God wants there to be supreme courts and presidents. Really? Well, kind of. In this series, we are studying Deuteronomy 17, seeking God’s heart for good government, and we move from what God instructed Israel to do with local governance to what he wanted for their national governance: supreme courts and presidents! In Deut. 17:8-20, he describesContinue reading “Supreme Courts and Presidents [God’s heart for good government, part 3]”
Author Archives: joelkime
Justice [God’s heart for good government, part 2]
Imagine you were creating a new nation, and you were responsible for writing a document that would become the guiding principles for this whole new society. What would you include? If you could narrow it down to just a few key ideas, what is necessary? What is the basis of good governance? As we sawContinue reading “Justice [God’s heart for good government, part 2]”
Choose wise local leaders [God’s heart for good government, part 1]
The midterm elections were this week, the results are in, and now the politicians can get back to the business of governing. That is good news for us, not least of which because the political road signs are coming down. Postcards from candidates probably stopped arriving daily in the mail. The TV ads are finallyContinue reading “Choose wise local leaders [God’s heart for good government, part 1]”
Celebrating with aliens, the fatherless and widows [God’s heart for the holidays, part 5]
In this series of posts, we are seeking to learn God’s heart for the holidays in Deuteronomy 16, through three feasts he asks Israel to keep every year. In the previous few posts, God expresses his heart for remembering, and in this fifth and final post, we’re going to look at two more themes. TheContinue reading “Celebrating with aliens, the fatherless and widows [God’s heart for the holidays, part 5]”
Why I observe the Christian Calendar [God’s heart for the holidays, part 4]
Does your church follow the Christian calendar? Just as God instituted feasts for the people of Israel to follow, ancient Christians created feasts as well. That Christian calendar, while not commanded by God in his New Covenant with the church, is designed to help Christians remember and re-enact the story of Jesus, very much likeContinue reading “Why I observe the Christian Calendar [God’s heart for the holidays, part 4]”
Celebrating his provision [God’s heart for the holidays, part 3]
In this series of posts we are seeking to discover God’s heart for the holidays. He truly does care about holidays! So we have been looking at three feasts he commanded the people of Israel to observe every year, with the goal of learning his heart so that we Christians might be able to applyContinue reading “Celebrating his provision [God’s heart for the holidays, part 3]”
Re-enacting to remember [God’s heart for the holidays, part 2]
A few years ago the Gettysburg Battlefield celebrated the 150th anniversary of the terrible and momentous events of July 1-3, 1863 during our nation’s Civil War. Because my family lives about an hour away, we visited the battlefield hoping to see re-enactors. While we were there before any full battle re-enactment took place, at oneContinue reading “Re-enacting to remember [God’s heart for the holidays, part 2]”
Giving our firsts to God [God’s heart for the holidays, part 1]
In your mind, can you recite the cycle of national holidays that tell the story of America. Get out a piece of paper, or start typing in a document. See if you can list out our holidays. Here’s a hint: where do you think we should start? July 4th, of course! There would be noContinue reading “Giving our firsts to God [God’s heart for the holidays, part 1]”
Should Christians have rules for holy living? (how God’s list of clean and unclean foods in Deuteronomy 14 matters to Christians, part 5)
What are the rules for holy living? If you had to list some rules you have heard, what would you write? Holiness refers to purity, so maybe you would include rules about avoiding putting anything unclean into your body. Maybe you would include rules about washing, sanitizing, and purifying the water and air. Toxicity isContinue reading “Should Christians have rules for holy living? (how God’s list of clean and unclean foods in Deuteronomy 14 matters to Christians, part 5)”
Must Christians eat kosher? (how God’s list of clean and unclean foods in Deuteronomy 14 matters to Christians, part 4)
As I mentioned yesterday, God details his kosher law in his covenant with Israel. This week we are studying Deuteronomy 14:1-21, and yesterday we looked at the fairly extensive list of animals that God declares clean or unclean for Israel. But what about Christians? Are we to apply kosher law to our lives? Let’s lookContinue reading “Must Christians eat kosher? (how God’s list of clean and unclean foods in Deuteronomy 14 matters to Christians, part 4)”
Engaging Scripture 