In my prior post about Joseph, we saw that Joseph’s audacious sharing of his dreams was likely the catalyst for his brothers’ selling him as a slave and then staging his death. Joseph would have been better off to have kept his mouth shut. However, had Joseph kept quiet, his brothers may not have sold […]
Palm Sunday An area church has invited other nearby churches to participate in a joint Palm Sunday service for the “Blessing of the Palms.” That phrase in an unfamiliar one to me, but with millions of exact matches in an online search, it’s likely known to many within the Christian community. If you are perplexed […]
Technically, the first day of spring will not be for a couple more weeks (this year on March 20—unless you live south of the Equator, then you have a much longer wait). However, the seasons seldom line up with the calendar. For me, the best sign of spring is when I see a robin for […]
In the story of Jacob’s son Joseph, we read that Joseph had a couple of dreams. The implicit meaning of his dreams was that his older brothers would become subservient to him, as would his father and mother. To his family this no doubt seemed to be mere wishful thinking of a young boy who […]
One of the central characters in the book of Genesis is Father Abraham. God calls Abraham to move to a different place, a location that God would reveal to him as the journey progressed. Because of Abraham’s obedience and faith. God promised to make him into a great nation. But the story doesn’t end there. […]
Sometimes when praying or meditating I’m profoundly struck with the powerful realization of just how much God loves me, that he really, really loves me. In fact, he loves you, too! God’s love is always there. I shake my head in amazement and wonder why. I don’t deserve God’s love; I have not earned his […]
I have owned and enjoyed an iPod Nano for many years. Though I don’t use it much for music, it is a regular source for listening to podcasts and lectures. Almost from the start, however, I’ve encountered intermittent difficulty in turning it off. There are some tricks to accomplish this posted online, but they only […]
It is interesting how the Old Testament of the Bible is often in contrast with the New Testament. For example, in the story about the tower of Babel, God confuses the people’s languages and since they can no longer communicate, they scatter. He did this because they were working together; their goal was so that […]
Abraham, the great man of faith, did not always act that way. Once, when fearing for his safety, he lied to king Abimelech, claiming that Sarah was his sister and hiding the fact that they were married. Assured by Abraham’s lie, Abimelech felt free to take Sarah into his harem. Fortunately, God intervened before anything […]
Jesus’ teaching on binding and loosing is a bit perplexing and worthy of careful contemplation. A parallel passage talks about forgiving sin and is even more disconcerting. Jesus says that if we forgive someone’s sins, they will be forgiven; conversely, if we don’t forgive someone’s sins, they will not be forgiven. That is an even […]