Bible Insights
Pull up a chair as I dive into Scripture or biblical characters.
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Why I’m Thankful The Church Is Like An Ant Colony
As the weather cools down and the to-do list piles up, I find myself frustrated despite having much to be thankful for. September has come and gone, and my energy has left with it. The news delivers yet another soul-crushing update, and I feel the shrink of the Canadian Church. As a result, I believe we need to look toward the book of Acts, where the Church as we know it began. And as my church has been swimming in the Old Testament for a while in our Bible study, we have been turning here for a fresh wind. Many know the book of Acts as a time when the…
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Misunderstood Bible Character: Achan the Provider
I've been leading my church's Bible Study in the book of Joshua lately. And unless you've also been reading it, you might miss a guy named Achan in the middle of Joshua 7—a man who tried to provide for himself.
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Misunderstood Bible Character: Esau the Hunter
Recently, my family was in need of a good laugh. So—as many do—we went looking for a fun movie on Amazon Prime. We selected a movie starring a major Hollywood comedian, and pressed play, eager for some good entertainment.
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Misunderstood Bible Character: Cain the Gardener
We often discount Cain’s efforts. Both Cain and Abel gave gifts to God. Both gifts involved hard work. So why does God reject Cain’s gift? What does it mean to glorify God?
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Goliath, You, and the Stone You Choose
If you’re familiar with any of the Bible stories, it’s likely that the story of David and Goliath is one of them. Here’s the short version: a short shepherd boy defeated a giant with just a slingshot and a stone. Goliath was tall, hefty, and imposing. Texts wrestle on Goliath’s height, settling on anywhere from over six feet to nearly ten feet. The point is—the man was tall. He was also incredibly strong, as a look at the NIV or NLT translation has him wearing a minimum of 140 pounds of recorded armour (1 Samuel 17:4-7). A few days ago, I struggled to lift a 60-pound bag of soil with…
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When We Want God To Send Someone Else: A Look At Moses
I’ve come to the point in my daily devotionals where I’m reading about Moses in Exodus again, and this morning I was struck with a new perspective. For those who don’t know, Moses was a man who was saved from genocide as an infant. He was found by Pharaoh’s daughter, that is, the daughter of the man who was the ultimate slave-driver of the Hebrews, who ordered for new-born male Hebrews to be killed when Moses was an infant. This means that Moses was a Hebrew, survived genocide, was brought up by Pharoah’s daughter in Pharaoh’s palace, unharmed—only by the grace of God. The fact that he made it to…
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How To Start And Keep Up Daily Bible Reading
As I’ve mentioned in some other posts, we’re in a pandemic right now. I’ve covered topics addressing where God is in this pandemic, reminding us where our joy should be, and being watchful for signs. The one thing these all hinge on is our listening to God. But really, how does one do that? Well, you can do that in a few ways. Some people find that God speaks to them when they create. Some hear God in music. Others hear God in nature. But the one place where there’s a guaranteed place of encounter with Christ is through His Word: The Holy Bible. Which means… we need to read…
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Where Does Your Joy Reside? A Look At Acts 13
42 As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. 43 And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God. 44 The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. 46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold,…
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Perspective on Justice—A Look At Jonah 4
Some food for thought as we start our week.
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Anxiety? You don’t have to function at 100%: Let’s Look At Jesus
At the end of May, I ran a weekend-long Young Adults Retreat in the pines for Christians 18-30 years old. Between icebreakers and eating s’mores around a campfire, the lot of us attended workshops of our choice. One of the workshops I had arranged was about Mental Health which was a pretty popular topic, especially as many young adults (and people in general) deal with anxiety. I graduated from university last year with a Psychology minor, courses in Neuroscience, and some experience as a Mental Health Ambassador at my school’s Health & Wellness Centre. As a result, I figured I knew at least the basics of mental illnesses and mental…
