The Help of God’s Eternal Nature

As far as life callings go, this one came late. He already had a significant career in public service when he went through his mid-life crisis at age 40. Some might have said that his experience at 40 was not a crisis, but a total breakdown. He was influential and well-known until his fortieth year, […]

God and Exodus

A few theological thoughts about while doing today’s Bible reading (Exodus 5-8): Pharaoh’s initial response to Moses’ request to release the Israelites was similar to and a precursor to the way many unbeliever’s today reject God — “why should I do that? Who is God and why should I obey Him?” (Ex. 5:2) God actively […]

The 10 commandments

It has often been observed that the ten commandments are given in two “tables” — that is, there are two primary sections of commandments, with the first four governing a man’s relationship with God and the second six governing a man’s relationships with other men. It is also significant that each of the Old Testament […]

Reading the Pentateuch

This year our church is following an Old Testament reading plan — reading through the entire Old Testament chronologically, along with two of the Gospels. So these first months of the year, we are in the first five books of the Old Testament — the Pentateuch. For many books of the Bible, I have put […]

Just as the Lord commanded

Obedience is hard. We tend to do “kind-of obedience” — the kind of obedience that moves towards fulfilling the spirit of the law, but not the letter. Full obedience? That’s rare. Obedience that is complete, exact, to-the-letter, joyful, and non-resistant is unusual. We cut corners — “that’s close enough.” So driving 73 (or 75 or […]

“I don’t do blood”

I don’t do blood. Those real-life operating shows on TV? You’ve never seen anyone flip channels so fast! Dissections in my high school and college biology labs? Someone else had to do them. Emergency room and intensive care visitations? They better be quick — I’ve had more than one hospital room start “spinning” on me! […]

Passover and communion

This morning I read again the account of the first Passover in Exodus 12. As Jesus makes clear (Mt. 26:2, 18-19; Lk. 22:15; see also 1 Cor. 5:7), there are obvious connections between the Jewish festival and the Christian church’s ordinance of communion. After reading the biblical account, I further refreshed my mind about the […]

“I am the Lord”

One of the tenets of bibliology is that Scripture is the self-revelation of God. Through the words of the Bible, we discover truth about the nature and character of God. And sometimes, that self-disclosure by God is particularly evident. Consider, for example, the declaration, “I am the Lord.” Though the Lord only makes that declaration […]

Reading Exodus

A couple days ago, we began reading the book of Exodus in our reading through the Bible in a year program. Some of the books may be unfamiliar to you, so in an effort to help you understand what you are reading, as much as possible (I am fully confident I will be unable to […]

Can you hear God? A meditation on Exodus 6:9

Sometimes, in the midst of discouragement, it’s hard to see the blessings of God. As an example, consider this morning’s Scripture reading. For all the blessings God had given Abraham (an eternal covenant), Isaac (spared from death on a sacrificial altar!), and Jacob (sons who would be the patriarchs of Israel), there was something He […]