In Judaism a minyan is a quorum of ten or more adults assembled for a religious obligation such as public prayer. According to the famous 12th century Jewish rabbi Maimonides, “The prayer of the community is always heard; and even if there were sinners among them [i.e., the minyan], the Holy One, blessed be He, […]
Can we “pray a hedge of protection” around our home, church, or city? For many of us, it’s an important question. If there’s anything we understand, it is how much a parent, spouse, or pastor would love to use prayer to create a fence of security around those we love. I often think of the […]
Can a child of God “take authority” over the devil? Can we, by our prayers and appeals to the blood of Christ, “bind” the evil one? Or are such thoughts echoes of what the New Testament author Jude referred to when he said that even Michael the archangel didn’t dare to rebuke Satan but said, […]
When we talk among ourselves about miracles, gifts of the Spirit, or the covenants of God, some of us are apt to remind the others that, according to the Bible, God does not– and cannot change. Others are likely to point out that, over time, the God of the Bible has changed the ways in […]
I’ve been encouraged by the interest and involvement that many of you are giving to this blog. Your comments, questions, and willingness to use the rating tool to show how worthwhile you find a post to be are especially helpful. But here’s something I’ve been wondering. While realizing that all of us have changes of […]
To love well, we must also learn to hate. Some of what we hate, we must learn to love. Much of what comes easy will be difficult to endure. Some of what comes with work will give us rest. Riches are discovered in seeing our real poverty. Safety in a place of risk. More in […]
I don’t like to think about how many times I’ve told someone “I’ll be praying for you,” before only following through in a token way. And when I have prayed repeatedly for those I really care about– with no apparent results– I sometimes wonder why I don’t seem to be able to touch the heart […]
Years ago, I read that there are 31,173 verses in the Bible, and that the median verse, the verse at the absolute center of the Bible, is Psalm 118:8. The same source went on to say that “from the very middle of the Scripture we are reminded that, “It is better to trust in the […]
In the middle of an election year, with gas prices rising, the market falling, and the human costs of war constantly on our mind, I’ve been thinking of how inclined I am to live by the numbers. In so many ways numbers, statistics, and polls can be deceiving. On one hand, we need to measure […]
One of the things I’d like to do with this blog is to think together, not only about the things that are on my mind, but on your’s as well. I’d especially like to come together around ideas that tend to divide us to see if — together– we can find some honest and friendly […]
