Devotionals
To Scheme Or Not To Scheme
The story of Haman’s downfall in Esther 5-7 is a powerful example of how God uses even the wicked schemes of people to accomplish His purposes. Haman, filled with pride and hatred for Mordecai, had a 75-foot pike set up with the intention of executing him. He believed this would secure his dominance and remove... Read More →
Condemned by History: the Shocking Reality of Human Justice
As we read through Daniel 6, the brutal reality of life in the ancient world hits hard. Those who conspired against Daniel—along with their wives and children—are thrown into the lions’ den. This kind of punishment, common in the ancient Near East, feels almost incomprehensible to us today. It serves as a sobering reminder of... Read More →
God Speaks on Deconstruction
In today’s world, deconstruction has become a common response to the discomfort many feel when confronted with aspects of the Christian faith that challenge modern sensibilities. Often, people begin to question, and eventually reject, core doctrines or moral teachings because they believe God’s ways don’t align with what they perceive to be loving, just, or... Read More →
Do Babies Go To Hell?
A number of years ago I was recruited by an outgoing youth pastor to join the transition team. My role was to mentor/advise the younger people on the team who were actually running the Jr/Sr High Youth Groups as well as to run the grade 6-12 Sunday School. It was one single class and so... Read More →
Does God Delight in Destruction?
Today’s devotional is a brief apologetic note. It comes from the blessings and cursing section. The the blessing that is pronounced features some pretty noteworthy warnings, and the curse the is pronounced is… long. Very long. And quite descriptive. And both the blessing and the cursing are conditional on the actions of the people. And... Read More →
We Left No Survivors
Deuteronomy 2:34 reads, “At that time we seized all his cities and put every one of them under divine judgment, including even the women and children; we left no survivors.” It seems so shocking by today’s standards. God said to do what?! And why?! The questions seek no answer. They are rhetorical. And more than that,... Read More →
Murder, Manslaughter, and Witnesses
It is interesting to me that God explicitly says that if someone murders another person. The definition of murder in the Bible is essentially the same one we use today. This is because the Bible is the basis for the Western justice system. In this particular passage — Numbers 35 — we deal with the death... Read More →
Digging Deeper
Leviticus often gets a bad rap for being “boring”. Disagree. Leviticus is drastically underrated. Numbers, however, I am fully ready to admit can seem like a slog at times. Today’s passage is a prime example of just that. Upon first reading this can be a dry, repetitive list seemingly without any purpose. But I think... Read More →