Month: July 2020

  • …Who’s There?

    …Who’s There?

    Matthew 7:7–12; Luke 13:22–30; Revelation 3:14–22 “Knock, Knock” jokes rank up there with “dad” jokes. Most of the time they are a play on words, and almost all the time they’re only cute (or funny) when a kid says them. These passages with knocking in them are probably quite familiar to you. If not, hang…

  • Self of Nothing

    Self of Nothing

    Judges 4:1–24; 2 Samuel 6:12–22; Psalm 18:20–29 Many have often condemned Barak as a coward who hides behind a woman’s skirt (so to speak). What if there is something else at play? If you read the Book of Joshua and 1 & 2 Samuel, the Ark of the Covenant was part of the army’s formation.…

  • For and/or In and/or Of

    For and/or In and/or Of

    Matthew 13:44–52 Translating the Scriptures is hard work. Whether it be the 1611 King James Bible, The Amplified, the New International Version, the Christian Standard Bible, the nuances of multiple languages (Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic) along with cultural overlays, makes it incredibly difficult. Then you have the literal translations, the “thought” translations, the “concept” translations,…

  • Watcha Doing?

    Watcha Doing?

    Psalm 46; Luke 10:38–42 It’s a crazy world. There is so much going on. If you live in the United States, you know the next election is just around the corner. Although, it seems all of 2020 has been an election year. If you are on social media, your “stream” may be flooded with this…

  • Washing Branches

    Washing Branches

    John 13:1–11;  John 15:1–10 Just in case you didn’t catch it before, John 13–17 is all during the Last Supper. It certainly does beat Moses’ Book of Deuteronomy in length. These chapters do, however, give us a deep insight into Jesus as his final hours are approaching (The Jewish day started at Sunset, so the…

  • Want

    Want

    Exodus 20:1–21; 1 Kings 3:16–28; 1 Corinthians 13:1–13 The tale of envy and spite in the story relayed in 1 Kings is abominable to most of us. How could any person ever do that, even if it is not their child? Yet, there are far too many tragic stories of people treating their children—their legacy—with…

  • Too Small

    Too Small

    Deuteronomy 7:7–11; Judges 6:13–16; Matthew 13:31–33 One of the best scenes in the movie, The Princess Bride is when Princess Buttercup and (the Dread Pirate Roberts) Wesley are about to enter the Fire Swamp. Buttercup looks at Wesley and asks, “what about the R.O.U.S.s?” “The Rodents of Unusual Size? I’m sure they don’t exist.” He…

  • Always the Same

    Always the Same

    Jeremiah 16:10–15; Malachi 3:1–7 Many years ago, in a bible study, an older woman said to the study leaders, “I do not believe in the God of the Old Testament. That God is cruel and unjust. I only believe in the loving God of the New Testament.” Many people walked away from the church and/or…