Observations from the Word by The Barking Fox

Ugly Holiness

If we ever think about holy people, what comes to mind may be nice people who get along well with others. But what about people who aren't very nice, such as those Old Testament judges and prophets who saw everything in black and white and took no prisoners when it came to rooting out unrighteousness? Were they holy? And are such people still with us today? 
Numbers 4:21-7:89; Judges 13:2-25; Romans 9:14-23, 11:29, 12:14-21
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Ugly Holiness
Music: "Battle Hymn of the Republic,” The U.S. Army Band, YouTube Audio Library. The full recording is available at https://youtu.be/dAdbKqLwhZg.
Picture: The Tragic Prelude: John Brown. Mural by John Steuart Curry, 1938, Kansas State Capitol, Topeka, KS. 

Citizen Advocates

It's not right to have different classes among citizens of any nation. That's not simply a human sense of fairness, but a statute of our Creator, Who commands that there be one law for the native born and for the foreigner. 
Exodus 19:1-20:26; Deuteronomy 14:22-16:17, 23:4-5; Ruth 1:1-4:22; Ezekiel 1:1-28, 3:12; Habakkuk 2:20-3:19; Matthew 23:13; John 4:25-42; Acts 22:23-29; Galatians 3:27-29; Philippians 3:2-7
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Citizen Advocates
Music: "Jesus Paid It All,” Celtic Worship, Homeward, Oak Ridge Records 2019. See the official video on Youtube at https://youtu.be/YfUNU-sPwbQ. Celtic Worship’s music is available at https://celticworship.co.uk/.
Photo: Petitioners taking the Oath of Citizenship at Yellowstone National Park. National Park Service photo by Neal Herbert, September 9, 2015, via Flickr.

Counting the Dark Stars

Is our Creator trustworthy if He doesn't come through on His promises? We need to wrestle with this question because the eternal destiny of the whole world depends on it. That's why we have to ask whether He has come close to fulfilling His promise to Abraham to make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the heavens. 
Numbers 1:1-4:20; Hosea 1:10-2:21; Genesis 15:1-6; Deuteronomy 1:10-11; Ezekiel 11:14-16; Matthew 15:24; Romans 11:16-21; Galatians 3:29; Ephesians 2:11-22
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Counting the Dark Stars
Music: "Shevet Achim," Exodus Road Band, Heart of the Matter, Exodus Road Band 2017. This song and others by Exodus Road Band are available at https://www.exodusroadband.com/. 
Photo: Milky Way over Lake Ninan - Western Australia, by Trevor Dobson, August 12, 2018, via Flickr.

One More River to Cross

There is some comfort in knowing that our Creator expects us to fail. It's part of the lengthy training process He has overseen for millennia to prepare a redeemed people for His eternal purposes. 
Leviticus 25:1-27:34; Exodus 4:22; Jeremiah 16:19-17:14; John 10:29; Galatians 3:26-29; 1 Peter 2:9
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: One More River to Cross
Music: "Many Waters,” Exodus Road Band, Hard Rain, Exodus Road Band 2018. This song and others by Exodus Road Band are available at https://www.exodusroadband.com/. 
Photo: Woodrow Wilson Bridge, looking northwest over the Potomac River toward Alexandria, Virginia. Traffic flows freely in this photo, but several months earlier, the final stages of construction on the new bridge severely constricted traffic in both directions. Photo by Virginia Department of Transportation, December 14, 2008, via Flickr.

Justice on the Right Terms

We all want to see right prevail. Or do we? Maybe what we really want is to see right prevail as we define it. 
Leviticus 21:1-24:23; Ezekiel 33:10-11, 44:15-31; Matthew 5:38-42; Luke 6:27-38
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Justice on the Right Terms
Music: "The Entertainer,” Scott Joplin, arranged and performed by Kevin MacLeod, 2019. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Kevin MacLeod’s music is available at https://incompetech.com/. 
Photo: Robert Earl Jones (L) as Luther Coleman and Robert Redford (R) as Johnny Hooker in The Sting, winner of the Oscar for Best Picture of 1973. Imaged by Heritage Auctions, HA.com. 

Demonic Weeds

Our hope for this world is in our Creator's promise to redeem and restore it to the perfection of the Garden of Eden. Right now it doesn't look very much like a garden, but is infested with all manner of weeds and other blights. This is the grim reality of our world, and of us as individuals. Just as our Creator invites and commissions us to take part in the restoration of the world, He expects us to take an active part in cleaning up the gardens of our souls. 
Leviticus 16:1-20:27; Amos 9:7-15; Mark 7:1-23; Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 6:10-20; 1 Peter 1:14-16
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: Demonic Weeds
Music: "Holy Are You Lord,” Mason Clover, Perception, Abiron Records 2019. Mason Clover’s music is available at https://www.masonclover.com/. 
Photo: Portrait of a weed, by moccasinlanding, July 9, 2019, via Flickr. 

But What If He Doesn’t?

We don't like to think about the fact that we begin dying at the instant of our birth. It's hard enough to cope with that when those we love leave us after a long life, but what if that life is cut short and marked by tremendous suffering? 
Leviticus 12:1-15:33; 2 Kings 5:1-19, 7:3-20; Job 13:15-16; Luke 4:14-30; 1 Corinthians 15:12-28; Hebrews 3:23-28
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: But What If He Doesn't?
Music: "All My Tears,” Cody Ryan Cribbs, Exodus Road Band, Prodigal Son, Exodus Road Records 2022. This song and others by Exodus Road Band are available at https://www.exodusroadband.com/.
Photo: Derek K. Miller (1969-2011) shared with the world his fight with cancer. Photo taken by his father, July 23, 2007, via Flickr. 

The Art of Consecration

We think of consecration as something only for priests and ministers. That's true. Our Redeemer has been creating a nation of priests all along. How does consecration work in a nation consisting entirely of priests - even those who don't yet understand their priestly calling? 
Leviticus 6:8-8:36 Jeremiah 7:21-8:3, 9:23-24; Malachi 3:4-4:6; Luke 9:57-62; 2 Timothy 2:1-13; Hebrews 7:5-10; 1 Peter 2:1-11
Click here to download a transcript of this podcast: The Art of Consecration
Music: "Where I Belong,” Solomon O. Lopez, The Born At Home Collections, The Hebraism Project 2014. To hear more of Solomon’s music, visit The Hebraism Project on YouTube.
Photo by Michael Swan, June 4, 2011, via Flickr.