On Sunday I plan to explore the idea of ḥerem—variously translated as “devoted to destruction” (ESV), “completely destroyed” (NIV), “utterly destroyed” (KJV), and “annihilated” (NET Bible). Robert Young’s “Young’s Literal Translation” from the late 1800s captures the idea perhaps most closely: “devoted”. It has the idea of putting something under a ban. An object or…

I was recently sent an article and asked to comment on it. The conclusion and therefore central thrust of the article was this: we must help our nation “by standing against overreaching government bureaucrats”. As support for this the author cited Paul’s insistence on his rights as a citizen of Rome in Acts 22. Is…

Life happens suddenly, even when we expect it to happen. Whether it’s the death of a loved one after a long battle with cancer, or the death of a loved one after an unexpected heart attack, or the premature birth of your child, or it’s your own on-going struggles with employment, or a sudden operation…

In 2005 in eastern Turkey, some shepherds were quietly eating breakfast while “tending” sheep from their village. As they ate the sheep were grazing. One of the sheep wandered dangerously close to a cliff—and then fell to its death. Sheep, being sheep and therefore utterly lacking a sense of direction and utterly lacking, well, sense,…

The most common question related to spiritual gifts is this: “What is my gift?” Closely related to it is this: “How can I discover my spiritual gift?” There are tests that seek to help a person discover his or her gift, but these are not the best way. The best way to discover your gift…