2 Samuel 18:1-19:10; John 20:1-31; Psalm 119:153-176; Proverbs 16:14-15 David is in exile. Absalom has taken his throne. Armies are mustered and David’s and Absalom’s men square off in the forest of Ephraim. This was dangerous terrain for a battle—low hanging trees, pits, and rugged terrain—the topography in which well-trained troops have the advantage. The terebinth tree, often translated oak or ...  Read More

Today's Reading God commanded Israel to remember. He didn't want them to forget what he was going to do at the Passover so he commanded them to make this a continual celebration for the nation. Israel then celebrated annually for over a thousand years what God had done in delivering them from bondage in Egypt. It was only when Jesus revealed that the fulfillment of the Passover came through his death that the people of God stopped celebrating this Passover and instead celebrated the n  Read More

Today's Reading Grace. Once a year or so I get to represent Christianity at a world religions class at Florida Southwest State College and inevitably grace is the most controversial topic of the night. You can see why from Jesus' parable in Matthew 20. The workers who were hired early in the morning were angry that those hired at the end of the day would receive the same pay as them. The workers felt betrayed and felt like the landowner was unfair. Yet the landowner confronts this att  Read More

Today's Reading Notice the stubbornness of Pharaoh as he responds to the plagues which God sends against Egypt. In the moment he is quick to pretend that he is in the wrong but as soon as the plague is gone he hardens himself against God once again. He doesn't believe that he needs to humble himself before God but rather thinks that he functions as a god over Egypt. This stubbornness led to grave consequences for him and his whole nation. In contrast to Pharaoh's hardness is the so  Read More

Today's Reading There will almost certainly be moments in our lives where we doubt God. I think in some ways that is a part of being human. The question is, "what will we do with our doubts? Notice the doubts that Moses had" in Exodus 5:22-7:24. He doubts whether his mission to Pharaoh could possibly be effective and he doubts whether God has the best interest of Israel in mind since all that Moses has seen is their circumstances become more difficult. Notice though where Moses dire  Read More

Today's Reading We often think that all we need is Jesus. This is true when it comes to salvation (i.e. justification) but is not true when it comes to maturity. Notice the thread of community that links our readings today. Moses confesses that he is not up for the job of being God's spokesman and God acquiesces and allows him to take Aaron along. "If I were God I would tell Moses that I am calling him to the task and because of my call he should go do it. Instead God allows   Read More

Today's Reading Justice is part of God's character and a command for his people to live out. We see this thread throughout the Bible as God's people are called to do justice (Micah 6:8), to not only pray but participate in God's work on earth as it is in heaven (Mathew 5) and to live out God's kingdom ethics including justice in the here and now. Yet we see from today's reading that a desire to make broken things whole (justice) can be done in a way that honors God or in  Read More

Today's Reading As a youth pastor, I am always trying to get our young people to think through how they can engage their friends in conversation about Jesus. One of the things I encourage them to say to their friends is, "I don't know what to do with Jesus. Have you ever taken a good look at this guy?" He has to be God. There are no other explanations. When we come to Matthew 16, the disciples have been with Jesus for a long time and it is time for Jesus to tak  Read More

Today's Reading God's ways are not the ways of the world. In the days of Genesis, the firstborn son received double the inheritance and all of the notoriety. Yet in God's economy this is not the way it works. So often in Scripture we see where God raises up and blesses those that the world might ignore. In our reading today in Genesis, we see this principle happen twice. First, Jacob blesses Ephraim more than Manasseh despite Ephraim being the younger. This may not seem like a b  Read More

Today's Reading The only reason that we are able to know God is because he has revealed himself to us. Psalm 19 provides us with the two ways in which God has made himself known. Verses 1-6 describe what is called general revelation, that which every person can understand about God through his creation. When we notice a palm tree, stare at the waves, let sand fall through our hands or observe the birds in the sky we can understand something about God. Yet God did not solely give us abstract  Read More

Today's Reading The busyness of life can often cause us to miss what God is doing around us. Notice in our reading today from Mathew how intentional Jesus is to spend time in silence and solitude. These are two of the great spiritual disciplines of Christianity which are easily neglected today. We find ourselves unable to put our smartphone down or to disconnect from social media, yet there is so much value in just being quiet. In Matthew 14:13 Jesus is trying to spend time alone with his F  Read More

Today's Reading One of the themes which we have already encountered and will face again is that of humility vs pride. We have seen the evidence of this in Joseph's interaction with his brothers and we see it in Psalm 18:27. Notice what the psalmist says, "You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty." This idea is quoted by both James and Peter in the New Testament. They both strike upon the centrality of humility. This speaks to God's kingdom being   Read More