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Let Us Fall into the Hand of Yahweh

H - "Then David said to Gad, 'I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of Yahweh, for his mercy is great. But let me not fall into the hand of man.'" - 2 Samuel 24:14E -  David has foolishly ordered a census of Israel and Judah. Yahweh sends Gad to him to offer three options as to which type of discipline Israel will undergo. David refuses to make a decision. He  lets God decide, because he trusts God's mercy.A - Father, I want to be more in tune with you. I want to care very ...

A Broad Place

H - "They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but Yahweh was my support. He brought me out into a broad place. He rescued me, because he delighted in me." - Psalm 18:18-19E - David wrote this psalm on the day he was rescued from all his enemies. This is a prayer of praise. Finally security and peace have come to David. It's been many years since David enjoyed rest from conflict. This psalm also seems to hint at the experience of Messiah to come, Jesus.A - Father, I am facing confrontation a...

Instruction for Humanity

H - "And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, Lord Yahweh. You have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for humanity, Lord Yahweh!" - 2 Samuel 7:19 E - David has just learned that God will establish an eternal kingdom through his seed. David's house, kingdom, and throne will be established forever. So David goes into the tabernacle, now in Jerusalem, and sits before Yahweh and prays. He understands that the information God has ju...

My Cup Overflows

H - "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows." - Psalm 23:5E - The house of David is at war with the house of Saul for a long time. During that time God continually provides for David. David is God's anointed king. Wherever David goes, God gives him success, because David's heart is for God. David's cup overflows with blessing.P - Father, you have blessed me like you have blessed David. Despite my sins, you have been and are my S...

After This David Inquired of Yahweh

H - "After this David inquired of Yahweh, 'Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?' And Yahweh said to him, 'Go up.' David said, 'To which shall I go up?' And he said,'To Hebron.'" - 2 Samuel 2:1E - David has just learned that Saul and Jonathan have been killed in battle. He mourns over their deaths. Then, before he makes his next move, he consults God what he should do. God gives specific instructions, even the exact city to which David is to go.A - Father, do you give leaders specific i...

Yahweh Has Torn the Kingdom out of Your Hand

H - "'...Yahweh has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbour, David.'" - 1 Samuel 28:17 E - Saul is at war with the Philistines and is afraid of defeat. He seeks God's guidance, but God is silent. So Saul goes to the witch of Endor and asks her to call up Samuel from the dead. Samuel appears and pronounces judgment on Saul. A - Father, I don't want to be like Saul. I don't want you to turn from me and become my enemy. I want to finish my course in ministry and as a c...

May Yahweh Judge between Me and You

H - "May Yahweh judge between me and you, may Yahweh avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you." - 1 Samuel 24:12 E - Saul is out to kill David. David has just had the opportunity to kill Saul, but he refrained. He decides to let God work out the conflict between Saul and himself. As long as Saul lives, David will treat Saul with respect as Yahweh's anointed king. A - Father, when I am criticised or questioned, how do I react? In a leadership struggle, when there are complaints...

Women Have Been Kept from Us

H - "And David answered the priest, 'Truly women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition. The vessels of the young men are holy even when it is an ordinary journey. How much more today will their vessels be holy?'" - 1 Samuel 21:5 E - David flees from Saul and comes to Ahimelech the priest at Nob. David asks for bread, but the only bread available is the holy bread that has been sitting before the Lord, the bread of the Presence. Ordinarily, no layman is allowed to eat this b...

Neither You Nor Your Kingdom Will Be Established

H - "'For as long as the son of Jesse [David] lives on the earth, neither you [Jonathan] nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and bring him to me [Saul], for he shall surely die.'" - 1 Samuel 20:31E - Saul is paranoid about David, yet his son Jonathan has become David's best friend. Saul sees that David could become king instead of Jonathan. He is upset that Jonathan is allowing this to happen. But Jonathan would rather David be king than himself.A - Father, am I seeking my own ...

Who Is This Uncircumcised Philistine?

H - "And David said to the men who stood by him, 'What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?'" - 1 Samuel 17:26 E - David has seen Goliath for the first time and heard his taunt against God and Israel. His immediate reaction is, "Who will defeat this guy?" He has zero doubt that the living God will prevail against this giant man. This shows David's su...

A Monument for Himself

H - "And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, 'Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.'" - 1 Samuel 15:12E - God commanded Saul to wipe out the Amalekites, but Saul has kept alive Agag, the king of the Amalekites, as well as the best of the Amalekites' sheep and cattle. On the way back from battle, Saul sets up a monument. It is difficult to know whether the monument is to himself or to ...

Your Kingdom Shall Not Continue

H - "And Samuel said to Saul, 'You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of Yahweh your God, with which he commanded you. For then Yahweh would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. Yahweh has sought out a man after his own heart, and Yahweh has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what Yahweh commanded you.'" - 1 Samuel 13:13-14E - Saul is winning some battles but he is not fully obeying the Lord...

The Rights and Duties of the Kingship

H - "Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before Yahweh." - 1 Samuel 10:25E - Samuel has just anointed Saul as Israel's first king. The nation is now gathered at Mizpah, and Saul is recognised as king by the people. Immediately Samuel informs the people about the rights and duties of the kingship. He then writes these rights and duties in a book and lays up the book before Yahweh.A - Father, why do you care about the relati...

So Samuel Hid Nothing from Eli

H - "And Eli said, 'What was it that [Yahweh] told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.' 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him.” - 1 Samuel 3:17-18 E - This is Samuel's test. Will he speak exactly what God told him to say, or will he give into pressure to say what he thinks Eli will want to hear? This is the test of all who would speak for God, in every generation including our own. A - Fa...

What Is in My Heart and in My Mind

H - "'And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my Messiah forever.'" - 1 Samuel 2:35 E - In this passage, God fires Eli and his sons from being priests over Israel because they are abusing their position of responsibility for their own gain. They are making a mockery of Yahweh and his tabernacle of worship. God promises to raise up a new, faithful priest who...

Gain All You Can, Save All You Can, Give All You Can

Money is a huge part of our lives, but in the Church we don’t talk very much about it. It tends to be an embarrassing topic. We may feel guilty we’re not giving enough or that the pastor is just in it for the money. We may be living paycheque to paycheque and not have a lot of space to consider how we should be spending our money. We may have lost a job recently, and our monthly cash flow may be way down. We may be fine living off government welfare or receiving the Working for Families tax ...

Huxley's Playbook

Aldous Huxley published his dystopian novel Brave New World in 1932, at the height of the Great Depression and just before Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. As Neal Postman pointed out in Amusing Ourselves Ourselves to Death (1985), Huxley’s novel differs significantly from another famous dystopian novel, George Orwell’s Nineteen Eight-Four, published in 1949. In Nineteen Eighty-Four, the state dominates through the threat of pain. In Brave New World, the state dominates through the inf...

Dallas Theological Seminary's First Black Student

In 1966, Michael Kenneth Frank became the first African-American student admitted to Dallas Theological Seminary, 42 years after the seminary was founded in 1924. Dr. John Walvoord was president of DTS at the time. When DTS had been probed on the admission of blacks in 1951, Walvoord explained the absence of black students in three ways. First, until recently the admission of blacks to white schools was considered illegal in Texas. Second, no black man had ever applied to the seminary. And third...

Is There Life on Other Planets? A Review of C. S. Lewis's Out of the Silent Planet

In C. S. Lewis’s Out of the Silent Planet (1938), the main character, Ransom, a philologist, is drugged and kidnapped by Devine, an old schoolmate, and Weston, a great physicist, and transported in a spaceship from Earth to Malacandra, which we later learn is Mars. Once arrived to Malacandra, Ransom escapes Weston and Devine, wanders the landscape, and is rescued by a hross named Hyoi, who leads him to a village of the hrossa. Ransom is guest with the hrossa for several months, begins to learn...

Averil on Homeschooling and Socialization

A representative from New Zealand's education department expressed concern that our six-year old, Abraham, would be improperly socialized as a homeschooler. Averil's response was great: We definitely agree that social interaction with a range of people is important. May I share with you what attracted me to homeschooling my own children the most? As a teacher abroad in Thailand, I had the privilege of meeting a number of homeschool families, who came to assist at the orphanage where I was teachi...

Israel Folau's Freedom of Conscience and Expression

The Otago Daily Times editorial on Israel Folau is puzzling in a nation and city that prides itself on democracy, liberalism, and tolerance. Foundational principles of the Western civil experiment of which Australia and New Zealand are a part include individual freedom of conscience, freedom of deeply-held religious belief, freedom to convince others of one’s point of view, freedom of speech as long as one doesn’t incite violence, and the freedom of an employee to express him or herself...

War: 10 Biblical Principles

Just a few days ago, I (Jeff) was privileged to deliver a short address during the 2018 ANZAC Day memorial service at St. Andrews, a small town in the Waitaki district of New Zealand. Below are the ten points I shared. It is important for us to have a right perspective about war, including during times of peace. Because we live in a fallen world, war is inevitable. Free nations must always be ready to fight and defend their freedom, if necessary. We honor warfighters of the past and present who ...

Response to John Piper's Article about President Trump, "How to Live Under an Unqualified President"

John Piper’s article, “How to Live under an Unqualified President” (January 20, 2017) was sent to me this week by a friend here in New Zealand. He wanted to know my opinion about it. Here's what I wrote:  I have three thoughts. First, I think American believers should live basically in the same way under President Trump as they have lived under Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama. Whether Trump is “morally qualified” in Piper’s opinion really isn’t an issue at this point. He i...