Kith & Kin

See bottom of page for an encouraging update to this post. Proverbs 31:6–7 ·        KJV: “Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.” ·        NIV: “Let beer be for those who are perishing, wine for those who are in anguish! Let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more.” ·        NASB: “Give intoxicating drink to one who is perishing, And wine to one whose life is bitter. Let him drink and forget his poverty, And remember his trouble no more.” These are two of the most intriguing verses in the entire Bible, yet I have never heard anyone preach on them. If we go further down through Proverbs 31, we run into the Virtuous Woman (vv. 10–31), and I’ve heard a lot of preaching on that passage. Some pastors (not all!) have used the example ...

PLEASE NOTE: All verses are quoted from the New International Version unless otherwise noted. Any quotations given without a verse reference are my own interpretation. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the Old Testament prophet Elijah. His life is filled with astonishing, unique events, one of which I can relate to all too well. Elijah’s origins are a mystery. He shows up for the first time in 1 Kings 17:1 : “Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.’” Where was Tishbe? No one knows for sure. What else do we know about Tishbe and Tishbites? Nothing. Elijah is the only person identified as such in the Bible. Elijah shows amazing confidence in the face of a wicked ruler who could easily have put him to death. I used to think that God had spoken to Elijah suddenly, in a dream perhaps, and told him out of the blue to go to Ahab wi...