The Iron Age Super Mom of Proverbs 31:10 is called a woman of "valor," a word that can mean monetary value, physical or military might, and moral or personal worth. It is the quintessential value word, a fitting word to describe Iron Age Super Mom, and all who are like her today. Read more
Jesus’ ascension into heaven is a bizarre way to say goodbye: to rise straight up into the clouds, with no time for hugs or tears of regret! But what if Jesus had stayed here? Where do we put Someone who has risen from the dead and will never die again? Imagine if Jesus was still on the loose in his resurrected body! Read more
How many times have we heard that claim that “Jesus never spoke one word on homosexual behavior”? I would argue that yes, he did, in Mark 7:22-23, where Jesus names not only adultery and heterosexual sex outside of marriage, but also the sin of aselgeia. Read more
Polls cannot measure truth. In Matthew 16:13-20, Jesus takes a sample poll to see what public opinion is saying about him. Almost every answer he gets is wrong. Read more
As we saw in our last post, Mark gives us Jesus’ most remarkable case as an exorcist, a case involving not one, not seven, but hundreds of evil spirits. See where they go. And see what surprises happen next! Read more
Jesus shows himself to be the world’s all-time champion exorcist in the world’s worst recorded case of demon possession. If Jesus can set this man free, Jesus can set anybody free. Read more
One of the most bizarre groups from the first century AD was the Cynics,a group of wandering social critics who lived a radical simple lifestyle. The Cynics defied the rules of decency. Some would even relieve nature in full public view, which earned them the name Cynic (meaning “dog-like”). Read more
The Stoic philosopher Seneca was about as Christian as a pagan Stoic could get. Seneca is born in Spain around 4 or 5 BCE, and dies in 65 AD as a victim of the same tyrant who executed Paul. It's amazing how many echoes of Paul can be found in Seneca's writings. Read more
The Epicureans were a school of thinkers in New Testament times who were just as liberal or “modern” in their views as anyone today. Followers of Jesus were not ignorant of such views; they simply rejected those views. Read more
Paul’s famous words on the Greek word agapē in 1 Corinthians 13 become the most eloquent definition of “love” in all human literature. But how did Paul and the church come to choose that word to mean the exalted kind of love of which Paul writes in this chapter? Read more
Biblical Words and World
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