Just before Gideon goes to battle, he tells his men to “watch me,” “follow my lead,” and “do exactly what I do.” His men did and God used their collective actions to throw the enemy into complete confusion. As a result, a great victory was won. Gideon’s actions were worthy of emulation. From a spiritual perspective, […]
People who pray on a regular basis, at some point, are likely to end up in a rut—a prayer rut. (Conversely, people who don’t pray on a regular basis may also be in a prayer rut of sorts, albeit a different kind.) A prayer rut may be likened to trying to extricate a stuck car: […]
Ultimately, Gideon, the Judge, obeys God and realizes a great victory, but he first needs a lot of confirmation to deal with his doubts: Gideon first asks for a sign that the angel had really spoken God’s words. God acquiesces; when the angel touches his staff to the food Gideon prepared, it miraculously ignites and […]
In the United States, the presidential race is well underway, with the election not until next November, almost a year away. Most people who follow such things—and frankly, it is hard to ignore—have polarized positions about who should be our next president, rather it is to re-elect the incumbent or to elect anyone but the […]
Of all the characters mentioned in the book of Judges, the most familiar is likely Samson. This may be because four of the book’s 21 chapters are devoted to him. Another reason may be his unwise, yet intriguing, dalliance with Delilah. As a person, Samson did not have much in his favor. He was self-centered, […]
15 People in the Book of Judges When I think of a judge, I immediately conjure up an image of a person wearing a black robe and presiding over a hearing or trial. Indeed, that is the primary definition of the word “judge.” However, that understanding is greatly misleading when reading the book of Judges […]
I’m weary hearing about the top 1 percent, the wealthiest people in the USA. While too much has already been said about this from a political, social, and philosophical standpoint, I see it as a spiritual issue. For most of us in the US, the bottom 99 percent, we need to guard against a spirit […]
The book of Joshua opens by confirming the death of Moses, followed by a curious instruction: Now you go into the Promised Land. Imagine that, an entire nation was put on hold, unable to move—until Moses died. Moses had to die for them to receive what God had promised to give them. What if Moses […]
In my post “Translation Confusion,” I pointed out that the Bible has word-for-word translations, thought-for-thought translations, and paraphrases (more technically known as “functional equivalence”). These all exist on a continuum, so the lines of distinction between them are blurry. Here is how Ministry Today magazine recently broke them down: Word-for-word Translations Popular word-for-word translations are […]
Many people love reading the psalms in the Bible. They connect with the beauty and the flow of the words; they resonate with the pains, passions, and praises of the writers; it is their “go-to” place to find, express, and reveal their emotion of the moment as it emotes from daily living. I am not […]