Turning Tricks (Part 1)

Genesis 38 shows that God doesn’t function by the knowledge of good and evil.  The Lord put Judah’s son, Er, to death because he was evil.  This left his wife, Tamar, alone without a child or heir.  Er’s brother, Onan, should’ve fathered a child with Tamar but didn’t.  The Lord also put Onan to death….

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Giving up Infinity

The story of my conversion appeared in our local paper this past weekend. It was adapted from a previous post. Merry Christmas! *** At Christmastime we celebrate the incarnation, when God became human in the person of Jesus. I cannot think of the incarnation without remembering the day I met Jesus. My freshman year at…

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Riu Riu Chiu

Riu Riu Chiu is a 16th century Spanish Christmas carol I have enjoyed over the years. Its syncopated, dance-feel gets hands and feet tapping! Recently, I was reading the lyrics, and was struck afresh by their power. Protestant readers will have to overlook the Marian theology in the first two verses, but I think any…

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Communion and the Concubine

What follows is adapted from my booklet, “Communion and the Concubine.”  If you’ve found the story in Judges 19 and 20 disturbing (and most have), I hope you will check out the booklet and find the story redeemed by how Christ is revealed in it. *** Judges 19 contains one of the most horrific stories…

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Finishing or Revealing?

This grace was given to me —the least of all the saints—to proclaim to the Gentiles the incalculable riches of the Messiah, and to shed light for all about the administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.  This is so God’s multi-faceted wisdom may now be made known through the…

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Dreams and Suffering

Joseph dreamt his brothers were sheaves of wheat that bowed to his sheaf; he dreamt the sun, moon, and 11 stars all bowed to his star.  His brothers hated him because of his dreams, and because he was his father’s most loved son.   One day, their hatred brimmed over.  They stripped Joseph of the…

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Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.  If you would like to share something you are thankful for, leave a comment below 🙂

Blame

Picture from the Whitman Mission Site Last weekend, my wife and I visited Walla Walla in Washington State.  Walla Walla is a cool little town surrounded by rolling prairie, farmland, and hills.  It is named for one of the Indian tribes that are native to the area. During our stay, we visited the Whitman Mission….

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Not to Destroy but Fulfill

“Don’t assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy but to fulfill” (Matt. 5:17). I have heard the verse above used to prove that Christians are still required to keep the law.  Jesus said He didn’t come to destroy the law so we need to keep…

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Halloween in Context—Dennis Patrick

The following is by Dennis Patrick, my father-in-law.  Dennis writes a weekly column for the Mountrail County Promoter, in which this piece originally appeared. *** It’s that time of year when pumpkins metamorphose into jack-o-lanterns and little imps provoke adults to give them candy. Halloween is here again. ​Is this really a time for celebrating…

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