Why Do We Confess? Psalm 106:1-48 Like our ancestors, we have sinned. We have done wrong! We have acted wickedly! Psalm 106:6 For the most part, Psalm 106 in an extended confession of sin. The anonymous writer begins by saying “Like our ancestors, we have sinned. We have done wrong! We have acted wickedly!” (106:6). Then, for the next 34 verses, he chronicles some of Israel’s most conspicuous and grievous sins. Why did the psalmist do this? Why did he... Read more
While some folks take the the streets to camp out and protest economic unfairness in our society, others are Kickstarting the economy and advancing their own dreams. While some complain that you can’t get ahead unless you are rich, others are finding ample funding for their creative visions through the online phenomenon called Kickstarter. I’ve been thinking about blogging on Kickstarter for a while. An article in today’s New York Times suggests that now is the time to write. David... Read more
What do you need to know? Really? And how might you be able to learn this? Questions like these are addressed in a tantalizing piece that appeared recently in the New York Times. Written by Lawrence Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury and President of Harvard University, “What You (Really) Need to Know” examines our quest for knowledge in light of changes in our world. Summers begins by noting that universities set the standard for what students should know and... Read more
A Playful God Psalm 104:1-35 See the ships sailing along, and Leviathan, which you made to play in the sea. Psalm 104:26 Psalm 104 celebrates God the Creator who made all things. Verse 24 sums up the main theme of this psalm: “O LORD, what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures.” The following verses focus on God as the one who made all things in... Read more
Is It Okay to Grieve? Or Should You Just Be Quiet? This post is one of my Daily Reflections that is emailed to over 16,000 people each morning and that appears on TheHighCalling.org. It has elicited quite a lot of discussion, both on TheHighCalling.org site and in personal emails to me. So I thought I would share it here as well. People heard that I was groaning, that I had no comforter. All my enemies heard about my distress; they... Read more
I just finished a fascinating article on “Business in the Way of Jesus.” It was originally a chapel presentation by Uli Chi at Seattle Pacific University’s chapel service. Dr. Chi is the founder and CEO of Computer Human Interaction, LLC. I highly recommend that you read this whole article. Here are some tantalizing excerpts: On God’s Purpose for Creation As the whole biblical narrative and our recent celebration of Jesus’ resurrection reminds us, God’s purpose and creation’s destiny is the... Read more
This is the question posed by religion writer Tom Krattenmaker in his USA Today op-ed, “When Tim Tebow loses, does God, too?” If this seems like a silly question, remember that some Christians have been seeing Tebow’s amazing victories as quarterback of the Denver Broncos as miracles. Particularly inspiring was the fact that in the Broncos’ shocking victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tebow passed for 316 yards with a completion rate of 31.6 yards per pass. It doesn’t take a... Read more
As Mitt Romney’s march toward the Republican presidential nomination seems almost inevitable, we’re hearing more and more about the discomfort of evangelical Christians with Romney’s Mormonism. Much of what I’ve read or heard on the news seems to be shallow. Often, it misunderstands evangelicals and their thinking. An exception to this tendency appeared recently in the New York Times, in the article “The Theological Differences Behind Evangelical Unease With Romney” by Laurie Goodstein. Her article demonstrates a solid grasp of... Read more
God, Answer Me Quickly! Psalm 102:1-28 Don’t turn away from me in my time of distress. Bend down to listen, and answer me quickly when I call to you. Psalm 102:2 When we ask a question or share a concern with someone, we expect a quick response. Gone are the days when we would write a letter and wait patiently for days or even weeks for a return letter. Technology has fed our hunger for instantaneous communication. In fact, we... Read more
Mark D. Roberts
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Should The Government Regulate High Heels?
Honestly, I’ve never been much into high heels. Given that I’m a 54-year-old male, that’s probably a good thing. About 50 years ago, I wore some of my mom’s high heeled shoes, but only for a few steps before I fell. I couldn’t imagine how people could actually wear them or why they would want to. I still haven’t quite figured that out. But, now we have scientific evidence that wearing high heels is unhealthy. Gretchen Reynolds, writing for the... Read more