Dry and thirsty?

Many years ago, my brother and I went on a hiking expedition in the Cleveland National Forest in Southern California. Unfortunately, we were ill-equipped for the day. What began as a cool, refreshing, spring-like morning quickly developed into a hot, parching, dead-of-summer day. Soon I was overcome with the most overwhelming drive to quench my […]

There are Canaanites in the land!

The story of Israel in the book of Joshua is triumphal and victorious. It is filled with obedience, worship, and delight in God. The story of Israel in the book of Judges is sorrow and defeat. Judges is everything that Joshua isn’t. It is a book of disobedience, idolatrous worship, and rejection of God. And […]

God, the promise keeper

Being a truth teller is fundamental to godly character (Ps. 15:2b). Where truthfulness is absent, godliness is absent. That’s one reason why it is so important to keep promises. A promise-keeper is a God emulator. For God keeps His word. He always has. He always will. And this passage is one demonstration of that truth. […]

The best inheritance

They may not have been adopted by any legislature, but the “Toddler Property Laws” are just as real, nonetheless. If I like it, it’s mine. If it’s in my hand, it’s mine. If I can take it from you, it’s mine. If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine. If it is mine, […]

It’s just a little indulgence

Forty years Israel wandered in the desert, waiting for a generation of disobedient, doubting unbelievers to die. Even Moses had to die. And then the day came when God told Joshua to prepare to enter the Promised Land. Scout it out, He said. Cross the Jordan, He said. Consecrate yourselves, He said. Take Jericho, He […]

Fools and the omnipresence of God

“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God,’” David tells his readers. The fool denies the existence of God and his empty speculations lead him to acting contrary to God. He will do anything opposed to the will of God. He will not uphold justice. He will follow any evil inclination of […]

In due time their foot will slip

Today’s Scripture reading includes Dt. 32:35 — Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their calamity is near, And the impending things are hastening upon them.’ It is this verse that served as the text for Jonathan Edwards’ well-known sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an […]

What disobedience ultimately is

What is disobedience? Ask any child or teen and you will likely get a response something like, “not doing what I was told to do.” That answer is not significantly different from what most adults might say — “disobedience is a failure to do something commanded by a superior or authority figure in one’s life.” […]

Deuteronomy and Ephesians

In the first three chapters of Ephesians, there is only one imperative — only one command by God for the Ephesians to obey. The command is in 2:11 — “remember.” Specifically, these believers were to remember their position prior to salvation — separate from Christ, excluded from Israel, strangers to the promise God made with […]

Pondering David and Paul, pride and hope

Pride is sneaky and subtle. When a man is humbled and broken, pride raises a small voice that whispers, “you are doing well to be so humbled. How good you are…” When a heart is weak, pride suggests, “You are strong and able…” When an obvious grace from God has been received, pride ponders, “how […]

Transgression speaks

While there is a new brand of atheism that seems to be gaining a measure of cultural acceptance, there is another kind of atheism that has always existed — a practical atheism that affirms the existence of God with words and denies His existence with actions. Thomas Watson noted the existence of these unbelievers this […]

What does it mean when the Bible repeats itself?

Frequently the Biblical writers will use repetition of words and phrases as a means of emphasis. For instance, the word “believe” appears in John’s gospel 100 times — an obvious means of reinforcing not only the importance of belief in Christ, but also of the key verse in the book — “but these have been […]

Unclean! Unclean!

A whole generation (or more) of people has grown up hearing the adage, “cleanliness is next to godliness.” And I — like many others — heard many encouragements in my early years to make things “spic and span.” Importing those notions into the text of Leviticus is not helpful to understanding what God is saying […]

Read the Bible

Many years ago, one pastor ventured into a land of discovery — his quest was to find how much his people read their Bibles each day. He pastored a godly and effective church, so his expectation was that they read their copies of Scripture more than most believers in most churches. It was a reasonable […]

Determined to give

In 1874 Francis Ridley Havergal wrote the hymn “Take My Life and Let It Be” and sent it to a friend and essentially forgot about — until she saw it in a magazine four years later. She read it again for the first time in four years and was caught by the stanza, “take my […]