StephenBarkley.com

I cause them [Thutmose's enemies] to see thy  majesty as a crocodile, the lord of fear in the waters, who cannot be approached — Amon-Re in a hymn to Thutmose III (in Block, Ezekiel) When we hear Egypt in connection with the Old Testament, most of us think of the Joseph or Moses. However, Egypt was [...]

It is only in the light of God’s hatred and abhorrence of sin that we can really see His love, and appreciate the wonder and the glory of the Gospel. — D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (The Plight of Man and the Power of God) We tend to think that God has two faces: justice and mercy, [...]

The demon in money is greed. — Richard Foster (The Challenge of the Disciplined Life) “You have come to a dreadful end / and shall be no more forever” (v. 19, NRSV). It’s difficult to imagine words with more finality. We have been looking at Tyre, the island trade-mogul, for a while now. This is the seventh [...]

And I love when folks look right at me and what I’m doing or have done, And lay it on about how groovy I am and that I’m looking grand. And every single word makes me think I’ll live forever; Never knowing that they probably won’t remember what they said tomorrow, Tomorrow I could be [...]

Well, I see something and I want it. Bam! Right now!  No questions asked. Don’t worry how much it costs me now or later I want it and I want it fast. I’ll go to any length, sacrifice all that I already have and all that I might get. Just to get something more that [...]

The Lust, the flesh, the eyes, and the pride of life drain the life right out of me. — 77s (“The Lust, the Flesh, the Eyes and the Pride of Life”) If you have any interest in vintage alternative Christian music (Okay, I’ll admit that it’s an almost infinitesimal subculture), the quote at the top [...]

This drama of human history is indeed partly our construct, but it stands under a sovereignty much greater than ours. — Reinhold Niebuhr (Justice and Mercy) Do you remember the scene in The Lord of the Rings when Gandalf encountered the Balrog in the mines of Moria (on the swiftly crumbling bridge of Khazad-Dûm)? In that [...]

For all her brutality, Tyre had represented stability. —Daniel I Block (Ezekiel vol. 2) One of the worst injustices in life is the breakdown of relationships into violence. I could recite the standard stereotype: drunken husband / fear-ridden wife—but this tragedy plays out in many different ways. The result is often predictable, though: the person who has [...]

Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little.| I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. — Paul (Philippians 4:11-12, [...]

How can I kill the ones I’m supposed to love? My enemies are men like me. I will protest the sword if it’s not wielded well; My enemies are men like me. – Derek Webb (Mockingbird) The tables are turned. God’s judgment on Jerusalem is spent. It’s time to judge the surrounding nations. It is somewhat ironic [...]