joshua poehls | God is good

Romans 11:33

2026-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

This week is Romans 11:33 from Fighter Verses: Set 1, Week 4. I’ve divided up Romans 11:33–36 into two weeks for our family.

CSB

Oh, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways!

Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Rm 11:33.

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John 1:12–13

2026-06-08T00:00:00+00:00

This week is John 1:12–13 from Fighter Verses: Set 1, Week 3.

CSB

But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.

Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Jn 1:12–13.

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Deuteronomy 10:12–13

2026-06-02T00:00:00+00:00

This week is Deuteronomy 10:12–13 from Fighter Verses: Set 1, Week 2.

CSB

And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you except to fear the LORD your God by walking in all his ways, to love him, and to worship the LORD your God with all your heart and all your soul? Keep the LORD’s commands and statutes I am giving you today, for your own good.

Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 10:12–13.

Hebrew

וְעַתָּה֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל מָ֚ה יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ שֹׁאֵ֖ל מֵעִמָּ֑ךְ כִּ֣י אִם־לְ֠יִרְאָה אֶת־יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ לָלֶ֤כֶת בְּכָל־דְּרָכָיו֙ וּלְאַהֲבָ֣ה אֹתֹ֔ו וְלַֽעֲבֹד֙ אֶת־יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ בְּכָל־לְבָבְךָ֖ וּבְכָל־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃ לִשְׁמֹ֞ר אֶת־מִצְוֹ֤ת יְהוָה֙ וְאֶת־חֻקֹּתָ֔יו אֲשֶׁ֛ר אָנֹכִ֥י מְצַוְּךָ֖ הַיֹּ֑ום לְטֹ֖וב לָֽךְ׃

K. Elliger, W. Rudolph, and Gérard E. Weil, Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, electronic ed. (Stuttgart: German Bible Society, 2003), Dt 10:12–13.

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Deuteronomy 7:9

2026-05-25T16:46:09-05:00

This week, our family is memorizing Deuteronomy 7:9 from Fighter Verses: Set 1, Week 1.

CSB

Know that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps his gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love him and keep his commands.

Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 7:9.

Hebrew

וְיָ֣דַעְתָּ֔ כִּֽי־יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ ה֣וּא הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים הָאֵל֙ הַֽנֶּאֱמָ֔ן שֹׁמֵ֧ר הַבְּרִ֣ית וְהַחֶ֗סֶד לְאֹהֲבָ֛יו וּלְשֹׁמְרֵ֥י מִצְוֹתָ֖ו לְאֶ֥לֶף דֹּֽור׃

K. Elliger, W. Rudolph, and Gérard E. Weil, Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, electronic ed. (Stuttgart: German Bible Society, 2003), Dt 7:9.

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Five Ways the Word Purifies Us

2026-05-11T18:45:00-05:00

Robert Purnell lists five ways that God’s Word purifies His saints:¹

The Word is purifying (John 15:3). You are clean through the Word that I have spoken to you. Now, the Word purifies in several ways:

As an antidote against sins. “Your word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Ps. 119:11).

As a lamp discovering the spot. “I had not known sin but by the law” (Rom. 7:7).

As a star conducting to Christ, the fountain of purifying (1 John 2:1-2; Zech. 13:1).

As a rule, according to which we are heedful to order our conversation: “Wherewith shall a young man cleanse his way, but by taking heed thereto, according to your word?” (Ps. 119:9).

As a motive in the precious promises of it: “Having therefore these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit” (2 Cor. 7:1).

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William Perkins on Preaching

2026-04-06T19:16:28-05:00

The elements of preaching, as summed up by William Perkins in 1592:¹

Preaching involves:

Reading the text clearly from the canonical Scriptures.

Explaining the meaning of it, once it has been read, in the light of the Scriptures themselves.

Gathering a few profitable points of doctrine from the natural sense of the passage.

If the preacher is suitably gifted, applying the doctrines thus explained to the life and practice of the congregation in straightforward, plain speech.

The heart of the matter is this:
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Two Ways To Not Use A Bible Reading Plan

2022-03-29T07:52:10-05:00

Here’s the idea.

You want to read your Bible in roughly a year. Or at least you want to make steady progress.
You don’t like being tied to a specific reading plan. You like the flexibility to pick what book to read next.
You want to make sure you actually do read through the whole Bible. Without a plan, it is easy to end up rotating through your favorite books and avoid others longer than you realize.

If that sounds like you, I have two strategies that may help. I’ve been using one of these for a couple years now, and the other is fairly recent.

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Parse .NET TimeSpans in a Tableau Calculated Field

2019-10-28T23:03:55-05:00

Here’s a formula you can use to create a calculated field in Tableau for converting strings in the format of .NET TimeSpan values to a total number of seconds.

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Resources for Studying Zephaniah

2018-11-14T13:41:40-05:00

I’ve been studying through Zephaniah recently, prompted by the recently released ESV Expository Commentary (Volume 7): Daniel–Malachi. The commentary on Zephaniah is written by Jason DeRouchie who I’ve been following since his How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament, which is fantastic.

Aside: Andy Naselli’s companion volume, How to Understand and Apply the New Testament, is equally fantastic. I read it first and I’m still working through DeRouchie’s volume.
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Greek New Testament Narrated by Theo Karvounakis

2018-09-24T09:52:40-05:00

I recently discovered an excellent narration of the Greek New Testament. It is freely available for download and streaming; the links are below.

Stream on YouTube with text that follows the audio
Download the MP3s
Read along at Biblia.com

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Vincent van Gogh - The Letters

2017-11-10T08:54:57-06:00

Vincent van Gogh - The Letters is an amazing archive of documents. Searchable, with facsimiles, translations, and including even the original sketches. Van Gogh seems like a fascinating person and the letters contain some gems.

Someone has a great fire in his soul and nobody ever comes to warm themselves at it, and passers-by see nothing but a little smoke at the top of the chimney and then go on their way.
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The Bible Project: Justice

2017-11-07T13:19:24-06:00

Justice has been a recurring theme that stands out to me as I read the Bible. This video from The Bible Project is really helpful to understand the biblical themes righteousness and justice.

Humans are set apart from all other creatures as the image of God… This identity is the bedrock of the Bible’s view of justice. All humans are equal before God and have the right to be treated with dignity and fairness, no matter who you are.
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Think Clearly

2017-11-06T22:36:19-06:00

My desire is to think clearly about concepts and then communicate them intuitively to others. I am particularly interested in the ideas and advancements that affect our lives spiritually and emotionally.

—Jonathan Collins (co-founder of The Bible Project), http://www.jonpdx.com/

PowerShell Script Boilerplate

2017-11-06T01:18:00-06:00

This post is as much for me as it is for you. I write a lot of PowerShell scripts and they tend to follow a certain pattern. This is my personal boilerplate for PowerShell scripts.

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Bible Quiz: Deu 7:9, 10:12-13

2016-01-18T00:00:00+00:00

Hundreds of verses forgotten. Yep, that’s what happen to me. I joined up with our church’s Bible Quiz team as a teen and memorized hundreds of verses for competition. Looking back, it is one of my favorite things I did growing up. Unfortunately, that was many years ago and with little practice comes much forgetfulness.

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