Skip to main content

Empty

"So what seems to be the problem?"

"The problem is I already know ..."

"What do you mean?"

"He is going to tell me my heart is clinging on to idols, to set my worth on Christ, to hope in things eternal, to love others more than self, to carry the weight of the Cross, to rely on the inner workings of the Spirit"

"Is he right?"

"He is right about everything."

"So?"

"It still feels horribly empty and void. As if he is describing a world completely different from mine."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lot, Noah, Shem, the Fall - how they all combine together

In this short writing, an attempt is made to show how the accounts of Noah, Shem, Lot, as well as the events after the Fall serve to powerfully combine to reveal the character of God in those who obey Him and those that do not.  The stories of Noah and Lot seem disparate but the parallels are incredible. The first connection is the feature of “wine” in both of these accounts. The parallels follow the pattern of (A) God’s salvation act (B) The drinking of wine (C) Actions of the Children.  It is easier to see the parallels when they are juxtaposed side-by-side (see picture). The (C) parallel may be harder to observe. Lot’s daughters’ attempts to bear children by their father is in fact the “uncovering of nakedness” prohibited later in the Pentateuch in Leviticus 18:6 -20. The verse below suffices for us to develop our thoughts further: “None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am the Lord.” (Lev. 18:6) This ties back to the F...
Post a Comment
Read more

The use of Psalm 68:18 in Ephesians 4:8

  For Paul in Ephesians 4:8, clearly there are some changes from the text that Paul is supposedly citing which is Psalm 68:18. Comparing Psalm 68:18 and Ephesians 4:8, it is obvious there are differences. I believe Paul was actually using the LXX but has changed its words for the occasion in Ephesians 4. The LXX version of Psalm 68:18 and Ephesians 4:8 differs by a few words: Psalm 68:18 (it is actually Psalm 67:19 in the LXX): ἀναβὰς εἰς ὕψος  ᾐχμαλώτευσας  αἰχμαλωσίαν, ἔλαβες  δόματα  ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ , Ephesians 4:8 ἀναβὰς εἰς ὕψος  ᾐχμαλώτευσεν  αἰχμαλωσίαν,* ⸆  ἔδωκεν  δόματα ⸀ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. Structurally you can see the LXX and Eph 4 is similar but for a few words changes.   The first change is from 2nd person (LXX) to 3rd person (Eph 4) with regards to who is doing the ascending in the first line.  So the English Bible rightly translates the phrase to "When  he  ascended on high" versus Psalm 68, " you  ascended" ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Expositions on Nehemiah: 1 - Susa the Citadel and Jerusalem - A tale of two cities

Note: My church small group studies are going to be studying the Book of Nehemiah together for the first half of the year. I am writing these series of posts to collect important bits of information that will hopefully help us illumine the text. The early words in the book give us a clue to the context of Nehemiah.  Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel , that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem . And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire. ” Susa is the capital used by the Persian kings since Darius. Historical inscriptions contain this remarks made by Darius: "This palace which I built at Susa, from afar its ornamentation was brought. Downw...
Post a Comment
Read more