Hurray! With Psalm 100, I’m two-thirds of the way through the Psalms. If I continue at this rate, I will be all the way through the book of Psalms by this time next year! Reason to rejoice! As we in America celebrate Thanksgiving, there are many reasons to give thanks and make a joyful noise. […]
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During the summer of 1980, I spent two months in the Dominican Republic, living in the mountains with two religious sisters in the small town of San Jose de Ocoa. At night I would sit in a rocking chair on the porch and enjoy the sight of the mountains. Much like the early Hebrews and […]
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A friend of mine routinely says, “Keep the victory,” as his goodbye. What he means by that, I never bothered to ask. I figured I knew but now I question this. That phrase came back to me as I read Psalm 98. Psalm 98 Once again, in Psalm 98, we are called to sing a […]
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Sunrises over a mountain, the changing seasons, a baby’s laugh, some things never get old. No matter how many times we see the sun rise, it still inspires awe. No matter how many times we watch the changing seasons come and go, they remain a wonder. We hear a baby laugh and the sound still […]
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Psalm 96: Sing a New Old Song Whenever unsure about what song to write, musicians frequently look to old songs and do remakes. Remakes of old songs are often sure hits. Sometimes they surpass the popularity of the original. Sometimes the original is forgotten entirely. We may be surprised to learn a song we love […]
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My favorite images of heaven and hell come from C.S. Lewis in his books, The Great Divorce, and the last book of the Chronicles of Narnia, The Last Battle. Those in hell choose hell. They become smaller and smaller and further isolated from others. They are but specters. In heaven, everything is bigger and more […]
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Where is your Temple? Where do you find God? For the writer of Psalm 84, the answer to these questions is easy, the Temple in Jerusalem. This Temple is all of this and more. It was magnificent and beautiful, inspiring awe in all who entered its gates. Psalm 84 Psalm 84 starts by singing her […]
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Summer is here, life is good! All reasons to rejoice. But we also need to remember, as Psalm 81 tells us. Psalm 81 Psalm 81 starts with a call to celebrate, “Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob! Raise a song, sound the timbrel, the sweet lyre with […]
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After my first third world experience, I believed in God, but questioned God’s goodness. How could a good God allow so much suffering? When I worked on my dissertation and interviewed adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, I questioned God again. How could God allow innocent children to suffer so? It wasn’t the doubt of […]
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Where was God when the Twin Towers fell? When the tsunami swept away thousands of lives in Indonesia? When the woman was brutally raped and murdered? The child abused? Christians beheaded by ISIS? Where was God? Psalm 74 is a lament of the community that asks this question. Where was God when the Temple was […]
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