A friend of mine recently reminded me of a paragraph from a past blog post. The paragraph reads: Jesus hates it when we attempt to have Him on our terms. Jesus will not tolerate our agenda to reduce Him to anything less than our Maker and Master. Jesus withdraws because we want to neuter and […]
The book of Judges reads like a series of bizarre dreams. The array of unusual stories is unparalleled. It is a saga of completely off-the-wall, utterly unexpected and shocking events. And the deeper you go into the narrative the more you realize that this dream is actually a nightmare. You come to find that the […]
I was riding my mountain bike this morning at Sherman Branch crying. Was I crying because I love being on the trail? My love of trails is definitely tear-worthy, but that’s not why I was crying. Was I crying because I fell off my bike? Not this time. …I was crying because I was listening […]
Let’s think about the motion picture Nacho Libre. The film is loosely based on the story of Fray Tormenta (“Friar Storm”, a.k.a. Rev. Sergio Gutiérrez Benítez), a real-life Mexican Catholic priest who had a 23-year career as a masked luchador and competed in order to support the orphanage he directed. There are a few things […]
I briskly traversed through the Gospel of Mark this morning. I normally progress ploddingly through the Γέγραπται, but sometimes it’s helpful to conduct a sprightly trot through a gospel in order to obtain a better sense of the surplus and sundry instances of Jesus offending people. It is absolutely vital that we come to grips […]
Today I was wondering, “Why do the people in Nineveh involve the beasts, herds, and flocks in their fasting and donning sackcloth?” I discovered that it is because non-human creation is the exemplar of worship. Humanity stubbornly resists glorifying God, but all non-human creation intuitive and insatiably renders all glory to God (e.g. sun, moon, […]
Boaz was taken Ruth brought home the bacon The optics were bad Naomi was sad From such scandal God did David maken
The angel of the Lord appeared to Samson’s mom and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.” Samson’s dad said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?” And […]
1 Thessalonians 2:8 says, “Being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.” One of the best ways to deepen friendships, galvanize fellowship, and fortify our familial bond in Christ is through gathering […]
Here’s what you need to appreciate about Willy Wonka… He is a stronghold for the oppressed (Psalm 9:9). Willy prioritizes the redemption of persecuted peoples, like the Oompa-Loompas. The Oompa-Loompas faced terrible hardships and peril in Loompaland (nothing but thick jungles infested by the most dangerous beasts in the world – – – > hornswoggles […]