Caleb Thompson

follower of Jesus | husband to Brandie | dad to Mila Kate, Teagan, & Brooks |

[Matt Smethurst @MattSmethurst]

Goodness. What a prophetic quote from 44 years ago.

[Matt Smethurst @MattSmethurst]

“Claiming to be wise, they became fools” (Rom. 1:22).

Sanity evaporates when expressive individualism is enthroned.

[Montreal Expos @Montreal_Expos]

“It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops. Today, November 2, a Sunday of rain and broken branches and leaf-clogged drains and slick streets, it stopped, and summer was gone.”

- A. Bartlett Giamatti (with a small change from October to November)

[Jason Howerton @jason_howerton]

This is testimony from Dr. Neil Frank at a Billy Graham event in the 1980s.

He's actually Forrest Frank's grandfather. He plays this before every one of his shows.

I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. This is EXACTLY what happened to me. Lift the veil 👇

[Ryan M. Spaeder @theaceofspaeder]

On July 24, 1965, #StLCards Bob Uecker hit a home run off #Dodgers Sandy Koufax called by Vin Scully on the home broadcast and Harry Caray alongside Jack Buck on the visiting broadcast.

[Caleb Thompson @CalebThompson11]

@obbietylertodd Go Dogs

[Caleb Thompson @CalebThompson11]

@mitchtidwell 3 words have helped guide each wedding sermon. Aim to be: short, simple, and sincere.

[Caleb Thompson @CalebThompson11]

@matthewalapine His writing on the implications of the utter irrationality of sin was maybe the most impactful teaching in undergrad.

[Caleb Thompson @CalebThompson11]

@cwilson0125 @jasonkovacs Hi Chris, I have actually just started as a new pastor. One role is overseeing community groups. I see and believe in their value, but also want to avoid any potential ditch that you have experienced. If you do have guidance or insight of caution/wisdom I’d be grateful to learn!

[Caleb Thompson @CalebThompson11]

@birdchadlouis Hi Chad! I’m interested in hopping in on this reading plan if you could share it? Blessed each week by your insights and teaching!

[Chad Bird @birdchadlouis]

Our Life in the Wilderness

The Bible begins in a garden (Eden) and ends in a city (New Jerusalem). In between, there’s lots of time in that dry, desert territory known in Hebrew as the מִדְבָּר (midbar).

The midbar is usually translated as “wilderness” or “desert.” Israel spent 40 years wandering in this midbar. David was driven into the midbar by Saul. And Jesus spent 40 days being tempted in the midbar by the devil.

The Hebrew name of Numbers is Bamidbar, “in the wilderness,” taken from the opening sentence, “The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness [bamidbar] of Sinai…”

We’ve talked before about the theological nature of the biblical landscape. Rivers, deserts, mountains, seas, valleys, and fields are (what we might call) “Geographical Dogmatics.” Israel even puts sin on the map at times, such as Massah (“Test”) and Meribah (“Quarrel”) in Exodus 17:7. At other times, they put divine grace on the map, such as at Gilgal (“Rolling”), where the Lord “rolled away” the reproach of Egypt from them via circumcision (Joshua 5:9).

Sometimes a map is just as helpful, if not more helpful, than a commentary when reading the Scriptures.

The midbar/wilderness is iconic of a place of deprivation, suffering, want, and need. It is the anti-Eden, the godforsaken place, where the children of God undergo testing in life. In the wilderness, the Lord humbled Israel, testing them, letting them hunger and feeding them with manna, that they might know “that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (Deut. 8:2-3).

This is why Jesus, as Israel-reduced-to-one-man, endured his temptation in the wilderness, where he too hungered and quoted to the devil this verse from Deuteronomy.

And the wilderness is where we, with painful frequency, sojourn in this life. When surrounding us are the hot, desert sands of anxiety and fear. Where we see no green grass of joy but lots of sharp rocks of grief. Where day after day, we spy no oasis of hope but only a horizon of despair. Here, too, is the place we enter when we rebel against God and think we’ll create our own utopias out of the raw materials of greed or lust or power, only to find our souls are full of sand.

That, too, is one reason that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. He knows the place where you are. He’s been there, hungry and thirsty and attacked. And he is there now, with you, in whatever wilderness you might find yourself. To bring you a cup of the sweet water of hope in the drought of your despair. To lead you out of the heat of fear and into the shade of peace. And gently but firmly to guide you away from your failed utopias of sin and into the paths of forgiveness and righteousness.

Jesus is the God of the garden, the city, and the wilderness. Wherever you are, he is close at hand, ready and eager to heal, love, forgive, and sustain you.

[College GameDay @CollegeGameDay]

"I did it, I'm here and I know he's proud."

Tyler Trent's legacy continues to carry on as his brother Ethan is now a walk-on for Tyler's beloved Boilermakers 💛

@JenLada | #CollegeGameDay

[Caleb Thompson @CalebThompson11]

@bradleybrisco Thank you! This is really helpful.

[Matt Smethurst @MattSmethurst]

Shared this in yesterday’s sermon. Great image.

[Russell Moore @drmoore]

. @timkellernyc: “You know what? Everything’s going to be alright.”

[Caleb Thompson @CalebThompson11]

@abaselineview Wonderful! A second S.I. connection, albeit not current, is Scott Williams (my uncle) from Harrisburg played on the first ever FAU basketball team.

[Caleb Thompson @CalebThompson11]

@TheCatOnBallyTV Too good! Thank you Jim! This was wonderful