Devotional Thoughts
Tiger Woods and Solomon
Another high-profile American has been shocked to have the hidden details of his personal life public paraded before the nation’s eyes. Responding to a woman’s accusation that they carried on a two-and-a-half year affair, Tiger Woods apologized for not being “true to my values and the behavior my family deserves.”
For Young & Older Christians: A Lesson from Moses, Reuben & Gad
In Numbers 32, a bit of a controversy arises between the tribes of Reuben & Gad and Moses. Reuben and Gad present a reasonable request: since Gilead is good for our flocks, please let us settle here.
Sing a New Song
Is old music better than new music? We all know the joy and freshness of learning a new hymn or hearing a new song of praise, but at other times we feel hesitant and uncertain about being too new or too edgy. Add to the mix the fact that churches and families are made of people with a variety of opinions and ideas about music. It certainly seems like the safe thing to do is just to stick with the old, proven hymns that we’ve been using for years. The safe and easy option, however, is not necessarily best. God teaches us that we should create and sing new songs of worship.
“Take up the whole armor of God” – because God does!
Isa. 59.15-19
The sky is falling. Really?
Some folks go to town on every political problem, societal ill, governmental shift or watchdog alert that they hear. They’d do well to meditate on Isa.. 8.11-13 instead:
Honoring your father and mother – when are you old enough to stop?
Occasionally you’ll run across the idea that while a young person is a child, he is required to obey; when he matures, he should honor his parents; then when he moves out and is no longer at home, he really doesn’t need his parents’ input or approval on his decisions.
Why a fig tree?
I recently received a question from a new convert about John 1.43-51:
Who Crucified Christ?
In the most direct sense, the Roman soldiers crucified Jesus. They mocked and struck him (Mt. 27.29-30); they beat the crown of thorns into his scalp (Jn. 19.2); they drove the spikes through his wrists and ankles (Mk. 15.24); they pierced his side to be certain that he had died (Jn. 19.34). The soldiers were the ones who did “the dirty work” (Acts 2.23) but they were obeying orders.
Restitution & Justice
A difficult issue to deal with in Old Testament theology is the alarming frequency with which the death penalty is commanded in the Pentateuchal law. For instance, in Exodus 21-23, capital punishment is the judgment mandated for crimes like murder, assault & battery on one’s parents, kidnapping, cursing one’s parents, allowing one’s animal to kill a person, bestiality, sorcery, and idolatry. Other crimes like ordinary assault, involuntary manslaughter, tort, theft, negligence, statutory rape and oppression require financial restitution.
I hear my mocking voice
I was reading Mark’s account of the crucifixion of Jesus (Mk. 15) today and I noticed the repeated emphasis Mark put on the mockery that Christ endured.