Empty Glory

“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” was the cry of the large crowd who heard that Jesus was coming to the feast in Jerusalem.   There was no doubt what they thought of him, he was representing Yahweh, the promised king who would save Israel. …

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The Magnet Parable

Let me offer a magnet parable. A man bought an industrial grade mobile magnet—a smaller version of what one sees in the auto crushing business.  He was proud of himself for being both noble and practical. He was noble because he planned to use the device to clean up his town.  It was practical because …

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If…then

I noticed something in Job I hadn’t seen before.  Job’s erstwhile friends all used an “if . . . then” approach to confront Job over his presumed sins.  The point was simple: If you change your behaviors, Job, God will reward you.  If not, then God will punish you.  Very clear and very confrontive. This …

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Luther’s Discoveries

For the past couple weeks I’ve spent time with a good friend, Martin Luther.  It’s been a rich and fruitful time! I would encourage anyone to do the same.  As I was rereading Luther’s Lectures on Galatians (1535) and Heiko Oberman’s biography Luther: Man between God and the Devil (A must read!), I was struck …

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