(REFLECTIONS ON Deuteronomy 19:1-21) God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. – Psalm 46:1 In today’s Scripture, we read about the cities of refuge that are to be set up for “anyone who kills a neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought.” When an unintentional killing, death without hatred, planning, or malicious intent occurred, […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Deuteronomy 4:1-24) In today’s Scripture, we see Moses gather the Israelites together to prepare their hearts to once again receive the Ten Commandments. This new generation, the generation ready to enter into the Promised Land, need to hear what the Lord gave through Moses on Mount Sinai, to renew their covenant with God, and […]
(REFLECTION ON PSALM 8 AND 2 SAMUEL 7) Last Saturday, before the new school year began, our Kids Club went camping on Yangmingshan. In the evening, I shared Psalm 8 with the children and parents. This psalm, attributed to David, is a song of awe at the majesty of God’s creation and the smallness of […]
8–14 September 2019. Psalm 146 (click to read). As a foreigner, it’s interesting to see how important guānxì, or good connections, are in Taiwanese culture. There is a lot of wisdom in this. Each of us knows how unstable life can be and how hard it is to get through life’s challenges without the support […]
1–7 September 2019. Psalm 139 (click to read). It can be tempting for us to divide our lives in two, separating our faith lives from everything else and treating these as two different parts. We then tell ourselves that God cares about our faith, about our Sunday lives and worship, but that the rest of […]
25–31 August 2019. Psalm 132 (click to read). Doing something nice for someone is rarely easy. Making a special meal for someone we love involves long hours of preparation and cooking. Planning a family holiday means working hard all year, saving money, and not buying the little things we would like for ourselves. In our […]
18–24 August 2019. Psalm 127 (click to read). Children can be a wonderful blessing. Even though in ancient Israel’s culture people especially valued sons, today we know that all children are worthy of love and can be a great source of joy. But just because children bring blessings and joy, that doesn’t mean raising a […]
11–17 August 2019. Psalm 121 (click to read). Each day brings with it a new set of challenges. There are new obstacles to deal with at work, difficult problems to face at school, and even constant challenges at home. With all of these difficulties, it can feel hard to cope on our own. Often we […]
4–10 August 2019. Psalm 120 (click to read). There is a widespread assumption in our society that it is only actions that are really harmful. To raise a hand against others, to hit others, to beat others, to use weapons to kill and cut is terribly wrong and severely punished. But simple words (so the thinking […]
28 July – 3 August 2019. Psalm 118 (click to read). During a recent series of interviews I did with Taiwanese business leaders, I was surprised to find that so many CEOs had exactly the same complaint. One of the biggest problems in Taiwan’s workplaces, they told me, was a lack of company loyalty among […]