John Bainbridge, in Another Way of Living, quotes John Levee: “In America a parent puts food in front of a child and says, ‘Eat it, it’s good for you.’ In Europe, the parent says, ‘Eat it. It’s good.’ Here are two different perspectives, both true, but not equal in their motivational quality.”
How do we approach physical exercise? Is it good for us or is it good?… Continue Reading
I always find it interesting to find biblical references in common culture. It reminds me of the far-reaching influence of the Bible. The secondary headline for a brief article concerning President Obama’s 2001 visit to Ireland caught my eye. “Moneygall, pop. 296 could swell to 3,000 to toast its prodigal son.” The article described the preparations for the president’s visit to the home of his maternal great-great-great grandfather (Richard Wolfe, “Obama’s ancestral village rolls out green carpet,” USA TODAY, May 23, 2001, p.… Continue Reading
Peter concludes the first chapter of his second epistle with these words: “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.… Continue Reading
No! Some are quick to claim, “The Bible is filled with contradictions!” This claim, however, has never been proved to be true, and it is a claim that is most often made by those who have little or no knowledge of the Bible. The Bible, as the inspired Word of God, cannot contain any contradictions. What it does contain, however, as might be expected of any literary work, are apparent contradictions, that is, passages that seem to be contradictory, but which are not contradictory at all when properly understood.… Continue Reading
Before I got hearing aids, I did what most people who have a hearing loss do. I tried to make the most of what I thought I heard. It can be funny, because we sometimes think others are saying things that don’t make any sense, and then because we haven’t heard, our response may be nonsense. Sometimes I said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you,” or “Sorry, I didn’t understand what you said.”… Continue Reading
Yes! Numerous passages of scripture are directly addressed to the common person. “Husbands, love your wives … Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands … Children, obey your parents in the Lord” (Ephesians 5:25, 22; 6:1). “I write unto you, little children … I write unto you, fathers … I write unto you, young men” (1 John 2:12-13). The Bible is God’s message to humanity.… Continue Reading
“Spell checkers” are one of the great inventions of our day. Even though I am a good speller, I am sometimes a careless typist. The “spell checker” is great for catching those transposed letters that come too often from trying to type too fast.
I just recently made a discovery about my spell-checker, though. It is not always right. Not only will it not flag correctly spelled words which are not the words I meant, it also doesn’t catch some variants of words that I expected it to catch.… Continue Reading
A tune was stuck in my head. It was a jazzy clarinet tune. I was racking my brain trying to figure out what it was, and where it came from, when I happened to see a Land Rover TV commercial playing the tune. I had picked up the tune without paying attention.
Without even trying, our minds scoop up what we see, hear, smell, and feel.… Continue Reading
The Ten Commandments, found in Exodus 20, form the basis for modern western civilization. In their summary of the proper attitude to God and one another, they provide fundamental concepts that allow people to function in obedience to God. The relevance of the Ten Commandments for the Christian lies in the timeless principles they describe. Paul explained that the Christian is no longer bound by the old covenant, including the ten commandments, because Christ brought the Jew and the Gentile together, “having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace” (Ephesians 2:15).… Continue Reading
Peter concludes the first chapter of his second epistle with these words. “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.… Continue Reading
The apostle Paul wrote to the evangelist Timothy, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). This verse well-illustrates the need for understanding that word meanings may change, and we must be ever on guard against misapplying or twisting scripture, even when we try to teach the truth.… Continue Reading
