Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
PHall | October 1, 2013
My wife and I received an invitation from friends to join them in traveling to a foreign country to preach and teach. Having traveled to Jamaica, South America, and the Philippines, this would not be my first evangelistic trip overseas. This time though, was different. Preaching the gospel is illegal. Christians there meet secretively. Applying […]
PHall | September 26, 2013
Are we so tuned in to God, that God’s pain fills our prayers? Such is Samuel in his connection with His creator. Such is our goal, even when the result is anger. Again Saul disobeys and disappoints. I pause to self-reflect. God’s order to Saul I would find difficult to obey; but the difficult part […]
PHall | September 25, 2013
Arrogance blinds so that everything good is about us, and nothing bad ever is. Blame is the name of the game, and the finger always points outwardly. Saul’s story is abrupt and kinetic at the beginning, and as incoherent as his mind. One mistake of Saul is he makes everyone abide by his rash vow […]
PHall | September 17, 2013
I confess, reading 1 Samuel 12 makes me uncomfortable. I wonder if my first reaction, a natural reaction, even a spiritual reaction, is not God’s reaction. It makes me question what I think is black and white; and makes me wonder if I am too easily judgmental. Samuel is “retiring.” So he asks all of […]
PHall | September 11, 2013
“Hide and Seek” is a game I greatly enjoyed playing with my daughters. Rachel was an excellent hider, silent and still. She would lay flat on the dining room chair hidden by the table cloth. Ashley giggled so much and shook while giggling she was easy to find. But she made a great tattle-tale in […]
PHall | September 9, 2013
God’s people are like little children before Christmas, sneaking down to open their presents before Christmas morning; and breaking them way before they are even supposed to be opened. A toddler might get away with it because they are cute; but cuteness stops helping most of us way too soon. Scripture is filled with people […]
PHall | September 7, 2013
Hear the word “Ebenezer” and our minds drift back to Dickens’s classic, “A Christmas Carol.” Being a literary genius, no doubt the name Ebenezer Scrooge was chosen meaningfully. Scrooge is a variation of an obscure English verb: “to scrouge” meaning “to squeeze” or “to press.” Scrooge pinched his pennies tightly and pressed heavily the poor. […]
PHall | September 5, 2013
What do normal, non-religious people have in common with pagan polytheists of 3000 years ago? The following story is touched by God’s unique humor. Israel treats God’s Ark of the Covenant like a graven image, a common idol. After Yahweh refuses them victory, they scheme like pagans: “Let’s bring the ark of the LORD’s covenant […]
PHall | September 3, 2013
Listening is a lost art, a lost courtesy, a lost tool for self-improvement, and a lost Bible study method. If we do not listen, we will be lost eternally. Too often when others talk, we are thinking what to say, ready to protect ourselves or defeat them. Too many suffer numbness of the ears; […]
PHall | September 2, 2013
Prayer leads to prayer when prayer ends in fulfillment. That is, unless we forget to give thanksgiving, or forget what we had prayed. I wonder how many heavenly requests we actually remember. Of course, some are so “big” they could never be forgotten. And, some are so selfish we are embarrassed upon reflection. Hannah prayed […]