Image: Could you read on a crowded train? President Lincoln was one of many lawyer-politicians. But Lincoln did not become a lawyer because he had his eye on a career in politics. Instead, Lincoln actually hung out a shingle, becoming a small business owner, a day-in, day-out lawyer for some twenty-five years, handling both civilContinue reading “Worship During Wartime: Moses Brings a Boring Message to a Distracted Audience. Numbers 28.”
Category Archives: Read the Bible with FRESH EYES and IMAGINATION
Streaming Traffic or Bottlenecked Logjam: Finding Miracles in Large Datasets. Numbers 2.
Image: Logjam on the St. Croix River, Minnesota. As timber companies harvested America’s forests in the late 19th century, one of the easiest ways to get logs to the sawmills was to set them afloat in local rivers. But these tree-sized logs would snag on things and on each other, creating logjams. In fact, logjamsContinue reading “Streaming Traffic or Bottlenecked Logjam: Finding Miracles in Large Datasets. Numbers 2.”
Draw Up the Blueprints: Jesus is Not Only the Lamb, Jesus is the Temple. Exodus 27.
Have you ever read the Bible with graph paper and a pencil? Try it! There are many places in the Old Testament where the Bible provides so much information that with just a little attention to detail, you can produce drawings to scale. For example, call each line segment one cubit. Then count ten linesContinue reading “Draw Up the Blueprints: Jesus is Not Only the Lamb, Jesus is the Temple. Exodus 27.”
No Written Records? Close the Deal and Slap the Children: Ezra 6:1-2.
Imagine a world without writing. People simply talk. They make promises. They shake hands. When the matter is really important, they employ rituals to ensure that everyone remembers. In pre-literate England, the sale of real estate included an elaborate ritual: go to town and round up a couple of little boys, then go to theContinue reading “No Written Records? Close the Deal and Slap the Children: Ezra 6:1-2. “
Beware: False Teachers are Everywhere. Ezekiel 13:1-14.
This morning I came across some crazy ideas online. There was the guy arguing that Christians do not sin. Another said the Apostle Paul was a deceiver who ruined the faith. A preacher argued James (brother of Jesus and author of the Book of James) did not understand the gospel, and that his book containsContinue reading “Beware: False Teachers are Everywhere. Ezekiel 13:1-14.”
On Modern Art. Ezekiel 41:1-12.
Image: The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali, 1931. I attended law school at the University of Houston, a campus littered with abstract modern art, much of it consisting of odd-shaped works in iron. One day while walking across the campus with a student whom I knew to be a lover of modern poetry, weContinue reading “On Modern Art. Ezekiel 41:1-12.”
The Trail of Tears. Jeremiah 27:12.
Image: “The Flight of the Prisoners” by James Tissot, 1896, a painting of the people of Judah being driven from Jerusalem to Babylon, a Biblical “Trail of Tears.” Americans love the Bible. We print Bible verses on our tee shirts and coffee cups, stencil them on our walls, bumper-sticker them on our cars. The BibleContinue reading “The Trail of Tears. Jeremiah 27:12.”
The Fear of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 28:15.
Image: the famous “Earthrise” photo captured by the crew of Apollo 8 on Christmas Eve, 1968. Part One: a Challenge to Put Some Effort into Your Bible Reading. Most of us believe we ought to read the Bible. Many of us start. But finishing is a real challenge and a significant accomplishment. The Good Book,Continue reading “The Fear of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 28:15.”
He Tells the Best Stories. Esther 7:9.
Everyone loves a great storyteller—and there is none greater than God himself. But the Bible is not an easy read. There are not only language challenges but also the way we tell stories has changed significantly in the last four thousand years. But the best readers can get past such challenges, and the rest ofContinue reading “He Tells the Best Stories. Esther 7:9.”
His Desire is Toward Me. Song of Solomon 7:10.
I saw an interesting video from a Ring doorbell. An older British man knocked on a door and fussed at his young British neighbor who answered: “I have a complaint for you. You have caused me a great deal of trouble.” “Ay, how’s that?” “You sent flowers to my wife.” “Right, because I knew sheContinue reading “His Desire is Toward Me. Song of Solomon 7:10.”
Household Words: 