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Showing posts from September, 2014

The Kiss

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  “Ryabovitch pulled the bed-clothes over his head, curled himself up in bed, and tried to gather together the floating images in his mind and to combine them into one whole. But nothing came of it. He soon fell asleep, and his last thought was that someone had caressed him and made him happy—that something extraordinary, foolish, but joyful and delightful, had come into his life. The thought did not leave him even in his sleep. When he woke up the sensations of oil on his neck and the chill of peppermint about his lips had gone, but joy flooded his heart just as the day before.” The Kiss By Anton Chekhov (1860–1904)
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Shut Up Because Of Unbelief

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Luke opens his letter to Theophilus (which we know as “the Gospel of Luke”) with a peculiar account of the herald of Jesus, John the Baptist. John’s role in the life and ministry of Jesus was part of God’s plan, but there may be one other element about his story that we might miss.  Here’s the situation: Zacharias was chosen to perform a once-in-a-lifetime service in the Temple when The Angel of The Lord appeared to him with a peculiar message, a message not intended for the devout who waited for Zacharias to emerge, nor for the nation of Israel, nor for the Romans. The Angel brought a personal message from God to Zacharias--that he would father a child. Understand that both Zacharias and his wife were well beyond childbearing years, so “naturally,” Zacharias doubts the message. A child? Impossible! The Angel tells Zacharias that God already sees the not-yet-conceived child as “great”, but what makes him great? The Angel says that John will be recognized by what he eats and...
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