There are few verses in the book of Psalms that can rival the raw emotion and beauty of those in the 51st. Then again, there are few people who we are given such a clear view of what a fall from grace can look like. King David is the one who is supposed to have written Psalm 51. His story is a story of elevated highs, and the deepest of valleys. Out on his rooftop one night toward the beginning of his time on the throne, he spots the beautiful Bathsheba bathing nearby. He uses his power as...

This is the second time I am writing on Psalm 149. You can search the A Plain Account website to find that first essay/commentary and compare and contrast it with this one. As I was researching this time around a pastor, author and theologian named Brian Zahnd came to mind. One of his coined phrases is “God is like Jesus. God has always been like Jesus. There has never been a time when God was not like Jesus. We have not always known what God is like— But now we do.” This is one of those...

I love weather. When I was a child, I wanted to be a meteorologist. Every aspect of weather fascinated me. Growing up in Omaha, NE for...