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I do one thing better than God

THE MOMENT I DECIDED to give you a short update about where I am and what I have been doing lately, it occurred to me that I am better than God in one way. The reason I know I am is because of something Job wrote. I’ve been paraphrasing the Bible book of Job recently for my ongoing project of paraphrasing The Casual English Bible® (TCEB). “Why doesn’t God get a calendar… Of all those who know…

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When our faith glitches

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Job is the right book for me now

UNTIL TODAY, I don’t think I’ve ever shed a tear while reading a Bible commentary. I’m 38 pages into David J.A. Clines’s 501-page commentary on the first 20 chapters of Job. That’s when Job reacts to the news he lost his livestock, servants, and all 10 of his children and their families. He lost them to raiders, a windstorm, and lightning that set his pastures on fire. Complaining to a friend A…

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Q for AI: "Do most scholars say Jesus never existed?"

Every Eastertime, people who pity Christians for believing in Jesus wind up at one of my YouTube videos about the crucifixion of Jesus. And they tear into me. I use a filter to reject comments from viewers critiquing my work with the hateful words no one needs to hear this side of contemporary American politics. But I sometimes get hardcore nonbelievers trying to convert me and the people who…

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Do ancient prophets still warn nations

BIBLE PROPHETS WARNED ISRAEL that invaders would erase them from the world map if they didn’t shape up and stop the corruption and start treating people with respect and justice. The question is whether those prophecies apply today. In other words, are the Bible books like Jeremiah living sermons or just ancient history? If they are sermons, what are we to make of Jeremiah warning the Jewish…

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Interview with AI about USA

I asked an artificial intelligence chatbot created by Trump supporters why people voted for him. Happy surprises galore. Interview with AI about USA ChatGPT sounds Woke at 2 a.m. AI says USA is no longer a democracy.  Odds of USA returning to democracy within 40 years: sad side of 50/50.   I’VE GOT TO LET YOU SEE THIS. It’s not a Bible thing. It’s political. I admit it and I’m sorry. But if…

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Fundraising—How King David got Temple donations

Why doesn't anyone give King David credit for the method he used to raise money for the Temple? Churches everywhere use the same technique.

CHURCH FUNDRAISNG WITH CHEERFUL GIVERS. Classic art by Thomas Wortil illustrates one technique for raising money to pay the church’s bills. I’VE SEEN PREACHERS FUNDRAISING by using one sure-fire technique. But I’ve never seen anyone credit King David for the idea they’re using. David’s story is the perfect Bible passage for fundraising. So here it is, King David’s method of fundraising, borrowed…

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Who would cry over a Sienna? Good grief

People think that the older we get, the more we accumulate. But sometimes it feels like the older we get, the more we lose.

THE LAST MINIVAN. Stephen M Miller saying goodbye to the Sienna minivan that had been the family’s workhorse since 1998. That’s the first year Toyota made the Sienna. He and his wife had just detailed it one last time before selling it to a mechanic who rejuvenates old cars. Sad evening. It felt like betraying an old friend who had never betrayed us. WHILE CRYING OVER MY 1998 SIENNA MINIVAN last…

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When God sent his sun

After a few hours of looking up at the eclipse, I wondered what Bible verses might help me reflect on what I saw in the sky.

NOT THE SKY FALLING. This is what happens during a solar eclipse when the light drops and the heavy, hand-held camera starts taking three-second exposures. I’m sure a creative preacher could make a theological point about what happens to us when the light leaves us. This is pretty much what the world around us might start to look like, a blurring mess. That suggests a good name for the photo:…

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Erasing Israel from the map

It's hard to read in 2 Kings the story of Israel getting erased without thinking about what's going on now—the opposite of "erasing Israel."

GRANDDAUGHTER. On Easter Sunday, my oldest grandson asked to hold my “big” camera so he could take a picture of me. Appealing to my ego: smart move for a second grader. My granddaughter heard what he said and jumped onto my lap. We see in the photo a glimpse of the bond between generations. I can’t imagine what it was like for the Jews of Israel and Judah to lose everything they owned to invaders…

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I could use a grief counselor

My grown kids said I've lost too many people I've loved and that it's time for me to see a grief counselor. Well, good grief.

“I’M REQUESTING YOU SEE A GRIEF COUNSELOR.” That’s what my grown daughter said today. I had requested a family meeting about a relational problem involving some faraway relatives. So there we were: me and my registered nurse wife and our two grown children—a manager-guy son and a nurse practitioner daughter. I was surrounded by two healthcare ladies and a salesman. I didn’t have a chance. Souls…

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When the Jews lost their Bible

Jews lost their Bible, it seems, for 400 years. I wonder if many evangelical Christians today have lost theirs, too.

A PLACE FOR MOSES. A rabbi faces Jerusalem while reading Scripture in a synagogue. Behind the curtain in front of him is a handwritten copy of the laws of Moses, carefully preserved on a large Torah (Law) scroll kept in a cabinet called an ark. The “ark” is a modern variation on the Ark of the Covenant, a gold-covered chest that held the Ten Commandments written on stone tablets. The ancient ark…

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Nudged to make a Bible map poster

I don't know that God nudged me. But a little something happened when I got an order for a Bible map that I knew wouldn't work.

4TH GRADE BIBLE GEOGRAPHY. Riley’s class in Chelsea, Alabama wanted a map poster of the land around the Sea of Galilee. We hadn’t experimented with that option before because it seemed old-school. But we did a little beta test and measured the success in smiles. I don’t know that God nudged me. But a little something happened when I got a $10 order for a Bible map poster that I knew wouldn’t…

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Habakkuk's prayer from Fiji to Finland

The song I wrote from Habakkuk's prayer, "I Will Thank God He's My Savior" has few listeners, but scattered over the word, Fiji to Finland.

HUMBLE STATS. Here’s where people are listening to the song from Habakkuk’s prayer. Body count seems low. But I love the scattering. It’s like little digital disciples leaving Jerusalem (Kansas City) to spread the Good News or to die trying. I APOLOGIZE for hitting you with a barrage of info about the song I wrote from Habakkuk’s prayer. But it’s where I am at the moment. I keep paraphrasing the…

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Christian music critics and my song

Some musicians advise against reading rejection messages. But if we make them listen to our songs, we should probably listen to theirs.

GOING FOR THE HEART. Spotify curators running music playlists offer their criticism and encouragement about a song I just released. Some musicians advise against reading the rejection. But if we make them listen to our songs, we should probably listen to theirs. I THOUGHT THOSE OF YOU WHO LIKE ME and those of you don’t (and you know who are) might enjoy hearing what Spotify playlist curators of…

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TikTok meets the Bible

When I hired a company to promote my Christian song to TikTok, I didn't expect videos of breasts, bums, and wet girls in towels.

LADY IN A CAR. I hired a company to help me promote a Christian song, Thank God He’s My Savior, and I got this lady riding in a car and looking at the camera for 10 seconds. This is one of the few scenes I could show you. I think TikTok may clock me. THIS IS TOO BLASPHEMOUS, ridiculous, and hilarious to keep to myself. It’s a TikTok thing: TikTok meets the Bible. In case you haven’t noticed,…

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Habakkuk's karaoke video starring you

DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO CAN SING? I have a deal to make.

SING ONE FOR THE PROPHET. This is an invitation to sing your own version of Habakkuk’s song. DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO CAN SING? I have a deal to make. I released the “Habakkuk song” yesterday, “I Will Thank God He’s My Savior.” It’s a song inspired by the prophet’s last-known words. I have no idea how it’s doing; I haven’t solved the mystery of the apps.  I do know a couple of the Spotify…