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