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I would “kill” for what you have; tackling the strength of jealousy
Recently, one of my older boys had a headache. I swooped in with all my Mom might and offered comfort, medication and syrupy words of compassion. It only took seconds for me to meet the gaze of my preschool boy and watch him suddenly declare that his stomach hurt; he too was in need of Mom’s attention and affection. At one point or another, nearly all of us have stood by and witnessed someone else receive something we desperately long for ourselves. Whether it’s affection, praise, opportunities, promotions, relationships, the heart longs for so much and nearly always notices when someone else has the thing we want. The story of…
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Imagine There’s No Lennon
“Imagine there’s no heaven. It’s easy if you try. No hell below us, above us only sky…” I find the above one of the saddest thoughts ever put to music. Unfortunately this song has become the Humanist theme song. At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and shutdown, a bunch of celebrities decided to sing this song acapella and share it with the world… for some reason. Why? It is a melancholy, hopeless song… at least on the surface. And John Lennon is dead. Imagine there is no heaven, no place where people finally find rest from a life of toil and struggle, pain and sorrow. Imagine there is nothing…
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Licensed to Kill!
"A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud wailing, Rachel weeping for her children, and she did not want to be comforted, because they were gone." (Matthew 2:18 NET)
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Rebellion and Exponential Evil
“For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but threw them into hell and locked them up in chains in utter darkness, to be kept until the judgment, and if he did not spare the ancient world, but did protect Noah, a herald of righteousness, along with seven others, when God brought a flood on an ungodly world, and if he turned to ashes the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah when he condemned them to destruction, having appointed them to serve as an example to future generations of the ungodly, and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man in anguish over the debauched lifestyle of lawless men, (for while…
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A Date Which Will Live in Infamy
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). The word “infamy” is defined by Dictionary.com as “extremely bad reputation, public reproach, or strong condemnation as the result of a shameful, criminal, or outrageous act”. Thus one year ago today, June 26th, 2015, the day the Supreme Court of the United States declared that homosexuals had a Constitutional right to marry, is a date of infamy. The Court based their decision upon… well… upon philosophic talk that was devoid of wisdom. After all, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7, NIV 1984). The word “fools” describes…
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“Be the Bridge” to Racial Unity
Never was this more blatantly evident than the bold statement made by the believers at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Even Southern Living magazine, August 2015 issue picked it up … “the horrific shooting that took the lives of nine churchgoers threatened to rip the city of Charleston, South Carolina, apart … but by responding with public displays of compassion, love and unity, Charleston has shown us how to move forward. Instead of riots, there were church services and vigils all over town.” They modeled for the world – “Therefore, as God’s chosen people…clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each…
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Making sense of the senseless
It is painful to imagine the tragic reality that smacked us all in the face last week. Senseless murders of innocents. We can relate to sitting around a table with bibles open and listening to a pastor lead us in study; laughter, questions, smiles and nods. The scene is familiar. In Charleston, even though welcoming a new person, evil lurked in that heart. Death is far from their thoughts. Dylann Roof himself, feeling the kindness, considers relenting, resisting evils wicked whispers. Then, shoving aside those kinder thoughts, he reaches for the gun. Chaos and confusion descend and the acrid smell of gunpowder fills the air. Moments of heroism as…
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The Necessary Sovereignty of God
"Everything is necessary that He sends and nothing can be necessary that He withholds." John Newton This quote from our pastor's sermon on Romans 8 last Sunday are hard words and require untmost dependence in the absolute goodness of God and trust in His sovereign care, especially when what you think is necessary is withheld. Otherwise you would go mad to think that the sovereign Creator of the universe is powerless to stop or thwart evil. Modeled by God when He sacrificed His son on the cruel, terrible cross, Christ's death was necessary. And, it was not necessary for Him to withhold Jesus's dying on the cross. Where would be…
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Was Abigail Right to Go Behind Nabal’s Back?
One morning after I had taught a women’s Bible study on the life of Abigail, wife of Nabal, a woman hustled over to me, elbows swinging. Seeing her body language, I braced myself. Her argument about my teaching went something like this: “You're wrong! Abigail was most definitely not righteous. By taking matters into her own hands, she shows what happens when a wife steps out from under her husband’s ‘umbrella of authority.’ If Abigail had submitted to Nabal rather than intervening, David would have felt guilty for killing him, and it would have kept him from killing later." I’d heard this interpretation once before—from Bill Gothard, among others. So how do we…
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The Polarities of Advent
The polarities of good and evil erupt in the larger metanarrative of salvation history – creation, fall, redemption, new creation. The birth of Christ, a hugely joyous occasion to celebrate, is followed by His death and suffering – the whole reason the baby is born. Other polarities surface: the cost of leaving heaven and entering fallen earth; Mary’s delight of being chosen by God to carry His Son and a tarnished reputation; the worship of the Christ Child by the humble shepherds and wise men from the East and the wailing of the murder of all baby boys under 2 years old as ordered by the paranoid and evil king…
