God’s justice – Page 4

Digging in Deeper: Revelation 20:15

May 10, 2019May 9, 2019Leave a comment

“And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

This morning we started wrestling through what we are supposed to do with a passage like this one and its disturbing images of the final fate of those who reject God as Lord. We started with the basics: The doctrine of Hell is hard, but it’s also necessary. With those two truths in place, let’s deal with the emotional hard of the idea of Hell being a place of eternal death and fiery torment. Are those both true pictures of Hell? Because, if we’re honest, those are the ideas that drive so many away from the doctrine.

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Digging in Deeper: Psalm 95:7b-9

January 18, 2019January 15, 2019Leave a comment

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.” (ESV – Read the chapter)

Have you seen enough of God and His activity that rejecting Him is no longer a valid option for your life? That’s kind of an interesting question, isn’t it? We don’t often think about it like that. We usually think more in these terms: Have you seen enough of God to make receiving Him a reasonable thing to do? The thing is, if we look closely at the Scriptures, that first question is the one with which we are really confronted.

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Morning Musing: 2 Samuel 12:13-14 Part 1

November 16, 2018November 13, 2018Leave a comment

“David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ And Nathan said to David, ‘The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.’” (ESV – Read the chapter) ‬‬

I have put off writing this note for several days. I’ve resisted because I haven’t been sure I’ve wanted to wade into this mess. I’ve read this passage before many times because I’ve read this story many times. But, I’ve struggled with it this time in ways I haven’t before. Rather than just sitting on it, though, I decided to let you in on the struggle. Here goes… Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: 1 Samuel 15:3

September 14, 2018September 12, 2018Leave a comment

“Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.”
(ESV – Read the chapter) ‬‬

And here I’d thought we had dealt with all of this nonsense in the narrative of Joshua leading the people to inhabit the Promised Land. How can we trust as good a God who issues a command like this? Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: 1 Samuel 2:5

August 17, 2018August 14, 2018Leave a comment

“Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn.” (ESV – Read the chapter)

Put yourself in Hannah’s shoes for a moment. If you are a woman there is a chance you can. She had been barren for years. In spite of much effort, childbearing remained painfully elusive. Meanwhile the woman she was forced to be with all the time seemed to be able to get pregnant at the drop of a hat. They each had the thing the other desired most, though: Peninnah, children, and Hannah, Elkhanah’s heart. Peninnah could at least take solace in her many children. Hannah merely endured the constant scorn of her rival and wondered why God hated her so much. And then she was pregnant. Read the rest…