Then the LORD said to me, “There is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem.” – Jeremiah 11:9

Today's Scripture Reading (July 5, 2026): Jeremiah 11

In the aftermath of World War II, some saw an opportunity to further scientific development in the United States. The idea was that there were scientists in Germany who were working on the same kind of things, especially in the area of rocketry, that scientists in the West were developing. If we could bring those two groups together, we might make significant advances in scientific knowledge. Those in power in the United States decided to launch a plan to bring German scientists to the United States. The original idea was that scientists who had not been involved in the Nazi war effort could be given research positions in the United States. Background checks were initiated, and the appropriate scientists were invited to come and work with the Americans on various projects, including rocketry and the space race to the moon.

It wasn't long before a conspiracy theory began to circulate that there were Germans who were being invited to come to the United States who weren't the innocent academics they were portrayed to be. Nazi officers were being given government positions in the United States. And these scientists were not men who had slipped through the cracks in the policy designed to keep them out; the government knew they were here; in fact, the American government knew who these men were when it extended the invitation for them to join the American scientific industry.

There is something nefarious about conspiracy theories, yet they seem to arise in almost every field of achievement. The moon landing didn't really happen; what we believe was a moon landing was staged on a top-secret Hollywood set. Or the concept that the various school shootings were faked by people who support gun control. The message is that you have been deceived, and what you think you see cannot be believed. Usually, the deception lies with those who preach that we have been deceived.

However, sometimes, the conspiracy theories are true. And in the case of Nazi scientists being given positions in the American government, it was true. Research in the 1970s uncovered "Operation Paperclip," a secret American Intelligence program that brought more than 1600 German scientists into the United States, including men who the government knew were members of the Nazi Party. Kurt Debus, the first director of the Kennedy Space Center, was a member of the Schutzstaffel (SS) during World War II. Wernher von Braun, sometimes called the "father of the American lunar program" and the "father of rocket science," was also a member of the SS during World War II and a member of the Nazi Party from 1937 until 1945, when the Nazi Party was disbanded. Some have argued that von Braun and some of his compatriots escaped justice for their knowledge of war crimes because they were able to help the United States beat the Soviet Union in the Cold War.

Jeremiah writes that God alluded to a conspiracy that was alive in Jerusalem and Judah. Some experts think this was a figure of speech, but I think some religious leaders led a conspiracy against belief in God. The problem was that these leaders found God inconvenient, so they led the people away from true worship of the God of Israel, deceiving them and allowing them to be molded by the political leadership. Many people who decided to follow the conspirators would suffer defeat for that decision. All because the conspiracy was actually true, and people like Jeremiah, who fought against the conspiracy, were few.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 12

You came out to deliver your people, to save your anointed one. You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness, you stripped him from head to foot. – Habakkuk 3:13

Today's Scripture Reading (July 4, 2026): Habakkuk 3

In the days when my wife and I were planning our wedding, I was a university student, and she was working in a nursing home. I probably don't have to tell you that money was tight. And so our "Honeymoon" would basically be our drive back from my wife's island childhood home, where we would be married, to the city where I was attending university and she was working in a nursing home, a journey of just over 700 km (450 miles). We had a tourist book of hotels and motels on the Island, and we started searching it for a nice place to stay on our wedding night. We came upon a place not far from the wedding site and close to the ferry we would need to take when we left the Island; it sounded perfect. It was a small place, only a dozen or so rooms, right on the ocean with a great view. And so, months before the proposed wedding date, we booked a room for a couple of nights after the wedding.

When we got to the Island, a few days before the wedding, we had a fairly rude awakening. The place was a dump, and that is probably being generous. The only thing that seemed to be true to the advertisement was that it was small and on the ocean. There was a much nicer place across the street, but it was totally booked. However, I left my name with the owner, who promised to phone us if he had any cancellations. Luckily, a couple of days later, he called to say they had a cancellation and that my bride and I had a new place to stay before we started our journey home.

Today, we would go online and look for reviews of the place, which might give us a more honest evaluation of the hotel. After all, we know that the internet never lies. (Can you hear my sarcasm?) Maybe an online review would have helped, but we might have still fallen for the scam.

This section of Habakkuk's prayer feels a bit like an online review. Habakkuk begins to recount all the ways God had acted in the past. These are the things that you have done. It was a reminder of God's history to the people. Unlike my book of hotel reviews, the hope was that, as people remember these stories passed down from generation to generation, they would know this is what God has done in the past. And, if the past is prologue, if everything that has happened up until now informs our present, then when we need God to move, the way he moved in the past reassures us that He can move again. If God was able to do this in the past, we know that you will do it again.

Nothing has changed. God is still the one we can trust. We, too, know the stories, both those found in the Bible and those we have experienced in our own lives. And because we know what God has done in the past, we know that He can meet our needs in the present. We have seen God move and know what he can do. As a result, we can put our trust in Him.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 11

Happy Independence Day!

Woe to him who says to wood, 'Come to life!' Or to lifeless stone, 'Wake up!' Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is no breath in it." – Habakkuk 2:19

Today's Scripture Reading (July 3, 2026): Habakkuk 2

How are your retirement savings doing? The closer I get to my retirement, the more important that question seems. The truth is that none of us are probably doing as well as we should. I have friends who are angry because they believe that the government has purposely kept them poor and unable to afford to retire. Others recognize that it is our responsibility to save for the day when we let go of our paid work and retire to the retirement we all feel we deserve. The truth might live somewhere in between. Although I find that most of the time, we seem to live in a fantasy world where the government has unlimited funds to give us what we want, with no need to ask us to pay the bill through our taxes. However, our reality is that we all need to manage our money well so it lasts into our retirement years. If we can't make the most of our money now and save for retirement, we probably wouldn't do so even if the nation's financial conditions were different.

I am afraid that the day is coming when conditions will change, and not for the better. I am worried that the day is coming when we will be forced to pay back the national debt, and on that day, we will be surprised by the things our government will no longer be able to do for us. We have become comfortable with deficit spending, and that is always a dangerous place to be. What the government should be able to do for us has become an idol for us, but one on which we cannot rely.

Habakkuk is not talking about money, but he could be. He is speaking about idols made out of wood and stone. And his point is that these idols don't live. Regardless of how good we are at creating them or how realistic they look, they will never draw a breath or be able to help us lift a load. There is no guidance in their gaze, and they will not carry us into battle. In fact, these idols depend on us for life just as they depended on us for their creation.

Our government isn't all that different. We created them, and we continue their existence. But they cannot do everything we might want them to do. We have to rely on our own ability to lead our lives with confidence and an eye to the future. But the government will never be able to save us. Only God can do that.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Habakkuk 3

Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry gallops headlong; their horsemen come from afar. They fly like an eagle swooping to devour. – Habakkuk 1:8

Today's Scripture Reading (July 2, 2026): Habakkuk 1

"Do humans have mothers and fathers?"

"Yes, but human mothers and fathers don't love their children as we do. They're not the same as we are" (Star Trek: The Next Generation; Chain of Command Part II).

The dialogue is between a Cardassian adult and his child. The Cardassians are one of the many enemies of Earth and her allies in the fictional Star Trek Universe. And one of the themes that Star Trek readily explores is the idea that our enemies are often a lot more like us than we might want to admit. It is often advantageous for us to portray the enemy as monsters. In this case, the enemy is projecting, and the particular human in question is Jon-Luc Picard, the esteemed fictional captain of the Starship Enterprise.

It makes sense to make the enemy into something that they are not. It is a lot harder to kill your next-door neighbor than someone from across the world, unless, of course, your neighbor is a bad person. And it is something that happens in real life, not just in a fictional science fiction universe. We often make our enemies into something quite different from us.

During World War I, this universal sameness was part of the problem of the "Christmas Truce." We still argue how widespread the truce really was, but in the places where the truce did happen, when the soldiers emerged from their trenches to sing carols, exchange gifts, and, in some tellings of the story, play soccer with the enemy, one of the discoveries was that the soldier in the trench across from you wasn't a monster, but just another person very much like you. And it proved very hard to share food with the enemy one day and shoot at them the next. Thus, the Christmas Truce occurred on the first Christmas of the war, but not on any subsequent Christmases. By then, the enemy had become something else; they were monsters who deserved to be killed, not people who shared the same hopes and fears as those who fought beside you.

Politics follows a similar storyline. The opposition is crazy; the people of a different political stripe are enemies of the nation and don't want the same things that you do. They don't love their children the way we do. It is us vs them, and they are different from who we are.

There is no evidence that Habakkuk has ever had any contact with the enemy. But he has a stereotypical idea of who they are. They are different from us. Even their horses are different. They are faster than the leopards, and they are fiercer than wolves. When you go up against them, you won't have a chance to win.

Was any of this true? No. Habakkuk's description of the enemy was likely propaganda straight from the enemy. After all, hadn't they rolled through the land up until now? Had anyone been able to stand up against their power? But the propaganda served the purposes of God, who had turned this stubborn people over to their enemies because of their disobedience. The battle was already over, because God had decided it, and he allowed the propaganda to take root among the people of Judah.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Habakkuk 2

For this is what the LORD says: "At this time I will hurl out those who live in this land; I will bring distress on them so that they may be captured." – Jeremiah 10:18

Today's Scripture Reading (July 1, 2026): Jeremiah 10

His name was Pan. He is often pictured with the horns, as well as the hindquarters and legs of a goat. He is the god of the wild places. He is found in the fields and forests, and anywhere where civilization is absent. His association with the wild places is probably why we also associate him with sex.

However, he is also the god of fear. Whenever Pan's afternoon naps were disturbed, he would react with a shout that would instill fear into the hearts of anyone and anything close enough to hear. Pan claimed that the Olympians' (the new gods) victory over the Titans (the old gods) in the ten-year war called the Titanomachy, fought in ancient Thessaly, was directly due to the fear the Titans felt at the sound of Pan's shout. It is this effect of Pan on the hearts of those around him that gives us the word "panic." Panic comes from the Greek word "panikos," meaning "pertaining to Pan." Perhaps the most famous example of this panic was found in the ancient battle between Persia and Athens at Marathon on September 12, 490 B.C.E. The Battle of Marathon was a David-and-Goliath story. Playing the part of Goliath were the Persians, who showed up with overwhelming force. The Athenians played the role of David. Athens had hoped to get help from Sparta, which possessed the best Greek army of that day, but the Spartans were delayed, and Athens had to go up against the Persians by itself. Herodotus (484-425 B.C.E.), a Greek historian, reported that 203 soldiers died on the side of the Athenians, while 6.400 soldiers died and seven ships were sunk on the side of the Persians.

The story behind the battle was that Pan had shown up on the side of Athens. Pan had caused confusion and fear (panic) among the Persian soldiers with his shout, allowing the Athenians to win a war that most believed would be a certain defeat for the Greeks, even if the Spartans had been able to participate in the battle. Panic has that effect on us, and it can change the outcome of the fight.

Of course, Pan doesn't exist, but panic is very real. Jeremiah sees a day when God would cast the Judeans out and would bring panic on the land, causing them to run into the arms of the armies who sought to capture them. A distress would come upon the land just as it had on the Titans and the Persians, but this distress would have nothing to do with Pan and everything to do with the God of Israel, on whom the people had refused to call.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Habakkuk 1

Happy Canada Day, Canada!

Oh, that I had in the desert a lodging place for travelers, so that I might leave my people and go away from them; for they are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people. – Jeremiah 9:2

Today's Scripture Reading (June 30, 2026): Jeremiah 9

He wanted to meet for coffee. Unfortunately, my week was packed, so I couldn't schedule him in. So, I suggested we could have lunch next week, which looked at least a little more open. He nodded, but there was a sadness in his countenance. Next week would do, but then he added another comment: "If we are still here." I understood what he meant. We have had that conversation a few times before. Politically, the world is in a tight situation. Too many earth-devastating weapons existed, and too many itchy fingers seemed to be on the trigger. Welcome to life in the 21^st century. I am not quite as pessimistic as my friend, but I do understand his angst. We seem to be in a world that has evolved from one that protected the weak nations to one that seeks to exploit them. After all, if you can't act like a bully, what is the use of being strong?

My mind keeps going back to Jesus's words to his disciples late in his ministry on the earth. "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40). And Jesus didn't just state this idea once; he flipped it over and stated the same idea, but this time in the negative. "Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me" (Matthew 25:45). I believe this is what we are to do as individuals, and also as nations. There should be no role for the bully in this world, regardless of whether the bully is an angry man, a self-entitled woman, or an out-of-control nation.

My friend has often wished that there were somewhere he could run to with his family, where he would be safe from what he suspects is the coming storm. But if the worst happens, there really is no place to hide. Well, almost no place to hide. We believe that God is still on the throne, and we can still hide in Him.

I am not sure if it helps us today, but apparently Jeremiah felt the same way. He looked at his nation and saw a government that was out of control. And the Prophet realizes that a storm is coming. Jeremiah looked at his world and knew that the stage was being set for the Babylonians to come and destroy Judah. All Jeremiah wants to do is go and find a place in the desert where he would be safe. Jeremiah understands that the nation's leaders' disobedience has made this possible. If the people were trying to follow God, Jeremiah would have wanted to stand with him as Isaiah had during the Assyrian crisis. But these people were in full rebellion in support of the leadership, making Jeremiah wish there was someplace to which he could run.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 10

I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. None of them repent of their wickedness, saying, "What have I done?" Each pursues their own course like a horse charging into battle. – Jeremiah 8:6

Today's Scripture Reading (June 29, 2026): Jeremiah 8

In the late 1970s and early 80s, the United Kingdom was experiencing tough economic times. Unemployment nationwide was higher than anyone had thought possible. The pessimists were foretelling the end of civilization. Unemployment for those under the age of twenty-five had reached fifty percent. Half of the young people in the Kingdom could not find a job. There was no way forward, no way to survive as a nation, at least, in the opinion of some.

It was a moment in time that was perfectly suited to a revolutionary movement. And that revolution, as seemed appropriate for the times, came on television. The revolution was unveiled on the Today Show, a regional magazine program that aired on Thames Television, part of the ITV network. Today Show host, Bill Grundy, had prepared for musical guests "Queen" on that December morning of 1976. But disaster struck in the form of a toothache. Freddy Mercury, Queen's frontman, had developed a severe toothache, and it was so bad that the singer decided he had to make his first visit to a dentist in 15 years. (Apparently, Mercury liked dentists about as much as I do, no insult intended for all the great dentists out there.) As a result, "Today" producers had to find a replacement quickly. On that December morning, Queen's replacement came in the form of "The Sex Pistols." The Sex Pistols' only studio album, "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols," wouldn't be released for almost another year, and at the time of the interview, they weren't even recording yet. The band couldn't get a concert. And Sid Vicious, who would become the poster boy for the punk rock movement, wasn't yet a part of the band. But that didn't stop the Grundy interview from blowing up.

First, it didn't really seem that Grundy had any interest in interviewing the band. The interview itself has become famous for the foul language used by "The Sex Pistols" during the broadcast. However, a rewatch of the video shows Grundy egging on the band, which consisted of a bunch of teenagers. At one point, Johnny Rotten swears under his breath, and Grundy asks what he said, to which Rotten replies, "A rude word, next question." But Grundy demands that Rotten say the word. From there, Grundy tells the band to say something worse, and the band, eventually, obliges.

It is a moment where the band shows that they know what is acceptable and what is not. And they try to do the acceptable, even in the face of the inane. But that is not what Bill Grundy wanted. Bill Grundy wanted the uncontrolled rebellion of youth. It was a moment that cemented the reputation of "The Sex Pistols." If we are looking to blame someone for the interview, I would suggest that the blame should not be directed at John Lydon's (Johnny Rotten) teenage band.

God looks at the people of Judah and says that they don't even recognize the wrong that they have done. And so, they pursue their interests like a warhorse charging into battle. It might be tempting to say that was exactly what took place on that December morning in 1976. But much as I would place the blame on Grundy for winding a bunch of teenagers up who at least tried to act appropriately, it was the false prophets who wound up the people of Jerusalem and Judah during Jeremiah's time. The people might have listened if they had been given the chance, but instead, the false prophets told them that nothing was wrong and sent them into exile, their religious deception still tickling their ears.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 9

But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. – Jeremiah 7:8

Today's Scripture Reading (June 28, 2026): Jeremiah 7

Who are the politicians who lie the most? It is an interesting question, and one to which I won't pretend I know the answer. One problem is the definition of a lie. Too often in contemporary belief, a lie is simply something that is not true. But a lie is more than just telling an untruth; part of what is essential to the nature of a lie is that you know what you are saying is untrue. Maybe we can take Ronald Reagan as an example. Ronald Reagan is often remembered for his economic beliefs. Part of his belief is what we call "Trickle-Down Economics." The idea is that if you give massive tax breaks to the rich, the effect "trickles down" throughout the rest of society. So, giving a tax break to a billionaire will help the economy more, and it will also help the average person more than giving a tax break directly to the average person. Apparently, not only does a tax break to the rich trickle down through society, but it also multiplies as it trickles, sort of like Jesus feeding the 5000 with a couple of loaves and a few fish.

So, does "Trickle-Down Economics" work? Actually, it sounds good, but it doesn't work, at least, it doesn't work for the average person. The tax break is eaten up by corporate profits and investors long before the middle class feels its effects, let alone the lower classes. And money rarely multiplies. Was Ronald Reagan lying? I don't think so. I think he really believed what he was saying. He may be guilty of being naïve enough to believe the lies of others, but that doesn't make the lie his.

In 1983, Ronald Reagan claimed that he was part of a filming crew that recorded the atrocities of the Nazi's and their death camps when he served with the US Army Signal Corps. I am not sure why President Reagan would make such a stupid comment, because it didn't take reporters long to discover that the President had never left American soil during World War II. Did President Reagan forget he hadn't been to Europe during the war, or did he believe he had? That doesn't seem likely, so Reagan's words, in this case, would be a lie.

Lying seems to be a natural part of politics. And while we may think that is the way it has always been, historians actually point to the presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson as the moment when the truth seemed to suffer a catastrophic rupture. Sure, politicians used deception before LBJ, but as Robert Kennedy argued, "He [LBJ] just lies continually about everything. He lies even when he doesn't have to lie." It is important to remember that they weren't really political opponents; both Kennedy and Johnson were Democrats.

It's okay to be wrong. We are all wrong at some point; actually, if you are never wrong, it is usually because you aren't doing anything. I try to be really careful with what I say, but I know that there are times when I get it wrong. But a lie is deceiving someone about something deliberately. And that is something that none of us has to do.

However, some people want to deceive all of us. And we need to understand that reality. For Jeremiah, it was the religious elite who were preaching that everything would be okay. These people believed that Jeremiah was just an alarmist. When everything was said and done, God would defend his Temple and David's city. But Jeremiah wants his listeners to understand that their empty words are deceiving them.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 8

Flee for safety, people of Benjamin! Flee from Jerusalem! Sound the trumpet in Tekoa! Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem! For disaster looms out of the north, even terrible destruction. – Jeremiah 6:1

Today's Scripture Reading (June 27, 2026): Jeremiah 6

King Solomon reigned for about 40 years. His reign ended around 931 B.C.E., and as he was being buried, the nation faced many unanswered questions. First, there had been a significant economic strain on the nation throughout Solomon's reign. Solomon had been a builder. He had built the Temple of Jerusalem, of which his father, David, had dreamed. But his building didn't stop there. He built new palaces for himself and his many wives, and he fortified cities, all of which cost money. As a result, taxation during Solomon's reign was high. For a King who has become synonymous with wisdom, in this area, he wasn't very wise. The King's many wives not only contributed to economic stress in the nation but also to religious stress. We know Solomon as the builder of the Temple in Jerusalem, but his many foreign wives brought foreign deities with them, and he used taxpayer money to build worship centers for these false gods as well.

However, the northern tribes also felt marginalized by the King. Judah was the southernmost tribe of the United Monarchy. The northern tribes wanted a promise that their needs would be addressed in the future. Rehoboam, Solomon's son and successor, was also not very wise and essentially told his father's critics that everything they didn't like about his father's reign would be even worse under his. It was all that the northern tribes needed to hear. They decided to separate from Judah, and the nation was about to experience a very public and messy divorce.

With one rather strange exception. The Tribe of Benjamin had a choice to make. They possessed an asset; Jerusalem was built within their territory. If they had left with the other tribes, history might have been very different, because the Temple would have been in Israel's possession instead of Judah's. There would have been no reason for the Northern Kingdom to create the golden calves that they decided were their gods. Of course, we also don't know what Judah's response might have been under those circumstances.

But Benjamin didn't leave. They remained tied to Judah, an act of which the Apostle Paul, a famous Benjamite, was very proud. Another famous Benjamite was the Prophet Jeremiah. And as Jeremiah foresees the demise of the Kingdom of Judah, he issues a warning to his tribe living in Jerusalem. This time, Judah would fall, and Benjamin would fall with it. If there was a time to leave the City of David and run for the hills, that time had arrived.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 7

Personal Note: Happy 67^th Anniversary to my parents, Duane and Shirley.

They do not say to themselves, 'Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.' Your wrongdoings have kept these away; your sins have deprived you of good. – Jeremiah 5:24-25

Today's Scripture Reading (June 26, 2026): Jeremiah 5

A quick look at global temperature charts shows a distinct warming trend. The eleven warmest global average temperatures in the past four thousand years, so basically from a thousand years before the reigns of David and Solomon in Israel, have occurred in the last eleven years. There has been a noticeable increase in temperatures over the past decade. True, there have been temperature spikes in the past. There was a spike that lasted from the tenth to the fourteenth centuries, and another that began around the birth of Jesus and continued until about the sixth century. Still, neither reached temperatures as high as those we are currently experiencing. So, while it is true that the planet does go through cycles of heat and cold, the current warm cycle seems different.

The flipside of this discussion is that we are not talking about big numbers. The coldest global average temperature in the past eleven years was 0.85 degrees Celsius in 2018 and again in 2021. The warmest was 1.28 degrees Celsius in 2024, about half a degree Celsius above the coldest. But we need to remember that all of these temperatures are records and are a couple of degrees above normal.

It still doesn't sound like much, but maybe we need to remember that this is the truth of our whole experience. Is there intelligent life out there somewhere? Maybe. But this planet is built on many "just right" conditions. God has established this planet precisely where it needed to be for us to survive. And it wouldn't have to be moved far for the planet not to be suitable for life. There may have been life on Mars and maybe on Venus millennia ago. But not intelligent life. Earth is in the middle of the Goldilocks zone, where it is just right for what we need. And it won't take much to shift us out of that zone.

I am not saying that Jeremiah is speaking about the current climate crisis, but his words still apply. We are already discovering that it doesn't take much to disrupt the weather systems we depend on and that even a little climate change can hurt us. I often hear people argue that the planet has been here before. And we have; the difference is that at that time, the human race wasn't here. Part of what God did in creating us was cooling the earth. We can argue about how close we are to the tipping point at which the global warming trend cannot be stopped, but at some point, we will cross that line. And the rains we depend on will disappear or intensify. And the harvest we need will disappear. And the only one we will have to blame is the person in the mirror, because we failed to care for the creation that God entrusted to us.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 6

And if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, 'As surely as the LORD lives,' then the nations will invoke blessings by him and in him they will boast." – Jeremiah 4:2

Today's Scripture Reading (June 25, 2026): Jeremiah 4

Sorry, not sorry. Some phrases surprise me, and this is one of them. What I find surprising about the phrase is that it is relatively new, even though I think it has been a common experience throughout human history. How many times have you had to do something for which someone later demands an apology, but you don't feel the need to apologize? I am a Canadian, and we apologize for everything. In fact, I recently discovered that one of the many differences between Canadians and Americans is that, in the United States, "I'm sorry" is an admission of guilt. However, in Canada, "I'm sorry" is just considered polite. We apologize all the time, and yet, there are times when even I don't want to say the words, and my friends tell me I apologize more often than anyone else on the planet. (Sorry?) It is where the phrase comes in. Sorry, not sorry.

There are many ways to take the phrase. I am sorry that you misunderstood me. I am sorry that you took my words as a personal attack. I am sorry that you are so sensitive. I am not sorry for what I said or what I did. Sorry, not sorry.

Many years ago, I had a friend who was going through a relationship struggle with another lifelong friend, me. There was a situation for which my friend wanted an apology. Okay, I insulted Donald Trump, and my friend thought that I owed him an apology. My problem was multifaceted. I couldn't figure out why my comment about President Trump mattered so strongly to my friend. I honestly struggle with many of the things the American President does. I am a conservative who feels that conservative politics has turned "weird," for lack of a better word. Conservatives all over the world seem to no longer hold what I consider to be conservative values, like balanced budgets and small government. So, I could honestly tell my friend I was sorry, but the problem was that I wasn't sorry for the things my friend thought I should be sorry for. It was a classic "Sorry, not sorry" moment in our friendship. And it just about ended the relationship.

The next comment is often that we want a genuine apology. But genuine apologies are hard if you don't understand why an apology is being demanded. I am sure that you have been there. For an apology to help, it has to be heartfelt, which usually excludes our "Sorry, not sorry" reactions.

God isn't looking for an apology, but he does want a heartfelt oath stating "As surely as the Lord lives." And maybe that was part of the problem. Israel could state, as part of a ritual of worship, "As surely as the Lord lives." But did they mean it? (Did you mean the words that you sang in church last Sunday?) But God stresses to Jeremiah that he wants to bless the people, but they have to be sincere in their worship. It can't be just a bunch of words that we say or sing. It can't be an oath that we can recite from memory. God demands so much more than that. What God wants are words and worship that originate in the core of our being and flow out with overwhelming honesty. That is the worship our God demands from his people.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 5

I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. – Jeremiah 3:7

Today's Scripture Reading (June 24, 2026): Jeremiah 3

Sir John Whitmore (1937-2017), English Racing Driver and pioneering executive coach, argued that "The carrot and the stick are pervasive and persuasive motivators. But if you treat people like donkeys, they will perform like donkeys (John Whitmore). I like the quote, even if I think it misses the point. There is truth in the idea that if we treat people like animals, they will act like animals. If we treat them like children, they will act like children. There is a married couple in my circle of influence whom I have known since early in my teenage years. They were adults and church leaders during my adolescence, and I was a stereotypical teenage rebel with long hair and a bad attitude. For the first few years of our relationship, that is who I was. But I grew up, got married to a wonderful girl, and became an adult (Yeah, I know, some out there wonder about the adult part). Amazingly, my wife knew this couple as well. I still run into these people once in a while. But every time I do, I feel like that rebellious teenager again. It is like five decades later, they still see me as that sixteen-year-old they once knew. As a result, the temptation to become that kid again is almost overwhelming.

Carrot and stick sum up two modes of motivation. The carrot represents any positive reinforcement that supports desired behavior. The stick is the pain or negative reinforcement we attach to behaviors we should avoid. For a donkey, the carrot and the stick are quite literal. We often envision the donkey chasing after the carrot while being hit from behind with a stick. However, all of us humans are also motivated by both positives and negatives, albeit different ones.

Judah had a front row seat for both the rebellion of Israel and the aftermath that Israel suffered as a direct result of that rebellion. As a motivator, the destruction of Samaria was the stick. The message was that if Judah persisted in its rebellion, this was what could happen to them.

However, Josiah was on the throne of Judah, and Josiah was a good king. "[Josiah] did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left" (2 Kings 22:2). Josiah did what was right, and in doing so, he set a good example for Judah. This example was the carrot. The message was, "You too can be successful if you follow the ways of King Josiah." It is a carrot that we still use. We send messages, especially to our teens, about the benefits of getting outside and spending time with friends or playing sports by having professionals from various local sports clubs share the message, thinking that more importance would be attached to the desired behavior if it is what Connor McDavid (National Hockey League) or George Springer (Major League Baseball) believes is right.

God admits that he thought that Judah would return to him if they saw these two things in action, but instead, they decided to act like donkeys.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 4

Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest; all who devoured her were held guilty, and disaster overtook them,'" declares the LORD. – Jeremiah 2:3

Today's Scripture Reading (June 23, 2026): Jeremiah 2

Growing up, I loved playing pick-up sports on any field that presented itself; however, I always hated the process of picking teams. It can be embarrassing. The best players, of course, were always picked first. And the worst players got picked last. When it came down to the end of the process, it was the smallest, slowest, and the kids with the least talent that were left. Often, when we came down to the last kids on the list, someone would say, "You take them." I mean, how bad does that make you feel? Your talents are so unwanted that in the process of picking teams, you are given away to the opposing team.

Sometimes, those giveaways came back to haunt the giver. I remember one such game. We were preparing to play a pick-up game of football [American], something that I liked to do as often as possible during the summer. We picked the teams, and the last kid was this scrawny girl. It was my pick, and I refused to give her away. She apparently wanted to play football, but she didn't do anything. The other kids would run routes and try to get open so that I could throw them the ball, but she just stood there watching, never leaving the line of scrimmage. We had played for a while, and the person assigned to guard her ended up helping cover other people, because this girl wasn't doing anything.

I decided that I needed to get her the ball. I called her over and nonchalantly told her I wanted her to stand beside me. When I said "ball", I wanted her to take two steps forward and turn around. I would throw her the ball, and all I wanted her to do was catch the soft toss and run toward the opposing endzone until someone touched her. I remember stressing, "Don't throw the ball" (inexperienced players often get so excited when they are about to be "Tackled" or "Touched" in touch football that they throw the ball away).

The play started. My new friend took two steps in front of me and turned around. I softly tossed the ball underhand to her, and she caught it. Then she ran. And could she run. No one could catch her. She ran, dodged, and left the players who were picked first in her dust. She left me wondering why she had just stood there throughout the first portion of the game.

Jeremiah says that God picked Israel first. Israel wasn't his only choice, and despite being chosen first, they weren't even the best. But God had set the expectations for his nation. "I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy" (Leviticus 11:45).

For a while, they had done just that. They had avoided the trap of worshiping Egyptian gods. But they just couldn't seem to keep it up. Like young football players, they often became excited or worried and chose other gods and idols for worship. They threw the ball away. They could follow the God of the Patriarchs for a while, but not for the long run, even though God had promised to honor and defend her.

They were God's first choice, but often struggled to live up to that honor.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 3

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. – Jeremiah 1:5

Today's Scripture Reading (June 22, 2026): Jeremiah 1

I remember my grandfather, DeVerne Mullen, singing a song called "He Chose Me." I know Jimmy Swaggart made the song popular, but for me, the voice I remember is my grandfather's. The song was a bit of a theme song for Grandpa; it summed up how he felt about his faith. The song was written by Mosie Lister (1921-2015), who, I have to admit, is one of my favorite composers from this era. Other great songs written by Lister include "' Til the Storm Passes By" and "How Long has it Been." But "He Chose Me" has a special connection for me because of its relationship to my grandfather.

There were so many others

That He might have chosen to follow Him

Others with learning and greater distinction to follow Him

Men with authority and forceful ability

Who knows how to speak and be heard

I don′t know exactly why I'm here at all

But today, I follow my Lord (Mosie Lister).

The song's central concept, which still amazes me, is that God chooses us. I have to admit that I don't read this as "I am chosen, and you are not." He chose all of us. Our paths might be different, and the impact we make may be in different areas, but we have all been chosen. The question is not whether we are chosen, but whether we will choose to respond by following Him.

The passage we have here is translated as "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you," but I think a better translation might be "Before I formed you in the womb I chose you." God knew, before you began this life, that he was going to choose you for this journey, that he would gift you in a way that would help you fulfill the task that he was placing in front of you. You would be given everything you need to accomplish the task, should you choose to accept the mission I have chosen for you. Too often, our failure comes because we are unwilling to follow where God is leading us, and that is on us, not Him.

Grandpa was amazed that God had chosen him, and I am amazed that he chose me. But he also chose you. So, where is He leading you?

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 2

Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled! – Zephaniah 3:1

Today's Scripture Reading (June 21, 2026): Zephaniah 3

His name was Norman Sheffield (1939-2014), not that I would expect many to remember him. Norman Sheffield had a song written about him in 1975, and even though his name was not mentioned in the song, he sued the band and the label that released it. The band was "Queen," and the labels were "EMI" and "Elektra." If you do recognize Sheffield's name, it is probably more because of the lawsuit than because of the song. The lawsuit actually brought more scrutiny to the song than it would have likely received had Sheffield remained quiet. Queen eventually settled the lawsuit out of court and, in the process, admitted that, yes, the song "Death on Two Legs," the opening track on the band's album "A Night at the Opera," was in fact written about Norman Sheffield.

Queen, especially Freddie Mercury, believed that Sheffield had deliberately mismanaged the band, a situation that came to a head when Sheffield refused to advance Queen bassist John Deacon £40,000 as a down payment on a house. Freddie Mercury was incensed by the refusal and immediately began writing what amounts to a "Diss Track" about Sheffield. Not naming the now former manager, the singer had a few choice words about the manager's work on behalf of Queen over the preceding three years.

You suck my blood like a leech

You break the law and you breach

Screw my brain 'til it hurts

You've taken all my money, and you want more

 

Misguided old mule

With your pigheaded rules

With your narrow-minded cronies

Who are fools of the first division

 

Death on two legs

You're tearing me apart

Death on two legs

You never had a heart

Of your own.

The song only gets worse from there. Freddie admits he wanted the lyrics to be as "coarse as possible." The rest of the band was actually shocked by the lyrics. EMI wasn't sure the song should be included on "A Night at the Opera," let alone be the opening track. It was an opinion shared by Queen guitarist Brian May. But in the end, Mercury got his way. "Death on Two Legs" was not released as a single, but it became a fan favorite anyway, marking the moment when many of us graduated from buying singles to purchasing albums.

Zephaniah doesn't identify the city of oppressors, but we don't have to guess. We might hope, from the way Zephaniah 2 ends, that the prophet's ire would be directed at Nineveh, but later references to the prophets and priests, as well as the mention of the sanctuary and the law, reveal the truth. Zephaniah's "Diss Track" in this section of his writing is Jerusalem, and her own disbelief defiled the rebellious city.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 1

Gaza will be abandoned and Ashkelon left in ruins. At midday Ashdod will be emptied and Ekron uprooted. – Zephaniah 2:4

Today's Scripture Reading (June 20, 2026): Zephaniah 2

It is often hard to read what the Bible says about Gaza without thinking about the current situation of this tiny strip of land on the east side of the Mediterranean Sea. From our place in time, we look at the Gaza Strip and see an area in ruins, although it has definitely not been abandoned. But if we go back to the original Hebrew, we discover something important. Few translators have tried to keep the poetic structure of this passage. There is a bit of a rhyme that Zephaniah is working toward, which is not reflected in "Gaza will be abandoned and Ashkelon left in ruins." John Robert Dummelow (1860-1909) attempted to reflect this poetry into English with "Gaza shall be a ghastly ruin; and Ashkelon a deserted ash-heap" (John Robert Dummelow). The poetic connection is between "Gaza and ghastly" and "Ashkelon and ash-heap." (It is the kind of poetry that President Trump likes to use against his enemies, changing a name into an insult.) As a result, the concepts of desolation and damage are at the forefront of Zephaniah's mind.

Experts continue to debate the era to which this prophecy is addressed. Traditionally, it has been thought that Zephaniah was speaking of a Scythian invasion in the 3^rd or 4^th Century B.C.E. We know that, late in the Scythian Empire, they attempted to pass through Palestine on their way to Egypt. But reports from that time suggest that the Egyptians sent their army north into Palestine and convinced the Scythians to turn around and head home.

The second portion of the verse argues that the defeat of the Philistine cities on this tiny strip of land came quickly. The Mesha Stele, dating from the 9^th Century B.C.E., details King Mesha of Moab's victories over Israel and employs similar language to suggest a swift victory. "I fought against it from the break of day till noon, and I took it" (Mesha Stele). All of this leaves us with either a fight of the Philistine cities against Assyria, or maybe Babylon. Both empires swept through the area before laying siege to Jerusalem.

However, especially given the events in that area of the world today, the importance may not lie in when these cities fell in fulfillment of Zephaniah's words, but in what happens next. Zephaniah foretells of the fall of Gaza and her Philistine sisters, but also reminds his readers of a remnant who would rise to care for the area. "The land by the sea will become pastures having wells for shepherds and pens for flocks" (Zephaniah 2:6). It is long past time for there to be peace in the Middle East, and for the Gaza Strip to become the oasis it once was. Maybe who is less important than what. Maybe we can dream of a time when Palestinians and Israeli's combine to care for the land that God has given to them, in memory of the ghosts who still roam the land of Gaza and the cities of the Philistia.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zephaniah 3

"I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth," declares the LORD. – Zephaniah 1:2

Today's Scripture Reading (June 19, 2026): Zephaniah 1

Space is a crowded place. I recently looked at a list of objects set to make near-Earth approaches over the next few years, and it's extremely long. Almost every day, an asteroid or rogue piece of debris makes a near-earth approach. Although only a few have any real possibility of making contact with our planet, it would only take one to change life as we know it drastically. Most of us are aware that a collision with an asteroid ended the dinosaurs' reign and set the stage for the rise of the human race. What is maybe a little less known is that we know the asteroid that did it. Sixty-six million years ago, the Chicxulub asteroid, a 10-15 km wide piece of space rock from beyond Jupiter, struck an area in the Yucatan Peninsula in the Southern part of the Gulf of Mexico. The collision triggered an "impact winter" and a mass extinction event, which affected every corner of the Earth. Many animal species died, including the non-avian dinosaurs. It is worth noting that most Earth-impacting asteroids originate in the inner Solar System. But the Chicxulub asteroid came from beyond Jupiter.

There are many ways life on our planet might end. Some are totally within our control. Global climate change is one. I know there are doubters out there, so maybe I should just say that whatever is making our planet warmer year after year and increasing the number of severe summer storms felt across the planet might end our planet. Of course, Nuclear war is an ever-present threat to our continued existence on the Earth. But these are things we can change, or at least try to change. Currently, the presence of another Chicxulub asteroid would destroy the planet as we know it, and there's nothing we could do to stop it.

Zephaniah gets right to the point. He introduces himself, and the prophet is unique in that he is a descendant of the good King Hezekiah. Hezekiah was King Josiah's great-grandfather, and Zephaniah's great-great-grandfather. But the message that he has come to share was that a time was coming when God was going to wipe away life on the Earth because of sin. We have no idea how this moment might happen. God may allow another Chicxulub-type asteroid to strike Earth. Maybe our experience with the changing climate and an increase in severe storms is God's way of reminding us that he can wipe away life on the Earth. Or maybe it will be something totally unexpected.

Zephaniah's message is that God has the power to wipe away life on the Earth. And he wants to warn his readers that their behavior does matter. They can change the future of the planet by following God's will and caring for everything God has created.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zephaniah 2

Hilkiah and those the king had sent with him went to speak to the prophet Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter. – 2 Chronicles 34:22

Today's Scripture Reading (June 18, 2026): 2 Chronicles 34

English Theologian, N.T. Wright argues that everything in the Bible is expressed in terms of cooperative opposites. The idea is that from the very creation of the universe, we see essential pairings of opposites. Day makes necessary night. Water and dry land are mutually defining. In the mind of Wright, this is one principle that argues against the idea of gay marriage. God's design from the very beginning is that cooperative opposites are what is critical in any endeavor. In the concept of marriage, those cooperative opposites must be "one man and one woman," or what we have come to call traditional marriage.

I am not convinced that Wright is correct in his argument about marriage. Even in same-sex marriages, the participants are usually quite different. However, that does not mean he is wrong about the importance of both men and women in the world in which we live. Maybe one problem within contemporary feminism lies in the concept of gender equality, which often argues that we can do the same things. I believe strongly in a radical equality between the sexes, but that does not mean that men and women are the same. We aren't. Men and women, even outside the concept of marriage, present a necessary, complementary opposite in life. Both men and women are required to accomplish societal goals that extend beyond marriage and reproduction. Men and women approach problems differently. One is not better than the other; they are just different. And the best solution usually results when both are involved in the process.

The Book of Kings offers us another example of cooperative opposites in the story of the prophetess Huldah. Huldah is remembered as one of the seven prophetesses of Judaism, alongside Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, and Esther. But Huldah had a more famous male relative. His name was Jeremiah. According to tradition, Huldah and Jeremiah were two sides of the same coin, or, as Wright might put it, cooperative opposites. Jeremiah and Huldah performed very similar functions in the religious life of the day. We know that Jeremiah, often nicknamed "The Weeping Prophet," taught a message of repentance to Judah during the last days of the nation. Jeremiah begged Judah to return to God. But it seems that his ministry was mostly to the men of the city. Huldah set herself to the same task with the women of the city, pleading that they would return to God before it was too late.

Huldah is also thought to have been an important public educator of her day. It might be that the King's delegation went to Huldah, rather than to Jeremiah, because they believed she might be more inclined to respond with compassion and intercede before God for them, rather than with the condemnation they expected from Jeremiah. And their decision to take this new document, likely the Book of Deuteronomy, to Huldah made her the first person to declare a document scripture, as she treated the newly found text as the authoritative word of God.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zephaniah 1

See Also 2 Kings 22:14

She said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me … - 2 Kings 22:15

Today's Scripture Reading (June 17, 2026): 2 Kings 22

Queen Elizabeth was not referred to as "Your Majesty" by everyone. In public, royal rules will always prevail, and what you need to remember is that the first time you address King Charles, the only phrase that should come out of your mouth is "Your Majesty." If the conversation continues, then it might be acceptable to refer to him as "Sir," but no other name should be used. In private, though, you might hear him referred to by some other names, although definitely never to be echoed by you. For Elizabeth, Charles's mother, there were a few nicknames you might have heard her called in private. The occasional "Lillibet" might have been heard from some very close friends of the former Queen. Of all of the nicknames possessed by the former sovereign, "Lillibet" is probably the best known. According to tradition, it was the way that she pronounced "Elizabeth" when she was young. Prince William, when he was young and before he got the hang of saying "Granny," apparently called her "Garry." And I am quite okay with that (and I gave the nickname my spelling rather than the traditional "Gary").

However, there was another, even more private name, for Queen Elizabeth. Prince Philip had a name for her that only he was allowed to use in her presence or anywhere else when referring to her; that name was "Cabbage." The nickname was adapted from the French expression "mon petit chou' which translates to "my little cabbage." But only Prince Philip had the right to call Elizabeth by that name. There was not, nor will there ever be, another person in the world who would be allowed to refer to the late Queen as their "Cabbage."

So, what if I decided to risk it? Right here on this public forum, what if I decided that I wanted to refer to the former Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms as "my Cabbage?" I am a Canadian by birth, which means that Elizabeth was my Queen. So, what if I decided to address the mother of my reigning King as "My Cabbage" instead of "Your Majesty?" The reality is that, regardless of the message's content, using that nickname to refer to the late Queen would be wildly inappropriate. Royalists would have the right to condemn me; after all, I was not being considerate of her former position as a world leader and the most prominent member of the British Royal Family for over half a century. I am not Prince Philip. I do not have the right to call Queen Elizabeth "My Cabbage," or even attempt to greet her with the full French expression, "mon petit chou."

With this understanding in mind, we need to read Huldah's greeting to the delegation sent to her by King Josiah. Huldah's address to the men is direct. "Tell the man who sent you …" Later, Huldah will refer to "the man" as the King of Judah, but in this initial greeting, he is not the King; he is simply a man.

Josiah's delegation would probably have been as offended by Huldah's greeting as someone close to Queen Elizabeth would have been by my use of the nickname "the Cabbage" to address "Her Majesty." But there is a purpose in Huldah's greeting. Her use of "the man" to refer to King Josiah emphasizes that, in God's eyes, the King holds no special place. He is just like any other man who came to talk to this prophetess.  

We see differences between people. But in the eyes of God, we are all just the same as King Josiah; we are all sinners, and we are all only men and women requiring His grace and mercy.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 34