It’s confounding. When King David heard about what Amnon did to Tamar, he was very angry (2 Sam. 13:21). And…??? David is angry …and then what? I have questions! For instance, is David going to carry out his primary duty as king and bear the sword against the citizen Amnon for his crime? As Tamar […]
Imagine you’re ruddy. You’re hot and sweaty, because you’ve been running around outside all day. You get called into an important meeting. A bunch of impressive looking people are in this meeting. This meeting is all about anointing someone to be the leader of the nation. The overwhelming assumption is that one of the very […]
Let’s think about Walter. Walter Hobbs. Walter wants a “reasonable amount” of Christmas in his life, but nothing too crazy. Walter prefers to keep things moderate when it comes to Christmas …he doesn’t want things to get out of hand. Because if you get too carried away, you are risking your reputation as a “sensible […]
The apostle Paul says, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” I believe that part of this “too deep for words” means music. Poetry and lyrics are humanity’s best effort […]
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up […]
“If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?” “A […]
This week I saw the following things… I saw someone being swept away in a raging river, and this guy’s friends jumped in the river with him and they all got swept away together. As I pondered this, I wondered to myself, “Perhaps it would’ve been better if that guy’s friends had stayed on the […]
Once upon a time there was a janitor. This janitor worked at a hospital. This janitor was a highly esteemed and valued member of the hospital. This janitor worked harder than anyone! Even when the janitor had intense hardships happening in her life she always carved out time to serve others! Even when this janitor […]
When Jesus hung out with unpopular people (e.g. Samaritans [see John 4]) He did not call them “Satan,” but rather He was truly able to enjoy His experience with them. But whenever Jesus crossed paths with people trying to be popular, He did call them “Satan.” For instance, to the Pharisees Jesus says, “You are […]
[1] No religious constitution should be supported by the civil power further than may be necessary for protection and security equal and common to all others.