My career as a bully was short-lived and thankfully so. I was probably 13 when I decided to try pushing around a kid a year or two younger but half my size. I figured he’d […]
Tag: Justice
The three-step process to justice
We are living during a time where there are repeated calls for justice. That’s good, but it’s not enough. And I’m worried that the current emotional fervor will be wasted and the opportunity lost for […]
Praying when the legal system is a mess
It was Bring Your Dad to School Day and the little elementary school girl was so excited to introduce her father and tell the class what he does for work. “My Dad is a public […]
Praying for a good leader for the nation
During an election year, there’s no psalm that’s more relevant than Psalm 72, a prayer for a good leader for the nation. In every place around the world and in every era, there has been […]
Psalm 109
A rendering of Psalm 109, a painfully angry prayer, asking God to take over the revenge boiling over within him.
Psalm 97
A rendering of Psalm 97, in which an electrical storm is compared to Yahweh’s justice breaking though the darkness and bringing light to the world, something our false concepts of “God” never do.
Psalm 94
A rendering of Psalm 94, which calls on God to act as Judge, taking charge of revenge on those who trample the vulnerable and poor.
Psalm 92
A rendering of Psalm 92, the Sabbath psalm, which looks forward to the setting right of all that’s upside down in the world when the ultimate Sabbath comes.
Psalm 96
A rendering of Psalm 96, which envisions all creation worshiping Yahweh as he comes to bring justice to the earth.
Psalm 82
A rendering of Psalm 82, which looks at all of the injustice caused by those who should be ensuring justice and then looks to God to be the Judge the poor and vulnerable need.
Psalm 50
(An Asaph psalm.) The Forceful, God, Yahweh — He speaks, Calling the world to himself, All of it, From pole to pole. Out of Zion’s temple, Exquisite in it beauty, God shines. An inferno blazes […]
Psalm 10
A rendering of Psalm 10, which calls on God to deal with the bullies and abusers who think he won’t hold them to account.
Psalm 9
A rendering of Psalm 9, a call for God to sit on his throne as Judge in order to bring justice to an unjust world.
Psalm 7
(A song David sang to Yahweh when he was dealing with Cush the Benjamite.) Here, I am, knocking at your door, Yahweh my God. Let me in! I need a safe place. I need rescuing. […]
Psalm 146
A rendering of Psalm 146, which considers human sources of hope before considering God’s long resumé of real hope-inspiring help.
The unexpected spirituality of marriage
If there’s anything the Western world is infatuated with, it’s infatuation. We love love. We are swept off our feet by romance. If we believe in anything, it’s that the greatest achievement any of us […]
Innocence & guilt & the only satisfaction for suffering
Where does the line between innocence and guilt lie? In some regards, we’re all complicit in this interwoven world, where a bargain buy at Target is made by sweat shop labor in Cambodia. And in […]
Restoring a prayerful imagination
Your imagination is the most important part of who you are. Imagination and soul are deeply integrated, giving you personality and making you unique among all humans throughout history. Without imagination, there is no “you,” there […]
The Throne
As a kid, I grew up watching the Emmy-winning TV show All in the Family. In it, the family patriarch Archie Bunker attempts to rule his household during the late 1960s and early 1970s era where […]
When the silent God speaks, what does he say?
Silence is hard to interpret. In fact, an argument from silence is considered a logical fallacy. And yet, we try to interpret the silences of others on a regular basis. We question what people think […]
Vindication!
The first time I stood before a judge, I was guilty. Fortunately, it was just traffic court and I’d only been going 10 miles an hour over the speed limit. I’ve also had my moments […]
Psalm 5 — The God who hears & the words we speak
The first worship song that lodged itself in my heart was the Maranatha version of Psalm 5:1-3 from the early 1980s. Its minor key longing echoed inside of me, stirring a yearning for God that […]
Protest violence and Martin Luther King's dream
We gave Martin Luther King, Jr., a holiday and put his dream on the shelf. That often happens when those who led from the margins are officially recognized. Because of the role he played in […]
Political posts and the 9th Commandment
On any given day, anyone using Facebook is subjected to a bunch of political posts. I know that some people block or unfriend people who get too political (especially if they hold the opposite view), […]