Matt. 16.13-18: When Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the … Continue reading Peter the “Rock”?

It is helpful to see exactly from Scripture what the world consists of since our thinking often becomes muddled. I propose to show that self-righteous, supposedly “do-gooders” are worldly. 1Jn. 2.15-17 gives the qualities of worldliness: Do not love the world or anything in it. If you love the world, love for the Father is not in you.Here is what people who belong to this … Continue reading The World and Worldliness Defined

The Prophet (I will raise up a prophet like you for them from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth and he will speak to them whatever I command.  Dt. 18.18).* Groucho Marx quipped “Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them, well, I have others.”  No human is so one-dimensional as to not have characteristics that round … Continue reading The Prophet

From the Gospel Coalition blog of Don Carson. Much of the Bible is in the form of parables that invite further examination of underlying concepts that point to a truth only found by careful digging. As Proverbs urges: if you look for her (wisdom) as for silver, then you will find the knowledge of God. Dr. Carson is right: “reflect long and often on the … Continue reading Signs, Shadows, and Symbols

The last refrain of Joni Mitchell’s song reverberates to desire for transformation out of “the devil’s bargain”: We are stardust Billion year old carbon We are golden Caught in the devil’s bargain And we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden I grew up singing along with the sentiments expressed in this iconic song — getting back to Eden and somehow righting all the … Continue reading Woodstock, the song: getting back to the garden

This is probably the most famous cylinder seal and it is scheduled to tour the US in 2013. (courtesy Artdaily) I tried to re-blog Ferrell Jenkins’ post about the US tour but could not. Jenkins posted this news at the end of Nov. 2012, here is the link: http://ferrelljenkins.wordpress.com/2012/11/30/cyrus-cylinder-scheduled-for-a-u-s-a-tour/ Continue reading The Cyrus Cylinder

Mesopotamian cylinder seals are small cylinders, generally made of stone and pierced through from end to end so that they could be worn on a string or pin. The surface of the cylinder was carved in intaglio (cut into the stone) with a design, so that when rolled on clay the cylinder would leave a continuous impression of the design, reversed and in relief. Cylinder … Continue reading Cylinder Seal Article (courtesy British Museum)