Category: Revelation
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Learning the Language
In his book Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God, Tim Keller amplifies a point made by Eugene Peterson, …our prayers should arise out of immersion in the Scripture. We should “plunge ourselves into the sea” of God’s language, the Bible. We should listen, study, think, reflect, and ponder the Scriptures until there is an…
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All Outta Context
Last Sunday many churches heard Luke’s report of Jesus’ appearance on the first night after he rose from the dead. Jesus was, indeed, revealed in breaking bread. But he criticized and lectured those he greeted before they got to the table. The picture above is a redacted version of a meme posted by a preacher…
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“The Lazarus Narrative”
On the Fifth Sunday in Lent, many Christians will hear the report of Jesus raising Lazarus from the grave. It is recorded in Chapter 11 of the Gospel of John, linked here rather than paste here a long text over which you’ll likely skip and skim. …Did you read or play it? You really should.…
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Non-Hoops March Madness
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea make a noise and all that is therein. Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it; then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the LORD. (Psalm 96:11-12, New Coverdale Version) We are in the annual tug…
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Unbecoming
I watched the first season of Becoming Elizabeth on Starz. Well done, although the cruelty that is presented (necessary to the story as it conveys the events and the times) appeals less and less to me as I age. Maybe I’ve grown as a disciple of Jesus; maybe I’m just more sensitive to pain and…
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Peak Experiences
Decades ago I read the memoir of Sir Edmund Hillary. He described an interlude in his adventuring during which he went home to New Zealand. What chased him back to adventure was waking up one morning “hungover” – not just from alcohol but from rich food and assorted “good things of life.” A friend and…
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Still Standing
Studying Revelation 5 with some pals at breakfast, I tried to illustrate my strongest impression of the chapter with some handy tabletop items. I think you had to be there… in this post I’ll try to recreate it. You’ll get none of the spontaneity and discussion, but all of the theological mediocrity (but hopefully not…
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That Dang Supply Chain
Reading through the Revelation (and, in many churches, hearing from it in the current Sunday lessons) conjures up that feeling of high demand and low supply. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (6:10) There’s a high demand…
Northern Plains Anglican 