One of the things I find most interesting about the Bible is the way that its stories openly–one might even say brutally–cover the faults and failings of the main characters. Nobody manages to come off all that well in the story. Even Moses, author of the Torah, or perhaps receiver of it, is not presented…
Introductory Note I’ve been meditating on Psalm 119 recently after a conversation with an author regarding a forthcoming book reminded me of it. I’m going to write a few short devotionals. I’m not sure how many I’ll write, but reading this Psalm does make me think. For any devotional on Psalm 119, please remember that…
I received an email from YouVersion (I use their app occasionally) with their 2023 “verse of the year.” This is the verse that has been shared, bookmarked, and highlighted most often through their community. It is Isaiah 41:10 (note that my links go to BibleGateway): [D]o not fear, for I am with you; do not be…
My Sunday School class just finished a several-week study on the Sermon on the Mount. We did not use any study guides as a class, though I consulted three books I publish, One World: The Lord’s Prayer from a Process Perspective, The Jesus Manifesto: A Participatory Study Guide to the Sermon on the Mount, and…
This past Sunday I was invited to preach in my home church, Chumuckla Community Church. It’s a real privilege to speak on the last Sunday of the year, hopefully rounding up where we have been and presenting a challenge for the future. I was offered the epiphany scriptures, and used Matthew 2:1-12. I’m not going…
I work on a heavy schedule, and as someone who is self-employed, with two distinct lines of business, I very rarely see a blank to-do list. In fact, now that I think about it, it has been several years since I finished a day and could say I was done. I identify a couple of…
Because you have been graciously given this on behalf of Christ: not only in Him to believe, but also for Him to suffer. (Philippians 1:29, excessively literally) I’ve been meditating on two texts as the new year begins, Philippians 1:27-30, and Ephesians 5:1-2. I’ve been kind of ignoring this suffering thing so far. But last…
In preparing for my Sunday School lesson tomorrow I read some very high sounding words about settling for less: pleasure rather than joy, vengeance rather than justice, sentiment rather than beauty, and so forth. The source was N. T. Wright, quoted in the introduction to the Cokesbury Adult Bible Studies Uniform Series for the Summer…
I haven’t gotten anything written during the last week on this blog. This is not due to a hiatus in Bible study. There’s plenty to write, and I’ve been writing elsewhere, but I just haven’t gotten here with something specifically exegetical. In the meantime, I wrote a devotional from my wife’s list, titled Handling Scandal….
The following notes and references expand on the material I presented in today’s Bible Pacesetter podcast on this same passage, Discipleship the Hard Way. This includes my working translation (not to be mistaken for a polished and final one), some notes, and some additional quotations and references. Translation and Notes: Teaching about the Cross 30When…
