“It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
I read this verse for the first time in a long time the other day and it got my attention as it hasn’t any of the previous times I’ve read it. I honestly have struggled with it some. This is the fifth reason we are given that the nations of Canaan were left in the Promised Land. Which one are we supposed to take as true? Read the rest…
“Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.” (ESV)
We live in a culture that worships youth. We fight the signs of aging (there are apparently seven of them). We resist the pull of the years. We celebrate youth movements. We look for the young people to come and save us. If a movement or idea is sparked by young people it is automatically assumed to be good and wise. We are told to let children be themselves. The truth, though, is that while it is good the humanity of young people is recognized and defended more than it used to be, most of this cultural moment is foolish to the highest degree. Read the rest…
“Moreover, the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day when the Lord binds up the brokenness of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Have you experienced the “blow” of the Lord? Israel was a stubborn group. They had the Law from Moses and an overwhelming amount of evidence to support the wisdom of following that particular path as the only way to life and flourishing, but still, they constantly looked at the nations around them with envy in their hearts. Read the rest…
“It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Facing hard stuff is something we all have to do at some point in our lives. It may be a little hard. It may be a lot hard. But in a broken world, hard stuff is part of the journey. The only variable here is how we handle the hard. Read the rest…
“Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he has mercy upon us.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
On what have you placed your eyes? Our world is like a carnival in the manifold of things for us to look at as we navigate through it. There are more things to which we can direct our attention than we could possibly count. What’s more, many of these things are not silent and waiting. Like a carnival barker they call, no, they demand, our attention. Read the rest…
The Nexus 