Tag: Purpose

Digging in Deeper: Proverbs 29:18

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“Without revelation people run wild, but one who follows divine instruction will be happy.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

It’s been a little while since I’ve gotten to do something like this. Part of the blame for that lies with my own schedule of late. The other part of the blame doesn’t fall on me, though. There just hasn’t been a whole lot from the other side that has furnished me the opportunity. The opportunity for what? Another media review! It’s fun Friday, and Marvel has finally released more content onto Disney+ for us to talk about. This time, appropriately enough given the season, it was all about witches. There were broomsticks and cauldrons and cats and spooky locations and more than a little of the occult. Let’s talk about Agatha All Along, Marvel’s first attempt to take a page out of Sony’s playbook and make a series in which the hero is a villain. And, fair warning, if you haven’t seen the series yet and plan to, don’t read on. I’m going to spoil all the big reveals as we go.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 33:18-23

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“Then Moses said, ‘Please, let me see your glory.’ He said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name “the Lord” before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’ But he added, ‘You cannot see my face, for humans cannot see me and live.’ The Lord said, ‘Here is a place near me. You are to stand on the rock, and when my glory passes by, I will put you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take my hand away, and you will see my back, but my face will not be seen.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Depending on my audience, I’ll occasionally ask a congregation if they’ve ever read the passage in the Bible where God moons someone. When I do that, adults mostly look bemused and a little awkward. Kids snicker or outright giggle. Then they wait for me to tell them where since I’ve whet their curiosity. It’s right here in this very passage. I’m kidding, of course, but it provides a good opener for talking about what exactly Moses is asking God for here and why God responds the way He does. Let’s explore one of the most important requests of God in the Scriptures, and why it is a good one from us to make as well.

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Digging in Deeper: Matthew 6:24

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“No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

There are 32 teams in the National Football League. That means on any given week, 32 individuals are at the helm of one of the 32 most elite American football teams in the world. In the most recent census, the population of the United States was about 330 million people. If I have my math right, that means on a given weekend, about one out of every 10.5 million people is playing at the quarterback position in the NFL. While any one person’s odds of being an NFL quarterback are fantastically higher than winning something like the Powerball jackpot (which should tell you something about how silly it is to play the lottery), they’re still not great. That means the only quarterbacking most folks are ever going to do is the armchair variety. It’s super easy to sit in the comfort of your recliner and know what someone should have done in a situation you could have in no ways handled if you were actually in their shoes. It’s not really a good look. So, naturally, this morning, I’m going to do a bit of armchair quarterbacking. What’s going on with Tom Brady?

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Morning Musing: Mark 10:45

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“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

Humans are addicted to purpose. We can’t live without it…literally. Right now our culture is in the midst of a crisis. I’m not talking about Covid. We are in the midst of a crisis called “deaths from despair.” It started before Covid, takes nearly as many lives as the pandemic did, but unlike the virus, it doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. A death from despair happens when a person ends his life either intentionally or incidentally by taking actions intended to escape a sense of hopelessness, purposelessness, meaninglessness that has taken hold of his heart. Purpose matters. A lot. Well, here Jesus reveals the purpose of His coming. Let’s pay attention to what He has to say.

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Morning Musing: Psalm 71:17-18

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“God, you have taught me from my youth, and I still proclaim your wondrous works. Even while I am old and gray, God, do not abandon me, while I proclaim your power to another generation, your strength to all who are to come.”‬ ‭(CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

When the Social Security Act was first passed into law in 1935, its purpose was to help take care of seniors. The idea was that people who had worked their whole life shouldn’t have to worry about how they were going to be provided for when they couldn’t work anymore. Interestingly, though, the enrollment age was set at 65. The average life expectancy then for men was 61, for women, 63. For most people, there was no real idea of retiring and just being old. They worked until they died. We as a culture don’t have any real idea what to do with age. That’s too bad, because the Scriptures envision something entirely more noble for it.

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