CLEAR – SO FAR

The last day or two brought a flurry of comments, especially about the idea that I suggested regarding closing the door on those who stand in opposition to God’s ways.  I am sure that in a one page Today’s Word I did not communicate perfectly what I had in mind.  All to the good since as…

Holiness by Extension

If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.  Romans 11:16  ESV Root – Nothing too unusual about this word, rhiza.  Root of a plant.  Foot of a mountain.  Depths of the sea.  By the time rabbinic Judaism developed in the…

Worship in Corinth

That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.  1 Corinthians 11:10 ESV Because of the angels – Sometimes when you have half a conversation in a letter from another culture and another time, you can barely figure out what the argument was all about. …

Moses, Jeremiah and Isaiah

The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.  Exodus 20:21  ESV Far off – When God descends on His mountain, are you near or far off?  You might say, “Well, we aren’t at Sinai, so how can I tell?”  But if you knew that the idiomatic use…

Koinos with the Devil

 for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds  2 John 11 NASB Participates – We have koinonia fellowship with God’s chosen.  That’s what it means to become a citizen of the Kingdom.  But now John uses the same underlying verb to warn us of another kind of participation.  By saying…

Community Things

One reader in the community owns a restaurant in the St. Louis area.  He would like to hire some people, especially those attached to this community who are looking for work.  As he said, “If I can help someone, why wouldn’t I do it?” So, if you are looking for work and you think this…

Unsociable Etiquette

If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting.  2 John 10  NASB This teaching – John gets nasty.  If someone comes to you with a message that doesn’t square with the truth of the Messiah, don’t let him…

Waiting for the Day

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”  Psalm 122:1  NASB Let us go – In a language without punctuation, emphasis is accomplished by word placement.  Words that come first are more strongly emphasized than words that come last.  So you won’t be surprised to find…

The Enchantments last month

I recently posted a picture of the Enchantments, a series of glacial lakes above 9000 feet elevation in the North Cascades.  I took the picture 40 years ago, but NOT in May.  Those lakes are only open in the late Fall before the snow comes.  Here is a picture of what they look like now….