Posts with the category “bible-theology”

These wise sayings were compiled together in order to provide the people of Israel with insight and direction on all sorts of everyday matters  Read More

The Psalms cover the breadth of human emotions, providing meaningful reflection on sorrow, grief, joy, gratitude, and everything in between.   Read More

Rather than being pulled into feelings of shame and guilt, taking the time to humbly admit our sinfulness has the power to pull us deeper into an understanding of God’s great love for us.   Read More

While sinfulness is an ongoing part of every person’s life, we are given simple instructions for moving past our mistakes. Our only role is to confess our sins.   Read More

This is still the story for humans today. Most of the time, we know what God desires for us, and yet we still choose to do the opposite.   Read More

The ultimate message of Job is to embrace the ambiguity of human suffering. To refrain from trying to find a person to blame or a logical explanation for the events in our life that seem unfair.   Read More

The book of Esther encourages readers to see that even though God may remain hidden, God is still at work in the world through the actions of ordinary people.  Read More

We are all a work in progress and we are all being continually transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit and one of the key ways this transformation happens is through study and intellectual growth  Read More

I believe that things like recycling, or gardening, or curbing pollution are all spiritual practices that have the ability to more deeply connect us to God.   Read More

God has been present since the very beginning of time itself and somehow exists eternally into the future, even beyond the point when time comes to an end.  Read More

If God is a creating force and all of life is the product of God’s creative action than everything is deserving of our inherent respect and reverence.  Read More

In the same way, when we face opposition, we can turn to prayer for strength, resolve, and guidance, for the joy of the Lord is our strength.   Read More

By carving out time to simply be with Jesus our Teacher, we can hear his voice and understand the events of our life more clearly.   Read More

Our life of faith begins, not when we finally figure out what it means to believe in God, but rather with a claiming action by God.   Read More

The relational nature of God.  Read More

The beginning of the book of Ezra, is the announcement of God fulfilling God’s promises.   Read More

Luke’s Gospel invites us today to remember that as followers of Jesus, our allegiance and salvation is found in Jesus Christ and not in any other powers or principalities of the day.   Read More

When we serve other gods we are pulled off course and will find ourselves in exile, be that a metaphorical or actual exile.   Read More

The book contains many personal stories from Paul as he tries to reconnecting with the church he started and still loves.   Read More

God’s presence and commitment to God’s people has spanned thousands of years and so we can expect it to expand beyond our current struggles in exile or during similar trying times.   Read More

Above all, the Apostle Paul continually speaks of the centrality of Jesus Christ. It’s a good message for us today as we face political divisions, economic struggles, and the sheer complexity of life   Read More

As they asked questions about their current, dire situation, these stories of Israel’s history were compiled as a way of explaining how the unfaithfulness of Israel and their unwillingness to listen to God led to their current plight.   Read More

Paul focuses on helping the Romans really understand the radical work God has accomplished through Jesus and the implications for Jewish people and the Christian church alike.   Read More

King Solomon's unfaithfulness and subsequent punishment is a reminder that when we turn our hearts away from God we will always end up walking paths that do not lead to life.   Read More

On the day after his death But before his rising Jesus was reminding us of sacred pauses.  Read More

Why is it that humans are always so focused on saving themselves?   Read More

Jesus never said it, but actions speak louder than words This is how you were created to live: Love, serve, give.  Read More

That in order to be whole We still needed to reach our goal. This is the mindset that Jesus laments  Read More

sometimes hope is able to discern What your mind can’t yet comprehend.  Read More

Acts provides readers with a unique perspective on what it originally meant to be the church.  Read More

The arc of David’s story reminds us today that no person is beyond the struggle of sin, and more importantly, no sin is beyond the redemptive power of God.   Read More

The entire book is filled with powerful illusions to the story of Israel and theological connections between Israel’s story and the prophecies of the Old Testament and how those were fulfilled in Christ.  Read More

Throughout the book, the Israelite people long for a king to be their ruler, despite God’s protests. This theme along with King Saul’s lack of trust in God, and young David’s bold confidence in God’s saving work all serve to remind us that God can be trusted. In fact, God wants to be trusted.   Read More

Jesus came to help people become Children of God (John 1:12) and how to cultivate an abundant life right now (John 10:10).  Read More

What is a thousand years actually like? I really have no idea. But I am so glad that God does.   Read More

Even in our doubts, Jesus still finds ways to break into our lives; to comfort us; to care for us; to be with us.  Read More

It is my faith, not my brain (thanks be to God) that matters, it is my faith that gives my life meaning.   Read More

This is the deep promise of our faith. We believe that God will remove people's disgrace, wipe away their tears, and swallow up death forever.  Read More

In our media and popular culture there has been a heightened interest these days in a once largely ignored population.  Suddenly, movies and books and video games and television shows are popping up left and right all with this one “people” group at the forefront.I’m talking about Zombies, of course.Shows like The Walking Dead, video games like Dead Rising, movies like Zombieland, and books like P...  Read More

"It's not the end of the world." What a great phrase.  We toss these words around during those moments when things just aren't going our way. "It's not the end of the world" is what I said when I received my summons for jury duty."It's not the end of the world" is what I said when accidentally booked a flight with a 15 hour layover,  "Its not the end of the world" is what I said several years ago ...  Read More