photo Jael - The Killing of Sisera

Judges 4:14-23 Deborah said to Barak, “Arise! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hands; behold, the LORD has gone out before you.” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. 15 The LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not even one was left. 17 Now Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18 Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, “Turn aside, my master, turn aside to me! Do not be afraid.” And he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 He said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a bottle of milk and gave him a drink; then she covered him. 20 He said to her, “Stand in the doorway of the tent, and it shall be if anyone comes and inquires of you, and says, ‘Is there anyone here?’ that you shall say, ‘No.’” 21 But Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg and seized a hammer in her hand, and went secretly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; for he was sound asleep and exhausted. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” And he entered with her, and behold Sisera was lying dead with the tent peg in his temple. 23 So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the sons of Israel.

Judges 3:15-26 But when the sons of Israel cried to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his cloak. 17 He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 It came about when he had finished presenting the tribute, that he sent away the people who had carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back from the idols which were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he said, “Keep silence.” And all who attended him left him. 20 Ehud came to him while he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 Ehud stretched out his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh and thrust it into his belly. 22 The handle also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the sword out of his belly; and the refuse came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the vestibule and shut the doors of the roof chamber behind him, and locked them. 24 When he had gone out, his servants came and looked, and behold, the doors of the roof chamber were locked; and they said, “He is only relieving himself in the cool room.” 25 They waited until they became anxious; but behold, he did not open the doors of the roof chamber. Therefore they took the key and opened them, and behold, their master had fallen to the floor dead. 26 Now Ehud escaped while they were delaying, and he passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah.

Here’s some stuff I came across this week*…

1. The search for the historical Adam
2. CT’s editorial on Adam, Eve, and the Gospel
3. A response to CT’s article and editorial on Adam and Eve
4. The Bible and Evolution
5. A critique of gender language in the NIV
6. A defense of baptism
7. The trouble with litmus tests
8. Surprised by addiction
9. Positioning your church
10. Implementing change in a small church
11. Responses to spiritual confusion
12. Praying for silliness
13. What to do while you’re waiting
14. On ranking charities by administrative expense
15. Pilgrim’s Progress for children
16. A review of “The Tree of Life”
17. A review of “Go the F*** to Sleep”
18. Is adoption a trend or trendy?
19. Are kids normal or inferior goods?
20. Life habits to improve your writing
21. The “Blue Like Jazz” teaser trailer
22. How to open a door for a woman

"It's a God Fit" by David Hayward

Have a great weekend!

*inclusion of items on this list does not necessarily suggest my approval of, or agreement with, the linked material. I just think they add to the conversation.

Here’s some stuff I came across this week*…

1. Does your church prioritize the individual or the organization
2. Guarding your marriage, or dissing women?
3. A video  interview with Rachel Held Evans regarding her womanhood project
4. Gracenomics small group material (WARNING: autoplay video on page)
5. Ethical lessons from the Challenger explosion
6. A review of “Story, Signs, and Sacred Rhythms: A Narrative Approach to Youth Ministry”
7. Arguments against reading scripture in context
8. The eloquence of the King James Version
9. The value of obsolescence
10. How to ditch your cell phone
11. The problem with positional leadership
12. Ways leaders can build trust
13. Reasons to commit your goals to writing
14. Don’t believe your momentum
15. Do for one what you wish you could do for all

Have a great weekend!

*inclusion of items on this list does not necessarily suggest my approval of, or agreement with, the linked material. I just think they add to the conversation.

It was great taking a break from the blogosphere during Lent; but, I sure am glad to be back. I missed staying informed. Anyway…

Here’s some stuff I came across this week*…

1. Did Jesus “descend into hell”?
2. “Rules of Engagement” for discussing the Bible
3. Bible Gateway now has a free Greek text (SBL) online
4. Were the Israelites actually in Egypt?
5. A Czech film in defense of substitutionary atonement
6. Rob Bell on resurrection
7. A review of “Love Wins”
8. A criticism of “evangelical universalism”
9. Rowan Williams responds to a six year olds’ letter
10. What if Starbucks marketed like the church
11. Does more contraception result in more unplanned pregnancies?
12. The Three-Way Marriage: a manifesto for Christian lovers
13. What to say to a friend having an affair
14. A review of (and some musings on) “The Book of Mormon”
15. Steps to spark creativity
16. The relationship between intuition, contemplation, and imagination
17. A team takes talent, ethic, and hunger
18. A cupboardless kitchen

A fascinating pseudo-documentary on faith healing

Have a great weekend!

*inclusion of items on this list does not necessarily suggest my approval of, or agreement with, the linked material. I just think they add to the conversation.

Isaiah 45:2-8 “I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars. 3 “I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places, So that you may know that it is I, The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name. 4 “For the sake of Jacob My servant, And Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor Though you have not known Me. 5 “I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; 6 That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, 7 The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these. 8 “Drip down, O heavens, from above, And let the clouds pour down righteousness; Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit, And righteousness spring up with it. I, the LORD, have created it.

This is a promise made to a guy named Cyrus. It is not a promise that was made to you, or to me, or to anyone else (unless your name is Cyrus, then we can talk).

Christian’s often make the mistake of assuming that any promise God ever made applies to them. That’s not true. There are many promises that apply to you and me; this is not one of them.

We can read this passage and know the promise God made to one individual at one point in time. We can read this passage and learn the types of promises that God will sometimes make. We can not read this passage and assume it applies to us.

When you read a passage like this, take the time to learn something about God. God desires righteousness, God will strengthen those doing God’s work, God formed light and created darkness, God causes well-being and creates calamity.

We can learn a great deal from the promises God made to other people.

Here’s some stuff I came across this week*…

Have a great weekend!

*inclusion of items on this list does not necessarily suggest my approval of or agreement with the linked material. I just think they add to the conversation.

Here’s some stuff I came across this week*…

Have a great weekend!

*inclusion of items on this list does not necessarily suggest my approval of or agreement with the linked material. I just think they add to the conversation.

I am going to take this opportunity to give my quarterly reminder that I do not necessarily approve of or agree with anything I post in the meandering. these are just things I think add to the conversation. That said, here’s some stuff I came across this week…

This is how you distract a free-throw shooter:

Have a great Super Sunday!

Here’s some stuff I came across this week…

Have a great weekend!

Here’s some stuff I came across this week…

Have a great weekend!

Here’s some stuff I came across this week…

Have a great week!

Here’s some stuff I came across this week…

Have a great week!

Here’s some stuff I came across this week…

Have a great weekend!

Isaiah 7:10-17 Then the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11 “Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!” 13 Then he said, “Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well? 14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. 15 “He will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good. 16 “For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken. 17 “The LORD will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house such days as have never come since the day that Ephraim separated from Judah, the king of Assyria.”

Is this a prophecy about Jesus? Is the Virgin, Mary? Is the child to be called Immanuel Mary’s son?

Reading just the passage from Isaiah it is apparent that this passage is a specific prophecy for a specific time regarding a specific siege of Jerusalem. From this passage alone there is no reason to think that the prophecy is referring to Jesus.

The connection to Jesus occurs in Matthew:

Matthew 1:18-25 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.” 24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

It appears that this passage is expropriating the prophecy of Isaiah and making it a prophecy about Jesus.

Was it always a prophecy about Jesus? I don’t know.

Here’s some stuff I came across this week…

Have a great weekend!

Here’s some stuff I came across this week…

The Church Through the Ages

Have a great week!

Here’s some stuff I came across this week…

Have a great weekend!

Here’s some stuff I came across this week…

Have a great weekend!

Here’s some stuff I came across this week…

Have a great weekend!