Every student of Communication 101 understands the significance of knowing his or her audience. Peter’s and Paul’s speeches in Acts chapters 2 and 17 demonstrate the value of communicating in a way that connects.
So, for whom should we write? Each week I may choose to write for a different audience. And yes, this does influence my phrasing and selection of material, just as it did for Peter, Paul and the writers of the Gospels. Continue reading “For whom should we write?”
My wife, Julia, dropped this little piece of wisdom on me the other day, “Diamonds don’t do dishes.”
I was doing the dishes at the time and stopped to chew on the value of her statement. Diamonds are not this girl’s best friend, a husband who helps is! Continue reading “Diamonds don’t do dishes”
The secular education system has been under attack for some time, mostly being undermined from within. Now, learning is being dismounted because it is attributed to white supremacy. Time will tell whether the foundations of civilization will give way completely.
Spiritually, a similar attack has been going on for years, albeit with different motivations. One example is the emerging church movement. People prefer to find what they consider to be their own truth, rather than search the Scriptures for God’s truth. Feelings win over facts. Action is better than words. Continue reading “Everything turns on education”
“Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me” (Isaiah 49:16 ESV).
Almost everyone has times of despondency and depression, periods when it seems that everyone and everything is against us and nothing is going right. The prophet Isaiah spoke at a time when the people of Jerusalem felt abandoned by their God. “But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me'” (Isaiah 49:14). Continue reading “Written on God’s hand”
“The Lord told Jeremiah, ‘Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take with you some of the leaders of the people and some of the leaders of the priests. Go out to the part of the Hinnom Valley that is near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Announce there what I tell you.’” (Jeremiah 19:1-2 NET)
The Hinnom Valley. In Jeremiah’s time this was an area associated with one activity: idol worship. And not just any false gods were worshipped here but what would seem to be the worst ones, the ones when children were sacrificed. Jeremiah described what went on in this valley to the south of Jerusalem through the words of God himself. Continue reading “God knows what we do”
We seem to be wired for stories. If this story seems familiar, that is good. It is not intended to be novel nor creative.
What might catch us by surprise, however, are the contextual reminders, the drawing together of various themes and its conciseness. Here then is one telling of the story … in brief. Continue reading “The story … in brief”
You can can glean ample information from someone’s hands. The hands of a mechanic will differ from those of a seamstress; the hands of a gardener will differ from those of a welder. But no matter your profession or obsession, your hands must be useful to the Lord.
Jesus’ hands were magnificent. Continue reading “The Hands of the Holy One”
And the Lord God said, “Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not be allowed to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” Genesis 3.22.
This verse is the first time in the Bible that the word hand is used. It presents a number of difficulties, but the overall message is clear.
Man became like God, knowing good and evil, and that served as the reason for removing him from the tree of life. But how can that be justification for depriving him of eternal life? Continue reading “Not allowed to stretch out his hand”
John chapter seven showed how the Pharisees hated Jesus and wanted him killed. In this chapter, the Pharisees had sent the temple guard to arrest Jesus and bring him before them.
But something happened. When the temple guard arrived, they had an opportunity to arrest the Lord but didn’t. Imagine the incredulity of the Pharisees when the temple guard returned to them with no prisoner! The guard’s reason for failing to arrest Jesus was they had never heard anyone speak like him (John 7:46). Continue reading “Rejecting Jesus like the Pharisees”
Chatting with garden friends is always a joy, as we share the ups and downs of our feeble attempts to tend the earth and subdue it.
Today, however, in sharing my happy/sad feeling of losing some more garden space to yet another beehive, I used terminology that may not have been readily understood by someone who doesn’t keep bees. And no, Evelyn did not understand what a nuc box was. Continue reading “Are you fluent in Melliferese?”