A WHOLE MAN

I will establish his kingdom forever if he continues strong in keeping my commandments and my rules…  1 Chronicles 28:7  As you will recall, 1 Chronicles is written to an audience who had been exiles in a foreign land but, by God’s providence, are returning back home. And as the original readers read the text that we are reading this week, they come across King David’s charge to Solomon to keep the commandments of God. Immediately, the readers would be reminded of their faithlessness and the rebellion of their ancestors against God. It was because of their lack of fidelity to God that their first temple, the temple that Solomon is charged to build in 1 Chronicles, was destroyed by the Babylonians. So, every time they celebrated a feast, or held a worship service, or presented their offerings in the temple they would recall their sin. But their sorrow would turn into joy as they remember that God is never faithless but will fulfill His promises. This would be an altogethe...

It's time to start something new! If you have been tracking along with the blog articles, then you are probably very familiar with the cycle for the articles. On Mondays you will typically find an article related to the New Testament reading from our Bible in a Year plan. On Fridays you will find an article that is related to that day's Old Testament Reading. Wednesday's have been used to coincide with the Wisdom reading for the day. For the past 12 weeks, we have been focusing on the genres or types of Psalms and we will not enter into the book of Job until the beginning of August. So, rather than posting an article related to the Psalm Reading, we are going to do something different! For the months of June and July, I invite you to join me in reading two theological books. How will this digital book club work you ask? It's simple. A week prior to the start of each book, I will let you know which book to grab a copy of, so you will have about 7 days to grab your ...

For many of us, Memorial Day is a welcome holiday as we get a day off work, or a time for relaxation with friends and family, or the beginning of summer. But Memorial Day, or Decoration Day, was meant to honor the brave men and women who gave their lives in service to their country while serving in the U.S. Military. And although believers hold a citizenship which is not of this world this does not mean that we should cast this holiday aside. In reality, we have a dual citizenship: one to our Lord and Savior who sits on the throne in Heaven and another to the earthly country we are a part of. Perhaps this whole article is controversial to you, but I would like to encourage us to give thanks on Memorial Day while also handling it with great care. Soldiers demonstrate Christian attributes. They do so by bravely going into war zones, far from family and comforts, to potentially sacrifice their own lives for the good of others and for the glory of their country. The same characteristics ...

Then all Israel gathered together to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and flesh. 2 In times past, even when Saul was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord your God said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over my people Israel.’ ”  1 Chronicles 11:1-2 If you are up to date on your Bible in a year plan you are probably celebrating. Celebrating that you have been keeping pace for nearly 50% of the year, but also probably due to the fact that you have completed the first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles. Possibly you are questioning what the point was to record the genealogies of the Israelites to the extent that the book does. One thing to keep in mind is that the chapters you have just read is that they are telling us the history of the people of God. It is incredibly important for them to know who was and who was not from the seed of Abraham and, therefore, not an inheritor of the promises....

For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face. Psalm 11:7 My dog, Mittens, and I go on some pretty long runs and no matter how far away from home we go, she faithfully follows. She does not have any fear that I am going to leave her or abandon her on our route because she trusts me. But not only in moments where she is enjoying the freedom of the outdoors but also when we take her on a car ride to the veterinarian. She may not like going to the vet, and she definitely does not like it, but she will follow us inside knowing that she will be dropped off for a very unpleasant appointment. In Psalm 11, we read of David in a situation where he is clearly in turmoil. He describes his situation as one where evil is ruling, the wicked are aiming their weapons in ambush on him, and the very foundations of society were crumbling. And yet, in this time of darkness and despair, David is praising God. David praises God because He is still in the pres...

Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus  2 Timothy 1:13  The story is told of a T.V. repairman who didn’t like to think about his job when he came home. As a result, he never bothered to properly install the T.V. antenna on the top of his house or fix it when one arm broke in a windstorm. One day a new family moved in next door, and the owner went up on his roof to install an antenna. Knowing that his neighbor was a T.V. repairman, he put his up exactly the same way and turned his antenna to face in the same direction as his neighbor’s. Then, after studying his neighbor’s antenna for a while, he reached up and broke one arm off his new antenna! As disciples, we teach by example, whether we intend to or not! And while this may apply in greater measure for those who are in leadership positions, it applies universally to all people because we are all teaching. In writing his second letter, Pau...

20 O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” 21 for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.  1 Timothy 6:20-21  First Timothy is the first of three Pastoral Epistles which also include Paul’s second letter to Timothy and one to Titus. The main purpose of the Pastoral Letters is to address areas of pastoral oversight and while these letters are of great relevance for pastors, it does not mean that they do not possess any wisdom or instruction for all believers. These letters contain shared concerns for things such as: rebuking false doctrines and holding firm sound teaching (1 Tim. 1:8–11; 2 Tim. 1:13–14; Titus 2:1), exhortations for godly living in being an example to the flock (1 Tim. 1:3–7; 2:8–10; 2 Tim. 1:3–12; 2:14–19; Titus 3:1–11), and matters of church polity (1 Tim. 3:1–15; 2 Tim. 2:22–26; Titus 1:5–9). While there are many other shared concerns in the pastoral...

Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The steadfast love of God endures all the day.  Psalm 52:1  Many people know John Wycliffe as one of the early translators of the Bible into the common tongue of the people. However, there is so much more to his legacy than this. John Wycliffe grew up in a time of deep spiritual tenebras (darkness) where the people were unable to gain access to the Scriptures and were taught that they were to simply submit to the traditions, ceremonies, and practices as taught by the Roman Catholic church. It was in this context that John Wycliffe faithfully stood on the authority of the Scripture over and against the Roman Catholic church and he stands as an example of how to endure through persecution that comes from within. For the most part, most of the persecution that the church had faced came from those outside of the faith, but in the case of Wycliffe he faced much persecution from those who named Christ as Lord in their lives. He was v...

"But Ruth replied, 'Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.'"  Ruth 1:16 If, while reading the book of Judges, you are overcome with pity and irritation by the Israelites, the book of Ruth is one that brings a glimmer of hope. It is a book written “during the time of the judges” that retells the account of Naomi and Ruth, the main character for whom the book is named after (Ruth 1:1). And this book brings joy to our hearts as we read it because we see that there does remain a remnant of people who are faithful to trust on the Lord while seeing God’s sovereignty on display and His promise being fulfilled, not forgotten. You will recall that the book of judges mentions in several places how the people lived to fulfill their own lustful and sinful desires. Imagine the scene, a whole nation who have been giving themselves to rampant sin bein...

19 They answered him, “Be quiet! Don’t say a word. Come with us, and be our father and priest. Isn’t it better that you serve a tribe and clan in Israel as priest rather than just one man’s household?” 20 The priest was very pleased. He took the ephod, the household gods and the idol and went along with the people. Judges 18:19-20 In 2006, Kyle MacDonald went viral when he documented how, through the game “Bigger or Better”, he was able to he received a two-story farmhouse house starting from a single red paperclip. Although the game is very simple, all you do is trade an object for something that you deem is bigger or better, his story is remarkable by the fact that one single red paperclip resulted in a real two-story home in under 15 trades. In the book of Judges, we come across a very interesting account of a Levite who is far from Judah and is serving as a personal priest for the house of Micah. This whole section highlights moral defection of God’s people as we read o...

Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways! Psalm 128:1 There are many words of wisdom that would be foolish to ignore. Nuggets like looking both ways before crossing a street, taking a moment to think before speaking, or making sure the toilet seat is down and the toilet is clean before squatting. All of them, if ignored, will have varying degrees of consequences. However, to not fear the Lord has eternal consequences. As you know we have been looking through the different types of Psalms that you may encounter in the book of Psalms and today we consider the Blessing Psalms. What we encounter in these psalms are pronouncements of blessing from a priest upon the hearer(s), generally due to a response or action from the hearer(s). And an important key to interpreting these psalms is to understand that the person who is being called blessed is not blessed because they are seeking the blessing or earning because of an action. To further elaborate on that p...

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21 What would you be willing to do for $10,000,000.00? James Patterson and Peter Kim’s book, The Day America Told the Truth, reveal some shocking statistics about how far people in America were willing to go for that amount of money. Would abandon their entire family (25%) Would abandon their church (25%) Would become prostitutes for a week or more (23%) Would give up their American citizenship (16%) Would leave their spouses (16%) Would withhold testimony and let a murderer go free (10%) Would kill a stranger (7%) Would put their children up for adoption (3%) What the above responses reveals is simply a reflection of what is in the heart of every person in the world, idolatry. In seeking after idols, we incorrectly attribute them as the source of true and perfect satisfaction and contentment. But idols will never satisfy, and they will never bring peace. Paul writes his letter to the church of Philip...

18 Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for the Israelites, the LORD was with him and saved the people from the power of their enemies while the judge was still alive. The LORD was moved to pity whenever they groaned because of those who were oppressing and afflicting them. 19 Whenever the judge died, the Israelites would act even more corruptly than their fathers, going after other gods to worship and bow down to them. They did not turn from their evil practices or their obstinate ways.  Judges 2:18–19 In the 1992 Summer Olympics, Great Britain placed 13th in the country medal count which was right around where they normally placed going back to 1936. Four years later, they finished 36th overall, only able to secure a single gold medal (15 total medals). This team was dubbed “The Team of Shame”. It is a wonder how such a great nation, with an elite pool of athletes, would turn around four years later with the worst showing in the nation’s history. You would think that the t...