When the Election Looms

  In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. ~Psalm 25:1 (NIV) We stopped at a dingy dive somewhere along the Illinois River where a group of locals played cards at a back table. My husband ordered a fish sandwich, and even he who can eat everything could not stomach the huge hunk of fried carp slapped between two slices of white bread. But another in our group had no problem downing it in addition to his own along with a bottle of “sodie.” We laughed until we couldn’t breathe. It was over 30 years ago, and we’d been going door-to-door in the country distributing campaign literature, answering questions about our presidential candidate, and getting chased by surly dogs. We had a blast. To be continued at BibleDude.net where I’m posting today instead...

Book Review: The BibleDude Community Commentary Series: Philippians

The panorama from the top of Sugarloaf Mountain is breathtaking. Blue meets blue as Lake Superior stretches out to kiss the horizon. Different platforms give magnificent views of the surrounding countryside–forest and hills and rugged rock. And as I sat on the edge, I was in awe of the beauty. I felt very, very small–and yet very much in tune with God and His creation. A Bible study can feel like that. A group of friends gather around a table, drape over chairs, or flop on a floor to look at the Word from different perspectives. Each sees what another might have missed. Each shares another view. Each reflects on what it might mean to tune in to God and one another. Each suggests ideas on how to live out the faith in light of it all. This commentary of...

In the Presence of Hope: A Review of The Unlikely Missionary by Dan King

Part of me hates to read mission stories. Especially from those who have traveled to Africa. I battle jealousy because that’s been my dream since I was a young girl. But the opportunity has not yet presented itself. It did for the BibleDude, though. I read his story in his book, The Unlikely Missionary: From Pew-Warmer to Poverty-Fighter. And I’m glad I did. Dan King says he’s just an ordinary Christian trying not to be lukewarm “because we know what God does with lukewarm Christians in Revelation 3:16.” “I’m a normal dude who wants to be used by our great big God.” And so he started doing some normal things. Small things. He started a blog so he could process and share things he was learning. He wrote about stuff...