Month: September 2017

Morning Musings: 2 Chronicles 16:7, 10

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“At that time Hanai the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, ‘Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. . . .Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in the stocks in prison, for he was in a rage with him because of this.  And Asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Asa’s is really a sad story, but one that is repeated far too often in the lives of the people around us.  Nearly all of his life he sought the Lord faithfully and the nation prospered for it.  God led him to achieve incredible victories that would not have otherwise been possible.  He elevated the spiritual lives of the people and the spiritual climate of the nation.  He was a king in the model of David in nearly ever way.  Until he wasn’t.   Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: 1 Corinthians 14:34

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“…the women should keep silent in the churches.  For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

See, I knew it!  Paul is clearly a misogynist.  He wants women silent and in the back, or better yet, barefoot and in the kitchen.  The church of Paul has no real place for women to become fully who God always intended them to be.  We need something fresh and new with feminism at its heart in order for both men and women to find the place God has for them.   Read the rest…

1 Corinthians 15:12-14

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“Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Pay close attention to Paul’s argument and his conclusion here because this is perhaps the single most important argument in the whole of the Scriptures in terms of its central importance to the Christian faith.  The resurrection is the historical event on which the whole of the Christian faith rests.  If we can successfully prove this one thing, everything else that we claim to be right and true flows from it.  Everything.  Without it, the whole structure of the faith crumbles and falls into the dust.  If you were to choose one truth claim of the Christian faith to make sure someone else believes and understands, this is the one.   Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Psalm 101:2-8

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I will ponder the way that is blameless.
Oh when will you come to me?
I will walk with integrity of heart
within my house;

I will not set before my eyes
anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cling to me.

A perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will know nothing of evil.

Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly
I will destroy.
Whoever has a haughty look and an
arrogant heart
I will not endure.

I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
he who walks in the way that is blameless
shall minister to me.

No one who practices deceit
shall dwell in my house;
no one who utters lies
shall continue before my eyes.

Morning by morning I will destroy
all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all evildoers
from the city of the Lord.

(ESV – Read the chapter)

These are powerful words.  David was writing this from his position as king of Israel.  He was laying out his commitment to God of how he was going to manage his kingdom in such a way that would keep it on the path of righteousness.  He was talking about how he was going to set guardrails to keep it from teetering into evil.  Drawing from v. 2, he was committing himself to walking in the way that is blameless and then going on to describe how he was going to do that.   Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Psalm 102:1

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“Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you!”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Sometimes our circumstances are hard enough that we just need to cry out to the Lord and tell Him how awful we feel.  This psalm is good for that.  When you feel completely broken and like God Himself has abandoned you, these are words you can cry out to Him.  Even if they feel a little uncomfortable, still, you can pray them with confidence because the psalmist already did and they were included in the Scriptures.   Read the rest…