The Intersection of Bible and Life

Judy and I have been married for over three decades.  That's lots of living.  Lots of thrills.  Tons of disappointment.  Hour after hour of the mundane and routine.  We're both deeply flawed.  It's more obvious in me.  But Judy has sinful tendencies too.  We're still together because we each made a promise to the other even before we were married.  We promised to hang on to one another.  To cling come what may.  Only death can break our bond.     Promises kept throughout life's twists and turns have a stabilizing and adorning effect on relationships.  And we both need to hear from one another that the promise is still intact. I believe that's why God mentioned His promise to Joshua eight times in Joshua 1.  Promises keep commitments from crumbling into distant wishes.  The promise from God was that He would give the people of Israel the land of Canaan.  Joshua needed to hear those words.  Jo...

Recently I was standing with a group on the peak of the Golan Heights overlooking “no man’s land.”   In the distance we could see Damascus, Syria.   As our guide was explaining what we were seeing and the current political situation relative to this region we heard a boom.   Then a boom, boom, boom.   It sounded like artillery fire and it created a few tense moments among many in our group.   When the guide just kept explaining as if nothing unusual was happening we uneasily attempted to listen as he finished his explanation.     Imagine moving toward the shooting.     Not a viable option unless you’re a trained and well-equipped soldier.   No reasonable person would walk into such a dangerous situation without fear and apprehension.   Joshua was commanded to do something similarly dangerous by God.   He was told to cross a river into enemy territory and start fighting for a land occupied by unusually large people in fortif...