So Close, Yet So Far: Thoughts On Religious Duty

I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’  So he got up and went to his father.  But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was...

Upheld By His Right Hand

His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me! (Song of Solomon 2:6, 8:3 ESV) My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. (Psalm 63:8) As frequent readers may already have noticed, I have a very strong interest–if not a passion–for the Song of Solomon. It is likely my...

More Reflections on the Water Turned into Wine

“Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.  Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of...

Love: The More Excellent Way, part 2

“How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!” Song of Solomon 4:10b “And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:2 We began in our previous article with this verse from the...

The Love of the Father vs The Love of the World

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.  The world and its...

The Wedding at Cana: Why Did Jesus REALLY Make the Wine?

“On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her,  “Woman, what does this have to...

Love: The More Excellent Way, part 1

“How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!” (Song of Solomon 4:10b) “And I will show you a still more excellent way.” (1 Corinthians 12:31b) In the opening of the Song of Solomon—my favorite book in the Old Testament—the...

Behold, I Stand at The Door and Knock

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20) When I was younger and worked at a day camp, we were given Scripture verses we had to memorize in order to know how to share the Gospel...