King David: Putting His Money where His Mouth and Heart Are

I’ve been reading through the Old Testament lately, and I’m nearing the end of 1 Chronicles. Now, I’ll admit, this is a hard book. Among those who have tried such things, it is ranked right up there with Leviticus and Numbers as one of the prime killers of the ”Read the Bible in a Year” plan. There are tons of geneaologies in this book, which, I’m sure I’ll appreciate one day when I’ve actually gotten a better grasp on biblical history, but for now, it just kind of runs into a blurry list of names I can’t confidently pronounce.

Before I accidently say something stupid against the Holy Writ, let me clarify: The reason I said the above is to say, don’t count out the hard books. Yes, 1 Chronicles is not an easy read, but there are little gems sprinkled all throughout it. And I’m sure the more I grow in the Lord, the more of them I will spot and appreciate.

The one that’s particularly grabbed my attention is towards the very end of the book, where King David puts his money where his mouth is. Or, more accurately, where his heart is, as we shall see.

Getting a kick out of Spam

(Note: I’m not talking about the canned pink gelatinous substance that purports to be meat — although that is rather amusing in its own right.)

It’s so cute when adware tries to talk all big and sensible like a grown-up. I found this gem when cleaning out my comments.

I was justified reading a question on how to convey your down comforter all unimportant again and scarcely all the answers said that you can save some tennis balls in the dryer to write that happen. how to survive in badmintonSo how does that function exactly? Why does this happen? Can you bring into play something else pretty than tennis balls? Hold responsible you!
how nike tennis shoes are made

So remember, folks, if you ever need to convey your down comforter all unimportant again, our kind commenter here can lend you a hand.

And who doesn’t need badminton survival tips? I mean, seriously. Get enough power behind one of those birdies and someone might get hurt. It’s always good to be prepared.

That’s it for now, but as always… hold responsible you!

Why I’m Not an Evangelical Feminist

The semantics of this may be mostly relevant to me, but I think the principles are definitely worth some airtime on this blog.

When studying the topic of women in ministry, you instantly run into two big camps of thought. Complementarians believe that, although men and women are equal in their personhood, they are inequal (but complementary) as it pertains to their proper roles in life. Egalitarians believe that men and women are equal in their personhood and are not limited to specific roles/functions. Within these two broad categories, I would technically fall into the second, most particularly as it pertains to ministry.

If you’ve tracked with this blog very long at all, you’ll see that I’ve been doing a study on this subject lately. I’m still at it — albeit slowly — and currently I am studying through a particular complementarian book to try and see both sides of the argument. Now this particular book almost never refers to egalitarians as “egalitarians”. It prefers the term evangelical feminists.

I don’t want to read more into that term than was intended by the authors, but I have to admit it makes me squirm.

Not Making Peace with Oppression

A while ago, Stuart Greaves addressed the NightWatch concerning praying for healing. It was in February, which is historically a time when a lot of us tend to get sick. Not only is February the beginning of flu season, it comes right after our most taxing, demanding, sleep-depriving conference of the year. Additionally, because it’s towards the end of winter, it means we haven’t seen much sun for quite a long time. All things considered, it makes sense that we would be a bit more susceptible to the seasonal bug.

However, Stuart reminded us that sickness is not something God is okay with (case in point, it won’t exist in the New Jerusalem). Part of the reason He crushed His Son was for our healing (Isa 53:5). It’s good that our faith is not devastated when we get sick, but it’s not good that we passively roll over and accept sickness just becuase it’s normal to our fallen existence and we’ll get over it in a few weeks anyway. We should resist it and pray to remove it from us.

I’ve been increasingly convinced lately that the same thing applies to emotional distress and oppression.

Tidbit: Misery Loves Company

Lately, I’ve been feeling the weight of a particular revelation. It’s not particularly long, but it’s worth a good selah or two. Since it’s my blog, I get to bring you lovely folks along with me on the ride (hence the title).

Recently, Mike Bickle spoke about how King David responded to mistreatment. (You can read about it here and/or download it here to listen to it). One of the big points he drove home was how it is unwise and unproductive to seek your own justice. We see this in the life of David when he refused to strike out in vengeance against Saul. David spared the man who was wrongfully seeking to kill him, saying “Let the LORD judge between you and me, and let the LORD avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you” (1Sam 24:12). Rather than seeking to clear our own name or fight our enemies ourselves, we need to hand the situation over to the Lord.

I could feel the weight of the message while I was listening. It was good. It was scriptural. I found it enjoyable and provoking. But in all honesty, I was listening from a slightly detached perspective.