Flights of Fancy
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Theology, Typology, Testimony, and Trauma
Now these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; they came each one with his household: Exodus 1:1 NASB Came to Egypt – Bob Bartels wrote to me. “I am finally realizing and enjoying the thought that the Bible is not a textbook but a story of God’s interaction with…
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Moses and Micah
“Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?” Deuteronomy 10:12-13 NASB Require –…
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Transcendentally Disengaged
And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 NASB Weakness – Is God weak? Our immediate reaction is “No! Of course not! God can do anything. He…
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Old Habits
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 NASB Renewing of your mind – When Paul calls his readers to renew their minds, what does he mean? Does…
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Like Father, Like Son
But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? Genesis 50:19 NASB In God’s place – Genesis is a book of emotional distance. It begins with expulsion, continues through isolation (Noah), betrayal (Sarah), discrimination (Esau and Jacob) and ends with alienation (Joseph). Through all of these lives, God seeks…
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The Right Rights
“The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:31 NIV Neighbor – “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an…
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The Devil’s Gonna’ Get You
So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Revelation 2:15 NASB Nicolaitans – One of the reasons I avoid studies of verses in John’s apocalyptic revelation is the continual attempts to read the report of his vision as if it were predictive prophecy. Any brief examination of the…
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Who Is God?
God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Numbers 23:19 NASB Not a man – Thomas Aquinas would have gladly endorsed this claim of Moses. …
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The Philosopher’s God
For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. Malachi 3:6 NASB Do not change – This is going to be long, but I promise it will be worth it. Christianity is essentially schizophrenic. I don’t mean that “Christians” are in need of psychotropic drugs, although sometimes I suspect their public spokespersons…
