Sleepless Nights

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. 6 On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. 7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. 8 I cling to you; your right hand upholds me. (Psalm 63:5-8) Hiding in the desert from…

Joy That Lasts

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…

Meditation on Isaiah 9-10

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…

God Hates Conspiracy Theories

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 â€śDo 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…

Renew Your Minds

“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…

But God

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.…

Reading Leviticus in Pandemic

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…

Eager to Do What Is Good

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…

Light for Any Path

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” (Psalm 119:105)   A profound truth struck me while reading our Associate Pastor Kyle’s last devotional for our church’s e-newsletter. It wasn’t the devotional itself (no offense, Kyle), excellent though that was; rather, it was the passage Kyle had chosen. Our church is using The Gospel Coalition’s Read the Bible Bible-reading plan this year, and he chose a passage from this week’s reading…

A Psalm for Pandemic

In this long post, we’ll walk through Psalm 37 in light of the global coronavirus crisis. David’s prayer, in very different circumstances, offers us much in the way of insight, strategy, and hope.   Do Not Fret Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and…