Deus Misereatur

(The following is the graduation charge I gave to six high-school graduates during ceremonies at Faith Bible Church, Edmond Oklahoma, 11 May 2019) Proverbs 3.5-8  [5] Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. [6] In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. [7] Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. [8] It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. I was around 15 or 16 when my dad started a new business…in those times, when I wasn’t complaining and griping, he would talk about craftsmanship, business and customer satisfaction. I gained a ton from those talks. And so, we need to hear Proverbs as the counsel of a father to his son. More importantly, listen to it as the speech of the Eternal Father to his eternal, unique, one-of-a-kind Son, Jesus Christ, who followed through perfectly, and once said: “ I do nothing on my own authority, but sp...

The Source: How Rivers Made America and America Remade Its Rivers by Martin  Doyle My rating: 5 of 5 stars How did rivers build and benefit America in its infancy to the present. What are the various ways they have impacted our economics and political directions? These questions, and more, are answered by Mark Doyle, director of the Water Policy Program at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and professor of river science and policy at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, in his 352 page hardback, "The Source: How Rivers Made America and America Remade Its Rivers." The book genuinely follows its subtitle, working through riverine history, the commodification and modification of rivers, and now their remaking. It's an enjoyable work, that will educate and delight whoever reads it. Though it's about our waterways, it's not all wet! I highly recommend the book. View all my reviews

Old Testament Ethics: A Guided Tour by John Goldingay My rating: 5 of 5 stars Old Testament Ethics may sound to some like an oxymoron, with all of the bloodshed, wrath of God, conquests, sexual trysts, aged legal requirements, and prohibitions. But John Goldingay, professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary, past principal and professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at St. John's Theological College in Nottingham, England, and prolific author, takes a stab at laying out the ways and means of morality in the Hebrew Scriptures in his new book. "Old Testament Ethics: A Guided Tour" is 288 pages of reading fun and fastidiousness, ideal for seminarians, pastors, professors and interested parties. Neither fatiguing nor flocculent, this softback is accessible to most any reading audience. The author focuses mostly "on what is the Old Testament's own agenda and how it raises questions that we have to respond to" (2). And so his approach is to side ...

(Today's prayer is wrapped about by Psalm 47) Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth. He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. O world rescuing God, thank you that in Christ Jesus all of us who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ, and that he himself is our peace, who has made both Jews and Gentiles, Billy Yanks and Johnny Rebs, Brazilians and Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans, Koreans and Japanese, Mongolians and Chinese, Republicans and Democrats – people from every tribe, tongue, and nationality, which he has redeemed, he has made us one by breaking down in his body the dividing wall of hostility (Ephesians 2.13-14). Be with your church all over this big, wide globe, including Heritage, your people in Venezuela, and Jones Chapel, Love Joy and Peace Church of Go...