Add undocumented, unreliable optimizations to the dangers of using custom Parcelable objects in bundles — tl;dr — If you create a custom Parcelable with a View.OnClickListener and send the object to a Fragment using a Bundle, the OS will pass the data copy-by-reference (not actually parceling the data) and the receiving fragment can access the original OnClickListener in nearly all cases. However, this is a…

A brief tutorial and a sample prayer through Psalm 103 — After making the case that Israel’s divinely inspired hymnbook (i.e. the Psalms) is an excellent “instrument for theological instruction,” Tim Keller goes further in his book entitled The Songs of Jesus to describe them as something to be experienced. He says, ‘Psalms, then, are not just a matchless primer of…

Two quizzes to test the accuracy of your conceptions about the two parts of the Bible — Is the God portrayed in the New Testament the same God portrayed in the Old Testament? The stereotypes of a “fire and brimstone, wrathful” old testament god and a “love conquers all” new testament god are prolific in our culture. Consequently, it’s very hard to believe they are the same…

Ascent Song 5: He got us out of dodge. — This short psalm, which was written by David, is like the leader of a group of people that narrowly escaped an enemy because God got them out of a very difficult situation at the last minute trying to make the group of people realize how narrowly they escaped and how…

Ascent Song 4: This is our most desperate hour — When trying to rewrite the first verse of this short psalm, the words “You’re my only hope” came to mind. This, of course, reminded me of the scene from Star Wars where Princess Leia records a short message to Obi-Wan Kenobi. So I made the first two verses kind of…

Ascent Song 3: A City Meant for Unity — This one is a pretty straightforward praise and prayer for Jerusalem written by David, but I did learn more about the city. Specifically, how it was designed as a politically neutral place for the tribes to come together with a shared vision to lead their nation. In the same way…

Ascent Song 2: Wherever you go, he’s got you covered. — This one goes from a well-known meditation to a proclamation of God’s protective ability. The image that I get is of a perfect bodyguard. For a reliable version, please see the English Standard Version. I often find myself thinking of ways to get a tactical advantage (like having the high ground), but I need to remind myself my greatest advantage.

Ascent Song 1: A prayer, a taunt, and self pity — This short one has three distinct sections. A prayer (1–2), a taunt (3–4), and a statement of self pity (5–7). I picture a man talking to himself alone, slightly discouraged. It’s worthy of note that this is the first psalm in a grouping of 15 psalms that start with the…

The longest chapter in the bible, and a mega acrostic poem — This is the longest chapter in the bible with 176 verses. Twenty-two 8 verse stanzas each starting with the successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. So it is like Psalm 111 & 112, except it gives eight verses instead of one for each letter. Like my rewriting of those two…