Tag: Morning Musings

Morning Musings: 2 Chronicles 10:6-8

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“Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, ‘How do you advise me to answer this people?’  And they said to him, ‘If you will be good to this people and please them and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.’  But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Rehoboam was an idiot.  But, he was an idiot with a lot of copycats around today.  We live in a culture that celebrates youth as one of the highest goods a person can achieve.  For those who don’t have it by calendar years, there are many measures that can be taken to maintain its appearance.  For those who do have it, though, they are given a seat at the cultural table that tends to be far closer to the head than they should be given.  See how many of the cable news channels have as anchors folks who are in their early 30s or even into their 20s.  While there are very many young people who are incredibly intelligent and articulate, there is something important and powerful to be said for the perspective and even wisdom that can only be attained by a breadth of experience that only comes with years.   Read the rest…

Morning Musings: 1 Corinthians 12:31

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“But earnestly desire the higher gifts.  And I will show you a still more excellent way.”  (ESV)

Verse 31 here of chapter 12 offers important context for understanding chapter 13 that most folks ignore.  Chapter 13 is, of course, the famous “love chapter.”  Paul offers us a beautiful and vaunted description of what love looks like and the necessity of its centrality in our lives.  And while it is certainly and obviously generally applicable, it’s context is advice on how to get our practice of the spiritual gifts right in the church body.  Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Proverbs 20:22

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“Do not say, ‘I will repay evil’; wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.”  (ESV)

When we have been affronted by some evil, or when we see someone else who has been affected by it, our natural response is to want to repay it.

Throughout the whole of human history, our natural response has been to repay in kind when we have been dealt an offense.  And this is right, isn’t it?  If something is wrong, we need to act to set it right.  For someone who doesn’t believe in a just god, this is obviously necessary, because who else is going to do it?  But even for those who believe in a God who is perfect in justice this should be something that is good and right, yes?  After all, this would be our participating in His character of justice.   Read the rest…

Morning Musings: 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

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“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

It takes a lot to make the church work.  There are all kinds of different roles that need to be filled.  Some of them are out front and flashy.  Some of them are entirely behind the scenes and go completely overlooked…unless they’re not being done.

The challenge this presents the church is that we tend to assign value based on external factors only.  If something is visible, we count it as more valuable than something that is invisible.  If something draws our eyes because of its prominence, we count it as more valuable than something which is not as eye-catching.  Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Psalm 99:8

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“O Lord our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

One of the things that can be so frustrating about the Scriptures is that over and over they take two ideas which seem to be contradictory, declare them both to be true, and, rather than resolving the tension, simply leave it in place.

Some examples of this would be divine sovereignty and human responsibility, Jesus’ full humanity and full divinity, and the three-persons and one-person nature of the Trinity.  Right here we see another tension.  The psalmist declares God to be both a forgiver of sins, but also an avenger of wrongdoings.   Read the rest…