father ⁽¹⁸⁰⁾

Jeremiah 17:9–11; Luke 12:1–12 If you have a smartphone, you are probably aware of this little program installed on it, which is supposedly an assistant. “Hello, Google, Siri, Bixby, Alexa.” This program can be helpful. Yet, there is often weirdness associated with it. There have…

Ecclesiastes 1:10–11; Matthew 23:25–32; Luke 11:47–54; Acts 7:44–58 You have probably heard George Santayana’s famous quip, "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Perhaps the writer of Ecclesiastes phrased it differently. The reality is that human behavior (especially, selfishness, greed,…

Luke 14:7–14 When I was young, my father insisted on making sure I was appropriately experienced in “high” culture. We went to ballet and opera. My dad said that we were sitting in the Grand Tier (still sounds a bit grandiose). This was the tier…

Romans 7:15-20; Philippians 3:12–21; 1 John 1:6–2:6 If you’ve ever been on a long trip, whether as a parent or a child, “Are we there yet,” is a common question. So common that some people can time when the next time the question will be…

1 Corinthians 3:5–9; Philippians 1:12–21 “It can never happen here.” “No one respects God here.” “How could God move in this [horrible] place?” You can probably think of a number of questions or statements that give an excuse or justification for why you can’t be…