Image: Logjam on the St. Croix River, Minnesota. As timber companies harvested America’s forests in the late 19th century, one of the easiest ways to get logs to the sawmills was to set them afloat in local rivers. But these tree-sized logs would snag on things and on each other, creating logjams. In fact, logjamsContinue reading “Streaming Traffic or Bottlenecked Logjam: Finding Miracles in Large Datasets. Numbers 2.”
Category Archives: Different Purposes for Different Books of the Bible
Whatever the Need, the Bible Can Provide. Whatever the Question, the Bible is the Answer. Leviticus 15.
Today is September 10, 2025. It’s not quite September 11, but it almost feels like it. For me the day began with a host of personal and professional challenges. These problems felt serious and weighty, but about lunchtime they suddenly paled. Charlie Kirk was shot. First, I heard he was shot. Then I watched aContinue reading “Whatever the Need, the Bible Can Provide. Whatever the Question, the Bible is the Answer. Leviticus 15.”
Reading Prophecy? There is Help Available! Zechariah 5:1-4.
Bible stories come in a variety of genres. The easiest to read are the parables crafted by the Master Teacher, fables illustrating spiritual truths: the Prodigal Son, the Farmer Planting Seed, the Pearl of Great Price, the Lost Coin, the Ten Virgins. Slightly more difficult to read are the historical records of actual events, suchContinue reading “Reading Prophecy? There is Help Available! Zechariah 5:1-4.”
Psalms: a Book About the Heart. Psalm 149:4.
Do you ever think about how easy life is in the United States? We find ourselves on the wrong side of a political decision and say we are being persecuted. Yet we know nothing of real persecution. Or we wallow in a bad mood (I’m in a funk today!), never realizing how mild an AmericanContinue reading “Psalms: a Book About the Heart. Psalm 149:4.”
Introduction to Psalms: The Song Book That Teaches You How to Relate to God. Psalm 23:2.
As a young college student, I once had a conversation with both an Old Testament professor and the dean of our humanities department. I wanted to build a research paper around the works of C.S. Lewis. The dean spoke up: “Well, I don’t know.” He looked at the Old Testament professor. “I think Lewis isContinue reading “Introduction to Psalms: The Song Book That Teaches You How to Relate to God. Psalm 23:2.”
A Gift from the Ancient of Days. Revelation 6-7.
God often allows things we do not understand: poverty, illnesses, suffering, death. He welcomes your questions. Questions are allowed. But we are not called to ask questions. We are called to worship God, to fall on our faces in awe and reverence and fear. And such fear is not crippling, it is empowering. The FearContinue reading “A Gift from the Ancient of Days. Revelation 6-7.”
TWO GREAT BOOKS. Revelation 1:3.
Great stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Genesis (Hebrew for “in the beginning”), is literature’s greatest story of beginnings—no religion or culture has an “origin story” to match it. Likewise, Revelation is literature’s greatest story of endings—unmatched by anything in the world’s greatest libraries. Revelation is the essential “final chapter.” It tiesContinue reading “TWO GREAT BOOKS. Revelation 1:3.”
Philemon: the Book About Slavery. Philemon 8.
For centuries abolitionists searched the Bible hoping to prove that slavery was wrong. But many topics in the Bible are not addressed in neat little essays the way we might have hoped. Nevertheless, one book that does address slavery is Philemon. Philemon is a private letter to a close friend. This letter is not theContinue reading “Philemon: the Book About Slavery. Philemon 8.”
ROLL CALL. Hebrews 11: 32-38.
A fun way to study the Bible is to learn the popular parts. What would you put on the list? Psalm 23 is huge: “The Lord is my shepherd….” And Genesis chapter 1:”In the beginning, God created….” John chapter 1: “In the beginning was the Word….” There’s 1 Corinthians 13—the “love” chapter. There’s Ecclesiastes 3:1-8Continue reading “ROLL CALL. Hebrews 11: 32-38.”
WORDS MATTER. Matthew 19:4.
I wrote a book of study tips. One tip encourages visual learners to make the content from their classes visual if possible. But visual media have their limits: “IF YOU DON’T KNOW ANY OTHER WAY TO STUDY, THEN CONVERT YOUR NOTES TO DRAWINGS AND DIAGRAMS. If you’re a ‘visual person’ (everyone says they’re a visualContinue reading “WORDS MATTER. Matthew 19:4.”
Household Words: 