“For those nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do so. The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him. . . . I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, […]
Gripped by this selection from Rejoicing in Christ by Michael Reeves: “. . . we naturally gravitate, it seems, toward anything but Jesus–and Christians almost as much as anyone–whether it’s ‘the Christian worldview,’ ‘grace,’ ‘the Bible’ or ‘the gospel,’ as if they were things in themselves that could save us. Even ‘the cross’ can get abstracted from Jesus, as if the wood had some power of its own. Other things, […]
Jesus wept (Jn 11.35). Dad has recently settled into an assisted living facility. None of us is particularly glad about it but we’re seeing some benefits. In three years he’s gone from 2,500 square feet to 700 to 120. It’s metaphorical, really. As we get older our world gets smaller and more temporary, more lonely. Dad has yet to call it “home” and I’m not sure he should. At best he […]
My favorite hymn is O Christ, Our Hope, Our Heart’s Desire. John Chandler translated the 8th-century Latin hymn into English in 1837. There are two different tunes, one arranged by Handel in 1751 (Bradford) and another by George Greatorex in 1851 (Manoah). I’m familiar with the latter because it’s far easier to sing (and I need all the help I can get!). Robust theology jam-packed into a simple, childlike tune […]
…and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household (Acts 11.14). While in Joppa (the same port city Jonah put on the map), Peter raised Tabitha-Dorcas from the dead like he’d seen Jesus do for Talitha (Acts 9.36-43; cf. 5.40-41). Expectedly, Joppa became fertile ground for the gospel so Peter bunked at Simon the Tanner’s house while the iron was hot. […]
Mom’s favorite hymn, At Calvary, was published in 1895 by William Reed Newell. Newell was a Presbyterian pastor, assistant superintendent of Moody Bible Institute under the famous R.A. Torrey, and well-renowned Bible expositor. His only hymn was forty years old when Mom would’ve started singing it in Itta Bena, MS. The song meant little-to-nothing to me until five years after she died. But the song itself anticipates that very situation. doesn’t it? After […]
Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear: Forget your people and your father’s house; then the King will desire your beauty. Because He is your Lord, bow down to Him (Ps 45:10-11). Psalm 45 was a song written for the king’s wedding. Israel’s handsome, valiant and humble king was joined to a radiant woman who “is all glorious within” (v13). In vv10-11, the the bride’s father gave her […]
Paul wrote Galatians to confront and combat the attempted Judaization of the church. Such was arguably the backdrop behind many of the New Testament letters. Intoxicated by the air of religious supremacy, Jews sought to enslave (Paul’s word for it) Gentiles under the burdensome yoke of Torah (cf. 4.7, 25; 5.1). Anyone wanting to be part of Yahweh’s people (i.e. Abraham’s people) had to come under the authority of Torah. And […]
“So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table as one of the king’s sons. . . . Now he was lame in both feet.” (2 Sam 9.11b, 13c) “While we were children, [we] were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son . . . so that we might receive adoption as sons. So you are no longer a slave, but a […]
Archibald Wright “Moonlight” Graham was a baseball player. He was also a doctor. He was immortalized in the classic American baseball film Field of Dreams. And he can illustrate the glorious mystery of Christ’s incarnation. Moonlight Graham spent seven seasons in the minor leagues, even having a cup of coffee with the Memphis Egyptians in 1906. His claim to fame, however, was not what he did in the minor leagues. […]