Read Psalm 38 God’s words are authoritative. Mine are not. Sometimes however, trying to put God’s word’s in our own “paraphrase” can be helpful at getting to a deeper understanding of God’s authoritative standard. In the following lines I have tried to rephrase “the feeling and passion” of God’s word. I hope it is helpful … More When We Deserve the Worst
From time to time I hear from atheists or other doubters in the afterlife, that the idea of “eternal life” is abhorrent. “I can’t image not getting bored with endless life.” That kind of comment simply shows the poverty of both their imagination and the shallowness of their view of the beauty and holiness of … More Something Your God Can’t Do
Psalm 95 The ground looks parched. The terrain looks wind scratched and the wind turbines in the background makes my ear and nose imagine the dusty howl of the warm Santa Anna winds I experienced in California. Unshorn sheep under such a sun need protection. They need relief. Unfortunately, they aren’t very smart. But perhaps … More A Protector Worth Praising
Read Psalm 75 Today, I was reading a unique book that is a great addition to any worshippers library. “The Book of Psalms for Singing” (1973), is a book that takes every psalm in the book of Psalms and puts them into English verse with “musical settings designed for singing in public and private worship. … More When the Name of God is Near
Read Psalm 70 Part of the periodic series, The Poetry Project. Wanting to be Desperate I read the first line and I heard desperation. I heard a heart bleed. I heard a spirit that was crushed under the anvil we call life. I heard something through the page, that sounded like anquish mixed with … More Psalm 70: Wanting to be Desperate
Read Psalm 29* * Part of the Poetry Project The Voice There is a TV show, “The Voice” Whose plot line is to find “the voice” —-the voice that everyone recognizes as The One. —-the voice that is cut from a different cloth. —-the voice that stands out against all others. —-the voice whose power … More “The Voice” :: A Poetry Project Update
According to the superscriptions in your Bible, there are nine Psalms that the “sons of Korah” wrote to the “choirmaster”. It sounds like they were a family or tribe of songwriters and worship leaders with a passion for others to learn how to worship the King and God they knew. –Psalm 42 To the choirmaster. A … More The Sons of Korah Know!
The idea in this periodic series is to write a poem of personal reflection for each Psalm in the Psalter. This is the offering for Psalm 116. Don’t think of any as high art. Think of these offerings as one poor man’s desire to draw nearer to Christ. New entries will generally appear on Sunday … More The Importance of Pain to Worship
The poverty of evangelical reflection, the shallowness of our deepest thoughts about God is becoming the achillies heal of our witness in the world. Our deepest thoughts about God barely skim the surface of the reality of who God is and what He has revealed about Himself in His word. And it is killing us. … More “It is God Himself that Nourishes the Soul”
The world owes a great debt to Charles Wesley as a pastor, missionary, theologian and hymn writer. But the much-love hymn, “And Can It Be”, has some very bad theology in the third stanza. He left His Father’s throne above So free, so infinite His grace— Emptied Himself of all but love, And bled for … More Did Christ “Empty Himself” of all But Love?
