He searched until the sheep was found. And the Bible writes, “‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.” Luke 15:6, 7. This is our last Sabbath of the year. We should think and pray for those around us that still do not know Jesus. We should reach out to them and share the love of Jesus. Let’s make sure to do that in 2026.