When God brought Israel out of Egypt, He used a series of miraculous plagues to loosen Pharaoh’s grip on the people. But the final plague required an act of faith on the part of the believers in the God of Israel. They had to mark their doors with the blood of a lamb in order […]
“The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands.” I am not able to say this, and I doubt anyone can. I have not “kept the ways of the LORD,” I have not been “blameless with Him.” Can I ask for the same deliverence as the David? What’s more, when could David pray this prayer truthfully?
Over the last few weeks I have been reading and reflecting on the Psalms each day. Along with spending time with God, I have been spending time with David, Asaph, and the sons of Korah, among others. As they share their sorrows, joys, and hopes, I find I am in good company. I have written […]
In the closing verses of Psalm 16, the Psalmist give us the keys to Wisdom, Security, Joy, and Life. By constantly “setting the LORD before me” our lives are correctly measured, and our minds are consistently guided. Faced with His eternity we are compelled to make the best use of our days. In light of […]
Whispers and shouts are powerful words. Both have a way of spreading lies and giving false impressions. We may shout to appear powerful. We may whisper to turn opinion against the good. Over time, “godly people cease to be and the faithful disappear from among the sons of Adam.” In Psalm 12 the Psalmist calls […]
Psalm 12 Falsehood Truth, and Preservation
We can claim the evil we do is overlooked by the LORD. When we do, we ignore the fact that the LORD inclines His ear to the need of the poor (v17), that entire nations have risen and fallen before His judgement (v16), and finally, that ultimate justice is future, but it is coming. (v18)
Imagine seeing a person mistaking the sign for a city. If you saw a road-weary man on the edge of I65 hugging the “Welcome to Birmingham” sign and unpacking his trunk at its base to enjoy his stay in this wonderful city, you would think he was loony. The sign is not the city. He […]
this is the world into which God sent His Son. He could have looked at the human family and said, “I am staying out of this one.” But He didn’t. He chose to show up, to be here. This is the key. The tension of Christmas IS the wonder of Christmas.
We have been told by historians that the December 25 Christmas was the Church’s way of covering over and stamping out the celebrations of Saturnalia. However I can find no early sources that say that is what the church was doing. Nor do I find this widely attested pattern on part of the early church. I do see a pattern in modern scholarship. This pattern insists, “The early Christians were just stealing ideas and holidays from pagan culture and incorporating them into the Jesus myth”.
