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Nick and Joe. Wealthy. Respected. Godly. Sitting together. Outside the city. Like a couple of unwelcome cowboys tossed out of the local saloon. Why? According to Mosaic Law, they were unclean from contact with a dead body. Purification required: Separation “outside the camp” (Numbers 5:2-4) Seven days of uncleanness with purification rites on Days 3…

“ ‘What do you think?’ ‘He is worthy of death,’ they answered.” Matthew 26:66 NIV Worthy. We define it as good. Deserving of respect, praise, or attention. Having value. Estimable. Meritorious. Somehow, I don’t think that’s what the Sanhedrin meant, like Inigo Montoya to Vizzini in The Princess Bride, “You keep using that word. I do…

It’s my fault. When we had children, I prayed for strong wills. My thinking was, once they were properly trained, our kids would not waver in their allegiance to God. But, oh, the training. Isaiah 14 hosts the “I will” passage, the one where Satan declares the desires of his heart: “I will ascend to…

It began with one. One croak. One ribbit. One slimy green frog. And then there were too. Too many. Way too many. Frogs in the pantry. Frogs in the bathroom. Frogs in the bed. Pharaoh summoned Moses, ready to compromise with the God of the Hebrews in exchange for a little extermination work. God exterminated…

I was doing some memory work in Romans 1 when the phrase “suppress the truth” grabbed my attention. To suppress means to end, to stop something by force. Do you watch the news? This happens to God’s truth daily. While some actively suppress the truth—not only the truth of God’s existence, but the existence of…

Sheep bleated. Doves fluttered. Tables slammed to the ground. People scattered before the man like the coins clinking and rolling across the courtyard. Within minutes, the crowded market fell silent before the solitary figure. “My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.” (Matthew 21:13 NIV)…

Lent began March 1st. This year, I’m fasting negativity. The idea came from Catherine Marshall, author of Christy. Richard Foster, in his book Spiritual Classics, relates this story from Marshall, “The Lord continues to deal with me about my critical spirit . . . One morning last week He gave me an assignment: for one…

Runners’ feet. They’re not pretty. I lost eight toenails after my first marathon. I go in for the occasional pedicure. But, I don’t let them touch my calluses. Those hard spots of toughened skin protect my toes from the constant pounding of running. Without my calluses, I start over. Blood blisters and all. Calluses form…

Quiet thought. Focused reflection. Are your nerves screaming already? Be quiet? Sit still? Are you kidding? Nope. Meditation stars as one of the spiritual disciplines for a reason, but I’m not talking about Eastern meditation where you empty your mind. Christian meditation requires focused concentration. A filling, not an emptying. So, how do we get…