Man in stained clothes sitting on couch watching television in cluttered, dirty room

Morning Musing: Philippians 4:7-9

“Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things. Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Jesus once said that it is not what goes into the body that corrupts it, but what comes out of it. He was talking about food because the Pharisees had been fussing at Him about what the disciples were eating and over their not doing all the proper washings before eating. His point was that they were focused on external matters of symbolic righteousness that didn’t ultimately matter very much while neglecting the much more significant matters of internal righteousness. But when He said that it is not what goes into the body that corrupts it, He wasn’t entirely correct. Let’s talk about why.

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Wooden cross on a rocky cliff during a lightning storm over rough ocean waters.

Good Friday 2026

Today is Good Friday. It’s the day we remember with joy and gladness the greatest injustice ever perpetrated by humans. Why would such a thing prompt joy and gladness in us? Because that gross injustice was the death of God the Son, and by His sacrificial death, our sins were covered, making possible a right relationship with God. This is a day to reflect on our sin with repentant hearts. It is a day to reflect with soberness on the seriousness of sin and the lengths our God went to remove it as an obstacle to our being with Him. At my church we always have a special service on Good Friday, and this year will be no different. Here’s part of what I will say to the group tonight. Blessings on your day.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 8:1-2

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I finally broke down and did it. I waited as long as I could. I really could have done it at any time, but I just didn’t want to at first. But then everybody was doing it. Just about literally everybody. And everybody was talking about it. And it was a cultural phenomenon. And I finally just had to see for myself. So I did it. It wasn’t very long. And it was better than I expected. It really was as good as most everybody had said. And there were just so many Gospel touchpoints. It wasn’t perfect by any stretch on that mark, but it touched on some truths that are really important to understand. If only it offered real solutions. Wondering what I’m talking about? I finally watched the international smash hit, KPop Demon Hunters. Let’s talk about it.

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Digging in Deeper: 1 John 1:5-10

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him. If we say, ‘We have fellowship with him,’ and yet we walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth. If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus the Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say, ‘We have no sin,’ we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say, ‘We have not sinned,’ we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

The world is broken. People are broken. They do what’s wrong at least as often as they do what is right…sometimes more often. They are selfish. They do what they want and don’t think too much about how getting what they want will affect the people around them. And nobody seems to be able to do much about it. What if there was a way, though, to fix it? What if there was a way to make everybody do the right thing, to make them be decent people? What it be worth it? The second season of Amazon Prime’s, Fallout, ponders that very question. Let’s talk about it.

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Digging in Deeper: 1 Timothy 6:10

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Fridays on here are fun, but they’re also a challenge. They’re fun because I take time to write about things that are purely interests for me—thus you get lots of reviews of superhero movies and series. It’s also a challenge, though, because unlike the other four days of the week, I don’t necessarily know what I’m going to write about very far ahead of time. I have more than once gotten to Thursday evening actively still wondering what was going to be on tap for the next day. That was the case this week, in fact. At least it was until my sports fanatic son sent me a note about a sports betting ring involving a bunch of college basketball players being broken up this week. We talked about sports betting a few weeks ago, but here we are again because this was one I just couldn’t ignore.

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