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Genesis 25:19-24
James Harnish contends that no single fact is more basic to his life's narrative that this: "I have a twin brother." His brother arrived four minutes after he did. They grew up in the same community, attended the same schools, and graduated from the same college. Their paths separated when Jack followed his wife back to Michigan and James followed his wife to Florida.
They were strong-willed children. They sometimes shared all the intimacy of what Harnish describes as "two cats in a burlap bag."
James was more compulsive, always wanting to get the work done, whereas his twin brother felt there was always time to do it later. While there are good reasons for feeling the way James did, he later realized that compulsive overachievers begin to believe that everything depends upon them.
Jacob felt like that in the first part of his life; later, at Bethel he discerned that God was the all-important one.
Richard H.
Genesis 25:19-34
There is an old axiom that is very true: "One man's trash is another man's treasure." Value is a very relative term. For example, I recently read an article about a California man who, while at a garage sale looking for interesting antiques, came across two boxes of old glass photo negatives. Finding them interesting, he talked the seller down from his price of $75 for the lot to $45. Upon further inspection and investigation, it was discovered that these photographs were taken by Ansel Adams, considered by many to be the father of American photography. This antique hunter has since learned that those boxes of negatives he bought for less than $50 now have an appraised value of at least $200 million! To read more, see http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/bought-at-a-gar....
In this passage, we see another misjudgment of value. Esau had all the rights of inheritance that came with being the firstborn son. Also, as the son of Isaac, he would stand in line to inherit God's blessing as part of the promise to Abraham, his grandfather. Yet as valuable as his birthright was, he thought it worthless enough to give up to his younger brother for a bowl of lentil soup. That error in judgment would affect his descendants throughout history.
Craig K.
Romans 8:1-11
"Beautiful tyrant!" "Damned saint!" "Honorable villain!" "Feather of lead!" "Loving hate!" "Heavy lightness!" "Cold fire, sick health!" These lines from Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet are famous because of their nonsense. "Heavy lightness"? "Cold fire"? These phrases, made up of words that seem to be opposites, are called oxymorons. They are, quite simply, impossible. Can fire be cold? Not quite! It's speech in riddles, and we often think of oxymorons as silly. But the very concept of our redemption in God's grace is an oxymoron. Perhaps silly isn't the best way to think about it, after all.
Leah T.
Romans 8:1-11
Albuquerque police office Trey Economidy received national attention when a posting to his Facebook profile became public. Under occupation, he listed "human waste disposal." This was hardly the image the Albuquerque Police Department wanted to display to the public. Especially since the posting became known after Officer Economidy was involved in a fatal on-duty shooting.
Paul wrote that "those who are in the flesh cannot please God." With a Facebook posting that is so averse to law enforcement's understanding to "serve and protect," one wonders if Officer Economidy's soul does not reside in the flesh.
Ron L.
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
I have a friend that lives about a half hour's drive outside of the city in which I live. One thing that I love about visiting this guy is his garden. He's got at least a quarter-acre garden and is working on expanding it. His farm is situated on what was once swampland, and consequently his soil is rich, dark, peaty earth, ideal for growing all kinds of vegetables. He has seen strawberries the size of peaches grow in that soil and stay just as sweet. Contrast that with my attempts to grow a potted tomato plant on my back porch, and you could say the difference is night and day. I have soil, I have water, I have the plant, but I just can't seem to get more than a few small tomatoes off the vine.
Jesus uses that image of the soil and growth in describing how the gospel is received. My prayer is that I can be like that rich, dark earth that produces so much good fruit, but there are days I can look a lot like that measly potted tomato. Which one are you?
Craig K.
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
On the day Abraham Lincoln was born his older cousin Dennis Hanks went over to see the newborn baby. Later he commented, "Folks often ask me if Abe was a good-looking baby. Well now, he looked like any other baby at fust -- like a red cherry pulp squeezed dry. And, he didn't improve none as he growed older."
That may be a typical cousin's reaction, but admittedly Abraham Lincoln never was photogenic. He probably would not have made it today in this age of television with all its glitz and style. Nonetheless, it is the considered opinion of our nation's professional historians every time a poll is taken that Lincoln rates as the greatest of all the presidents of the United States.
From this humble and unpromising beginning something really great happened.
Richard H.
James Harnish contends that no single fact is more basic to his life's narrative that this: "I have a twin brother." His brother arrived four minutes after he did. They grew up in the same community, attended the same schools, and graduated from the same college. Their paths separated when Jack followed his wife back to Michigan and James followed his wife to Florida.
They were strong-willed children. They sometimes shared all the intimacy of what Harnish describes as "two cats in a burlap bag."
James was more compulsive, always wanting to get the work done, whereas his twin brother felt there was always time to do it later. While there are good reasons for feeling the way James did, he later realized that compulsive overachievers begin to believe that everything depends upon them.
Jacob felt like that in the first part of his life; later, at Bethel he discerned that God was the all-important one.
Richard H.
Genesis 25:19-34
There is an old axiom that is very true: "One man's trash is another man's treasure." Value is a very relative term. For example, I recently read an article about a California man who, while at a garage sale looking for interesting antiques, came across two boxes of old glass photo negatives. Finding them interesting, he talked the seller down from his price of $75 for the lot to $45. Upon further inspection and investigation, it was discovered that these photographs were taken by Ansel Adams, considered by many to be the father of American photography. This antique hunter has since learned that those boxes of negatives he bought for less than $50 now have an appraised value of at least $200 million! To read more, see http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/bought-at-a-gar....
In this passage, we see another misjudgment of value. Esau had all the rights of inheritance that came with being the firstborn son. Also, as the son of Isaac, he would stand in line to inherit God's blessing as part of the promise to Abraham, his grandfather. Yet as valuable as his birthright was, he thought it worthless enough to give up to his younger brother for a bowl of lentil soup. That error in judgment would affect his descendants throughout history.
Craig K.
Romans 8:1-11
"Beautiful tyrant!" "Damned saint!" "Honorable villain!" "Feather of lead!" "Loving hate!" "Heavy lightness!" "Cold fire, sick health!" These lines from Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet are famous because of their nonsense. "Heavy lightness"? "Cold fire"? These phrases, made up of words that seem to be opposites, are called oxymorons. They are, quite simply, impossible. Can fire be cold? Not quite! It's speech in riddles, and we often think of oxymorons as silly. But the very concept of our redemption in God's grace is an oxymoron. Perhaps silly isn't the best way to think about it, after all.
Leah T.
Romans 8:1-11
Albuquerque police office Trey Economidy received national attention when a posting to his Facebook profile became public. Under occupation, he listed "human waste disposal." This was hardly the image the Albuquerque Police Department wanted to display to the public. Especially since the posting became known after Officer Economidy was involved in a fatal on-duty shooting.
Paul wrote that "those who are in the flesh cannot please God." With a Facebook posting that is so averse to law enforcement's understanding to "serve and protect," one wonders if Officer Economidy's soul does not reside in the flesh.
Ron L.
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
I have a friend that lives about a half hour's drive outside of the city in which I live. One thing that I love about visiting this guy is his garden. He's got at least a quarter-acre garden and is working on expanding it. His farm is situated on what was once swampland, and consequently his soil is rich, dark, peaty earth, ideal for growing all kinds of vegetables. He has seen strawberries the size of peaches grow in that soil and stay just as sweet. Contrast that with my attempts to grow a potted tomato plant on my back porch, and you could say the difference is night and day. I have soil, I have water, I have the plant, but I just can't seem to get more than a few small tomatoes off the vine.
Jesus uses that image of the soil and growth in describing how the gospel is received. My prayer is that I can be like that rich, dark earth that produces so much good fruit, but there are days I can look a lot like that measly potted tomato. Which one are you?
Craig K.
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
On the day Abraham Lincoln was born his older cousin Dennis Hanks went over to see the newborn baby. Later he commented, "Folks often ask me if Abe was a good-looking baby. Well now, he looked like any other baby at fust -- like a red cherry pulp squeezed dry. And, he didn't improve none as he growed older."
That may be a typical cousin's reaction, but admittedly Abraham Lincoln never was photogenic. He probably would not have made it today in this age of television with all its glitz and style. Nonetheless, it is the considered opinion of our nation's professional historians every time a poll is taken that Lincoln rates as the greatest of all the presidents of the United States.
From this humble and unpromising beginning something really great happened.
Richard H.
