Old & New is a collaborative design project based on Biblical stories and passages that I put together with my bud, Troy DeShano. The site is now live!
Read MoreFor a long time, I’ve believed that the Bible is filled with wisdom and power. Yet it always seemed incredibly boring to me. I knew the Bible was full of life, but I’d much rather eat popcorn and watch reruns of “The Wire” versus spending time in the Word. Can I get an “Amen?”
Read MoreAll right, Jesus, what the heck are you talking about here? It sounds like if me and someone else agree that we want a popcorn tree and cats that hug, we just need to pull the Jesus-slot-machine-lever and it's magically gonna happen.
Read MoreIf you are looking for a happy book to cheer you up on a bad day, make sure you skip Ecclesiastes. The book could be summed up by the word "meaningless" which it repeats 35 times through out its twelve chapters. It's dark, gloomy and pretty depressing. Kinda like a teenager... or Eeyore. Tradition has it that Ecclesiastes was written by an old man (some say King Solomon) who was looking back on the great achievements of his life.
Read MoreWhenever I want to feel better about my life, I ready Job. This guy got totally screwed. It difficult to condense or paraphrase exactly what happened to Job, so I'm gonna try to tackle this a different way.... There is curse work in the english language that starts with an "s" and ends with a "t." This curse word is in a few common phrases like:
Read MoreI had a pretty busy week so Job will have to wait until next week. I realize this is a real let down and that you will now be forced to go and find some other not-nearly-as-awesome thing to try to fill the void in your weekend. Although I don't have Job, I decided to post a second option I had worked up for Genesis. You know how bands will release an album, it's super popular and then they release an EP of a few more of their old reject songs so they can cash in on their new fan base? That's sorta what this is.
Read MoreAre you the sort of person who likes daytime soap operas, but just wishes that they would incorporate more palace intrigue and attempted genocide into the storyline? If you're like me, the answer is an emphatic "yes!" Welcome to Esther. So in Persia, there's a king named Ahasuerus (we'll call him the "Big A") and his queen is named Vashti. As any egocentric powermad crazed leader would do, Big A has a 180 day party to celebrate how awesome he is.
Read MoreThe book of Nehemiah covers the same time period as the book of Ezra. The Israelites just got the get-out-of-jail-free card from their Babylonian captors and head back to Jerusalem to rebuild their life. As we saw in Ezra, they are coming back to Jerusalem tired and battered. While Ezra seemed to emphasize the journey back, Nehemiah focuses rebuilding their city and community.
Read MoreLast we heard of the Israelites in 2 Chronicles, God finally let them do their own thing and they were either gettin' killed or captured. If the Israelites were an alcoholic or addict, this would be their rock bottom. They used to be on top. They used to have the creator of the universe on their side. As the book of Ezra opens, they had gone cold turkey and were starting to make their way back home.
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