Painting above: Feast in the House of Simon the Pharisee, Peter Paul Rubens, 1619 ———- LUKE 7:36-50:    When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.  A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus […]
889) Really Seeing (b) Read More »
   Jim lived down the hall from me in my first year in college.  It wasn’t long before everyone in the small dormitory knew each other, so everyone knew who Jim was; but nobody knew him very well.  He was a small guy and looked like he was about fourteen years old.  He was
888) Really Seeing (a) Read More »
    (…continued)  One of the keys to this is in our understanding of faith.  Here too there is a tension in how the Bible defines and presents faith.  Is faith itself something we do, or, is it a gift of God?  We can find Bible passages that seem to describe it both ways.  Ephesians 2:8 says
866) The Problem of James (b) Read More »
   The New Testament book of James has been a source of controversy ever since it was written almost 20 centuries ago.  Martin Luther, for example, did not like it at all.  When he published his first German translation of the Bible, James was not in its usual place right after the book of
865) The Problem of James (a) Read More »
 Above: Joseph Receives his Brothers, by Gustav Dore  (1832-1883) ——————    (…continued)  Sold by his brothers into slavery, Joseph is carried away to Egypt.  There, he spends many years as a slave, and then, in jail after being falsely accused of a crime.  He, of all people, could blame his misery on his childhood;
814) Joseph’s Dysfunctional Family (b) Read More »
Painting above: Joseph’s Coat Brought to Jacob, Giovanni de Ferrari, 1640 ********************************   My Grandfather’s Son is the autobiography of Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas.  Justice Thomas was raised by his grandparents, and his story reminded me of the Old Testament story of Joseph.  Both were raised by flawed, but powerful and good men.
813) Joseph’s Dysfunctional Family (a) Read More »
Above:Â Adamou, one of Abraham’s spiritual descendants, now ‘as numerous as the stars in the sky.’ ——————————————– Â Â Â (…continued) Â Thirty years ago, the congregation I was serving sent money to help in the construction of a church building for a congregation in the African nation of Cameroon. Â Two years later, I met Adamou, the
807) Abraham and Adamou (part two of two) Read More »
Above: “Your descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and all the nations on earth will be blessed through you.” —————————————– Genesis 12:1-3…6  —  The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.  I will make you
806) Abraham and Adamou (part one of two) Read More »
   (continued…)  If one looks only on the surface, only at whether or not the people in the story get what they want, then God’s distribution of blessings and afflictions in the Bible and in all of life is indeed strange, and not at all fair.  II Kings 15 tells of the reign of
545) Suffering Builds Character (part two) Read More »
   Years ago when my kids were at home and would tell me their troubles, I’d listen sympathetically.  I would give them whatever advice I could come up with at the time, and then I’d say, “And don’t forget, as the Bible says, suffering builds character, so in the long run all this trouble
544) Suffering Builds Character (part one) Read More »
