In anger, a parent might threaten their child, “If you do that again, you’ll be grounded for life!” Everyone knows that’s not going to happen. Young people might lament, “My parents are going to kill me!” But that never happened to any of my friends, even the ones who were always getting into trouble.
The bible includes examples of extreme justice. Like the decrees in Daniel to throw offenders into a fiery furnace or a den of lions. Those monarchs were serious. They really did it.
In the book of Ezra, when the Jews who have returned from exile are trying to rebuild the temple, the locals do their best to shut down the project. The matter ends up in front of King Darius, who searches the royal archives for a solution to the conflict. He discovers that Cyrus had decreed the house of God to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. All costs would be paid from the royal treasury.
Darius reissues the decree, prescribing severe consequences for any who fail to abide by it. “If anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of his house, and he shall be impaled on it, and his house shall be made a dunghill” (Ezra 6:11). End of discussion.
There is no biblical record of anyone punished in this way. Maybe that’s because they knew from history that those kings were serious. These royal decrees insured everyone followed orders.
But would you turn in a neighbor who was interfering with the rebuilding of the temple if meant you’d end up with a dunghill in the lot next to yours. I know I wouldn’t.
Anyway, the project was completed on time. The Jews finished the reconstruction of the temple and worship was restored in post-exilic Jerusalem.
A “through the bible” devotion from 2 Chronicles 35.
What would make you exclaim, “This was the best Christmas (or birthday or other celebration) ever”? It might be the presents you received. Or the people gathered with you. Maybe the food was outstanding. A live band, fireworks, or an open bar could make an occasion the best ever. How about the amount of debris left to clean up the next day?
“Josiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem” (2 Chronicles 35:1). Boy did he ever! “No Passover like it had been kept in Israel since the day so Samuel the prophet” (35:18).
What made this Passover so memorable?
First, the numbers are amazing. 37,600 lambs and young goats were slaughtered and roasted, along with 3,800 bulls. It’s close to twice as big as the Passover King Hezekiah kept, which was best one since Solomon was on the throne (2 Chronicles 30:23-26).
Josiah kept this Passover “according to the word of the Lord by Moses” (35:4). Those repairing the temple discovered the Book of the Law of the Lord. A convicted but repentant King Josiah made sure they followed God’s instructions to the letter.
Finally, the king kept the best Passover ever during the decline of the southern kingdom of Judah. In just a few decades after Josiah’s reign, Babylonians would capture and burn Jerusalem, and take whoever was left into an exile that would last seventy years. Those whom God loved rejected him and every messenger he sent to warn them. He had no choice There was no remedy (36:16).
What’s the best worship event you’ve ever experienced? Anyone who’s been to church has a story about an amazing service. The more I think about it, the more I add to my list. Mine would have to be my call service at the seminary, my son’s ordination, baptizing my children and grandchildren, and my father’s funeral. They were all very different but powerful moments.
This morning I reflected on something I read in The Boonly, a weekly idea newsletter I get on Sundays.
“Are my pursuits genuinely reflective of my own dreams and values? Have I been seduced by the success stories of others, mistaking them for roadmaps to fulfillment? You see what other people are doing, their lifestyles or success stories, and you start thinking you want the same.”
Here’s the crucial question: “Is this what I really want?” In other words, do my pursuits come from my own passions or from the influence of others?
My theological mind immediately recognized this as a manifestation of coveting. The commandments are clear that we are not to covet, or desire what other people have. This would include both things and relationships. But isn’t that exactly what we pursue?
Are your new year’s resolutions things you really want to do or be, or do they reveal your wishes to be like someone else or have as much fun as them? Too often, “Instead of carving our own path, we find ourselves measuring our worth against borrowed ideals, often feeling empty, dissatisfied, and disconnected from our own reality.”
The author, Irena Spegar, expresses a different approach: “Your journey is a narrative waiting to be written, not in the ink of borrowed dreams, but in the colors of your person aspirations.”
I love the words, but I’m challenged that she does not suggest a strategy for accomplishing this. How do I identify and set out on my own personal path? How can I make sure I am painting my life in my own colors?
I guess it’s up to me to suggest a few ways to do that. (I am learning here as I go, so be easy with me!)
Turn off everything. Phone, social media, doorbell (yes, we clipped the wires), don’t walk to the mailbox, close the bedroom door, and be alone. I need to spend a few moments listening to my thoughts, my feelings, and my appetite.
Look back at the things that inspired, energized, or motivated you in the past. That’s who you are and that’s who you really want to be. I play trumpet and guitar, I love to read and write, I’ve always enjoyed running and fitness. I should try to be even better at those things.
That’s all I’ve got for now. My resolution is to use my own ink and write my own story. How about you?
A “through the bible” devotion from 2 Chronicles 32.
About once a week, someone knocks on my door encouraging me to install their security system in and around my house. Their spiel always includes the sobering report, “Many of your neighbors have had break-ins lately.” I used to be annoyed by them, but now I look forward to it. I want to answer the door barely restraining my Great Dane who can be insistent about getting to know our visitors. I’m pretty sure she just wants to make friends, but the salesperson doesn’t know that!
On a typical day, someone I know will say something about hand weapons. They will speak about a gun they’ve purchased or the price of ammo or a shooting in their neighborhood. It seems that I know very few people who aren’t carrying!
And how often do I pass through a metal detector? They’re built into just about every hospitals, stadium, theme park, and government office building, no to mention airports and cruise ports.
The business of home and self-protection is huge, and we’ve all bought into it.
Sennacherib and his Assyrian armies have invaded Judah, besieging the fortified cities. It looks like Jerusalem will be next.
Judah’s King Hezekiah stops up the springs the Assyrians could use for water, builds extra walls and amasses extra weapons and shields.
His pep talk to all his commanders went like this:
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles” (2 Chronicles 32:7-8)
Hezekiah doesn’t overlook the need to prepare for a siege, but that’s not the source of his security. He knows God’s people have an advantage. The bottom line: we’ve got God on our side.
I know it’s easy to forget that simple truth. The imposing threats around us block a distant God from view. In the same way, if we stay close him, danger shrinks to a manageable size. Scripture, worship, and prayer reinforce Hezekiah’s faithful statement, “With us is the Lord our God.”
A big dog might bring a feeling of security. But if I turn those letter around to “God,” that security becomes a reality.
A “through the bible” devotion from 2 Chronicles 20 and 23.
As I write this I am getting ready to officiate and preach at a memorial service. Family and friends will gather with tears of sadness and smiles of remembrance. It’s a bittersweet moment to say goodbye to a loved one, and release them to the care of the Lord.
Do you want to read something sad? How about this description of the end of King Jehoram’s reign: “He departed with no one’s regret” (2 Chronicles 21:20).
Or how about these words after the death of Queen Athalia: “So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been put to death with the sword” (2 Chronicles 23:21).
What do you think it’s like to be someone no one will miss? What would it be like to be a person whose death no one grieves? I guess it happens every day. I’m sure there are those who are glad when the homeless population decreases. Few grieve the John or Jane Doe who dies on the street.
The pendulum swings both ways. Some can’t stop grieving the death of a loved one. They continue to celebrate birthdays and feel the emptiness of holidays for many years after a funeral. On the other hand, for others, life goes on without the deceased. They are not forgotten, but they only occasionally come to mind.
I can assure you of this: you’ll be missed. You have no idea how many peoples’ lives you’ve touched and the difference you’ve made. There will never be another you. You’ll be missed.
A “through the bible devotion” from 2 Chronicles 21.
All of a sudden, as I’m reading through Chronicles thinking, “I’ve heard all this before,” this leaps out at me:
After all this the Lord struck [Jehoram] in his bowels with an incurable disease. In the course of time, at the end of two years, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great agony (2 Chronicles 21:19).
Yuk. That wasn’t in Kings. Come to think of it, neither was Asa’s terminal illness:
In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from physicians. And Asa slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign (2 Chronicles 16:12,13).
So of course I wonder, “Who else died a gruesome death?”
Jezebel got thrown out a window (2 Kings 9:33).
Sheba had his head cut off and thrown over a city wall (2 Samuel 20:22).
When King Herod got a little too full of himself, God struck him down and “he was eaten by worms and breathed his last” (Acts 12:23).
Jael drove a tent peg through Sisera’s head (Judges 4:21).
And of course, crucifixion is a horrible way to die.
I love to ask middle-school students, “What would be the worst way to die?” They answer everything from getting eaten by a shark to being seal in an oil drum to sitting naked on a fire ant pile. They like to hear vivid biblical descriptions like those above.
I guess that’s one way to get them into God’s Word!
I went through my Google calendar to remember all that happened in 2024. I was pretty busy.
We made three trips to Rowlett, Texas (a western suburb of Dallas) last year. We returned from a post-Christmas trip on January 1. We spent holy week and Easter with them March 26 through April 2. And then we made a fall trip November 6-11. Each trip included a stay in a nice Airbnb condo.
We spent a lot of time at grandsons’ soccer and baseball games. The younger grandson played soccer in the spring and machine-pitch baseball in the fall. He did really well and scored a lot of goals in the spring, and hit well in the fall. Unfortunately, we sat and watched a lot of games in cold, windy drizzle in the fall. Yuk.
The older grandson (age 9) had a really good spring machine-pitch baseball season, and played on a kid-pitch travel team in the fall. He learned a lot and really improved with good coaching and lots of practice with his dad.
On January 2 we picked up our Great Dane puppy, Willow, from a breeder in Ocala, Florida. She was about ten pounds at the time. By the end of the year, she was 110. Yeah, that’s a big puppy! I thought, “Well, when she’s a year old, we’ll switch her to adult dog food.” Nope. They grow up until 18 to 24 months. And you know what? She looks a little skinny. I just upped her daily food to 4-1/2 cups of large breed puppy food twice a day. Yeah, she’s got some growing to do.
I stepped out of retirement to pastorally officiate at three memorial services last year. They were all folks I had known for many years. Sweet memories on sad days.
The big trip this past year was to Hawaii in July. A gracious friend who owns a house on the big island let us stay for nine nights. We explored green and black sand beaches, coffee, macadamia, and chocolate farms. A luau and an amazing helicopter ride over the active volcanoes made my 67th birthday extra-special. We enjoyed running around in a rental Jeep, too! Best birthday ever!
Along the way, I wrote 367 blog posts, taught middle school Sunday School, started as an online Bible Study Fellowship leader, sold a whole bunch of stuff we didn’t need on eBay, did a lot of walking with the dogs, worked out in the garage, and read thirty-one books.
As 2024 comes to a close, I think I’ll look back at my blog posts for the past year.
According to WordPress, I’ve written 366 posts. I posted twice on January 15, so today’s post is number 367 (remember, it’s a leap year). I published a post every day in 2024. As of yesterday, I’ve posted 462 posts in a row. This is number 463.
So what have I learned this past year? What have I learned from posting every day?
WordPress tells me that most people read my writing early on Thursday mornings. During that time my writing has had 1,420 likes and 60 comments.
In the first half of the year, I had many more readers than in the last six months. I started writing “through the bible” devotions in June. Maybe I lost readers because of that.
To be honest, I was running out of ideas. I decided that I would just write devotionally as I rad through the bible for the umpteenth time. I was inspired. But I guess my readers weren’t.
I don’t have a niche for my writing. I write about life, experiences, observations, and scripture. I write mostly for me. I want to be a better storyteller.
I wonder what would happen if I put my writing out there on Facebook and Instagram?
My most popular, most read post is from 2018, “After Prayerful Consideration.” It had 234 reads in 2024. This short piece almost has 1,000 views. I wrote it in a moment of frustration when a good friend and faithful member suddenly withdrew from congregational life. Since then, it has been my most read post. You just never know what will resonate with readers.
For the year to come, I’m thinking about putting links to my writing on Instagram and Facebook. But then I’m thinking I shouldn’t do that and just continue writing for me. I’m pulled between the pursuit of readers and the security of secrecy.
My goals for the new year
Publish something every day.
Publish a short story (at least 1000 words) once a week.
Join a group who can critique my writing.
Stop looking at the numbers and just write.
Thanks to all who follow and read my thoughts, devotions, and stories. I promise to put a lot more out there this new year!
As part of their Christmas present, we took two grandsons to Legoland Florida in Winter Haven last Saturday. It was a fun day, a long day, and a Lego-filled day.
The park was a little further away than I expected. We live about two hours northeast of Disney World, and Winter Haven is another half-hour south of those attractions. Traffic was heavy for a Saturday morning. I can’t imagine navigating these roads on a week day. We passed through all the slow-down stretches I hear on radio “stress-saver” traffic reports.
I had prepaid for my parking. I saved $3 off the $35 standard parking fee. That’s more than Disney. I could have upgraded to a closer, covered spot for another $20, but I passed on that.
I saved $5 per ticket by purchasing my tickets online in advance. There were some days I could have gotten tickets for as little as $74, but not for the day we could go. Ours cost $114 each, after the $5 discount.
I also paid $15 each for the two grandsons to get a package of three minifigures. It cost the same in the store. They could trade those mini-figures for others that any park employee was wearing on their name badge, or at a 200 figure trading board in the coffee shop. The boys made a few trades during the day. That was cool.
As expected, the park is filled with giant Lego structures. Some are made from standard bricks, while others were built with huge Lego pieces. The park offers many places where you can just sit and build with Legos of all kinds.
A phone app shows you a map of the property as well as wait times for all the rides. There are three what they call “pink-knuckle” roller coaster rides, two shooting type rides, and one virtual reality movie ride. We only did The Dragon roller coaster. The one hour wait time for the others was too long for this family.
Masters of Flight was a cool movie with moving seats which made it feel like a flying trip through all sorts of worlds. There was so much to see I could have ridden it two or three more times. The Grand Carousel is a double-decker carousel ride on Lego horses. The Wave Racers, Royal Joust, Beetle Bounce, and a small train ride were fun but geared towards younger children.
The Lost Kingdom Adventure is a light shooting ride. The Ninjago ride as similar, except you fire with arm motions rather than a handgun. Both were lots of fun.
We brought our lunch, drinks, and snacks with us. The food prices were steep. We passed on the $7 green swirl soft ice cream cone and $15 snow ice cream sundae. We did splurge on a $11 bucket of popcorn and $9 soft pretzel late in the day.
The park is cashless. My wife was behind someone in line at the popcorn stand who didn’t understand that. Rather than extending the wait, my wife simply paid for the woman’s popcorn, gaining the admiration of a gentleman behind her.
I enjoyed Miniland USA the best. Miniland is a collection of U.S. cities built entirely with Legos. Cities included Orlando, Tallahassee, New York City, Las Vegas, Tampa, Daytona Beach, and the Kennedy Space Center. Lots of Christmas decorations and figures had been added to all the locations. So creative!
The stores are filled with every Lego set imaginable, along with the usual shirts, hats, mugs, and other Lego-themed merchandise. The most expensive set I saw was the Titanic, over 9,000 pieces for about $650.
Overall it was a fun day, although my wife and I agreed that if you’re going to spend this kind of money, you might as well spend a little more and do a Disney attraction. Other attractions are just wannabes in comparison. The atmosphere of Legoland seemed more relaxed than Disney. Since there are fewer things to do, you’re not trying to pack too much into a single day at the park. That being said, you probably need two days to do everything in Legoland.
We had a great day, but I’m not sure we’d go again. In addition to the theme park, there is a water park open in the warmer weather and a Peppa Pig park for the under six crowd. Legoland is adding an aquarium attraction, too, which should be fun.
We also looked up lodging on property at the resort. Over $600 per night. A little pricey for Winter Haven, but they wouldn’t charge that if someone wasn’t willing to pay.
So there you have my impression of Legoland Florida. Check it out if you want something a little less busy than Disney and lots of chances to see, play with, and buy as much Lego as you want.
Waite for it... 