Saul consented to the stoning of Stephen outside of Jerusalem. Little did he realize that years later he himself would be stoned in Lystra, stoned to death so his enemies thought. And perhaps it was to death, but after being dragged out of town and left for dead by men who supposedly knew what they were doing, he would stand up.
On his way to Damascus, Saul once again was up to no good. This time the Lord Himself knocked him down, or rather, he fell down unaccustomed to the blinding light. When his blindness left, so too did his powerful delusion.
Denise offers the prompt word “powerful” for this week’s Six Sentence Stories. The story is a recounting of some events from Acts 6-9,14.
Dale offers the “freestyle” theme this week for the Cosmic Photo Challenge which means post anything you want. These were taken at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
I used to find Plotinus, a 3rd century Platonist, interesting. His idea of the One suggested a kind of naturalistic or pantheistic spirituality. To the extent I understood any of this, the One was like a force field having the attributes philosophers might assign to a deity.
Little of this is attractive to me today, but that earlier exposure has kept me wary of Platonic or even Aristotelian influences. When I hear discussions of God that do not lead to repentance, salvation or a personal relationship with Jesus grounded in the special revelation of the Bible I wonder if there aren’t hidden presuppositions underlying the arguments that might be coming from ancient Greek, rather than Jewish or Christian, sources.
I’ve noticed these hidden ideas within various Christian traditions going back to Augustine or earlier. Some of them are fine, but it’s easy to forget that even the acceptable ones are cultural additions. So, I try to distinguish what is in the Bible from what is outside trying to get in. Then I put scripture over tradition should a conflict arise between the Word of God and that other stuff.
For those who wish more information on this especially as it pertains to questionable Greek cultural influence, see David Pawson’s lecture on “de-Greecing” the church:
Weekly Bible Readings:Genesis (Audio: King James Version read by Alexander Scourby) Commentary: David Pawson, Genesis Part 1 of 7 and Part 2 of 7, Unlocking the Bible
Bernard’s confidence returned as he began drinking the last can of his six-pack. He was ready to point out every nit that needed picking from the members of a social networking community he frequented.
In righteous rivalry he led his own charge condemning the “freaks, flakes and morons” to fiery hells that he himself didn’t believe in. They knew he was drunk.
Eventually his demons, unforgiving accusers themselves, led tired Bernard to bed one last time. As a reward for his long service, they prepared terrifying dreams.
Dale offers the prompt “buildings of the past” for this week’s Cosmic Photo Challenge. The photos are from an old home preserved in a park in northern Illinois.
A tiny trinket out of jade deceptively was smoothly made. I bought it. Why? I do not know. My dreaming mind got caught, went slow. I wonder now how much I paid.
I learned from Michael Wilson’s blog that the San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone had called on the Catholic Church to deny Communion to prominent pro-abortion Catholics.
I agree with Archbishop Cordileone, but would add a twist to his call making it relevant even for non-Catholics: All Christians should advisethose who are pro-abortion to refrain from Communion until they have repented.
Does that sound harsh?
What would be harsh would be Satan’s accusations full of finger-pointing and despair with no hope of forgiveness on the other side. However, this call is different. It is a call to the discomfort of repentance and the liberation of change where pardon replaces that crash into the brick wall.
May I from truth not wish to stray. What’s unknown underlies each whim on which I float, through which I swim, until I find a better way, repent, and pray this time I may have turned from weakness to what’s right. My day presumes a previous night where darkness showed me odd-ball dreams I thought were pure till morning’s beams contrasted evil with good light.
Ronovan Hester offers the rhyme word “whim” to be used in a B line of a décima having rhyme pattern ABBAACCDDC for this week’s challenge.
Although Rebekah told Isaac of the prophecy she received that Jacob, the second-born of her twins and her favorite, was to receive the blessing, as the boys matured Esau, the first-born and Isaac’s favorite, seemed to Isaac better able to carry any burdens his blessing might require.
In his old age with failing eyesight, Isaac decided to give the blessing to Esau rather than Jacob without telling Rebekah, but she overheard his plan and improvised one of her own. She prepared the meal Isaac requested from Esau, covered Jacob’s arms with fur to imitate Esau’s hairy skin and dressed him in Esau’s clothing to deceive her husband. Not even Jacob, willing though he was to go along with it, thought her plan would work, but it did.
After realizing he had been fooled, Isaac reluctantly remembered the prophecy and remained faithful to it reaffirming the blessing he unwittingly gave to Jacob. Esau, however, wanted revenge and so Rebekah convinced Isaac to send Jacob off on the pretext of finding a suitable wife, not one like Esau found among the locals, knowing that she would likely never see Jacob again.
Denise offers the prompt “improvise” for this week’s Six Sentence Story.
A more complete and accurate description of what happened to Isaac, Rebekah, Esau and Jacob begins at Genesis 25:19. The insight that Rebekah did not see Jacob again came from Pastor Colin Smith’s sermon last Sunday.
I don’t know what I’d do with gold unless it’s for a wedding ring. A garden would be more my thing with plants whose leaves were green and bold. Between us there’s much fruit to hold. We offer praise and share our meals. We watch and pray. The truth reveals our next assignments. See the ways this paradise fulfills our days and how each day renews and heals.
Ronovan Hester offers the rhyme word “gold” to be used in an A line of a décima having rhyme pattern ABBAACCDDC.
Poetry, Short Prose and Walking 