Labor can mean many different things: 1. The pain women endure to be the bearers of life. 2. The work done to bring in a harvest. 3. The history of workers standing together against unfair practices. Freely chosen, it can be the source of some of our greatest joys. Forced, or withheld, it can break […]
The fight will go on today in declared war zones, political debates, and maybe even a blog or two. But an Apostle of Jesus teaches readers of his letters to rise above conventional forms of personal, military, or political conflict. He reminds us that our real struggle is not with flesh and blood (Eph 6:12). […]
Many of my generation grew up being wary of those who see every story of the Bible as being a picture of Jesus. We were warned by our teachers that the practice of typology (i.e. seeing people and things as a foreshadowing of Christ), if not kept in tight check, could be more about our […]
As so many of us find ourselves inspired by the competition of the Summer Games, my thoughts have also gone to one of the most amazing performances the world has ever seen. His name was Saul, and his deadly game had echoes of his namesake, the first king of Israel. As King Saul raged through […]
Was interested to read a BBC article today about an Atlanta woman who got a tattoo to celebrate her participation as a 2012 Olympic torch bearer. Only after sending a picture to a friend did she discover that her badge of honor was misspelled. The good natured woman said that, even though the parlor artist […]
Jesus isn’t remembered for saying many predictable things. But the unexpected quote that has had my attention today is when our Teacher suddenly talks to one of his most committed disciples as if he is talking to his enemy. One minute he is blessing Peter and telling him that he (Peter) had been entrusted with […]
A fascinating online science article reports that researchers have determined that the Greenland Shark is the slowest shark in the world, cruising at speeds less than 1 mile an hour. After tagging the GS for electronic data collection, the scientists also learned that it lives in near freezing water (36 degrees) farther north than any […]
We’ve often heard that the Old Testament primarily uses the Father-child relationship to picture God’s relationship with a nation (Hos 11:1). It is a collective, chosen family that is given the hope of a mysterious King/Son who then in turn is referred to as “Everlasting Father” (Psa 110:1) ( Isa 9:6). But it is primarily […]
Have been thinking again about the surprise and irony of the longest chapter in the Bible. In the Hebrew language it was poetry, a song written to express heart felt appreciation for “the revealed teaching” of the Lord. When numbers were attached to the individual “verses” of this song, the count went to 176 ways […]
Your responses to the previous question have been so good! Let me see if I can pull our thoughts together and move us a bit further. Together, we have found a man named Job at the end of his moral and mental sanity. His stature as the wealthiest, most influential, and most blessed man in […]
