365 Reflections

1 Samuel 15:10–11 (ESV) The word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night. Does God regret as we understand it? This is the great question of 1Samuel 15. Saul was commanded to utterly destroy Amalek and its king from under heaven. But he took God’s command only as far as he preferred. For this the Lord describes his feeling to Samuel as “regret.” Now scores of theologians have studied this chapter to reconcile what seems like God’s unexpected disappointment with Saul here and God’s knowledge of the end from the beginning. Many theories have resulted and even some resolve around “open deism” in which God discovers the end along with us and through our choices. This of course rejects countless texts on the sovereign knowledge of God. So how are we to take this? Simply. The Lord is responding to what He knew was going ...

There's a danger to not understanding the grace of God. Jephthah is exhibit "A". His fear of an unsuccessful war led him to bargain with God for victory. Judges 11:30–31 (ESV) And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, 31 then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” It was a needless bargain for Jephthah. He already had something from God far more valuable than any military success. Note how his military campaign begins: Judges 11:29 (ESV)  Then the Spirit of the LORD was upon Jephthah ,... Jephthah was anointed but sadly it wasn't enough for him. He wanted a self-centered guarantee that God would give him victory. He feigned good religious practice to garner divine intervention. Many Americans do the same exact thing every day.  His story reveals the danger of a relationsh...

Sometimes we miss the forest for the trees in Biblical texts because we are always looking for that personal application or really secret insight no one else has seen. But if we step back, see the communal message and take an interest in how God is working through collective humanity we can see really valuable lessons from the Word of God we may miss otherwise. Numbers 35 is preparing God's people for living in the land. What will be their values as a culture? A culture is cultivated by certain practices and standards. Americans are often ignorant of just how beneficial the culture of our country is to human life and flourishing. Yet so much of what we take for granted as Americans is rooted in God's culture forming rules here in Numbers 35. Take for instance the two sections dealing with land for the Levites and Cities of Refuge. Numbers 35:2–4 (ESV) “Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites some of the inheritance of their possession as cities for them to dwell...

Psalm 73 is something you have to read every now and then especially in this celebrity obsessed culture of constant instant entertainment. Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure. But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. (Psalms 73:1-3 NLT) Who doesn't feel like this at times? Who doesn't wonder why people with no fear of God seem to get ahead? Who doesn't look at the world and its trajectory and wonder if Christianity is true and the guy the Bible is real why does it seem that his enemies are winning? Answer: things aren't always as they seem. This is a Psalm about whether we're going to go by what we see about who we know? On the outside anyone's life and look better than yours. On the outside anyone can seem to have it together. That's what he says in verse 4: They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so...

For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. (1 Peter 2:15-17 ESV) We represent God to those who do not know Him.  It is vitally important that we take this responsibility seriously.  We know this because Peter puts this concept right up there with the "will of God" language that gets our attention. And how do we do this? By being subject "for the Lord's sake" to the authorities of our world.  Today in America, this is easy to hear, for first century persecuted Christians, it must have seemed impossible.  But yet it was the example set by Christ and commanded in the Sermon on the Mount. But they were to see all authority as God's servants.  God is sovereign over all.  He has put in place what He has determ...