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Continue reading →: God’s Back BurnerThe presence of God seems to be gone. The connection with the Lord seems to be terminated. God seems to have abandoned David. That is how he feels. The Psalms are much more about “feeling” than most other genres in Scripture. David feels orphaned by God.
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Continue reading →: Jesus Vs. The Pharisees / The Final RoundWe’ve examined the Seven Woes found in Matthew 23 over the last two posts. Some Summary Statements Let’s put this all together. I think it’s helpful for us to see all the terms and all the critiques bunched together to take this in. Taken together as a whole, we have…
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Continue reading →: I Used to Be “Lonely by Myself”Thoughts Flung Free From the Music of My Childhood Rick McNally, June 26, 2025 When I was young “oh so much younger than today,” I ran into an artist named Larry Norman. I was a young Christian who didn’t always fall for the most popular thing around and was attracted…
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Continue reading →: Jesus Vs. the Pharisees / Round FourThe Seven Woes / Part Two / RLM / June 2025 Note: This is a continuation from Round Four… In review, in this section of Matthew 23 we see Jesus pronouncing seven woes upon the scribes and Pharisees. These are brutal critiques. We should examine our own hearts by these…
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Continue reading →: Jesus vs. The Pharisees / Round ThreeThe Seven Woes, Part one of three / RLM / June 2025 What is “woe”? woe / ouai / expressing extreme displeasure and calling for retributive pain on someone or something (ANLEX). A state of intense hardship or distress — disaster, horror. (Louw-Nida). It’s safe to say that Jesus was…
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Continue reading →: Jesus Vs the Pharisees / Round TwoThe Positive Example of Leadership Matthew 23 / Rick McNally / June 2025 But you… Now for the fix, or the alternative. How do we avoid the fake faith and oppressive leadership tendencies of the scribes and Pharisees? Do you really want to know? Are we willing to examine our own hearts…
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Continue reading →: Jesus Vs. Pharisees / Round OneThe danger of usurping the role of God in the lives of people Matthew 23 / June 2025 / Rick McNally This chapter is largely a phrase-by-phrase commentary of Matthew 23, where Jesus describes the qualities of the scribes and Pharisees of his day. Spoiler alert: he is not complimentary. …
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Continue reading →: The Arrogant and the Anointed / Psalm 2Psalm 2 / Rick McNally / June 2025 Person 1: Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 are different. Person 2: Yeah, they’re different, there are different Psalms, buddy. Person 1: No. I know that, but they are different. They are the same, but they are different. The message is strikingly similar,…
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Continue reading →: Denying and Delighting / Psalm 1Psalm 1 / Rick L. McNally / June 3, 2025 Blessed. Highly favored. Fortunate. Happy. This would be a good place to start. How do we become happy again after difficult times? How do we feel “highly favored” after enduring difficult things? Even more common, after the simple…
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Continue reading →: Not Too Hard = Keeping the Law?(Or) Would you be a “righteous person” in the Old Testament time? Rick L. McNally / May 2025 Note: I’ve been ruminating on this passage and idea for over a year. This is my first time trying to express it in writing. Be gentle, for this is a confession of…
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