Mountain Bullies
It’s almost universal to human experience that big and strong people bully smaller and weaker people. Those with position, influence and power use what they have to take advantage of those who don’t have what they have. Centuries ago, David imagined in Psalm 68:15-16 that even the mountains do the same: “O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan; O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!Why do you look with hatred, O…
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Christianity Isn’t Vegas
The sign above is posted near the doors on the way out of the sanctuary in my church. It is a reminder that sharing Christ with the world is not a task only for those who travel away from home to do it as a full-time job. It is not a task only for those who go into a “hostile” culture. It is a task for all who would follow…
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God is Awake!
Sometimes even Christians with strong faith may look at the evil and problems of the world and wonder where God is. Does He care? And if He does care, why isn’t He doing something about the state of our world? If God is a God of love, why doesn’t He protect His people, and if God is a God of justice, why doesn’t He punish evil? God may seem so…
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“The Sea was No More”
One of my favorite places to be is the ocean. I love the roar of the waves and the feel of the sand. I love catching waves with a boogie board or just bodysurfing. Being in the ocean is my “happy place.” But will it be that for me in heaven? Will it be like that, only better, or will it be something completely different? The Bible doesn’t provide…
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Lessons from an Unlikely Idol
The history of the kings of Judah can read like a back-and-forth between construction of idols by bad kings and the destruction of idols by good kings. Hezekiah was one of the few good kings, and one reason is recorded in 2 Kings 18:4, which says: “[Hezekiah] removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses…
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Daily Readings for October 26 – November 1
Fellow travelers: For those looking for a Bible reading plan, each week I post 2 chapters to read per day as a main reading plan, and for anyone who wants to read the whole Bible in 2026, I’ll post the extra chapters to read that week. The main readings include nearly all of the New Testament, plus Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Prophets, and a few other Old Testament books. Reading…
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Changing Focus
Anyone who has been reading here for a while knows that I love the Psalms. In so many of them, we can relate to what the writer feels or is going through and then learn from them how to better relate to God. I find myself praying richer prayers when in the Psalms. This post is about a Psalm I think about when things aren’t going well and God seems…
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God’s Justice is Good
Many of the Bible’s Psalms are beautiful songs of praise, but some are harder to read, including what are called “imprecatory” Psalms. To “imprecate” is to curse, and in the case of these Psalms, the writers curse the enemies of the writer and of God. Psalm 58, written by David, uses some very harsh language, such as “O God, break the teeth in their mouths” (in vs. 6) or “Let…
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God is Faithful in Trouble
Fellow travelers, Psalm 71 was likely written by an old man, looking back over his life and the many instances of God’s faithfulness. Looking back over a lifetime of walking with God strengthens his current faith, and he writes to strengthen ours. Although some might expect a testimony of God’s faithfulness to talk about uninterrupted good fortune and all the good times the Psalmist has had, in verse 20, they…
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Christians are So Unlikable
Mahatma Gandhi is sometimes quoted as saying “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” People often think this statement is shocking and the world is expert at finding hypocrisy, as if evidence of hypocrisy determines the loser of every argument. But what’s really shocking is “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.…
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