The letters of Paul keep getting shorter, and in fact, that is probably why they were arranged in the order they are – from longest to shortest. Philemon is a friend of Paul’s, and Paul writes him because he found one of Philemon’s slaves, a man named Onesimus. The point of the letter is for Paul to convince Philemon to accept Onesimus back without punishing him, and even more, to treat him as a brother and not as a slave.
April 19
I think they may figure out that it was me. “Jalali said Iranian experts have traced the Stuxnet virus back to the U.S. state of Texas and Israel, IRNA reported. Western experts say only a number of powerful countries could have developed Stuxnet.”
Is Rob Bell a Christian? John MacArthur explains why he is a false teacher.
TMC is ranked as one of the 25 colleges with the best professors. My dad went to the school ranked #1 in the list of schools with the worst professors (but he paid much less).
Randy Alcorn answers the question, “How do I know how much to give and how much to save?”
Piper explains in this series of brief audio clips why pornography is the symptom and not the cause of the sin. He also laments a greater evil. It’s a powerful message.
Last night at our house.
1-2 Timothy, Titus
1 Timothy
Paul had a disciple that he sent to Ephesus to be the pastor of the church there. But Timothy was young and needed some advice. This letter is so helpful to us today because we learn a lot of things about how a church should run. For instance, we learn about what is good worship and what is bad, what are good leaders and who should not be allowed to lead, how to treat widows, and the danger of money.
2 Timothy
This is almost certainly Paul’s last letter. He probably wrote it very shortly (a few days, a few weeks?) before he was executed by the Roman government. He wrote this letter from prison to encourage Timothy to be strong and persevere even though Paul would not be with him to help him. When I was younger, this was one of my favorite books. (It could still be, but I just have not spent much time reading or studying it lately.)
Titus
Paul had another young disciple that he left on the island of Crete in order to provide leadership to the churches. You ‘ll notice that he gives him some of the same advice that he gives to Timothy. My favorite passage in this book is 3:3-8.
April 13
All this to sell a phone. Impressive.
It’s not just that 85 mph may become a reality, but it’s what it tells us about Texans that I love.
Yes, another new major English translation of the Bible. If you watch the promo, they ‘ll tell you it’s because they can’t find any they can understand. But that’s a lie. The real reason is that the publisher (the United Methodists) knows they can make a lot of money, not only from sales but also by not paying royalties for other translations. Complicit in all of this are the dozens of biblical scholars who apparently don’t have anything better to do and relish the thought of putting that they were a Bible translator on their CVs, in their personal bios, on their blogs, and in their email signatures.
Here’s proof that In-n-Out is coming to Dallas and two cities close to where we live.
This 1.5-minute video is entitled “Funniest Japanese Girls Prank.” I liked it.
The best April Fool’s joke I saw this year was Google’s Autocompleter video.
Yes or No?
You don’t have to know biblical Hebrew or Greek to know that translation is difficult and there is often not a one-to-one correspondence between a word in one language and a word in another. Usually, though, you don’t find such a discrepancy as one translation reading “yes,” and another reading “no,” but you do in Genesis 17:19.
The ESV:
Ge 17:18–19 — And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.
The NIV:
Ge 17:18–19 — And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
The Hebrew has neither “yes” nor “no,” but begins God’s speech with “but.” In both the ESV and the NIV, the translators have added a word (yes/no) to make God’s response sound more natural in English. The KJV and Tanakh do without the yes/no, but most of the other translations begin with “no.”
Palestine as a Member of the UN
From the New York Times, earlier this week:
“We are facing a diplomatic-political tsunami that the majority of the public is unaware of and that will peak in September,” said Ehud Barak, Israel’s defense minister, at a conference in Tel Aviv last month. “It is a very dangerous situation, one that requires action.” He added, “Paralysis, rhetoric, inaction will deepen the isolation of Israel.”
I’m not usually surprised by what I read about the Arab-Israeli conflict, but this article suggests that things could get significantly more difficult for Israel later this year.
Efforts are still under way to restart peace talks but if, as expected, negotiations do not resume, come September the Palestinian Authority seems set to go ahead with plans to ask the General Assembly to accept it as a member. Diplomats involved in the issue say most countries — more than 100 — are expected to vote yes, meaning it will pass.
The full article is here.
Please Skip Easter Sunday Service
Tonight I received in my inbox a church newsletter (not from my church but another in my city). It begins with this paragraph:
This is a big week in the life of a church—a great celebration of His resurrection following a purposeful remembrance of His death. This year, I wonder if I might ask a favor of you: Would you be willing, as an act of outreach to our visitors, to give up your pew on Sunday morning and come on Saturday at 5:30 instead? By the grace of God, we traditionally welcome dozens of new guests on Easter Sunday, and it would be a great act of kindness to leave them plenty of room to park and sit with their families. And don’t worry…the 5:30 service will look, sound and feel just like Easter Sunday!
What do you think about this? Is this a noble thing, desiring to make it possible for visitors to come on Easter? Or does it suggest that the church is no longer the church when believers cannot gather together to worship on the morning of the Resurrection?
Pass
This morning I had my oral comprehensive exam. After two hours of questioning about issues of Bible content and interpretation, the professors informed me that I had passed the exam. I am thankful to those who prayed for me. The Lord is good to have sustained me through this long process.
Interview of Netanyahu
I would recommend to you the Youtube interview of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It’s long, but Netanyahu expresses well the Israeli perspective that you do not often get from the mainstream media. For instance, he explains why the issue of Israel building in the West Bank is a red herring. One advantage of the Youtube format is you don’t have liberal journalists controlling the questions or editing the responses.
The 27-minute interview is here (I enjoyed the first half more than the second). A shorter report of the interview is here.
Panels of Cedar
I know that it’s been a few days since I posted here last and I really owe you something interesting, but I am just tuckered out after spending all night in line waiting for the opening of the first ever In-N-Out in Dallas. I was hoping to have some insightful wisdom from Scripture, but all I can think of are stories from TV shows. I guess I can tell you about a big event in our family’s life.
We waited a long time to do it but the girls were just so excited that we finally went ahead and got them tattoos. The designs are multi-colored and though the girls cried during the process, they have stopped now. I know that some people think it is unbiblical to have permanent tattoos placed on the body (Lev 19:28) but those people are just wrong because we are not under the Law anymore! We have freedom from the Law, Prophets, and Wisdom, and we honor Jesus when we take advantage of the freedom he died to give us. Besides that, tattoos aren’t really permanent because one day you die and you can’t take a tattoo with you! Kelli and I were really convicted about our daughters ‘ purity after going to a Bill Gothard seminar and so we could think of no more loving act than to have the centerpiece of the belly tattoo read “Song of Solomon 8:9.” That is surrounded by a beautiful floral pattern, and along the base of the design is written a gentle warning: “My daddy will kill you if your not my husband!” Some people would criticize us for focusing too much on the externals and not dealing with the heart, but it’s sure a whole lot easier to do it this way! I just know that one day our daughters will thank us for loving them so much, even on April 1.