Jekyll2026-03-14T08:27:24+00:00http://biblestories.dev/feed.xmlBible Stories for Software DevelopersA light-hearted look at the Bible for people who understand code. Matt LaceyBlank pages2025-08-26T00:00:00+00:002025-08-26T00:00:00+00:00http://biblestories.dev/blog/blank-pagesIn the front and back of many books (including the bible) you’ll typically find a number of blank pages.

Yes, these are normally there due to the way books (especially ones with many pages) are bound together, but they can be more.

The blank pages at the front can be good to write dedications or messages. The ones at the back can be a good place to write notes.

I like to think of them another way.

Those blank pages at the front can be a tease. They represent the unknown. They hint at possibility and create anticipation and excitement that anything could be coming.

With the bible, the pages at the end do the exact same thing. While the end of Revelation is in one sense the end of the world, it’s not the end fo the story. No, no-one is going to add to the cannon of scripture, but the end of the bible isn’t the end of the story of Jesus, the church, or what God has, is, and will do on earth.

When you get to the end of Revelation (and skip over any maps or comparative tables of weights and measures) and you se those blank pages. Think of all that has happened since then. Think of all that God is doing today, and all that He will do in the future.

It’s almost as exciting as the pages before…

]]>Matt LaceyThe Hackathon of Babel2025-07-21T00:00:00+00:002025-07-21T00:00:00+00:00http://biblestories.dev/babel-hackathonA group of developers and technology enthusiasts came together. They initially got on well and wanted to work together to create something for the common good. Something that would benefit everybody.

They were excited about getting to use new technologies and not being told what to build. They could decide on what they worked on and would benefit from their creation.

But, this wasn’t what God wanted them to be working on.

God broke down the ability of the team to clearly communicate with each other. And, as their ability to communicate broke down, so did their relationships.

Anger and frustration grew.

Their focus became their conflict with each other and not the project they were working on. The project was never finished.

Those involved went their own ways. Never to see each other or work together again.

]]>Matt LaceyDavid’s Children2025-06-04T00:00:00+00:002025-06-04T00:00:00+00:00http://biblestories.dev/davids-childrenDavid ├── + Ahinoam (of Jezreel--wife) │ └── Amnon ├── + Abigail (wife--widow of Nabal of Carmel) │ └── Kileab ├── + Maakah (daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur) │ └── Absalom ├── + Haggith │ └── Adonijah ├── + Abital │ └── Shephatiah └── + Eglah (wife) ├ └── Ithream │ └── + Other wives and concubines ├── Shammau ├── Shobab ├── Nathan ├── Solomon ├── Ibhar ├── Elishua ├── Nepheg ├── Japhia ├── Elishama ├── Ellada └── Eliphelet ]]>Matt LaceyDavid’s Sons2025-06-03T00:00:00+00:002025-06-03T00:00:00+00:00http://biblestories.dev/davids-sonsDavid ├── + Ahinoam (of Jezreel--wife) │ └── Amnon ├── + Abigail (wife--widow of Nabal of Carmel) │ └── Kileab ├── + Maakah (daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur) │ └── Absalom ├── + Haggith │ └── Adonijah ├── + Abital │ └── Shephatiah └── + Eglah (wife) └── Ithream ]]>Matt LaceyCat person2025-06-02T00:00:00+00:002025-06-02T00:00:00+00:00http://biblestories.dev/blog/cat-personPat was a cat person. If asked, they’d happily tell you how great their cat was and how much they loved it. They didn’t just like cats. Being a “cat person” was a part of their identity. They wore a cat-shaped badge on their coat. They had a cat sticker on their car. They supported cat-related charities. When they wake up each day, the first thing they do is feed their cat. They get home at the end of their day and prioritize feeding their cat. They talk to their cat. Even though they never heard anything back, talking to their cat made them feel better. Sometimes coming home and curling up on their sofa with their cat would make them feel better. It would take away the pain of whatever had troubled them that day. Pat loved being a cat person. It made them happy and didn’t hurt anyone.

]]>Matt LaceyX because Y?2025-05-14T00:00:00+00:002025-05-14T00:00:00+00:00http://biblestories.dev/blog/x-because-yRecently I’ve been thinking a lot about explaining code. This mostly comes down to avoiding potential issues when someone else comes to read it.

I think there are three things that can be done to help make code understandable:

  1. Use names, word, and structure that aid readability and understanding.
  2. When that’s not possible, add comments that explain why the code is as it is or doing what it does.
  3. When that’s not possible or enough, create accompanying documentation (doesn’t have to only be written text) that provides the additional information.

Mostly, option 1 should be enough. Option 2 should (ideally) be an occasional solution. Option 3 should only be an exceptional case.

And then I read parts of scripture along the lines of “They did [X], because of [Y]” but from my perspective in space and time, I have no idea how ‘X’ and ‘Y’ are at all related.

I could use some comments and explanation.

Fortunately, I have multiple translations available to me and many have accompanying footnotes and commentary. I also have many separate commentaries and other resources available to me, and have enough knowledge to know where to go to find more information.

But what about those new to the bible? What if the only bible they have is one without any notes or commentary? Is this a bit like new developers thrown into a codebase they don’t understand and with no one to ask? In these situations their progress is slowed and they could end up making costly mistakes due to a misunderstanding.

Yes, I appreciate that there is value from some parts of scripture not having simple, obvious, and immediate explanations. So the analogy falls down there. But, all analogies fall down somewhere.

I don’t want to dismiss either the ability of the Spirit to work through any translation of scripture, nor your ability to write code that could never be confused or misunderstood. I just wanted to note the similarity in my mind and the importance of giving people the information and support they need to get the most from what they’re reading.

]]>Matt LaceyPreparing for Heaven?2025-05-09T00:00:00+00:002025-05-09T00:00:00+00:00http://biblestories.dev/blog/preparing-for-heavenWe are saved for an eternity with God in the new earth. The city of new Jerusalem, come down from Heaven.
But, what will it be like to live there? Are we preparing appropriately?

Pictures of “Heaven” seem highly sociable. What does this mean for introverts and those who like to spend time by themselves?

What about those how like the quiet pace of the country, rather than a bustling city?

What about those happy to spend most of their time in their own company?

What about those who like variety, variation, and every day being something different?
Or every day being basically the same?

How (and?) should we be preparing?

No answers. For no, only questions…

]]>Matt LaceyTo this day2025-04-26T00:00:00+00:002025-04-26T00:00:00+00:00http://biblestories.dev/blog/to-this-dayThere are many places in the OT where a description of an event is suffixed with something along the lines of “and it’s still there to this day” or “And that is what they are to this day.”

But, when is “this day”?

It reminds me of reading technical blog posts or documentation that doesn’t include a date or a version number.

When was this written? Is this still valid/appropriate/relevant/correct?

Anything time relative should be dated or otherwise versioned.
Ok, we can’t go back and change the Bible in this way but we can remember and apply the principle in what we create.

]]>Matt LaceyGOD vs AI2025-04-25T00:00:00+00:002025-04-25T00:00:00+00:00http://biblestories.dev/blog/god-vs-aiJoshua, chapter 8, verses 1 and 2 (with some additional capitalization)

“Then the LORD said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you and go and attack AI. For I have delivered into your hands the king of AI, his people, his city and his land. You shall do to AI and its king as you did to Jericho and its king.”
(NIV)

Who is the ‘King of AI’?
Are they, or is it, something you follow?

]]>Matt LaceyHope, even, in software development2025-03-23T00:00:00+00:002025-03-23T00:00:00+00:00http://biblestories.dev/blog/hope-even-in-software-developmentThinking, working, and writing about software development doesn’t feel very “christian”.
Yet, I keep doing it.

I was recently watching a TV program that gave me no reason to think the people involved in creating it had any knowledge, exposure, or interest in anything to do with Christ.

Then there was a small, throw-away, reference that made me know that the show’s creators (probably the writers–given the context) did have some, probably long past experiences with and knowledge of Christian culture.

It’s there. Even when we aren’t aware or can see it. God is working through everything. Including what we do.

I write on this site for multiple reasons:

  • Because formulating what I’m thinking into structured, orderly words helps me think.
  • Because I hope it might be of some interest to others with overlapping interests in Christ and software. It may also be an encouragement to those believers interested in software development to know they’re not alone.
  • Because I dream that some who don’t know Christ but have an interest in software may find their way here and see that the intellectual discipline of software creation and the faith needed to believe in Jesus don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

I do know that I think like few others and I don’t know what the ultimate purpose of benefits of this are. But, I remain hopeful that God will be able to use this site and some of the ideas herein.

]]>Matt Lacey