Grains of Sand

Pixabay I just finished throwing out two books. There was nothing wrong with the books, or the information that they contained. I also made a mental note to go through some study material that I wrote and taught several years ago to remove references to one of the books I have just consigned to the garbage. It's not the books, or the material. It's the author who wrote the books. I won't say that he has ever been an idol of mine. But I know that he has been the idol of others, world-famous in fact. He started a movement and became a guru among evangelicals, much quoted and much emulated. And perhaps everything he said and did (at least in his ministerial role) was exemplary and worthy to be followed. But it turns out he is an idol with clay feet, who has systematically abused his power over many years while in the ministry,  This abuse particularly relates to his relationship with women. As a woman, and one who knows a little about abuse of power in ministry, I don...

Pixabay Those closest to me know that I am a "fan" of the murder, mayhem, and mass destruction genre of books and films. Perhaps that's what makes me more likely to look at stories like that which we find in Genesis 19 with the here-and-now in mind. Lot offered his two virgin daughters to placate a gang of Sodomites pounding on his door. That was not enough for them—the name “Sodomy” comes from the medieval Latin “sodomia: and is implied in the story from Genesis 19. The men of Sodom wanted to “know” Lot’s visitors, and it wasn’t a cup of coffee and a doughnut they were after.  Homosexual rape was what the Sodomites had in mind for Lot’s angelic messengers. Small wonder that Lot’s daughters, already understanding how little value they had because of their father’s actions, and having grown up in such an immoral society, did not think twice about committing incest with their father. Do you wonder why God would allow such a chapter to be preserved for us to read? Perh...

Google Images The Scriptures are full of grace stories. But then again, God’s grace is the point of the book! Tucked away in the middle of the adventures of David hides yet another example, another picture of the cross. 1 Samuel 25 tells us the familiar story of David’s encounter with Nabal. Let’s set the scene. David is still on the run from Saul. As the “Robin Hood” of his era, David and his men had occasion to act on behalf of the people in the neighbourhoods through which they traveled. Nabal appears to have been a wealthy landowner and sheep farmer. As the story goes, David’s men had provided a service for Nabal by protecting his shepherds and his sheep (25:7, 8, 15, 16). But when David asked for a few provisions for himself and his men, Nabal treated him with disdain and insult (25:10, 11), with the result that David set out to punish Nabal for his inhospitable attitude: “ It’s been useless—all my watching over this fellow’s property in the desert so that nothing of his is mi...