Image. Print for sale here: https://www.etsy.com/il-en/listing/1866609281/houston-street-art-print-manhattan New York City has a great shibboleth. Locals can instantly tell a tourist from a native by hearing them pronounce one of the prominent streets in Manhattan: HOUSTON STREET. Tourists will pronounce it like the city in Texas, “HUGHES-tun,” while the locals pronounce it “HOUSE-tun.” “Shibboleth” is one ofContinue reading “Word of the Day: SHIBBOLETH. Judges 12.”
Category Archives: War and Peace/Global Conflict
God Uses LIFE to Resolve Conflicts Among His People: You Will Know Them By Their Fruits. Numbers 17.
Image: Almond blossoms. When men enter their most bitter conflicts, how do they resolve them? When men fight over land, religion, power, and money, what tool do they use to determine the winner? DEATH. We’re talking about war, of course. Yes, we try to negotiate. We try to work out our differences. The worst ofContinue reading “God Uses LIFE to Resolve Conflicts Among His People: You Will Know Them By Their Fruits. Numbers 17.”
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.”
When the Breaking News is Terrifying. Isaiah 36 and 37.
[Imagine the following newspaper story.] ASSYRIANS WARN OF COMING INVASION: Foreign Diplomats Speak Hebrew to People of Jerusalem, Warn Them Not to Trust King, Promise Warm Welcome in New Land. Jerusalem. 701 B.C. Three top officials from Assyria arrived today with a message for King Hezekiah: Surrender to King Sennacherib of Assyria and you andContinue reading “When the Breaking News is Terrifying. Isaiah 36 and 37.”
SHOCK AND AWE: the Lord in Heaven Laughs. Psalm 2.
When Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990, the world was outraged. On January 17, 1991, a coalition of 42 nations invaded Iraq in order to beat the Iraqis back into Baghdad. The people in Arabian lands have come a long way from the days of camels and tents. But Saddam wasContinue reading “SHOCK AND AWE: the Lord in Heaven Laughs. Psalm 2.”
DAVID AT WAR: Four Truths. Psalm 60:8-12.
When God made David king, he told him he would use David’s reign to bring peace to the nation, 2 Samuel 7:10-11. But David could only secure the peace by waging war. David was destined to be the “man of war” God described in 1 Chronicles 28:3. Sometimes war is unavoidable. In David’s case, itContinue reading “DAVID AT WAR: Four Truths. Psalm 60:8-12.”
BLOODSHED: Times of War and Times of Peace, 1 Chronicles 28:2-3.
Pictured: “The 2000-Yard Stare” by Thomas Calloway “Tom” Lea, III, oil on canvas (1944). In peace, sons bury their fathers. In war, fathers bury their sons. –Herodotus. King David was the commander-in-chief of a kingdom at war. Saul’s kingdom had been one of drama, intrigue, and Saul’s obsessive quest to murder David. David had betterContinue reading “BLOODSHED: Times of War and Times of Peace, 1 Chronicles 28:2-3.”
Which is Better, to Win a War or to Prevent One? Joshua 22.
In the early morning hours of September 26, 1983, Soviet Lieutenant Stanislav Petrov received an alarm. Computers indicated the U.S. had launched five nuclear-armed missiles at Russian targets. The missiles would reach Russia in under twenty minutes—there was no time to waste. Petrov was to telephone the high command and immediately Soviet leadership would respond,Continue reading “Which is Better, to Win a War or to Prevent One? Joshua 22.”
GOT MILK? Proverbs 16:7.
Remember the “Got Milk?” ad campaign, celebrities with milk moustaches telling children to drink their milk? Ironically, most adults cannot drink milk, losing the lactase enzyme as they grow up. Asian people groups and many from Africa and South America are nearly 100% lactose intolerant, causing pain, gas, nausea, and diarrhea—far from being nutritious, milkContinue reading “GOT MILK? Proverbs 16:7.”
CAN YOU BEAR ARMS?Nehemiah 4:17-23.
Christians are not in agreement about America’s Second-Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Pacifists argue the Prince of Peace would not approve of weapons. When Peter cut off a man’s ear, Jesus said to put away the sword, that “he who lives by the sword, shall die by the sword” Matthew 26:52. But earlierContinue reading “CAN YOU BEAR ARMS?Nehemiah 4:17-23.”
Household Words: 