Bible at Home

Spring fever at our house takes the shape of intense yearning to go swimming outdoors. The grandchildren can hardly stay away from the pool and end up with their feet, legs and arms dipped into 52 degree water and assure me that “It isn’t really cold at all.” By August they have moved on to…

Have a Chat “Mimi, could we have a chat?” It was one of my four year old granddaughter’s several delaying tactics when I was putting her to bed. Nevertheless, I said “Yes”, and turned around to sit on the side of her bed. “What would you like to chat about?” she asked. I answered, “Maybe…

Easter is like the parable of the Prodigal Son: “This son of mine was dead and is alive again! This brother of yours was dead and is alive again!” (Luke 15:23&32) and so they celebrated with feasting and rejoicing. What was lost had been restored. The job of Christ in coming at all was for…

Recently PBS presented a program called “Magnificent Beast”, the subject of pigs, their history , their characteristics, and their role in the religious life, especially of the Jews. During an interview, a rabbi said, “ Not eating pork or pork products is part of who I am. It’s part of my identity.” I couldn’t help…

Try as we might, we can never replicate the events of Palm Sunday, for they are followed by the cataclysmic events of the crucifixion. The joy that was expressed in the streets of Jerusalem when people waved palms and threw their garments on the ground, is not the same as our joy, for ours is…

Never Dated Reclining in the dentist’s chair watching a home renovation program on his overhead T.V. , I learned that the kitchen back splash, identical to the one in my own kitchen, was “dated, and had to go”. It was in good condition, as is mine, but its “datedness” made it impossible to live in…

Open the Book On Easter Sunday much of the Christian world will stand and sing the hymn “Christ the Lord is Risen Today”, a song written by Charles Wesley in the 18th century. Charles Wesley was a Methodist minister who wrote in his journal of his own conversion: “May 13, 1737. I waked without Christ,…

“Now then”,said Joshua, “Throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God out Israel” (Josh. 24:23). For a long time I believed that Joshua was asking too much of his people to adopt tunnel vision in relation to their God and turn away from all the…

The “mind of Christ” is displayed most clearly in Jesus’ conversation with Satan after forty days of fasting in the wilderness. It is there that logic and persuasion are employed by Satan in order to sway Jesus to transfer his loyalties to himself. The powerful tool the enemy uses is the Scripture itself, and Jesus…

When I took violin lessons I learned more about life than I did about the violin. My teacher said that I must learn to focus, concentrate, and relax, simultaneously. I argued that concentrating and relaxing were mutually exclusive. She answered, “Nevertheless, you must achieve this, or you will never play the violin.” As she was…