It’s summertime! * And with it come visions of barbecues, long summer days, walks in the woods and glorious starry nights. All these powerful aspects of nature have been a focus the past few months while preparing three talks for a Bible conference on Scriptural Metaphors in Nature. What a powerful topic and the two […]
Light: Three Distinct Biblical Uses
Everyone knows what light means – whether it’s the child convinced it’s all that stands between monsters and his bed, or the person appreciating street lamps after leaving the theater. It just makes life better, easier, happier. In fact, light is defined as the energy source for illumination, the very power that makes sight possible.But […]
“Parables, Presidential Elections, and $$: Sorting out Economic Quandaries”
With a US presidential election only months away, there is a lot of public talk about wealth and poverty, complete with a vast range of economic solutions offered to voters. About the only solution I haven’t heard is a candidate saying: “Let’s see what Jesus has to say about the subject.” Given how many of […]
Luke and his Special Affection for Widows
Discovering biographical data about writers of Scripture is tough–so many centuries ago, questionable sources, different ideas about using others’ more famous names, etc. We probably know as much about Luke, however, the evangelist/writer/historian, as any author. In addition to his Greek nationality and professional background as a physician, Luke uses the ‘we’ pronoun in parts […]
The Shrewd Steward: Puzzler of a Parable!
I remember reading about Jesus’ parables and laughing as a minister confessed, when asked if he would ever write a book on them, that the pastor would when he finally understood “The Shrewd Steward” (see Luke 16:1-13). By that time he had only been preaching about 50 years. I share that because if you’ve ever […]
