One of the Scriptures that intrigues me every time I come across is John 21:25. At the end of his book, written so that the readers might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by such belief have life through His name, John, a member of Jesus’ “inner” circle as it…
Tag: John
The Main and Plain Things
John 9:25 “…..One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” I was reading in John recently, and my attention was particularly caught by the phrase above. When this man, blind from birth and healed by Jesus, was asked by the Pharisees how he regained his sight, he focused on the…
Pruning
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:1-2) A few days ago, I happened to be driving down the road while a township…
The Goodness of the Lord
Take time to enjoy the little things, they tell us, the simple pleasures that make life enjoyable. I will be the first in line to agree with that philosophy. Lingering over a steaming cup of good coffee in the quiet stillness of the early morning. A stunning view of a gorgeous landscape spread out before…
A Push-Back Against Victim-Blaming
Last week I devoted some space here to address the way the church in particular has responded in the face of brutality and death over the last several months, and to plead for compassion and gentleness in the questions that we ask and the comments that we make. I also expressed my intention to cover…
Messiah, Part 2
This Advent season, I’m running a series of the text (libretto) to Messiah by George Frederic Handel. You’ll find below the biblical text (King James Version, of course) used in Part 2, whose theme is “The accomplishment of redemption by the sacrifice of Christ, mankind’s rejection of God’s offer, and mankind’s utter defeat when trying…