Archive for "February, 2012"
CURRENT EVENT – MARCH 4, 2012
The knot of 100 black-clad protesters strode out under an anarchist banner through the heart of Athens, their cry simple as it was stark: “bread, education, freedom!” But for all the sound and fury passers-by barely seemed to notice their fist-waving presence.
A WORD FROM THE EDITOR – MARCH 4, 2012
Sometimes, when I listen to people talk, I think that wisdom has yet to really come into the world–that it has a long way to go. But in Proverbs 8, the biblical writer gives a voice to the godly quality of wisdom, and Wisdom says that she’s been around “from the beginning, before the world began” (v. 23).
REFERENCE SHELF – MARCH 4, 2012
Wisdom’s self-description reaches new heights in these verses. Her attributes are no longer merely confined to the practical needs of mortals and their mundane confines. Rather, she now discloses her universal and cosmological dimensions, and particularly her relationship to Yahweh. The opening verse asserts that the Lord “created” wisdom.
DEVOTIONAL – MARCH 4, 2012
We’ve all heard stories that begin something like this: “Once upon a time, in a land far, far away.” In today’s passage from Proverbs, we read a story with a different beginning.
CURRENT EVENT – FEBRUARY 26, 2012
Almost a year ago Greg Gibbs was on a ladder, going after the last fruit on a tree. Seconds later the ladder gave way and he fell on a concrete walkway, breaking a couple of ribs.
A WORD FROM THE EDITOR – FEBRUARY 26, 2012
Our passage this week follows a familiar pattern in Paul’s letters. First, there are theological truths about the nature of our spiritual lives, and then, there is a list of practical applications for those truths.
REFERENCE SHELF – FEBRUARY 26, 2012
The division between the end of chapter 5 and the beginning of chapter 6 is difficult to determine precisely. In a sense, 5:25-26 are transitional verses, which conclude the section 5:16-24 and also look forward to 6:1-10. The Greek word for “Spirit,” which has been the major theme of 5:16-24, appears twice in 6:1 (in different forms) and again twice in 6:8.
DEVOTIONAL – FEBRUARY 26, 2012
When our daughter was young, my husband and I often played the happy face game with her. When she became grouchy, we would begin to look around the house for Emily’s happy face.
CURRENT EVENT – FEBRUARY 19, 2012
It’s a rare group of kids who will just get started willy-nilly. They want to know what’s happening. They need and like rules. Rules give them a sense of boundaries and expectations. With rules they all know what is happening and this give them a sense of control.
A WORD FROM THE EDITOR – FEBRUARY 19, 2012
Sometimes the Apostle Paul can have discussions that are very powerful, but you don’t always know exactly what he’s talking about. So it is helpful to me to write down definitions or make flow charts sometimes when I read his epistles.
REFERENCE SHELF – FEBRUARY 19, 2012
The opening phrase of chapter 4 (“My point is this” NRSV) indicates that the function of the following paragraph (4:1-7) is primarily a recapitulation of 3:23-29. And yet the restatement of the argument comes with new images and an intriguing parallelism in 4:4-7.
DEVOTIONAL – FEBRUARY 19, 2012
I must admit that the idea of being an “heir” of the kingdom of God bothers my sense of independence and fairness. Does it imply that simply because of my birth into a family that happens to be made up of Christians, I benefit from an inheritance not afforded to others?