Plato – an Introduction

October 20, 2012

Plato I. Background information: 1. Family -Plato 427 – 347 BC -Father – Ariston – stepfather – Pyrilampes -Mother – Perictione -Somehow linked to Solon, the great reformer and lawgiver. -Brothers – Galucon and Aedimantus, who have parts in the Republic. -After 404 BC after the defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War, the Thirty [...]


Titus 3:12-15 – “Urgent Needs”

July 30, 2012

In Paul’s final instruction he urges Titus to remind the people of God to devote themselves to good deeds, so that they may help those with urgent needs. Unfortunately for us, Paul does not spell out what these urgent needs are. However, this is a very sensible point, which is sometimes overlooked in our day [...]


Loving the church

July 30, 2012

The following are a few thoughts I wrote down in a question and answer format. It is not intended to give a full answer, but to get the conversation started. Why is it important to talk about loving the church? In my opinion, there are three main reasons why it is important to remind people [...]


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2 Chronicles 24 and 2 Kings 12 – Accountability

July 27, 2012

2 Chronicles 24:2 and 2 Kings 12:2 offer an important insight into the dynamics of spiritual growth. Growth takes place in godly community. King Joash followed the ways of the Lord as long as the priest Jehoida was alive. Jehoida was a godly man that instructed the king in the counsel of God. For this [...]


Proverbs 25:6-7 – Promotion and Faith

July 25, 2012

“Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told ‘Come up here,’ than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.” The wisdom of this proverb takes great faith. What if the king or those in power never [...]


1 Thessalonians 2 – Missions and Love

July 25, 2012

Paul’s heart towards the Thessalonians comes out in chapter 2. He starts off by telling the church that he preached boldly, even though there was conflict and hardships. Acts 17:1-11 recounts Paul’s stay in Thessalonica. It was a very short stay as the believers sent Paul and Silas away at night due to persecution. The [...]


2 Timothy 4 – Consummerism and Endurance

July 23, 2012

Last night, I heard a great message that opened with a word about consumerism. In short, consumerism is so engrained in our society that people commodify even the church. I cannot agree more. The sad part is that the church is also guilty in that it puts itself out for sale. The church, then, is [...]


Ecclesiastes 7:1-13 “Better” and “Wisdom”

July 21, 2012

Ecclesiastes is a hard book to interpret. Without carefully reading, it is easy to miss the point. For instance, Ecclesiastes 7:16 says do not be overly righteous or overly wise, presumably because all is vanity. If we make absolute these words, then we should strive to live mediocre lives in two important areas – righteousness [...]


Philemon – Paul’s Appeal

July 20, 2012

Paul approaches Philemon in a very wise manner. Paul states that he, in Christ, could command Philemon to receive Onesimus, a runaway slave, but he would rather appeal to Philemon. If we read between the lines, there is much more than meets the eye. First, in a genuine slave society, such as Rome, runaway slaves [...]


Esther – commentary

July 11, 2012

Esther a. Authorship There is no name attached to the book of Esther. Therefore, we cannot know who wrote the book. The best that we can do is to say that the author was someone who knew something about Persian court life. Moreover, this person lived after the events, as he writes from the vantage [...]


Wisdom and a Divided Heart – 1 Kings 3

June 8, 2012

1 Kings 3 When God appeared to Solomon and asked him what he desired (1 Kings 3:5), Solomon was wise. He asked for wisdom. God was pleased and he gave Solomon the request of his heart as well as riches and honor. I Kings 3:10-14 offers the context: “It was pleasing in the sight of [...]


Romans 3:9-20 – Depravity

May 26, 2012

In these verses, Paul quotes Psalms 14 and 53. His point is offensive to human pride. All people are sinful and therefore no one can be justified in the sight of God. The law, in this respect, brings greater knowledge of sin. Paul’s usage of Psalms 14 and 53 is emphatic: None is righteous, no, [...]


Psalm 96 – Worship

May 21, 2012

Now is the time for worship in Spirit and in truth. These are the words of Jesus in John 4:23. The word, “now” is of paramount importance, because it is eschatological. In other words, Jesus through his coming has ushered in a new age of the Spirit, where people can worship in Spirit and in [...]


2 Samuel 9, 16, 19 – Mephibosheth

May 21, 2012

In 2 Samuel 9, we read about David’s kindness to Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son. David shows that he is man who knows how to extend grace. David is magnanimous. He asks Ziba, a servant in the household of Saul, if there is anyone in that household to whom he can show kindness. Ziba responds by saying [...]


1 Samuel 24 – Meekness

May 5, 2012

As we look at the scope of David’s life, we see great ups and downs. At times it is hard to believe that the same person could act to courageously and sin so grievously. However, with more reflection the characterization of David is true to life. We are also capable of some great acts of [...]