Warriors pepper the Old Testament for a reason, and the NT refers to Christians as soldiers. If we're going to be honest and orthodox (and raise a generation in a post-Christian culture) we need to stop minimizing the battle language of scripture, the fullness of our God, the reality of conflict, and our commission to contend with it on all fronts.

Scripture makes us face "tall tales" that truly transpired, and modern translations also make us face textual criticism. How do we trust our Bible?

If we're going to grapple with biblical reality, we have to face a God who holds later generations to the vows of forefathers, and also discipline for the sins of those fathers. Will we define God by our definition of fair, or His?

Again? Why does God have scripture - let alone our lives - face the deja vu of the problem (and lesson) we already learned? A great question, among others.

David returns and deals with those who wronged him, and those who were misrepresented. We see many ways our Lord deals with us...

Absalom is killed despite David's orders. David is then rebuked for his mourning. Who's right, who's wrong, and what can we learn about justice and mercy?

Think you know what is or isn't expected of Christians in regard to tithes and offerings? Is there a difference between a "requirement" and a "standard"? Where did the "10%" idea come from anyway? Do Christians give less now than they did in the Great Depression? Dare to challenge yourself to consider this controversial topic that hits our hearts and wallets... or more specifically our time, treasure and talent. We shouldn't change out of guilt, but should always seek growth.

Lessons we can learn about the need for godly counsel, even when godly counsel causes death and defeat. Wait, what? This week's lessons from 2 Samuel is a bit topsy-turvy, but essential.

When false "kings" and idols call for our affection, and keeping our faith involves risk and strife, we see what side we are TRULY standing on, no matter what we profess with our lips.

How to draw attention away from our TRUE King... in 5 easy steps! We should not look down on Absalom so much as be careful to examine ourselves: are we Absalom? Or following one?