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Ruth — Beauty Among the Ashes
The Book of Ruth should be read when you read the Book of Judges. The biggest advantage is realizing that among the blood lust of Judges there is a beautiful story of redemption. Reading Judges will be a tough read. Realize it’s not about the book telling us what is “right.” It is giving us a story of what is…
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Scariest verse in the Old Testament
Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. (Judges 16:20, NIV) To live in such compromise, playing around with the gifts of God so much, that there is a point where you think…
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It’s War
One of the key paragraphs of Judges is interesting: These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan2 (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience):3 the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the…
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Why I Love My City
I need to tell you about my city. It is the city I pastor. It is not the city where I pastor. It is the city I pastor. And it’s a great one. I call myself their biggest cheerleader. I LOVE this city! Columbia Heights, MN is an inner ring suburb, which means it has “issues.” One of the reasons I love…
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Judges — The Refusal of Obedience
The Book of Judges is far worse than any movie Quentin Tarantino could make. Tarantino has NOTHING on this book and its demented plots. This will be a bloody read for people following our reading journey this summer. That is why we put the Book of Ruth with this one. You really need to read the Book of Ruth at…
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Living in the City — Silly Government Costs
One government issue that always gets to me is when state legislatures spend far more time on fringe issues rather than do things like, oh, pass budgets. And then… the things they pass budgets FOR… oy! Living in Minneapolis, with the I-35 bridge collapse a few years ago, I really focus on government providing for BASICS. But, no… even when…
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Reflections on a Murder One Block from My House
There was a shooting yesterday morning one block from my house. It was a party going late and a man was shot while sitting in his car across the street. Police know it wasn’t random. There are several things swirling in my head as I process the thought of a murder one block away. 1. Murders happen. They happen in…
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Book of Joshua — The Call of Allegiance
6 “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. 7 Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. 8 But you are to hold…
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A sense of awe
One of my favorite movies is “Apollo 13”. As I watch I see people’s awe at amazing things like landing on the moon. It seems we do not have that sense any more. We seem ho-hum about so many things. Does anything give us a sense of “awe” anymore?
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It’s not how you begin, it’s how you end
Caleb’s story in the Book of Joshua is incredible. The lives of Moses, Joshua, and Caleb should ALL ring out to us. I love spending time getting young adults started in ministry, but my mantra is this: “It’s not about how you begin. It’s how you end.” Caleb is that example. He was 85 years old when it was time…
