Who reigns? We used to think of the American president as the most powerful position in the entire world. Even if that were the case, would we say that a president reigns? Does the king of England reign? According to Merriam-Webster, the meaning of the word involves, “the period of time during which a king, queen, emperor, etc., is ruler of a country.” Another meaning is, “the period of time during which someone is in charge…[or] is the most important, powerful, etc.” ( merriam-webster.com )....

The 2nd chapter of the first letter to the Corinthian church makes Paul’s final point in his three-fold case for being committed to the foolishness of the cross instead of the whims of power, prestige, and wealth that Roman society had conditioned the Corinthians to value as ultimate (2:1-5). His last point here revolves around his own example of what a life lived for Christ looks like—though, he is excessively intentional to emphasize that Christ, not Paul, is the one who deserves the credit...

This text is one of those tunes on the radio that gets too much playtime, but nevertheless proves to be a real earworm. How often have you heard “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with the Lord” (paraphrase, v.8)? The thing about earworms though, is that often you find yourself humming the tune but not engaging with the meaning of the words. Making sense of this command to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly, requires one to closely reflect on the text and context of Micah...