Digging Deeper: Isaiah 55:8-9

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For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.  (ESV – Read the chapter)

We are not God.  That should be basic, but it’s not.  A reversal of that fact is the fundamental deceit of the fall.  We forget it all the time, in fact.  We regularly are guilty of thinking we know better than God how to run His world.  Things happen a certain way and we almost immediately start Monday-morning-quarterbacking the creator and sustainer of the whole cosmos.  When was the last time you consciously processed a thought which began with, “Well, if I were God…”? Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Ephesians 4:26-27

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Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.  (ESV – Read the chapter)

This is a verse that is often misunderstood and misapplied.  For starters, Paul is not somehow outlawing anger here.  Sometimes believers let themselves be convinced that negative emotions of any kind are not appropriate for believers to experience.  This is far from the truth.  A quick look at the Scriptures reveals this to be the case rather conclusively.  Our God is a passionate God who experiences a full range of emotions.  Jesus in particular experienced loss, hurt, anger, rejection, and so on. Read the rest…

The Happiness Trap

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In this final part of our series, Marriage Myths, we look at one last myth our culture tells us about marriage.  This is the myth that marriage is primarily about our happiness.  It sounds nice, to be sure, but just like every other myth, it does not compare with the truth.  Keep reading to find out what the truth here is and how we can live in it, and stay tuned for next week when we start a brand new teaching series called The Big Story.  If you’ve ever wondered what the Bible is all about, over the next four weeks we’ll talk about it together. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Psalm 109:1

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“Be not silent, O God of my praise!”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Psalm 109 here falls into the category of imprecatory psalms.  There aren’t very many of these, but they are without fail uncomfortable to read.  At least, they are uncomfortable in a culture like ours where being a follower of Jesus is still a pretty safe thing to be, and where we are taught to be tolerant of other people.  It is uncomfortable when read through the lens of Jesus’ call to love our enemies.  And this one isn’t even the most egregious of the category.  There are other imprecatory psalms that are even more violent in their language, in the kinds of things they ask God to do to the enemies of His people. Read the rest…