Learning from Paul's Method in Colossians David Anguish Passing comments by different authors in my reading for the introduction to a class I’m teaching on Colossians suggested three ideas useful in our response to the syncretism in contemporary culture (for a summary of Colossae’s syncretism, see Arnold 2002, 373–374). First, we should engage in reconnaissance to be more aware of the arguments and methods that are being used in the spiritual war we fight (cf. 2 Cor 10.3). P. T. O’Brien...
12 days ago • 5 min read
Opening the Scriptures Then their eyes were opened and they recognized [Jesus], and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” ~ Luke 24.31-32 NIV Prayers & Encouragement (James 5) # 11 When a Christian Wanders (2) David Anguish The following comments relative to James 5.19–20, quoted in part one of our study, summarize its importance: Helping bring back wayward Christians...
19 days ago • 7 min read
What Open Eyes Must Seek David Anguish A previous study considered the two-stage healing of the blind man recorded in Mark 8.22–26. We noted that, within the context of Mark, the episode illustrates different stages of response to Jesus and growth by his disciples. From this, we learn that, while he does not want us to imitate the response of the Pharisees, neither does he want us to remain in the formative stages of spiritual maturity exhibited by the disciples in the middle section of Mark....
26 days ago • 4 min read
Image by Waldryano from Pixabay "The printed word can be read at a time, place, and privacy of one’s own choosing, unlike fleeting, one-time sermons or radio and television messages. The printed word can be read, reread, studied and meditated upon, just as we do the Scriptures.” ~ Joe R. Barnett (in Kearley 1987, 676) In Evangelism in the Early Church, Michael Green identified four evangelistic methods utilized by the early believers: public evangelism, household evangelism, personal...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Opening the Scriptures Then their eyes were opened and they recognized [Jesus], and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” ~ Luke 24.31-32 NIV Prayers & Encouragement (James 5) # 10 When a Christian Wanders David Anguish About halfway through a sixteen-year tenure with one congregation I served, a brother moved into the area who, after a time, was ordained as one of...
about 1 month ago • 6 min read
Opening Blind Eyes David Anguish One of the more puzzling passages in Mark—and it’s unique to that Gospel—is Mark 8.22–26. Jesus and his disciples arrived in Bethsaida, on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. As had happened in the Decapolis (Mark 7.31–37), the local residents brought a man for Jesus to heal, this time a blind man (8.22). As in the prior incident, Jesus first led the man out of the village. Was this to enter his thought world and establish a personal relationship...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Opening the Scriptures Then their eyes were opened and they recognized [Jesus], and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” ~ Luke 24.31-32 NIV Prayers & Encouragement (James 5) # 9 Letting Prayer Go to Work David Anguish The prayer of a righteous person has great power in its working. ~ James 5.16b As we noted at the beginning of our study of “Elijah’s Example of...
about 2 months ago • 7 min read
Discipleship 101: Learning from Mark's Gospel David Anguish With 4,541 fewer words in the ESV than the next shortest Gospel (John), Mark is known for getting to the point (cf. issue 6/20). Hans Bayer notes that he also shows an interest in defining discipleship: The ultimate purpose and theme of Mark is to present and defend Jesus’ universal call to discipleship. Mark returns often to this theme, and as the narrative unfolds he categorizes his main audience as either followers or opponents of...
2 months ago • 4 min read
Opening the Scriptures Then their eyes were opened and they recognized [Jesus], and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” ~ Luke 24.31-32 NIV Prayers & Encouragement (James 5) # 8 Elijah's Example of Prayer David Anguish Nearing the end of his letter, James singles out the suffering, cheerful, sick, and sinful among his readers and then says, “Pray, sing praise, and...
2 months ago • 7 min read