For some, the worldwide crisis of the body — the coronavirus pandemic, if that is what it is — has become a crisis of the soul.
Can the soul in flight from God and in pursuit of worldly things — the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life — deal with the isolation and the quarantine of the body? Continue reading “Crisis of body and soul”
Jesus was arrested and stood trial at night in violation of the Sanhedrin’s own rules. He had been beaten and slapped by the Temple’s soldiers. When Pilate received the case, the Jews changed the charge from blasphemy to treason because they knew the Romans would not crucify Jesus except for a violation of Roman law. He was judged innocent, yet he was scourged, mistreated and crucified.
After several hours on the cross, the Son of God neared the end of his life. As death drew near, he said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit,” (Luke 23:46 NET). Continue reading “Into your hands”
“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8 NKJV).
For the past couple of months I have been in Bangladesh. It was spring here when we arrived, and is now officially summer. As elsewhere, spring is a time of moderate weather and, generally, some wind or breeze. Those breezes typically lessen as summer arrives. Continue reading “Give the winds a mighty voice”
One of the most impressive things about Jesus was how much he cared for people.
The Greek concept of God was that of an impersonal and uncaring being. In fact, the Greeks thought their gods were just too self-centered to care. Greeks could not conceive of a deity that could sympathize with humans. The thought was foreign to them.
Yet, Jesus showed great compassion for people. In John 11:33, the sight of Mary weeping evoked powerful emotion from Jesus. The verse tells us, “When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled” (John 11:33 NASB). Continue reading “Jesus groaned”
The editor takes another look at how to preserve the unity of the Spirit in Ephesians 1:1-7. He mentions the conformity of unity, the attitude of unity, the effort for unity, the basis for unity and the diversity for unity. Continue reading Preserving the Unity of the Spirit
Whether you support his political views or not, you’ve got to admit that President Barack Obama possesses deadeye aim. In an interview with CNBC this past Tuesday, the President was bothered by a pesky fly. Attempts to shoo it were unsuccessful, so Obama waited for it to settle on the back of his hand. Continue reading Wouldn't Hurt A Fly
In reading reviews others had written about a product I was thinking of buying, I was abruptly stopped by one. In discussing what he did and didn’t like about the product, the man mentioned that he uses a wheelchair. For some reason that surprised me. Why? Continue reading A Window Into The Soul
Though the practice has been around for some time, I had not seen it before. Gathered at a cemetery where a loved one’s remains were about to be interred, we witnessed a moving scene. One basket containing three white doves was opened; the doves flew overhead but did not depart. Continue reading Fly Away Home
With the Super Bowl just days away, it’s time to set up our home entertainment center. We’ll begin with the flat screen TV and we’ll go conservative: an off-brand and a modest size (42″) will cost around $700. Of course, we’ll need to add the surround sound speaker system, and that goes for about $500 (again, we’re being conservative). High definition has to be added to our cable package, and a digital recorder will ensure that we don’t miss a single play of the game. Continue reading A Home Edification Center