Category Archives: Bible

September 18, 2012 · 10:02 am

“For I know the plans I have for you…”

“In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the Lord at its border. It will be a sign and witness to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them. So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the Lord. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and keep them. The Lord will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.

In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, ‘Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.’ “

Isaiah 19:19-25

This passage from the prophet Isaiah came up this morning. It raises so many thoughts relative to the news of the day that one’s mind flies from one idea to the next, trying to capture it all. But among all the thoughts of great prophetic deeds done thousands of miles away, there is one thought supremely close at hand.  I want to stick with that. Continue reading →

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September 3, 2012 · 1:09 pm

On the Redeemer and the Exodus, through Psalm 105 (with thanks to Lisa Tenney)

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!

Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!

Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!

Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually!

Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,

O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones!

The beginning of Psalm 105

 This morning, the daily reading app (at YouVersion.com, of which I am quite fond, btw) on my phone served to me Psalm 105 which starts with this marvelous call to praise God.

I read it in the context of reading a post from another long-time member of Houston’s Church of the Redeemer (Episcopal) Lisa Tenney. Her thoughts were a joy to hear; and as I began to read this Psalm of praise and exhortation to   praise God for His mighty acts, I could not help but put the two together.

Continue reading →

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July 15, 2012 · 7:13 pm

A Visiting Preacher, Esau, and looking forward to Romans

This morning, we had a guest preacher, the Rev. John Newton, Canon for Life-Long Spiritual Formation for the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. He preached mainly from the Epistle reading for the day, from first chapter of Ephesians. He started in what I thought  was headed for a standard corporate-church theme of God’s blessings (“we need to realize that God has already blessed us, yadda, yadda, yadda …”)  Yes, he went there, and I can’t totally fault him for that; he has an excuse in that the point is correct.

But then he went somewhere more interesting. Continue reading →

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July 4, 2012 · 12:11 pm

On Questions and Mirrors, Truth and Images

“Would it possible to be tempted, in such a way that we miss God’s desire for us, by being part of a church that is almost perfect?”

As an answer to the question, I will suggest that part of the reason for the story of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament is to answer a related question. It is one I have sometimes heard from skeptics. It goes something like this:

“If God is real, why doesn’t he just “show up” and prove himself? Then people would believe in him! Instead, all we get are some writings in a book (and those kind of hard to understand), and the word of people like you who tell us just to ‘have faith and trust him.’
I’m sorry, but if he is real, and expects to be acknowledged, he needs to say so, directly. Then we would all see the truth, and could all believe. Until then…”

I think there is some merit to the question. Continue reading →

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June 29, 2012 · 11:19 pm

Thinking about Dirt

Over the last several weeks I have run into what is often called “The Parable of the Sower” from the Gospel According to Mark (It’s also in Matthew and Luke, but this month, it always seemed to come up in Mark). If you ever had any exposure at all to stories from the Bible, you probably remember this one; on its simplest level, it tells of a man sowing seed, somewhat randomly. The seed falls on four different kinds of dirt, and the story explores what happens to that seed in each. The link to the story is here: Mark 4:2-9. But what does it all mean? And why did Jesus say it that way at all? Well, as our good fortune would have it, Jesus’ followers asked those questions too, and He told them. We can read it right there in Mark. No need for fancy interpretation, “…move along, nothing to see here, it’s all been explained….”
However some of us can’t leave well enough alone. Here’s my addition… Continue reading →

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June 27, 2012 · 10:16 pm

Bring to the Light …

I have mentioned the persistent presence in my thought of Ephesians 5:13

“But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.”

-That even those things that bring shame can bring the light of God if exposed to the light.

But in this, as in so many things, I must confess that my thoughts are more persistent than my deeds.

There is an area that I have been reluctant to bring to the light. But a fellow blogger, whose comments I have greatly valued both here and on her site, has inspired me to make real this idea, which I so often profess.

I bring it up now only on trust that it might do someone some good; either to know that someone else has walked this path and come out the other side, or to know what I learned about my own dis-ordered thoughts, or just that they are not alone. Continue reading →

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April 16, 2012 · 8:54 am

On the upper room, peace, and scars

Very interesting message this past week from the Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, Bishop of Texas (Episcopal). Now, having participated (on the losing side) in some minor ways in the recent wars of the Episcopal Church, I am not automatically receptive to most bishops, including my own. But here I think Bp Doyle got it exactly right:

He was preaching from John 20:19-26, The post-resurrection appearance of Jesus to the disciples in the upper room. Continue reading →

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February 24, 2012 · 9:31 pm

“And the Word became flesh…” “The Gospel According to John” Chapter 1 (cont.)

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'”)16 And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. Continue reading →

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February 24, 2012 · 9:18 pm

“In the Beginning” – “The Gospel According to John” Chapter 1

In case anyone should stumble upon these notes while trying to learn something about “The Gospel According to John”  and of the Christ John presents, I feel compelled to again offer an apology and an explanation. My posts on this topic as part of a project of writing through this account of the Gospel, with the primary end in view as the revelation of my own ignorance, and clarification of my own thought. I am no scholar, as will be painfully obvious.  Nor am I a cleric. But I have discovered that one of the best ways to learn something is to try and explain it for someone else. To that end, I welcome your input in these writings; your questions, your comments, and (most helpfully), your challenges.

1 In the beginning was the Word, Continue reading →

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February 8, 2012 · 9:31 pm

“The Evolution of Adam” byPeter Enns: some early thoughts

I have been very slowly reading through The Evolution of Adam  by Peter Enns. I am nowhere near the end, not even up to the meat of his topic, which I understand is to involve an examination of Pauline soteriology, how sin and its consequences entered into humanity via the sin of our one proto-elder,  and that we are saved from sin and its consequences through the action and sacrifice of Jesus.  I understand that Ennis intends to look at this teaching in light of current thought about evolution, with an expected absence of a unique common “Adam,” and also of current academic thinking about the nature of the Old Testament scriptures. The topic interests me greatly. Continue reading →

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