Blog: July 2019

Face App has been all the rage the last few weeks.  In case you don’t know about this viral app with over 100 million downloads, it’s a photo-altering tool that adds decades to your appearance.  What might we look like in 25 or 50 years?  Examples are all over social media. Now this has me curious:  What’s the big attraction?  I thought peo­ple generally don’t like to imagine getting old.  And yet, maybe if it’s someone else’s radical aging, then we’re captivated and want to see.  There are images of the British Royals circulating ...

The Ammonites were no strangers to the Israelites. They often fought over the region of Gilead, which stretched east of the Jordan River. David had tried showing kindness to the Ammonites, but they humiliated the Israelite ambassadors. (See 2 Sam. 10:1-5.) Thus began a war between the Israelites and Ammonites. This context sets the scene for the story of David’s sin and restoration. David had experienced a season of blessing from God and success on the battlefield. The tribes of Israel united under David. But the upward trajectory of ...

We live in a day of raging political partisanship and hysteria.  The art of patiently listening to people who don’t share our political leanings, and the act of suspending judgment and refusing to throw out the baby with the bath water when those from “across the aisle” talk, have nearly vanished from public discourse.  Figures on the left and the right blurt out bold claims to spotlight their own virtues and their adversary’s wretchedness. That’s the world we live in, like it or not.  So what are we to do?  By “we,” I mean followers of ...

Though King Saul was an adversary to David, Saul’s son Jonathan loved him as much as he loved himself. (See 1 Sam. 18:1.) Before David fled from King Saul and journeyed toward Moab, Jonathan appealed to his friend David, “If I continue to live, show me kindness from the Lord, but if I die, don’t ever withdraw your kindness from my household” (1 Sam. 20:14-15a). Following the deaths of King Saul and his son Jonathan, David was made king over Israel. The Lord was with David, and he experienced numerous military victories. David remembered the ...

If you’re not careful, you might come away from the Letter of James thinking it’s just a long, demanding list of rules.  But it’s not.  It’s a picture of how faith acts: what it looks like to trust the Lord. And to better understand James’s teaching on faith, we need to hear what he says about the One in whom we trust.  God is… Ÿ Sovereign over our trials—so we can rely on him and even take joy in the midst of hard times (1:2-4); Ÿ The generous giver of wisdom to all who ask him for it in faith (1:5-8); Ÿ Giver of every good and perfect ...

The path to Israel’s throne was not easy for David. Saul had tried multiple times to kill him, and David had to flee for his life, leaving behind his good friend Jonathan. But God had appointed David to be king, and God was faithful. Leading up to 2 Samuel 7, Jonathan was killed in battle against the Philistines. Saul fell on his own sword, and David became the king of Israel. David moved the ark of God to Jerusalem—a cause for joyous celebration—and settled into his palace there. God blessed David and gave him peace from his enemies. But ...

In his Cru Press study of the New Testament Letter of James, Rick James identifies the letter’s main theme:  maturity, or completeness (p. 8).  Spiritual maturity integrates faith with life; immaturity allows for double-mindedness, even duplicity. So what does this immaturity look like?  James calls out an array of attitudes and behaviors, such as:  wavering between faith and doubt (1:6-8); being hearers but not doers (1:22); showing favoritism toward the rich (2:1-7); claiming to have faith while lacking evidence of it in good works ...

David’s relationship with King Saul was complicated. Early on, David served the king by playing the lyre for him whenever he felt unwell. After David killed Goliath, he became good friends with Saul’s son Jonathan. But David’s success made Saul jealous. Saul could see that David was rising in popularity. He won victory after victory. Saul made several attempts on David’s life, and David fled to the land of Moab. David wasn’t alone. His family and other men—anyone who was “desperate, in debt, or discontented” (1 Sam. 22:2)—joined David, and ...