It is 413 years from the death of Solomon to the fall of Jerusalem and our text for today is just around 120 years after Solomon’s death. While many of the kings are direct descendants of previous kings, the history of Judah is filled with assassinations, coups, attempted coups, insurrections and illegitimate rulers. It’s a mess. From Solomon to the fall of Jerusalem there are only a handful of ki ...[Read More]

Following the story in 2 King’s 5 of Elisha’s curing Naaman, the commander of the king of Aram’s army, of leprosy is the story of Gehazi, the servant of Elisha. I’ve known people who had such discernment and sensitivity they could instantly know when things were not going well or someone was shading the truth or telling a lie. My mother was that way. I don’t know how she knew but she could look at ...[Read More]

Every prophet lives in a context. Some, like Nathan, are only called on one time to correct a king who is a man after God’s own heart. Others, like Jeremiah, are called to serve when a whole nation is on the brink of disaster and his whole life is given over to conflict, persecution, hatred, obstruction and then an unknown death. Like the book of Hebrews says, “Some faced jeers and flogging, while ...[Read More]

Partly as a response to the division of the country and the crisis of loyalty caused by the Civil War, Francis Bellamy, the son of a Baptist minister, was given the assignment in 1892 to write a Pledge of Allegiance to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the New World. It was very simple: “I pledge allegiance to my flag and the Republic for which it stands—one Natio ...[Read More]

My travel agent informed me this week that for people my age to rent a car in Ireland we must now provide proof that we are not only fully insured but a statement from our doctor that we are healthy enough to drive. I believe I have graduated to a different status in life. I am now elderly. Elderly is better than simply old. Elderly means exactly that. It means I have the opportunity now of being ...[Read More]