If you’ve ever ridden Trimet, you know the difference between fragrance and odor. Some passengers give off a pleasant perfume or cologne, while others assault our nostrils as though they haven’t bathed for weeks. But this blog is not addressing the physical aromas or odors that follow a person. Instead, I’m looking at the character […]
You know the story. David, the beloved king, stayed in Jerusalem when he should have been leading his soldiers. He committed adultery with the wife of Uriah, one of his outstanding soldiers. When David learned she was pregnant, he tried to cover his tracks by having Uriah killed on the battlefield. That was bad. Real […]
I started thinking about mercy when, in my daily reading in Exodus 25, I read about the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark in the Most Holy Place was a box made of wood overlayed with gold. Inside it was the law God gave to Moses. The lid of the Ark was made of solid […]
Everyone in this world wants to be loved. That’s just how we are put together. We need people who honestly care about us. Each of us needs a friend with whom we can share the joys of the good times and the hurts of the bad times. This article is about having that kind of […]
Like a Great White silently sneaks up on an unsuspecting swimmer, the green-eyed monster of jealousy sneaks up on us from the depths of the human heart with a vicious bite. The Prophet Jonah experienced jealousy after he had announced to Nineveh that God’s judgment would fall on the city in forty days. The Assyrians […]
You’ve heard of kids turning 180 degrees away from the values of their parents? Well, this is one of those situations. Hezekiah was a good leader of his country. He began his reign at 25 and was king of Judah for 29 years. But after he died, his son, Manasseh, became king. Manasseh was only […]
If by sovereign you mean that God is above everything else, with no one having authority over Him, then yes. If by sovereign you mean that God decrees, or decides, everything that happens, then NO. God is not to blame for murders, rapes, human trafficking. He is not to blame for bribery or lies or […]
When you think of the Bible’s Love Story, what comes to mind? Many people will respond, “Song of Solomon.” There’s nothing wrong with that choice, but I would like to suggest that there is an even better love story recorded in the book of Hosea. If this short book is not familiar to you, don’t […]
Ten days ago, CNN breathlessly announced that the “era of spanking is finally over.” They based this breakthrough on the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which has decided that spanking is a form of child abuse. The AAP praises hospitals across the country who are implementing no spanking zones. Most school districts have […]
