Author: Dave Dishman (Page 55 of 390)

While traveling up the Rhine Gorge in Germany this week, I spotted a peculiar building set on a low rock in the middle of the river. Pfalzgrafenstein Castle was constructed in 1327 as a defensive stronghold and toll-collecting station.

Despite numerous wars over the centuries, no enemy ever conquered the fortress. More astounding, the annual onslaughts of ice and floods from the Rhine never washed it away. It seems impossible when viewing the position of the castle to believe it’s stood there for 700 years.

Which reminds me of these words from Jesus:

As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.

The words of Jesus embody solid ground. As we struggle to live by them, we slowly anchor our foundation onto bedrock. We eventually become castles in the river, not succumbing to ice sheets or raging waters or blistering attacks.

Open the Good Book and build your house on solidity and permanence.

Luke 6 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Jörg Braukmann

Are you flailing or flourishing? Sometimes it’s hard to tell. The Scriptures warn against flailing, and give clear direction towards flourishing. Moses exhorted the people of Israel:

The Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day.

The statutes of the Lord, the commands and directions found in the Bible are for our good always. Popular thinking considers the Bible restrictive, the ways of living revealed within as harmful, even evil if applied rigidly. Bashing the directives found in Scripture gets an easy high-five.

But what if those public commentators have it wrong? What if they don’t understand the end results of their philosophies? What if the path to human flourishing doesn’t follow an inner voice, but instead follows the mandates of God? What if the ten commandments and the morality of Moses and the teachings of Jesus form the soil from which vibrant living springs?

The one guaranteed formula for a life you will look back upon with satisfaction is found in the ways of the Lord as described in the Bible. The canon of scripture is indeed restrictive—you cannot do anything you want and follow Jesus—but leads to our flourishing.

For our good always makes for a guarantee that’s hard to ignore.

Deuteronomy 6 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦

Today I traveled by train from Zurich, Switzerland to Milan, Italy. The route took us across the Alps and featured stunning views in every direction. These prodigious mountains made me think of passages from the Bible that describe such heights.

The Lord crafted the world, and existed long before these magnificent peaks rose from the sea:

Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God (Psalm 90:2).

God lives in our mountains and our valleys and everywhere in between. Here’s my favorite verse about the hills and his presence:

I will lift my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 121:1-2).

Finally, a reminder of the Lord’s faithfulness as I passed through this massive range:

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you (Isaiah 54:10).

The eternal God helps us in our need and loves us without fail. The mountains of our world, unparalleled by any human building project, day after day point to the Lord and his unbridled compassion toward you and me.

Psalm 90, Psalm 121, & Isaiah 54 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel

The most important thing about you is not your personality index or your set of particular skills. The most important thing about you, and indeed the most important item you possess, is your soul.

Moses warned his people to always remember the great works of God they experienced. You wouldn’t think anyone could forget trudging behind a pillar of smoke, or watching a sea separate like curtains on opening night. But time and trials endanger even the best memories.

Moses wrote: Take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children.

These reflections remind us that our souls require vigilance. Our hearts wander, remaining ever restless. Don’t let the works of the Lord fade from your core.

Like ripe fruit, our souls bruise easily. Maintain yours and flourish. Ignore your soul and it dries up and and blows away. It’s frightening to understand that I could lose my soul. As Jesus said, What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

Keep your soul diligently—because no one else will.

Deuteronomy 4 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Greg Rakozy