So at the end of Joshua 5, Joshua is visited by a "commander" of God's army. Joshua asks him which side he's on, Israel's or their adversary's and the man responds "neither". He tells Joshua to take his shoes off since he's on holy ground and then chapter 6 happens and God addresses Joshua.

Leaves me wondering...did the angel(?) leave after Joshua took his shoes off so God could address him? But I'm even more curious about the angel's(?) supposed neutrality. I mean, it's not a stretch to say that God was on Israel's side, at least I don't think it's a stretch. But is it possible that he's on Jericho's side too?!? (With friends like that,eh?) Sorry. Redemption through destruction? Peterson's intro in The Message says that the land of Canaan was full or all sorts of detestable practices. Was God purging them for ultimate, eternal punishment, or simply short term punishment?

Maybe the angel(?) doesn't speak for God. Perhaps the angel(?) was simply saying, "Hey, I'm just following orders."

Maybe I'll consult some commentaries and see what some smart guys have to say about this...

-Brian

So at the Boston Bruins message board (yes, I know it's the offseason for them) some joker was saying how this finals series would be a short one after Calgary won the first game. I saw the Bruins DOMINATE the Canadians in game one and we all know how that series turned out. Some people never learn...

(Of course, Game four isn't over yet...Tampa's up 1-0 early in the 3rd, so Calgary could still win it and end the series in 5, which, in my book, qualifies for a "short series." But I see this series going at least 6 which is not a short series...we'll see)


-Brian

PS. Go NOMAH!!! 2-3 with a BB for Pawtucket today...

Maybe I should change the name of my blog, eh? Perhaps, "Nothing" would be more appropriate than "Nothing Clever" given how much I have been blogging lately. I had a feeling this would happen. (See my first ever blog.) But hey, I won't give up just yet.

I had the opportunity to catch John Ortberg's teaching at the Emergent Convention and I heard some of Doug Pagitt's preaching at Rob Bell's church. (See my links). They had very similar things to say...so similar I wondered who was stealing who's sermon...or maybe they stole it from a third party. Or maybe they're buddies and discovered this together. Or maybe the Holy Spirit enlightened them both at the same time...or maybe...nevermind.

Anyway, we often talk about preaching the "good news". And that means telling people that Jesus Christ lived, died and rose again and that He died for our sin. But that leaves the question, "what's the good news that Jesus preached?"

Jesus preached, according to Mark's gospel, "The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news." Jesus was telling people that the kingdom of God was open to them. Those who once were far off could now draw near. He didn't say anything (at least not early in His ministry) about dying and rising. He simply said the Kingdom is near. And this bit about repenting...to change one's mind, to turn...perhaps He was encouraging them to think differently. Like, "You have heard it said, love your neighbors and hate your enemies..." Reorienting our lives and minds to live in the flow of the Kingdom. Not knowing all the right answers on the eternal life quiz, but being kingdom people.

Interesting...