I have owned and enjoyed an iPod Nano for many years. Though I don’t use it much for music, it is a regular source for listening to podcasts and lectures. Almost from the start, however, I’ve encountered intermittent difficulty in turning it off. There are some tricks to accomplish this posted online, but they only […]
It is interesting how the Old Testament of the Bible is often in contrast with the New Testament. For example, in the story about the tower of Babel, God confuses the people’s languages and since they can no longer communicate, they scatter. He did this because they were working together; their goal was so that […]
Abraham, the great man of faith, did not always act that way. Once, when fearing for his safety, he lied to king Abimelech, claiming that Sarah was his sister and hiding the fact that they were married. Assured by Abraham’s lie, Abimelech felt free to take Sarah into his harem. Fortunately, God intervened before anything […]
Jesus’ teaching on binding and loosing is a bit perplexing and worthy of careful contemplation. A parallel passage talks about forgiving sin and is even more disconcerting. Jesus says that if we forgive someone’s sins, they will be forgiven; conversely, if we don’t forgive someone’s sins, they will not be forgiven. That is an even […]
Perhaps you’re one of the 18 million people who’ve viewed the viral YouTube video, Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus—and if not, check it out. It is simply a video of a young man reciting his poem. In it, he creatively contrasts Jesus with religion. He does so with passion and conviction, avoiding overproduced […]
In the post about the easy yoke, we learned that a yoke was essentially a Rabbi’s teaching, of what was prohibited and what was allowed. Jesus had his own yoke and he said it was easy. The process of ascertaining what things where to be prohibited, was the act of binding. To “bind” something, was […]
Jesus said that his yoke was easy; that his burden was light. What exactly does that mean? From a simple perspective, we understand a yoke to be a means to harness a draft animal in order to pull a load. Therefore, an easy yoke, one with a light burden, would be something that was not […]
I think it was Reggie McNeal who first said, “People…are not leaving the church because they have lost their faith. They are leaving to preserve their faith.” That statement may be shocking—even heretical—to some, but I suspect that for many it is enlightening, effectively explaining declining church attendance, albeit in a disconcerting and confronting manner. […]
If “wisdom” is the theme of Proverbs, then “path” may be the context. There are good paths and evil paths, straight paths and crooked paths. There are the paths of the righteous and paths of the wicked. For those who are wise and make good decisions, there is the right path, the path of life, […]
Among all the reoccurring words in Proverbs, it is “wisdom” that is the most prominent—mentioned 54 times. Wisdom, in fact, is the central theme of the book, effectively summarizing its focus and purpose. The dictionary defines wisdom as “the ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting; insight; common sense; good judgment.” […]