2-D or 3-D?

“What we are looking for in reading the Bible is the ability to turn the two-dimensional words on paper into a three-dimensional encounter with God, so that the text takes on life and meaning and depth and perspective and gives us direction for what to do today.” ― Scot McKnight[1] We have all heard debates…

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Stop and Think

Part of my morning routine is to read my Bible. This morning I read Job 4, Psalm 20, and 2 Corinthians 5. There is a natural progression to the words I found this morning. “Stop and think! Do the innocent die?     When have the upright been destroyed?” – The words of Eliphaz to Job (Job…

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La La Land

  Spoiler Alert: This blog will give you some general knowledge of the basic plot line of the movie La La Land. This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends…

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Warriors of Ephraim or Living Water

In Genesis, we read that Ephraim was the son of Joseph who was the son of Jacob. The descendants of Ephraim were considered one of the tribes of Israel and came to be associated with the northern tribes such that the tribe name, Ephraim, often stood in for the whole of the northern tribes after…

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A Tale of Florin

Sometimes when I read passages of the Bible that I have read many times, they lose their horror for me. I am not shocked by them anymore. I suspect that this is true for many of us. That is the way I feel about 2 Samuel 11. It has lost its power to shake up…

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The Garments of God

I read the Gospel of John 19:23-25 recently. It is about the crucifixion of Jesus and various things associated with his death. It speaks of the Roman soldiers dividing his clothes among themselves and then it says, “now the tunic (khiton, the garment worn next to the skin) was seamless, woven in one piece. So…

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Nothing Sacred

Today, I saw second Timothy chapter 3 with greater understanding. The whole chapter speaks into the contrast between those who “love pleasure” and those who “love God.” Those who love pleasure are said to  Love only themselves and their money  Be unloving and unforgiving Slander others Be unforgiving Be cruel Hate what is good  Betray…

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I Can’t Help Myself

Words and Music by Sandra McCracken; from the album “In Feast or Fallow” (Listen while you read) I confess the things I am afraid of: thorns and danger just around the bend I pray for tongues of fire and bands of angels to come and circle ’round me like a fence I lift my eyes…

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Targum on Psalm 121:2

A targum (see the definition here) continued. Psalm 121:2. My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. The Lord, who has the resources The Lord, who is just The Lord, who has the power The Lord, who has the plan The Lord, who has shown His love The Lord, who knows me better…

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Targum on Psalm 121:1

In the first century AD Jewish Rabbis would give spoken explanations and expansions of the Jewish scriptures known as targumim (singular: “targum“).1 A targum was given in the common language of the day because the Hebrew language was in decline and the people needed an explanation of material that they could no longer understand. There…

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