partsofspeaking

  7  Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.. . . . 17  Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you. 18  Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. 19  I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.   I have combined these two parts since they are both about leaders. I can’t think of a time in history where people, at least Americans, were more cynical about their leaders (or fawning!). I am among them. Our political class does not lead; they want to get on CNN or Fox and make money and everything but lead us to better outcomes in our country. We ar...

  15  Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16  And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.. .. The word “sacrifice” or variant is used 18 times in Hebrews. Here twice. What is a sacrifice of praise? It’s not a sacrifice of money, or an animal. It is the fruit of the lips that openly profess his name. It is doing good and sharing with others. It is not singing beautifully. It is saying, “I am Christ’s, I follow Him, I love Him,” in everyday life. I supposed doing it on a Mac and posting to the Internet is part of the fulfillment. Since sacrifices are to be pure, that which comes out of the lips must be pure too. We all use much saltier language than we did in the past. Why? To show we are not bound by old conventions? To seem strong? To emphasize a point? To say “I’m not a pushover?” It becomes a habit that becomes harder and ...

10  We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11  The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12  And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13  Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14  For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Here the writer returns to his main themes: the enduring city we hope for, the superiority of Jesus over sacrificial Judaic system, and living in times of persecution. He states, “The High Priest carries,” present tense, which means this was written while temple sacrifices were still going on. The leftovers of the sacrifices, after the edible, kosher portions are eaten, are discarded outside the city proper. I am reminded of the time I visited Pis...

Just sayin', if you like my writing, check out my formal website and books.  I have eleven on Amazon, four Bible studies, seven novels.  

9  Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. Hearts strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods. I think this means “eat normal food for physical strength, don’t think eating something ritual or Kosher or blessed is better for you spiritually. Get your spiritual and emotional strength from grace, not by thinking you are getting some kind of superior strength or power from food some person has called blessed or better or special." Or vegan or gluten free or whatever, I would add. If that is your choice, go for it; just don’t tell everyone and don’t tell us you’re a better person for it. That said, dietary restrictions are necessary for health; we eat far too much and far too much of certain things in the U.S., and gluten does affect people. We could eat less meat; I generally only eat it once a day or less because of health, the ...

  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  The final word, eh? Some might question that, considering that the writer himself says that Jesus "became." In whatever way He became, it did not change His being, His essence. God changeth not; Jesus the Son of God changes not. What yesterday is spoken of is unclear--yesterday in eternity past or since His appearance on earth? How long is "today?" I think we read it as eternity past, the present, and the eternal future. Jesus is the same in power, holiness, deity, and so many more. I struggle with the context here too, or  I should say, its place in the context. I see the connection to verse 9: Since Jesus is the same, do not get tossed about with new doctrines (and there is no end to those).  With verse 8, it is admonition to follow spiritual leaders; they might change over time, as people die and move on. Jesus, the example being extolled in Hebrews, does not change or move on in His leadership. However,...

  5  Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you;      never will I forsake you.” [ a ] 6  So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.      What can mere mortals do to me?” No great analysis today (as if there were some previously). This is what I need. “What can mere mortals do to me?” Well, a lot, but not eternally. Our lives are short anyway; all they can do is shorten our lives. We will not be forsaken, not left, not bereft, not desolate. I will not be afraid. I need that today. Someone and something stalks me. We are not to live in a spirit of fear. I also need contentment with what I have. I don’t want more things; those are a bottomless pit. I want more life, more experience, more travel, more work, more writing, more accomplishments, more freedom, more relationships, and probably, more recognition. All ...

The verses in 13 list a number of parting exhortations and instructions. They hardly need much analysis, especially not from me.   4  Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral   Again, the modern church gets a low grade on this one. Not that God grades on a curve or grades at all. The second part of the sentence makes it pretty plain that sex outside of marriage is grievous. We have become fairly laissez faire about premarital sex in the church. It’s not unusual for people to say, “Oh, that couple has been together six years, and married for one.” That’s code for “after living together for a long time, they finally got married.” Many have accepted that is the way young people are, and don’t see that it’s a recipe for a bad foundation in marriage, as ample social science research shows. Cohabitation is also very bad for children, but heh, why bring them into it? It’s all about the co...

Happy Christmas. I'll put that greeting here rather than Facebook, and to double up on posts. I've been posting about Advent, but Advent means coming, and Christmas is here. Even White in our area, very pretty and cold. I brought the dog to my apartment last night and she is happy sleeping by my side. Hebrews 13:2-3: As the old saying goes, now the writer has gone from preaching to meddling. So I will, too, with my finger pointed backwards. 2  Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 3  Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.  I’d say we probably get a C- or D on this one. I know I do for the hospitality to strangers. I rarely show hospitality to friends. I don’t think the message is “Hey, you might get an angel visitation if you let a stranger into your house.” I t...

 I woke up this morning at 5:40 to strong rain. I live in an area where rain is very common; we have droughts, but rarely; most of the time we have the opposite problem, floods. I like rain and the sounds of it, unless one has a roof that leaks. Rain in an arid Middle Eastern climate is refreshing. Advent is about refreshing, or, that God is sending us refreshing through Advent. Acts 3:19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refresh i ng may come from the presence of the Lord, Like the word "entertain, "which has come to mean "put on a show," "refresh" has been paired with "refreshments" and made less vital than in Biblical times. Only when one has been parched and beaten down by a noonday sun can one understand true refreshing.   Some of he people of Jesus' time, the shepherds, Anna, and Simeon, knew they needed that refreshing. Some did not. Some didn't care. The three responses today, s...

Let brotherly love continue. I looked this up in the Interlinear Greek New Testament, which gives the literal original wording. (Sort of like how in Spanish they don’t say “My name is” but “I call myself,” an interesting cultural difference.) It’s “The fond brotherness let be remaining.” Now, this seems like a simple little verse, a throw-in to remind them to get along, but no, it’s not that simple. NIV has it “ Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.”   New American Standard, “Let love of the brethren continue.” (more abstract than the others, I think). First, it presupposed love and affection (fondness) already exist. The writer must know it does, at some level. Second, it is phrased passively in the original (NIV puts it actively). I see that as “love of the brother is a built-in response to being a Spirit-filled Christian; don’t get in the way of that; let it continue; don’t let anything keep you from what that designed action of love should be.”   Becaus...

I never heard of this until last night, thanks for Canadians on Facebook. There are lots of versions on YouTube.  1. 'Twas in the moon of winter-time When all the birds had fled, That mighty Gitchi Manitou Sent angel choirs instead; Before their light the stars grew dim, And wandering hunter heard the hymn: Refrain: "Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, In excelsis gloria." 2. Within a lodge of broken bark The tender Babe was found, A ragged robe of rabbit skin Enwrapp'd His beauty round; But as the hunter braves drew nigh, The angel song rang loud and high. Refrain 3. O children of the forest free, O sons of Manitou, The Holy Child of earth and heaven Is born today for you. Come kneel before the radiant Boy Who brings you beauty, peace and joy

  "See that you do not refuse Him who speaks." The Israelites under Moses didn’t escape the voice on earth, and the voice we hear is from heaven, and it shakes heaven and earth (citing the prophet Haggai, who rarely gets quoted, 2:6). What we are receiving, this new kingdom, cannot be shaken; I think this is a throwback to Jericho as well. “Now, let us have grace by which we serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.” There are, I believe this teaches, two types of fear; even the mention of Esau shows the first type, as does that of Sinai. Ungodly fear and godly. What is the difference? I suspect that’s a long explanation, but also a matter of one’s will and understanding. Are we God-fearing? He is a consuming fire, by the way. He’s not a different being than at Sinai; it’s only that now (going back to Hebrews 1:1-2) He speaks through His Son, the mediator of a new covenant. We are left with the question, why did God change His methods? I confess that bothers m...

h ttp://www.online-literature.com/tolstoy/2892/ This is a long story by Tolstoy, which I referenced in my post yesterday and use in the novel I posted. It's rather long, but a classic. We get very caught up in Christmas but overlook the "work of Christmas" is the work of Christ.  

This is a long passage, and I do not mean to seem to skip over it. It just seems to be a whole in itself. “For you have not come to the mountain that….” What follows in 18-21 is a remiscence of the Sinai story, with all its terror and judgment. That is not us.   That is not the kind of fear and trembling we experience, that we know. This is a return to the theme that Christ is superior to the Judaic system the readers had grown up in. In a sense, they had come to Mount Sinai, in that they were raised in that culture, that world. But that is not where they are now. No, “you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God.” This is a return to Hebrews 11 and what the faithful were really searching for, a city whose builder and maker is God, a civilized place under His rule, not a wild, fiery place of judgment. You have come “to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant.” Interestingly this is not the last time the writer brings up the superior claims ...

 I'm not sure you'll be able to read this, but I'll post anyway: https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/why-do-they-hate-us You might take issue with it, but it's worth contemplating and discussing.  David French is a reliable writer on these issues. 

The solstice. My mood yesterday fit the darkening; I hope today.  It seems that every artist or writer has to do something along a Christmas theme, so my post today for Advent Visualized is mine. A writer friend texted me this morning about how much she enjoyed this book. It's actually my favorite. I wrote the first draft for NaNoWriMo in November 2011. During a quarantine for flu, I published it as my first effort on Amazon in April 2012. It's my only book in present tense. But I think the story is very good and appropriate for now; it combines a story by Tolstoy, the refugee crisis, the Luke narrative, culture wars, and the Iraq War into a pretty coherent and hopeful narrative. You can get it for $3.36 on Kindle (or from me in paperback for $8) https://www.amazon.com/Unexpected-Christmas-Visitors-Barbara-Tucker-ebook/dp/B07LC6FR1D/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Barbara+Graham+Tucker&qid=1608558963&sr=8-1  

“Pursue peace . . . and holiness . . . looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God.” What? How is that even possible, if grace has nothing to do with us? I think this has to do with the experience of grace, not the reception of it. We will not keep up with the grace of God in our lives if we are not pursuing peace and holiness. We will have let it run on before us, as if we are distracted in (back to 12:1-2) a race and get “derailed” in a sense. (Sorry, I’m mixing my metaphors here.) Grace is not a standard we don’t meet and thus “fall short of it” or “fall from” (Galatians 5:4). That verse about falling from grace isn’t about sinning; it’s about becoming entangled in legalism that would get in the way of the full experience of grace, the full life lived of and in grace.   If one does fall short of the grace of God, falling behind and getting away from a grace life, either by legalism, going back into Judaic practices, or being pulled into sin and not living in ...

My Scandinavian ancestry craves tomorrow--the solstice. The days become longer after tomorrow. Perhaps that is the reason for Christmas now--hope and light and life are returning. That's a visualization from a pagan perspective.  For something more helpful, I recommend the Paul Harvey reading about the Man and the Christmas Birds. You can find it easily on YouTube.

We must always keep in mind the overall themes of Hebrews. Otherwise, like my branch analogy from the previous day, we lose track and verses become decorations or just fortune cookie mottos, rather than rooted truth. There is the theme of the superiority of Jesus over all other religions, especially the rituals and sacrifices of Judaism, and there is the theme of living in times of persecution. Since Joe Biden won the presidential election, I’ve heard a lot of fear appeals about how we will lose all our freedoms as Christians. I understand it.My first draft of this post went off into politics, which I'll delete. That said, I’m hearing a lot of “Christians will be put in jail in ten years for preaching the gospel.” Well, it’s happened before. Why do we think we are better than other generations, to not suffer? “Pursue peace with all people (oh, my) and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” There is a difference, Biblically speaking, between righteousness and holine...

 Got to love Giotto; he started the Renaissance, really. This from 1305. Yes, odd in perspective, hardly realistic, but interesting for its "time condensing" view, like The Tribute Money by Massacio.

These are hard verses. It reminds me of a holly branch I wanted to detach from its tree the other day. I had no knife or pruning tool with me (I was walking freely; I’ll need to take something next time). It was a thick branch and not breakable, not even bendable. I couldn’t take it home with me. I didn’t want the whole bush, just a two-feet long section. I didn't get to separate it, and it would have withered soon afterward. Detaching a verse from its context is like that. “Pursue peace with all people,” sounds good. Yes, go along to get along. Don’t make waves. “Don’t let a root of bitterness spring up.” Definitely don’t want that. But just like my short branch, these become just decoration outside of the whole bush, not something with berries to feed the birds or nourish the earth or prevent erosion, the real purposes of a holly berry bush. After a discourse on chastening, which is no fun for anybody but “yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness,” th...

The Census at Bethlehem by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1566)

This begins a section of short exhortations; this shifts to a style of writing that seems much more like Paul the Apostle’s, especially since he mentions Timothy in the very end; however, Timothy was from Ephesus, where John lived. The very fact that they added these little greetings says so much. 12  Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13  and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. I looked at some other translations for this one, because to be honest I don't understand them. They remind me of verses in the prophets, and perhaps that is what is being invoked. They follow a passage on chastisement, which is probably the key. "Buck up" seems to be an anemic way to put it, but that might not be that far from the idea. If you are discouraged, and worse, letting the discouragement defeat you (I confess, a regular but short-lived occurrence for me, especially l...

The Adoration of the Shepherds by Guido Reni (c 1640)  

  Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. I do not believe that the New Testament teaches us to pursue suffering for the faith. It says to expect it, to understand it, to endure it, but not to ask for it or go looking for it. To do so would create a mental health problem and behaviors that purposefully irritate so as to stir up trouble. It would make us weird just so we could say we were suffering and take pride in it. Jesus states plainly in the gospel that if some elements of the world, especially religious or political leadership, hated Him, there was no way we would escape unscathed. I publish this blog every day, and I know some with whom I work and deal might see it as a way to block my way professionally. That’s fine; it’s hardly persecution, just a necessary part of being an aware Christian in today’s world. They wouldn’t be too public about it, since that would be uncool to violate free speech...

 This work by Caspar David Friedrich (the painter of that breathtaking Wanderwe Above a Sea of Fog ) speaks to me today.  It does not matter that Jesus was probably not born in winter, despite our legends to the contrary. We celebrate it in the deepest, darkest time of the year. I think that makes more sense than doing it in the summer or spring. Symbolically, He comes in the deepest time of mankind, of our lives. 

Verse 5 seems to change the subject abruptly to discipline from God the Father (the Father of spirits, an interesting title to ponder, John 4:24 in mind—another reason that John could have written this book). The writer equates the types of persecution they might undergo as ultimately from God for their spiritual growth. This is, admittedly, confusing to me. Chastisement or discipline is for those who have gone off the path, sinned, strayed, and need brought back on it—at least that is my understanding. This discipline experienced through persecution may not be as response to sin, but a method of training irrespective of personal wrongdoing. I have read in the book The Insanity of God (fascinating, by the way, a must read) that the Chinese pastors consider prison their seminary, and that one is not really ready to lead a church until they’ve been through this “degree program.” Confusing as this is, since “chastisement” and “discipline” seem to us to be the same as “punishment,” it...

 

The recipients of the original text of Hebrews were undergoing persecution. This is discussed first in 10:32-34. 32  But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33  sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34  For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. (English Standard Version) Their oppression was public, financial, legal, communal; even in those times, they helped those imprisoned for their faith. Yet, to this point, they had not been whipped, tortured, or martyred; blood had not been shed. I type that so blithely, I’m ashamed to say, sitting in my comfortable apartment on an almost winter morning, warm, sipping coffee, using technology imported from a country where Christian...

Big stink over nothing. I have a doctorate. Outside of work, I don't want to be called "Dr." One, I'm not a medical doctor. Two, why would I do that? Three, I don't need the validation of my humanity or worth.  However, the conservatives who are getting all huffy about the liberals being huffy about it need to lay off. Yes, it is silly that Joe Biden's wife goes around saying "Dr. and President-Elect Joe Biden." She seems to be a bit too concerned about it.  However, doctoral work is not that easy, if done at a reputable institution. Not everyone can do it; over half drop out. According to the Census Bureau in 2019, "The number of doctoral degree holders has more than doubled to 4.5 million." That's less than 1.4%. What I'm not sure of is whether this dis (by an old man who had an opinion that I'm not sure why the WSJ felt needed to be published in the first place?) is against women or people who use their academic titles to pro...

Of course, most of these paintings get the story and the depiction wrong.  After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi [ a ] from the east came to Jerusalem   . .... On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him." Three is not mentioned, Jesus was older, not in a manger, etc. And the account has a horrible outcome in the killing of the small male children, echoing the first part of Exodus.   

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. The Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the originator and the perfecter. It’s as if to say, “all those Old Testament figures and heroes were examples of what faith looks like, but don’t get mixed up. They might be watching you, but don’t look to the past. Don’t get into the habit of thinking we look to them for examples. Look only to the One who started it and will end it.” How does one look unto Jesus? I think, by first seeing in Bible study that He, not moralism or history, is the theme. By seeing His hand in creation and sustenance of the world (Colossians 2). By knowing He alone is Lord and will reign. By not allowing the world to tell you He was a socialist, a radical, a good buy, or anything they happen to see as a use for Him for their own purposes, such as making Jesus pro-choice because He cared about women. By …. What do you think? The clause that follows in verse 2, “ who for the joy t...

Another Rembrandt. This one has a touch of humor to it. We have a different vision of how the angels appeared; here, Rembrandt shows the angel gently waking the shepherds up.