Going Home

we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.  2 Corinthians 5:8  NASB 1995 Absent – “The fantasy of escape from the struggle of existence must be deeply addressed if one is to find the vital center of one’s being.”[1] “I just…

A Tender and Delicate Sadness

“Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil.”  Job 14:1  NASB Man – I still have places to go. Katmandu, Nepal Paro Taktsang Monastery, Bhutan Skógafoss, Iceland Anse Lazio Beach, Seychelles Ashikaga Flower Park, Japan Cao Bang Ban Gioc Waterfall, Vietnam Caño Cristales, Columbia Raja Ampat, Indonesia Dongchuan, China Marble Caves, Chico, Chile…

Riddle Resolved

“Where, O death, is your victory?    Where, O death, is your sting?”  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  1 Corinthians 15:55-57  NIV Sting – Abraham Heschel once described Christianity as a religion of death. …

The End of the Game

A good name is better than good oil, and the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.  Ecclesiastes 7:1  NASB Day of one’s death – Qohelet (Koheleth, “the Teacher”) is an empirical pessimist.  That alone made the decision to place this work within the canon quite controversial.  It’s virtually impossible that the material was written by…

Six Feet Under

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”  Psalm 23:4  Woman’s Day Death – After that rant about Deuteronomy 31:8 you’re probably wondering why I would ever decide to pick another “out of…

Significance

Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness;”  Genesis 1:26a  NASB Our likeness – First, let’s look at the Hebrew: וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ Now the transliteration: Va•yo•mer Elohim na•a•se a•dam be•tzal•me•noo kid•moo•te•noo And lastly, the translation: And said God let us make man in representation (copy) ours and…

Kissing cousins (3)

and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.  Revelation 21:4  NASB Death – What do we do to blunt the reality of dying?  The answer isn’t quite so straightforward as you might imagine.  Since death…

Kissing cousins (2)

and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.  Revelation 21:4  NASB Death – Inevitability!  The quip “death and taxes” isn’t always true, but “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and “the…

Kissing cousins (1)

and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.  Revelation 21:4  NASB Eros and Thanatos What do you see in this sculpture?  What pulls you in? Does the sexuality of this angel assault you?  She exudes…

Modern Marcionites

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.  Romans 8:28  NASB Good – Marcion of Sinope was born in 85 C.E. in Turkey.  Before he died in 160 in Rome, he changed the entire Christian world forever after.  How did…