How to Gripe in the Spirit
May 5, 2009
By Sandra Glahn
As a new Christian, I read guides that told me to pray using the acrostic “ACTS”: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. And years later when my husband and I experienced seven pregnancy losses and three failed adoptions, I found myself continually drawn to the psalms. New phrases such “How long, O Lord? (6:3) and “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (22:1) filled my prayers. And while echoing these spiritual gripes, I discovered to my surprise that the ACTS formula had left out the most common form of psalm in The Bible—the lament.
We find the psalms of lament in 6, 13, 22, 27, 44, 69, 70, 74, 102, and 142.
In these prayers of complaint I found some frequently recurring elements: (1) an introductory appeal (2) a description of what’s wrong (the lament itself) and (3) a formal request. Sometimes I’d also see evidence that the psalmist received (4) an oracle from God in response. And finally, following such an oracle, the lament usually ended in (5) an expression of confidence or praise.
Consider Psalm 12, a lament from a victim of slander:
Read the rest …
‘Old Testament Jews would memorize the Torah by age 10. In contrast, only 59% of today’s U.S. Protestants read the Bible weekly.’
April 30, 2009
A striking post by Kent Shaffer at 22 Words
Shaffer’s blog, Church Relevance
If God dictated notes to you, would you pay attention?
April 18, 2009
As I continue my year-long journey through my ESV Study Bible, I continue to find amazement.
I am currently in the thirteenth chapter of Leviticus. I have never read this book, and my only recollection of it, is of complaining people trying to muddle their way through.
Frankly, I am finding it fascinating. I think we have to step back and remember what is happening here. Holy God is physically speaking to Moses, and Moses is feverishly writing down every word.
Moses is actually in the presence of God! That all by itself stuns the daylights out of me.
Chinese Christians build first life-size replica of Noah’s Ark
April 15, 2009
Jonathan Cheng, Wall Street Journal
The Month of Miracles
April 15, 2009
By Justin Wise
I read today in Proverbs that “hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.”
Great Scripture, but let’s sweeten the deal a bit…
According to the Hebrew calendar, we are in the month of Nisan. Nisan usually falls in March–April and Jewish scholars say that Nisan is “the first of the months” because it’s when the people of Israel were liberated from Egypt. According to Jewish custom, this entire month is to be one of happiness and freedom. Nisan also happens to coincide with when the Christian church traditionally celebrates Easter…
Do you see a theme going on here? …
Read the rest …
Graphic video: Jewish Passover Sacrifice
April 9, 2009
Sourceflix (HT: Justin Taylor >> Todd Bolen)
Atheists scoff at talking snake of Genesis 1, but think aliens may have seeded Earth’s population
March 24, 2009
Were the creation ‘days’ recorded in Genesis really 24 hours long?
March 3, 2009
Photos: Detailed model of Herod’s Temple that took 30 years to create
February 27, 2009
Telegraph UK (HT: Dan Phillips)
‘Why did God inspire this?’: Making the most of Leviticus
February 24, 2009
Julian Freeman (HT: Tim Challies)
‘Psalm 106′ by Samm Hodges
February 19, 2009
Psalm 106 from samm hodges on Vimeo.
Abel’s Paradise
February 7, 2009
By Steve Hays
For a split second, Abel felt excruciating pain as a rock smashed the base of his skull. He blacked out momentarily. When he came to, he felt himself floating above his crumpled body. His head lay in a pool of blood.
Cain was standing over the corpse, with fear in his eyes. Then Cain ran away.
Abel was still trying to piece together what had happened. He and his brother were having a verbal altercation. When Abel turned his back to leave, that’s when it happened.
It suddenly occurred to him that Cain tried to kill him. How could his own brother do that?
It then occurred to him that Cain had succeeded in killing him. Was he dead? Is this what it was like to be dead? …
Interview with author of 200 Pomegranates and an Audience of One
January 22, 2009
Dave Ferguson2008’s debates
December 22, 2008
A list of the 13 debates that James White has participated in this last year has been posted by by Tur8infan.
In Iran, an eye really is taken for an eye …
December 17, 2008
LaShawn Barber applauds the verdict reached in the case of Ameneh Bahrami, whose attacker blinded and disfigured her by throwing acid in her face. Now the man, Majid Movahedi, will be punished by having sulfuric acid poured into both of his eyes.
“Our country has developed a system of punishment in which execution methods like drawing and quartering, burning alive, disemboweling, and other methods I mentioned are considered ‘cruel and unusual,’ even if the criminal killed his victim(s) that way. Too bad.”
