October 2018 – Page 3

Digging in Deeper: 1 Samuel 28:13-14

October 19, 2018October 17, 2018Leave a comment

“The king said to her, ‘Do not be afraid. What do you see?’ And the woman said to Saul, ‘I see a god coming up out of the earth.’ He said to her, “What is his appearance?” And she said, ‘An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.’ And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage.” (ESV – Read the chapter)

This is one of the most intriguing stories in the whole of the Old Testament to me. What exactly we are to make of this story isn’t at all clear at first read…or at second or third or fourth read either for that matter. In over a third of a century worth of listening to sermons I don’t believe I’ve ever heard a preacher tackle it. We’re usually taught both in the church and out that this kind of stuff is not real and cannot happen. And yet, here the Scriptures present it as happening. What gives? Read the rest…

Morning Musing: 2 Samuel 3:6

October 19, 2018October 17, 2018Leave a comment

“While there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was making himself strong in the house of Saul.” (ESV – Read the chapter) ‬‬

In what follows here we see an almost Game of Thrones style transition of power from Saul to David. The two houses are at war, there’s trouble within one house, jealousy leads to accusations that may or may not be false but which lead to permanent rifts, there are sides being swapped, old wounds being nursed, long-simmering hatreds being acted upon, and the list goes on from there. The question it leads me to ask is what on earth is this kind of stuff doing in the Bible?!? Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: 1 Samuel 28:5-7

October 17, 2018October 17, 2018Leave a comment

“When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, ‘Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.’ And his servants said to him, ‘Behold, there is a medium at En-dor.’” (ESV – Read the chapter)

When was the last time you felt alone, scared, and desperate? Saul was a mess here. His world was falling apart and even though he was the king of Israel, he had a pressing sense that he couldn’t do anything about it. That’s a scary place to be. It’s the kind of place that leads us to make some choices that would normally not even enter on our radar. Read the rest…

Morning Musing: 2 Samuel 3:2-5

October 17, 2018October 11, 2018Leave a comment

“And sons were born to David at Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam of Jezreel; and his second, Chileab, of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; and the sixth, Ithream, of Eglah, David’s wife. These were born to David in Hebron.” (ESV – Read the chapter) ‬‬

This is one of those detail notes that is easy to ignore but which appears fairly often in the history books of the Old Testament. It’s a list of names, half of which you can’t pronounce unless you really stop and think carefully through all the letters. Generally speaking, once we’ve gotten past reading Hop on Pop, we don’t like having to sound out unfamiliar words, so we skip them and don’t think about it any further. And while, to be honest, we can do this with many of the genealogy lists we find, this one is worth giving a bit more of our attention. Rest the rest…

Pursue Godliness

October 15, 2018October 11, 2018Leave a comment

This past Sunday we kicked off a brand-new series called Pursue: Chasing God in a Godless World. For the next few weeks, with the story of King Asa in 2 Chronicles 14-16 as our guide, we’re going to talk about this very thing. How can we be bold followers of Jesus in a culture where such a thing isn’t nearly as acceptable as it once was? In this first part we lay the foundation for what follows. If we’re going to run after Jesus, it’s going to take looking like God. Thanks for reading.

Pursue Godliness

This past week was an anniversary of sorts, although probably not one you’ve ever heard of before. Fifty-five years ago this past Friday, Walter Ciszek was released from prison in Soviet Russia and returned to the United Stated after more than 20 years in captivity. As a young man in the 1930s, Ciszek, a Catholic, felt a call to ministry. Specifically, he felt a call to the mission field. So, stepping out on his faith, Ciszek headed for the U.S.S.R. He was in Poland training for the work to which he had been called when Russia invaded. Recognizing how perilous was the situation he was facing in Poland, Ciszek did what any bold, young missionary would do in his position, he head further east to serve in the Ural Mountains in central Russia. In 1941, he was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison—much of it in solitary confinement. While serving this sentence, he was sentenced to an additional 15 years in the Gulag, several years of which included hard labor. Even once his hard labor term was complete, however, he was still held as a prisoner, now forced to work as a mechanic. Read the rest…