devotions

In 2 Chronicles 11:13-17, the priests and Levites took their stand with Rehoboam because he was the lesser of two evils. Granted, he allowed them to worship the Lord, but in the end, he was just as spiritually bankrupt as his northern counterpart. The alliance was doomed from the start, and any such alliance we forge today is doomed, too.

Colossians 1:28-29 served as the what, why, and how for his work as an apostle, helping to guide what he would (and would not) do, reminding him of its importance when things grew difficult, and explaining how it was even possible. Today, this declaration serves a similar purpose for pastors and other ministers.

In this world, we have all sorts of relationships demanding our allegiance. Examples include family, community, nation, and political party. While it is absolutely admirable to be loyal to such things, our ultimate allegiance should be to doing the right thing.

It is curious that six of David’s mightiest men are related. It suggests that there was something about their families that made it more likely for them to become heroes, but what could that something be?

It is easy to overlook Sheerah. This is the only time she appears in the Bible, and we are given almost no information about her life. She appears as a side-note in the middle of a genealogical record where most generations are given no more than a namedrop. Yet, there are two things that I would point out.

Unfortunately, the strategy of Christian nationalists is the exact reverse of this. In essence, they suggest that, if the king is godly, then the people will be godly, and the primary litmus test of the king’s godliness is whether he will support their stance on their favorite issue. As long as that is in place, then many of my brothers and sisters on the evangelical right suppose that this candidate must be God’s anointed to the exclusion of all other indicators.

Well, here we are. It’s been over two years since I started this word study about joy. I’ve learned a lot along the way about what joy is, what it’s not, what fuels it, what quenches it, and more. I’ve had my perspectives broadened to realize that it’s not just my joy that I should […]

I enjoy writing and teaching. I mean, there are obviously times when writing or teaching is a real killjoy. For instance, when I was in college and Dr. Weeter had us writing a term paper in each of four classes, all due the same day. And when I’m teaching a room full of brats that […]

In my last post on this whole joy study, I discussed 1 Peter 1. There, the apostle Peter was writing to believers in northern Asia Minor – believers who were filled with everyday disciples dealing with everyday problems and everyday persecution – and exhorting them to do the right thing no matter what. There, he […]

The book of 1 Peter is a new favorite of mine. For years, I had virtually overlooked the thing in favor of the gospels, Acts, and the Pauline epistles. But two months ago, I started into a sermon series on 1 Peter, and as we’ve worked through it over the course of the last 10 […]