Saul, however, was still at Gilgal, and all his troops were gripped with fear. 8 He waited seven days for the appointed time that Samuel had set, but Samuel didn’t come to Gilgal, and the troops were deserting him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” Then he offered the burnt offering. I Sam....... Read More

Wherever you go, I will go. Ruth 1:16b. Like all humans, I love numbers, measurements, and statistics. How did I do on the exam? What was the score of the Lions game (OK, maybe not that)? What’s the unemployment rate, my raise for this year, the percentage of people with health insurance or bald spots?...... Read More

By faith Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God tested him … even though the Lord had promised that it was through Isaac that Abraham’s descendants would be numbered. It was by faith that Isaac promised future blessings to his sons, Jacob and Esau. And It was by faith that Jacob, before his death,...... Read More

In all their afflictions he was afflicted, and the angel of the Lord carried them. (Is. 63:9). I’ve spent two posts tip-toeing up to and around this question of what is real and how we can tend to escape into fantasy rather than live in reality – the reality of who we are, what we...... Read More

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who – though he was rich – became poor for your sakes (2 Cor. 8:9) After my last post, one reader pointed out that the content was rather high on the idealism scale. I have to admit that I shared the same concern. The problem...... Read More

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free (Galatians 5:1). Certain ideas are more subject to becoming clichéd than others. Love, life, happiness – and our word for today, freedom – are all abstract, big-picture concepts that writers, singers, and casual conversationalists abuse every day. We constantly trivialize and banalize the fundamental questions...... Read More