When is the last time you smashed one of your idols? I’m talking about the obliterating, completely destroying, burning-it-to-the-ground kind of smashing. Like the smashing that Gideon did when he tore down his father’s altar to Baal. Like the smashing the Ephesians did when Paul first preached to them and they burned their magic books […]
What is contentment? Now, before you read on to see what my definition is, please take a moment to think of (and/or write) your own definition. Now that you have a definition (you did think of a definition, right?) let’s talk about contentment. Consider Matthew 6:19–21 (English Standard Version): “Do not lay up for yourselves […]
Psalm 88 is the darkest psalm in the Book of Psalms. The Lord is mentioned in only three different places, once in a prayer of belief: “Lord, God of my salvation . . . incline Your ear to my cry” (vv. 1–2, New King James Version), and twice in an urgent plea […]
Ezra Nehemiah: The Return from Exile – Bible Studies Norman De Jong Reformed Fellowship, Inc., 2021. 272 pages. Paperback, $14.99 Ezra and Nehemiah are not the easiest books in the Bible to understand and apply. With a confusing timeline, repetition of major themes, and several chapters dedicated to long lists of Hebrew […]
Weddings are beautiful. The music, the flowers, the food, the dress. The joy on the faces of the bride and bridegroom. The joyful anticipation of many happy days together. The beginning of a new life together is worth a good celebration. Marriage can also be beautiful. The mutual delight of the spouses in […]
What psalm would you describe as the central psalm in the Book of Psalms? Perhaps you would pick your favorite psalm; perhaps, there is a psalm that seems to sum up the message of the Book of Psalms to you; perhaps you’ve never really thought about this question before. Spend some time reading and meditating […]
“Be true to yourself.” “Be creative, be unique, be you.” “True love will love me for who I really am.” These and countless other platitudes have become so normal in twenty-first-century America that we seldom question the worldview behind them and seldom understand why that worldview is so dangerous and deadly to our lives as […]
Do you have a favorite psalm? The Psalms have been my favorite book of the Bible for as long as I can remember. When I was growing up, each New Year my family would make a list of goals to accomplish in the coming year. I remember writing, “Read a book on the Psalms,” and […]
Are you ever impatient? Not so much impatient with circumstances, but with people? Have you ever looked across the church and shaken your head at that person who never seems to grow up, who constantly struggles in their walk with the Lord, and who never quite manages to be there every Sunday? Have you ever […]
As parents in the twenty-first century, we get bombarded from all sides on how to raise our kids. “Do this, don’t do that.” In the secular world, it’s often about the physical circumstances: make sure they have at least one sibling but no more than two; make sure you live in a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house […]