Of all people on God’s green earth, Christians should be the most passionate about racial justice. If what the Bible says (repeatedly) about humanity is true, we should abhor racism in all its forms and work tirelessly to see it rooted out of any society in which we dwell. I mention this because, when Christians begin to speak about racial justice or other issues that have political overtones (with the exception of abortion—a curious inconsistency),…
Note: This post, the third in our three-part series on Psalm 63, is a guest contribution from Kyle Bjerga. Those who want to kill me will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth. They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals. But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God will glory in him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced. (Psalm 63:9-11) David had no…
Note: This is the second in a three-part series on Psalm 63. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. 6Â On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. 7Â Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. 8Â I cling to you;Â your right hand upholds me. (Psalm 63:5-8) Hiding in the desert from…
Note: This is the first in a three-part series on Psalm 63. A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.1 You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. 2 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. 3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will…
Those following along with TGC’s Read the Bible plan read Isaiah 9-10 this week. Contemplating these remarkable chapters last year prompted me to write the following poem. It is a villanelle (think Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle”), which explains the refrain. A Gospel Meditation on Isaiah 9-10 His hand upraised, his anger yet remains To punish heart’s foul arrogance, sick pride, Until the day his justice wrath obtains. Brash cedars planted fresh on famished…
This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people: 12 “Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear and do not dread it. 13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread. (Isaiah 8:11-13) If you’re…
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2) As the shelter-in-place order drags on, and the path to reopening looks lengthy and trying, tempers are beginning to flare. Experts have different, even contradictory, opinions—and worse, every person in America has seemingly dubbed himself or…
Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me— 6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches? 7 No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them— 8 the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough— 9 so that they should live on forever and not see decay. (Psalm 49:5-9) This pandemic has shown just how frail our earthly security really is.…
I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations. You must therefore make a distinction between clean and unclean animals and between unclean and clean birds. Do not defile yourselves by any animal or bird or anything that moves along the ground—those that I have set apart as unclean for you. You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart…
Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone. (Titus 3:1-2) Let’s look at Paul’s series of admonitions in Titus 3:1-2 in light of the present pandemic. Paul has just encouraged Titus to keep preaching the gospel of grace, a grace that “teaches us to say…