Imagine you are Ethan the Ezrahite (author of the final poem in Book III of the Psalms). …Ethan – that famous sage in the entourage of wise men – along with Heman, Calcol, and Darda – in the days of King David and King Solomon. This Ezrahite saw firsthand the glory of the Davidic empire! […]
Question: did Jesus strive to keep a low profile? Answer: yes (Mark 9:30). Question: why is Jesus always trying to keep a low profile? Answer: because Jesus is determined to be crucified, and he knows that once he explicitly tells the crowds what he’s about, they will murder him (see John 6:60-61); and Jesus isn’t […]
Remember that episode of The Office when Michael dates Pam’s mom? Remember how it drives Pam bonkers? Remember how the tension builds and eventually boils over in the break room when Pam yells at Michael, “Stop dating my mother!” And Michael says, “You know what? I’m gonna start dating her even harder.” Here’s the clip. […]
I was riding my mountain bike this morning at Sherman Branch crying. Was I crying because I love being on the trail? My love of trails is definitely tear-worthy, but that’s not why I was crying. Was I crying because I fell off my bike? Not this time. …I was crying because I was listening […]
I was having lunch with my buddies Paul and Matt today. At one point Paul said, “I think speech is a big problem.” Matt asked, “What are you talking about?” Paul said, “It seems like people don’t understand how much wreckage is wrought by their words. Freedom of speech is regarded as license to say […]
To obtain maximum appreciation of this analogy you will need to partake of Wes Anderson’s 2018 film Isle of Dogs. If you haven’t already seen this film, it is heartily suggested that you (a) postpone your reading of this blog post, cancel your plans for the next 1h 41m, watch the film, and then resume […]
We have a maddening habit of popularizing, promoting, commodifying, and consumerizing EVERYTHING. We do this because we’re rampantly insecure, and we’re desperately compensating. We’re incessantly groping and clawing for ‘fulfillment,’ but we’re never full. We even attempted to popularize and commodify God in the flesh! …But He makes it impossible for us. Our popularity paradigm […]
Once upon a time a couple of guys named Paul and Barnabas traveled to a city called Lystra. They came across a crippled man. This guy was born crippled, he had never walked a day in his life. Paul told the guy to stand up; which is a really mean thing to say to a […]
Let’s think about the motion picture Nacho Libre. The film is loosely based on the story of Fray Tormenta (“Friar Storm”, a.k.a. Rev. Sergio Gutiérrez Benítez), a real-life Mexican Catholic priest who had a 23-year career as a masked luchador and competed in order to support the orphanage he directed. There are a few things […]
Life requires gumption. At the end of the 11th chapter of Hebrews God talks about how a myriad of risk-takers, and reckless by-faithers (whose stories are chronicled throughout the saga of Scripture), did not receive what was promised in this life – because God intends to provide the better (perfect) experience for them, and all […]