Category: Digging in Deeper

Digging in Deeper: Joel 2:12, 14

2 Comments

“Even now — this is the Lord’s declaration — turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning…Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave a blessing behind him, so you can offer grain and wine to the Lord your God.”
— ‭‭Joel‬ ‭2:12, 14‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

On occasion our youngest will do something ornery. He’s only five and a pretty sweet kid, so it’s not like he ever does but so much to get into trouble. But every now and then he’ll get out of line. Often on these occasions, we are more amused by what he’s done than upset and so we really aren’t looking to punish him. When he knows this he’ll grin really big at us with a little light in his eyes. He does this because he knows what’s coming. We smile back at him and say, “It’s a good thing you’re cute.” That’s a little like what we see here.

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Isaiah 44:9

Leave a comment

“All who make idols are nothing, and what they treasure benefits no one. Their witnesses do not see or know anything, so they will be put to shame.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

This is one of my favorite passages in Isaiah. Take a minute, click the link above, and read from here all the way through v. 23. I can’t read this section without chuckling a bit to myself at the sarcasm dripping from the pages. Most often, when we encounter idolatry in the Scriptures it is being condemned. Here it is mocked. Isaiah is flat out making fun of idolaters. So, why is this on my mind this morning? Because we have recently been treated to an example of what Isaiah was saying.

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: James 1:22

Leave a comment

“But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

So, last time, I offered up the beginning of my review of Marvel’s Luke Cage. It is a story that invites some theological reflection in part because it is consciously rooted in a theological framework. The main character is a preacher’s kid and the main villain quotes Scripture constantly and always carries a Bible well-worn from being read and marked up. I said I thought there are three lessons worth learning for followers of Jesus. Let’s talk about those now.

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Hosea 13:10

Leave a comment

“Where now is your king, that he may save you in all your cities, and the rulers you demanded, saying, “Give me a king and leaders”?”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

I am not a perfect parent. I am a human one, though. On occasion, one of my boys will want to do something a certain way that I know will not be wise. On these occasion I tell them it won’t be wise. Sometimes, though, they are insistent they want to do it that way. So, I let them. Do you know what happens next? It proves to be unwise. Guess what I say then? Kind of the same thing God says here.

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Hosea 11:8

Leave a comment

“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I surrender you, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? I have had a change of heart; my compassion is stirred!”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

In the world of philosophy, the branch dealing with the making and analyzing of arguments is called logic. We make jokes about whether or not something is logical, but the study of logic is a detailed and complex one. Logicians have explored it at a depth and breadth that will leave your head spinning if you aren’t formally trained. It is a philosophical discipline with which I have admittedly struggled (I can already hear the jabs coming…). But, even I can recognize that what God says here represents a formal logical fallacy. Let’s talk about why.

Read the rest…