Random Comments on the Bible

2 Kings 17:28-29 " So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in Bethel and taught them how they should fear the LORD. But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the shrines of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities in which they lived." When I read Kings and Chronicles, I'm struck by the repeated stories of kings that were bad and had other gods, people that were bad had had other gods (who even sacrificed their children as burnt offerings) and then kings that were good and followed God like David did, oh, but some of those "good" kings still had other gods. And let's not forget the Asherah poles . Lots of Asherah poles that were being erected (bad) or being cut down (good). The above makes me wonder, How much of what I've been taught about "how [I] should fear the Lord" defines who I am and how much is defined by the gods of my history, culture, and ethnic...

1-2 Don't be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards. And none of us is perfectly qualified. We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you'd have a perfect person, in perfect control of life.... 8-9. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth! ...10-12My friends, this can't go on. A spring doesn't gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it? Apple trees don't bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don't bear apples, do they? You're not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you? 13-16Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here's what you do: Live well, live wise...

Psalm 73 An Asaph Psalm 1 No doubt about it! God is good-good to good people, good to the good-hearted.2 But I nearly missed it, missed seeing his goodness.3 I was looking the other way, looking up to the people. Sometimes The Message really nails it! God is good, but I nearly missed seeing it because I was looking the other way -- looking up to people. Maybe I'm taking it out of context -- the Psalmist goes on to say that he's envying people who are wicked -- but I still think it's a good point. How many times is God's goodness staring us in the face but we're looking at people who have things better than us or we're looking to please/impress people?

David foresaw Twitter all those years ago. Imagine that! Check out Psalm 102:7 in Eugene Peterson's The Message : "Insomniac, I twitter away, mournful as a sparrow in the gutter." Crazy huh?