In the midst of gatherings with friends and family and co-workers, this prayer of David’s remains one that all of us should give attention to:

Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat their delicacies.

But my mind goes beyond the holiday table. For me, the delicacies of social media present a much greater temptation. In that realm I notice few guards when it comes to civil speech. Even when I refuse to comment, I find the buzz of back and forth arguments and name-calling compelling. I get drawn in, wandering the sideshow as I scroll along.

With head bowed to my phone, I find the angst in my spirit start to rise. I cannot solve whatever issue is being bandied about, but I can stew on it. Or, I enjoy the titillation of scandals with powerful people taking a hit. I’m entertained, even though I don’t know them or their true situation or if they’re really guilty or just suffering the wrath of an internet mob.

So for me, set a guard over my mouth and keep watch over the doorway of my lips remains an indispensable prayer. I should pray this every day.

But when my belly craves the junk food of social media, then more urgently I need to plead, Lord, keep me from the delicacies strewn across the world wide web that draw my heart away from you.

Psalm 141 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Annie Spratt

Job had it bad. After his family and fortune was destroyed, his friends showed up to talk him to death. It’s amazing he kept his faith in God throughout his trials. But that faith tattered with questions and frustrations and pain.

In one outburst Job lamented those who lived large while taking advantage of people around them:

The tents of the marauders are undisturbed, and those who provoke God are secure—those whose god is in their hand.

These robbers refused to acknowledge the God of heaven. They followed a god they controlled themselves, one fitting in the palm of their hand. Their god felt good in a pocket, a lucky charm to rub. But no god at all really, only a prop in the show.

Like Job, I have the same complaint about the marauders of our day. Why do those who thumb their noses at the divine flourish? Why do leaders who use their god to entrap others or cover their hatred rise? Why do the corrupt prosper while good people struggle? It’s an age-old frustration.

But Job knew deep down that the Lord controls this world, and eventually even the slyest marauders face judgement.

Job looked for a Messiah who was to come, a mediator between God and man. This time of year we celebrate that arrival. Jesus explodes the idea of a god in the pocket—he’ll burn a hole right through your shorts.

So as we celebrate the birth of the King, we celebrate the inevitable justice he brings as well.

Job 12 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by gryffyn m

Thank you for reading and pondering my thoughts throughout this past year. I enjoy writing these posts, but blogging is only a small part of what I do on a daily basis.

In March I travel to Italy for a set of outreaches featuring American professors. In June my wife and I will lead a group on the Camino de Santiago, and later this summer we hope to find ourselves in Brazil for another mission trip.

Alongside these opportunities, I’ve been studying how to better equip professors to serve as missionaries by telling their personal stories of faith. This winter I will put my learning into practice as I lead several workshops along these lines.

I’m thankful for the good health, energy and finances to minister in various ways.

As for finances, as a Cru staff member I raise all the funds needed to cover my salary, health care, retirement benefits and ministry expenses— everything. I have a wonderful team of people that makes this happen, and if you’d like to join them, you can do so at give.cru.org.

Thank you for your readership. I look forward sharing more as I travel through the Bible again in 2024.

Dave

Photo by Kelly Sikkema

We’re in that most wonderful time of the year, Advent season, building up to Christmas. Advent by definition means the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event. And who is history is more notable than Jesus?

Way before Jesus, a man named Job struggled with the Lord. In fact, the book of Job is considered by many the oldest in the Bible. In a lament before his friends, Job expressed the need for an advent:

He (God) is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court. If only there were someone to mediate between us, someone to bring us together, someone to remove God’s rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more.

From the very beginning, Job understood God’s holiness and his own shortcomings. He hoped for Jesus before Jesus was ever born. That first Christmas in Bethlehem arrived with the anticipation and desire of faithful people over many years. This hope even moved three kings from a far off land to saddle up their camels and celebrate an advent like no other.

Today the hoped for is now our hope. We enjoy the advent, the arrival, of Job’s deepest longing, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Happy Advent!

Job 9 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2023

Photo by Max Beck