MAY I NOT ONLY HEAR BUT KNOW THEE

 (Reference: I Samuel 3:7-10 “Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.  And the Lord called Samuel again the third time and he arose and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here am I , for thou didst call me.’ And Eli perceived that the…

I MISSED GOD

Have you ever missed an encounter with God?  Were you aware of the invitation of His Presence in the moment?  Or like me, did you not realize this missed opportunity with the Holy One after He had already departed, or more likely, after you walked away from Him?  That was my sad situation, yesterday.  Here…

C.S. LEWIS ON FAITH

The following comments are from my reading the chapters entitled FAITH in Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. While reading the book, these thoughts and rabbit-holes represent the journey that my mind and spirit engage as I follow the directions they take me.  I do not purport to be a Bible scholar…just a student who takes…

POINTING TO JESUS IN PSALMS 40

The following comments are my wanderings thru, around and about Psalms 40 in the English bible. If they initiate any durable reflections, then they have been worth the writing. The scriptural text below is taken from a version of the Greek bible, often referred to as a version of the Septuagint – hence, the numbering…

AUGUSTINE: Called to Purity

With pen in hand, St. Augustine (354-430 AD) meditated on scriptures and the mysteries of living…all, in an attempt to tell the Lord the truth.  The result was his landmark autobiography, Confessions.  As I am reading a book on different types of prayer, the author mentions Augustine’s approach to writing prayers which is a long…

THE VIRTUE ETHIC

The following commentary is my initial review of Incarnate Love: Essays in Orthodox Ethics by Vigen Guroian.  I first read this book in 2019, but a renewed interest in the Eastern Orthodox mindset has driven me to reread these essays more carefully; recognizing that the ancient Eastern Christianity mindset, in many ways, is foreign to…

RESPONSE TO NAKED BIBLE PODCAST #443

One of my favorite scholars of whom I read and listen is Dr. Michael Heiser who wrote the landmark book, THE UNSEEN REALM. This book has absolutely revolutionized the way that I read the Bible. About the time that I discovered him, I had been desiring of the Lord to really help me connect the…

IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK: SAUL’S CONVERSION

He was from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest of all the tribes of Israel. Yet, out of this anonymity he was chosen of God to lead a life of impact upon God’s people and upon the surrounding nations. This [1]chosen one was anointed by Yahweh and [2]sanctioned by the religious authority of his day….

JESUS WAS NOT ONE OF THE PRETTY PEOPLE

“Behold, My servant shall prosper, He shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high.  According as many were appalled at thee – So marred was his visage unlike that of a man, And his form unlike that of the sons of men – So shall he startle many nations, Kings shall shut…

WHO DO YOU TRUST?

“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will make mention of the name of the Lord our God.” (Psalms 20:7).” The Back Story It is only recently that I have slowed down my reading of the Bible in order to notice such subtleties regarding references to GOD.  For example, the creator GOD…