It was always the plan of God for Israel to have a king. Deuteronomy 17:14-20 is one of the passages that tells us this, but there are more. As part of the blessing God speaks to Jacob in Genesis 35, He tells him that “kings will be among your descendants” (v. 11). Then there’s talk of theContinue reading “How to be a King”
Category Archives: Opening the Bible
In The Beginning . . .
The importance of going back to the beginning. Suppose some people are having a disagreement. Something isn’t right and they are having trouble working it out. They come to you for some help. What are you going to do (after you say a quick prayer)? You’re going to find out how and when their difficultiesContinue reading “In The Beginning . . .”
Tender Hearts and Open Hands
The Golden Gate Bridge stretches almost a mile across the San Francisco Bay, with its total length being about 8,500 feet. It is 220 feet tall at its highest point and was completed in 1937 at a cost of 35 million dollars. Building bridges was a dangerous business in the early part of the twentiethContinue reading “Tender Hearts and Open Hands”
Childish or Child-like?
There’s an intriguing picture in Psalm 131. It is offered to further develop and reveal the pilgrims’ perspective as they neared Jerusalem. After confessing they had steered clear of presumptuous matters (“things too wonderful for me”), we are told, “I am like a weaned child with its mother.” Not simply a child—but a weaned child.Continue reading “Childish or Child-like?”
Facing the Anakites
In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses is preparing a new generation of, Israelites to enter the land of Canaan. The previous generation died in the wilderness due to their unbelief and Moses wants the generation he’s addressing to do better. I think Daniel Block’s contention that we should listen to Moses here in a pastoralContinue reading “Facing the Anakites”
Holding Out for a Hero
Joseph Campbell spent his entire life reading, writing, studying, and lecturing about mythology. For Campbell, mythology was much more than just stories from the Egyptians, Greeks, or Romans — it embraced historical figures as well as fictitious ones. Someone asked him one time why there were so many stories of heroes in mythology and CampbellContinue reading “Holding Out for a Hero”
We Must Have Wonder
Israel’s golden calf episode (Exodus 32), didn’t happen in a vacuum. They had been exposed to the wonders of God through the plagues, the deliverance at the Red Sea (while Pharaoh and his army were buried in the same waters), and God’s continual presence in the cloud and pillar of fire. But they soon forgotContinue reading “We Must Have Wonder”
Witnesses of God’s Glory
Mothers, I’d like to ask you a question. Think about when you first held your son or daughter in your arms for the first time. Now here’s the question: What kind of moment was that? It was a moment from God, wasn’t it? It was a moment delivered from Him to you, from His handsContinue reading “Witnesses of God’s Glory”
Your Texts and Your Bible
Imagine someone with access to all of the texts you have ever written. They’ve gathered them together and bound them into a book which they go around sharing with others. Only they rarely ever read a complete text — instead, they usually just quote a few sentences here and there. The quotations are accurate, butContinue reading “Your Texts and Your Bible”
Working Off a List
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.” (2 Peter 1:5-7) A list can be a real lifesaver, can’t it? In the midst ofContinue reading “Working Off a List”
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 