Blog — David J. Collum

As if things weren’t bad enough with Adam and Eve having to leave the Garden, we now read about a murder. Cain and Abel… how do you process this story? Is there anything to learn from it? Asking these questions leads me to look at this story of Cain and Abel from a few perspectives. First, I want to simply look at why God might not be impressed with Cain’s gift. I don’t want to stop there. I want to then note what God does. Finally, I want to simply ask, “What is Cain’s problem with God?”

Books of the BibleDavid J CollumMay 9, 2018Genesis 4, Genesis Day 11, Genesis

Genesis Day 10: Is God mean?

The image we have of people affects how we “see” every action they take, and “hear” every word they speak. One day, one of my managers said to me, “If people think I’m a liar, I will give them plenty of proof!” I was a bit taken back, “Do you lie that much?” He laughed. “No, what I mean is, they will hear my words through a filter that can twist my meanings into their meanings.” The same is true of events we are witness to or read about. In Genesis 3, God has five main actions…

Books of the BibleDavid J CollumMay 8, 2018Genesis 3, Genesis Day 10, Adam and Eve, Adam, Eve, Genesis

Genesis Day 9: Blaming it all on Adam and Eve misses the point

In these early chapters of Genesis we see not merely a tale of something that happened long ago, but something that happens every day. Every day God creates. Every day God breathes life into the world. Every day I take a bite from the forbidden fruit. Every day I make decisions to make myself the most important person—more important than God. These scenes play out over and over again in the lives of human beings… and if that is the point, then perhaps we should consider how this story is our story.

Books of the BibleDavid J CollumMay 4, 2018Genesis Day 9, Adam, Eve, Genesis d, Genesis 3, The Fall, Sin, Serpent, Genesis

Genesis Day 8: Practice makes perfect?

When was the last time you learned a new skill? Maybe a new language, a musical instrument, or a hobby, like painting or golf? You have to start at the beginning. Getting better at something, creating new habits and routines, building our “gut responses” and “instincts” – all that takes time and repetition, doesn’t it? We have to “drill” the basics in order to get somewhere, and to know how to respond when we’re met with a challenge.

Books of the BibleDavid J CollumMay 2, 2018Genesis Day 8, Genesis 1, Genesis 2, Genesis

Genesis Day 7: A husband, a wife, a Bible

Most guidance for a blog is that you say whatever you are writing in 500 words or less. So, in 500 words or less, describe how connected you are to your spouse. For Adam, it was easy – “She is bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh!” If this were an onstage competition, I imagine Adam “dropping the mic” and walking away.

Books of the BibleDavid J CollumApril 30, 2018Adam, Eve, Genesis Day 7, Marriage, Genesis 2, Flourishing, Genesis

Genesis Day 6: What's your dog's name?

When you got a pet and it was time to pick a name, how long did it take? Seriously.

Our dog is named Bailey. He came to us named Whiskey, and we thought, “No, no… he’s not Whiskey.” So, we thought of about 5 other names. He’s Bailey.

How about selecting a name for a child? Even if you do not have children, I expect you have come across one or two new parents who agonize over this task. Why is naming important to us?

Books of the BibleDavid J CollumApril 27, 2018Bailey, Dog, Work, Flourishing, Genesis 2, Genesis Day 6, Genesis

Genesis Day 5: If you don’t like “the God of the Old Testament,” check out Genesis 2!

There is a phrase some use. “That’s my baby!” We apply it to our boats, our cars, the latest creation we’ve made…even our…babies. It communicates our deep connection, our deep investment, our deep love—for whatever is crowned with that phrase. When you pour yourself into something—your sweat, your energy, yourself—it is natural to become deeply committed.

Books of the BibleDavid J CollumApril 25, 2018Old Testament, Family, Genesis Day 5, Adam, Genesis 2, Genesis

Genesis Day 4: Family—it’s complicated

Family is where we should Flourish. Family is where we should be able to Fail. The operative word is “should.” Our families don’t always work out the way they should. In fact, sometimes we feel like our families are failures.

Books of the BibleDavid J CollumApril 23, 2018Genesis Day 4, Family, Purpose, Genesis 1, Genesis

Genesis Day 3: Do you love your job?

The daily and weekly grind—the grind—that is how many refer to their jobs. Work is... well, it is work. It is why we’re usually paid to do it. How do you feel about work? For me, my struggle is the other way. Too much of my identity is tied up in my work. If I am successful at work, then I am successful. If I am not successful then, somehow, I allow my failures to infiltrate my sense of worth.

Leadership, Books of the BibleDavid J CollumApril 20, 2018Work, Identity, Image of God, Genesis 1, Genesis Day 3, Genesis

Genesis Day 2: Who do you think you are?

From John Legend, to Christi Perry, to Agnus & Julia Stone, to Bo Donaldson and the Haywoods… to the Spice Girls and more… artists have written poems and songs with the title "Who do you think you are?"Knowing who we are, or rather, who we are meant to be—our identity—drives our lives.

Books of the BibleDavid J CollumApril 18, 2018Genesis Day 2, Identity, Image of God, Genesis 1, Genesis

Genesis Day 1: The beginning of the Bible says more, way more, than how the universe began.

Bang! That loud sound is not simply the Universe exploding into being—something from nothing—no, if we can hear past the noise, we will hear an even deeper SOUND. We will hear WHY we were born—WHAT FAMILY we are a part of—in fact WHO, at our core, we are! But first, we are going to learn about God.

Books of the BibleDavid J CollumApril 16, 2018Genesis Day 1, Scripture, Evolution, Creation, Big bang, Genesis

Day 47: A journey worth sharing

Thanks for reading the Gospel of John with me! We’ve come to the end of our journey, walking with John, through his Gospel about his best friend, Jesus. I tried picturing myself in the various scenes John described, thinking about what his reaction might have been. I imagined his jaw dropping as he watched his friend Jesus, who he thought was a mere mortal, do things only a god could do.

Books of the BibleDavid J CollumApril 9, 2018Gospel of John, Gospel of John Day 47, John

Day 46: Relationships first... then responsibilities

Responsibility—yikes! I am not sure how many of us wake up in the morning saying, “I can’t wait to be super-responsible today!” However, I want to suggest that from our relationships flow responsibilities. I am a dad. I have father-son relationships. As a dad, I have responsibilities. Those responsibilities are not random, they have an aim, a purpose.

Day 45: Lets go fishin'

Fishing has an interesting hold on many people—they love it. Today, at the end of John’s Gospel we hear Peter saying, “I’m going fishin’” (verse 3), and the gang joins in. I don’t believe recreational fishing is what Peter and the gang were aiming for, when they went fishing. They were returning to their livelihood. They knew that Jesus had risen from the dead, but they did not understand their role in the plan.

Books of the BibleDavid J CollumApril 4, 2018Peter, Fishing, Gospel of John, Gospel of John Day 45, John 21, John

Day 44: Paralysis by analysis

When something doesn’t make sense, we often analyze and re-analyze the situation. There are times we must dig and dig in order to understand. There are other times however, that all our digging is because we are rejecting what we have been told over and over again. Or we dig because while we say we “just need a little more” information, the reality is, we’re delaying decision time.

Day 43: Run over by a truck

How a situation impacts us is affected by our distance from it: our physical, chronological, and relational distance.

Take war for example. How we remember it is affected by whether or not it happened in our back yard. How we feel about it is changed by how long ago it took place. And if that event happened to someone we are close to, then no time or distance will lessen its impact upon us.

So how do you think Jesus’ best friend felt and reacted to and remembered Jesus’ crucifixion?

Day 42: Two Stories

Have you ever been out with some friends, at a place you all very comfortable, and yet you have this feeling that the conversation you are involved in, is it really about something else? Or maybe you didn’t have that feeling at all, but it became abundantly clear after the whole mood of the evening shifted. Now envision this is happening with your best friend. That is John’s situation. How close are John and Jesus? Just a few hours earlier, Jesus confided in John who would betray him. Now, in the garden, this BFF is bewildered.

Books of the BibleDavid J CollumMarch 28, 2018John 18, Peter, Story, Gospel of John, Gospel of John Day 42, John

Day 41: Real intimacy

We live in a sex-crazed world. We have traded intimacy for something much shallower. Please don’t misunderstand, God created sex. It is good when enjoyed within God’s design. It has a very special and unique place in the world. It just isn’t the whole of intimacy.

Intimacy is very special, very rare. We knit our hearts, our beings, to few people. It has to be that way. In fact, God has designed specific biblical relationships to house intimacy.

However, to stay with the text we are reading, let me ask a question: for those people with whom you are intimate, what is the most intimate thing you do together?

Books of the BibleDavid J CollumMarch 26, 2018Intimacy, Prayer, John 17, Gospel of John, Gospel of John Day 41

Day 40: Strong friends

In the 1984 classic “The Karate Kid”, Daniel suffers at the hands of bullies—that is, until Mr. Miyagi enters the scene. Who wouldn’t want a strong friend standing at your side?

Do you have such a friend? Someone who not only wants you to become all you can be, but someone who walks with you through life.

As we've been reading John together, Jesus has more than hinted at someone who is going to help. In John 3, 4 & 7 he talked about the Spirit, and in chapters 14-17 he has talked about the Helper. I haven't said much...

Day 39: Choose your friends wisely... there is a cost

The company you keep deeply affects your life. It does. Countless experts advise us to specifically surround ourselves with the “right kind" of people. I like the phrase like-valued people. Do you consciously put this advice into practice? Or are you more of a “go with the flow” sort of person, choosing along the way those you will spend time with? Jesus has just said, “I call you friends” (verses 14-15), and now he says, “And because you are my friends, the world will hate you!” Choose your friends wisely.