Author: Scott

I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me? Ruth 1:21   Every morning, I spend the first half-hour of my day praying for a long list of people whom I know to…
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But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” Ruth 1:16 I grew up watching the Minnesota Vikings and I now love watching…
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“Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.” Ruth 1:20 I snapped at a guy a while back. I won’t go into specific details, except to say that I’d not eaten enough and found myself hungry, impatient, and a little crabby. As this guy droned…
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“Now therefore give up the men, the worthless fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and purge evil from Israel.” But the Benjaminites would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the people of Israel. Judges 20:13 Like most of us, I’m pretty good at identifying bad behavior in others, often…
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And as morning appeared, the woman came and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her master was, until it was light. Judges 19:26 In my opioid addiction, I became someone I didn’t much like or even recognize. Looking back, it’s hard to believe that it was me who lied, cheated, and…
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In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Judges 17:6 I’ve often said that drug use hasn’t been my primary life problem. Drugs have just the most obvious manifestation of my primary problem which is this – I do what I want. This has always…
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And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. Judges 16:30 When I went off to treatment for my drug addiction, I left a disaster at home, and I honestly wasn’t sure…
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And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years. Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her. Judges 15:20-16:1 I once saw my faith as a supernatural insulation against life-wrecking failure. I thought that since I believed in God, I simply couldn’t tear my…
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On the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to tell us what the riddle is, lest we burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us here to impoverish us?” Judges 14:15 Early on in our marriage, on separate occasions, my wife and I both committed this offense…
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And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.” Judges 13:3 Back when I first began learning addiction medicine, I took several online courses, during which the instructors made it sound like all…
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