Jeremiah 26
I found it interesting that this chapter chronicled three men who had, in effect, prophesied the same message in Israel: Jeremiah (vs 2-6), Micah (vs 18), and Uriah (vs 20). We know that Micah’s prophesy came long before Jeremiah’s, but we aren’t told whether Uriah was before or after Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 6
The ending of this chapter was a white-hot indictment: “They’re a thickheaded, hard-nosed bunch, rotten to the core, the lot of them. Refining fires are cranked up to white heat, but the ore stays a lump, unchanged. It’s useless to keep trying any longer. Nothing can refine evil out of them. Men will give up and call them ’slag,’ thrown on the slag heap by me, their God.” (vs 28-30)
Isaiah 19
This is one of those times when I’m sure that I don’t have adequate words to describe what is going through my head at the moment. The marvelous picture of God that presented itself to me at the end of this chapter of Isaiah is so immense in my mind that I’m sure I am incapable of relating the whole of it to anyone else.
Isaiah 9
No, I’m not talking about convicting you of a crime! I’m talking about convicting you of truth, helping you to see and understand when you’re on the wrong path. Could Isaiah have said it any more clearly? “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” (vs 2)
Psalm 145
I wrestled for a long time over the title of this blog post. I wanted to be blunt and just title it God destroys the wicked. But I was afraid that might turn some people off before they even read what I had written, so I decided to leave it as a question and, hopefully, invite investigation.
Psalm 105
If you read this psalm in your Bible today, you discovered that it is a recitation of the history of God’s acts in Israel—including a long passage about the ten plagues of Egypt. So, even though this is Psalms, I decided to reiterate a great lesson about God that we learn from the Egyptian plagues: God is a light. Just imagine what it must have been like to be Pharaoh. He was “the” god in a land of gods. The ancient Egyptians had a god for everything—and I do mean everything. They worshiped over 2,000 gods that they believed controlled everything—from the sky to the River Nile to childbirth.
Psalm 62
Ex-trem’ ist, n. One who advocates or resorts to measures beyond the norm.
We usually don’t think of extremism as a good thing. If you’ve done much paying attention to politics—especially American politics—you’ve probably heard the phrases far-left loons and right-wing nutjobs before. Those terms describe people who are thought of as extremists, as being out on the fringe of political thought.
Psalm 26
I’m not sure I’ve ever read this psalm before. But this is what caught my attention: “Lord, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells.” (vs 8)
I imagine David was talking about the temple. I don’t know that for sure, but that would probably have been the most obvious point of reference. This is what we would expect of a deity, right? To dwell somewhere else, in a fixed time and place. And if we wanted to meet with him, we would go for a visit.
Job 32
So, Job’s three friends finally gave up trying to convince him that he was wrong. Their minds were unchanged, but they saw the futility of arguing any longer. This, however, didn’t sit well with Elihu, a young person who was apparently observing the debate. The narrator of the story tells us that it was Elihu’s age that kept him silent until now: "Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job because they were older than he. But when he saw that the three men had nothing more to say, his anger was aroused." (vs 4-5)
Job 12
From time to time, I visit a Christian forum online where people are discussing topics about God. Occasionally, I contribute. Most of the time, however, I simply read the ideas of others with interest. Recently, a self-proclaimed atheist has joined the group and has been asking a number of good questions about the Bible. She says this is her "last attempt" to try to understand the Bible and that she has come to the forum to find out why Christians believe what they do.
Ezra 2
In the nation of Israel, it was very important to know (and be able to show) where you came from. Who was your family? Your clan? Your tribe? After 70 years of captivity in Babylon, I’m surprised that those who returned to Jerusalem following the decree of Cyrus could even trace their family history. Yet, the vast majority of those who made the journey home were able to show that they were, indeed, descendants from the tribes of Israel.
Measurements specified
down to the inch—
linen curtains
crossbars
acacia-wood frames
Accessories requiring
a wealth of resource—
bronze clasps and
gold hooks and
loops of blue yarn
When God sets out
to build Himself
a temple,
He leaves
no corner untouched,
no detail unplanned.
We so casually declare
our bodies to be
the temples
of this Holy Spiriting God
while intending
to satisfy Him with
our present accommodation.
Take note:
the God who deigns
to live in you
is not planning to
make Himself
at home.
He is planning to
make Himself
a home.
2 Chronicles 35
As a church musician, I have always been intrigued with the somewhat-common idea (amongst musicians especially) that letting the Holy Spirit work means preparing very little (or not at all) ahead of time. Have you ever encountered that attitude? I actually worked with a group of musicians once who steadfastly refused to rehearse in the belief that leaving themselves totally open "in the moment" would allow the Holy Spirit to control and direct all their music.
Photo © shutterstock.com/Melnik
The problem with sin is that we
want to have our cake
and eat it too,
just like Pharaoh,
who wanted to have his slaves
and free them too.
But not to decide
is to decide,
and not to give in
is to remain stubborn
and that has an effect.
We all think
/or want to believe/
that no matter
what we choose
we automatically
revert back to
this neutral default place
after each decision,
that our choices
don't have any lasting
consequences.
But that's ridiculous.
If you've lived in darkness
your entire life
and someone suddenly
turns on a light
you are no longer a person
who has only known darkness.
You cannot return
to saying that you do not know
what light looks like.
You may say it still,
all right,
but in your heart
you know it's not true
and that has an effect.
God is the Light of the World,
that Great Confronter who
scouts out
runs down
and passionately pursues
His darkness-dwelling
children.
He would not dream
of letting you remain
forever in your darkness.
He knows nothing of
live and let live,
has no hands-off policy,
and is generally unaccommodating.
He does not prefer to avoid confrontation.
As surely as He lives,
you live,
and as surely as He lives,
you will experience Him.
And when you do,
you cannot return
to saying that you have never
experienced Him.
You may say it still,
all right,
but in your heart
you will know it's not true
and that will have an effect.
And if you persist
in ignoring or avoiding reality
for long enough
you may just find yourself
in a chariot
at the edge of the sea,
unable to bat an eyelash
at the rising walls of water,
unable to wonder how or why the briny deep
is drawing back to reveal dry ground,
unable to think twice
before rushing headlong
into the foregone destruction
of a hardened heart.
2 Kings 5
I had a hard time titling this blog. I knew exactly what I wanted to convey, but couldn’t really think of a good way to communicate it in a title. So, I hope by the time you’re done reading this, you’ll understand what I had in mind.
My thoughts about God and the subtle witness are based on two portions of this chapter. First, this: "Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, 'If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.'" (vs 2-3)
Photo © Unsplash/Carles Rabada
The heathen king of Egypt
was entertained
in the night
by dreams from a divine intruder.
Shocking!
Doesn't God know
you need pastors
and theologians
and a Committee on Missional Vision
to reach the heathen?
We may have God locked up
in the prison of our ideas
about the most proper way/s
to share the gospel,
but He won’t stay there very long.
For where may we go
to flee from His Spirit?
Not even our dreams.
JOSHUA 10
I was thinking today about my old college choir days, and one of my favorite pieces that we sang was called Elijah Rock. There was a line in that song that we women sang with a valiant, chesty tone: "My God is a mighty man o’ war." I always loved that part of the song, and reading today’s chapter from Joshua brought it right to my mind. So, I thought I would muse for a few minutes on this mighty man o’ war who is our God.
