When a teacher wants to become a principal, she seeks a masters degree in middle management. The degree may be officially named “Educational Administration,” or something similar, but the nickname among teachers is “mid-management degree.” The challenge of working in middle management is that you are trapped in the middle. You are not a topContinue reading “Middle Management. Jeremiah 38:20.”
Category Archives: The Bible is Practical
Governance: How Will You Decide For Whom to Vote? Jeremiah 22:3.
America once elected a president who was an excellent speaker. He was good at explaining his beliefs about government, and would tell a joke now and then to keep you listening. People called him the “Great Communicator” and his enemies marveled at the way he could get his message out no matter how journalists fromContinue reading “Governance: How Will You Decide For Whom to Vote? Jeremiah 22:3.”
Public-Order Crimes.
All societies prosecute violent crimes: murder, rape, armed robbery, kidnapping, and assault. We even prosecute “white collar crimes,” wrongs committed by people sitting at computers in shirts and ties: embezzlement, securities fraud, insider trading. But Public Order crimes are controversial. Should gambling be a crime? Drugs? Prostitution? People call these “victimless crimes,” arguing that ifContinue reading “Public-Order Crimes.”
Study to Show Thyself Approved by God.
Nothing is more important than wisdom, right? Are you SURE? Wouldn’t you trade wisdom for treasure? Or for SOMETHING? “Wisdom is better than diamonds. Nothing you desire can even be compared to it” Proverbs 8:11. NOTHING is more valuable. So how do you get wisdom? It begins with SUBMITTING to God: “The FEAR OF THEContinue reading “Study to Show Thyself Approved by God.”
Solomonic Wisdom is PRACTICAL.
Two young women lived in squalor. They were roommates, not friends. They had no family, no money, no safety net. After selling their jewelry and trinkets, they ran out of food. Finally, they liquidated the only asset they had. They fed their bodies by selling their bodies, eventually birthing boys within days of each other. Continue reading “Solomonic Wisdom is PRACTICAL.”
The Monarchy.
The book of Judges might be re-named “the Book of Committees.” Protestant churches love committees, right? Ours even has a Committee on Committees, a committee whose members nominate people to serve on other committees. But without an executive–without a chief at the top–committees can devolve into a league of partisan teams battling over authority (“vision”)Continue reading “The Monarchy.”
God Knows How to Muck Out Your Hurricane-Ravaged House.
After Hurricane Harvey, I thought I’d seen it all. In my rubber boots I had slogged through a dozen Houston-area houses with water dripping from carpets and insulation. As the sun rose toward noon, you could feel the steam coming out of those swampy damp caverns of mold and moisture. It was interesting, but grossContinue reading “God Knows How to Muck Out Your Hurricane-Ravaged House.”
Quarantine. Leviticus 13 and 14.
As of this morning (2/20/2020), the Coronavirus has reached 24 nations; 75,000 people have been infected; 2,118 have died. Cruise ships returning from China are under 14-day quarantines around the world. China has placed 45M people under quarantine—the largest quarantine in history. Hong Kong announced prison sentences for anyone who violates the quarantine. Researchers traceContinue reading “Quarantine. Leviticus 13 and 14.”
God is in the Details.
In the late 1960s, 14,000 workers were dying on the job each year. Combined with disabling injuries and work-related diseases, going to work had become increasingly dangerous. Thus, US politicians drafted the Occupational Safety and Health Act. President Nixon signed the bill into law in 1970 and here’s where it gets interesting … the details.Continue reading “God is in the Details.”
The Role of Old Testament Law in Health.
Jesus redeemed us from the law. However, Old Testament laws continued to serve an important purpose, because many of them protect people from dangers science would not discover for centuries. Here are examples in addition to the recently mentioned hand washing and burying of “night soil”: “All FAT belongs to the Lord. This is aContinue reading “The Role of Old Testament Law in Health.”
Household Words: 