Tag Archives: nlcast

Our Love Story

4 Replies

Okay, so it’s Valentine’s Day so I’ll do this:

Jenn and I met after a youth group activity in Saint Simon’s Island at a McDonalds.

I wasn’t even supposed to have gone to the event. The people I was going with left me but my sister and her friends gave me a ride. I’m sitting with them at McDonalds wearing a light blue Fernandina Beach fishing cap with the front flipped up and I see this girl. My first thought, “That is the cutest girl I have ever seen.” Not fine (they say “hot” now)… cute. Cute as all get out. Like the standard of what cute is measured by. A strong cuteness. It was better than “fine” it was real. I had to talk to her.

I never would have except that she was in line to get food and happened to be with a friend of mine. I went up and started talking to Shannon, or whatever her name was, and soon enough I had met Jennifer. Continue reading →

Bible Stuff: Look At Your Fish!

Leave a reply

bible-stuff-look-at-your-fish

Today I am going to perform an exercise I learned from a class called Exegetical Studies. Exegesis is a fancy, scary word that means to find the meaning in a passage or portion of a text, especially the Bible.

The exercise does not in anyway full encompass the proper exegeting of scripture, but it is a good start. My professor, Pastor, and hero Dr. George W. Westlake introduced me to the concept he called “Look at Your Fish!” taken from a story by Samuel H. Scudder, and American entomologist who studied under zoologist Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz . In a nutshell Professor Agassiz forces his students to make observations about a fish in a jar, for days and days.

My Professor Westlake urged us to start our studies by making observations about the text itself. Not based on other supporting scripture. Not personal experience, but really digging in and writing out every single detail that the verse communicated with no outside influence.

It was the first step in a process that resulted in a greater understanding of how to study and pull the truest meaning from Biblical scripture. I hope you enjoy my little experiment and will give it a shot on one of your favorite verse… and just when you think you’re done… “Look at your fish!”

For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.
Psalm 33:4-5 NIV

Here we go:

  • The word is the Lord’s.
  • The Lord’s word is right.
  • It is also true.
  • The Lord’s word is not wrong. It is not a lie.
  • It’s not just right. It’s right and true.
  • The Lord is faithful.
  • The Lord does not stop what he is doing halfway.
  • Everything the Lord is doing is dependable.
  • The Lord does a lot of things. All done faithfully.
  • The word of the Lord is dependable because He is dependable.
  • His word is supported by his actions.
  • The rightness and trueness of his word is due to the faithfulness in all he does.
  • If he were not faithful, his word would be wrong and a lie.
  • The Lord loves righteousness.
  • He loves rightness.
  • He loves justice.
  • He loves just-ness.
  • He does not love wrongness.
  • He loves them together.
  • The earth is full of his unfailing love.
  • His love does not fail.
  • The Lord does things. He is active.
  • He Lord’s love fills the earth. Fills is the verb.
  • His love fills. An action. Therefore a faithful action since he is faithful in all he does.
  • The love of the lord is unfailing // faithful.
  • The opposite of faithful would be failure here.
  • The word of the Lord is right and true – as is apparent from his faithfulness
  • He loves rightness and just-ness – as is apparent from an earth full of unfailing love.
  • His faithful actions prove his word is right and true.
  • His unfailing love proves he loves rightness and just-ness.

Now try it with your favorite verse or better yet a verse you are unfamiliar with. Pull as many truths from the text as possible. See what “Looking at the Fish” can do for your bible study.

Read the next entry in this series on studying the Bible: A Text Without A Context is a Pretext

Bible Stuff: Worshiping in Spirit and in Truth

1 Reply

bible-stuff-john-4-24

God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:24 NIV

These are words spoken by Jesus to the famous Samaritan Woman at the Well. Jesus was more or less on the run from the Pharisees on his way back to Galilee. Jesus and his Disciples traveled through Samaria and through the city of Sychar. Jesus, tired from his journey has a seat near the well at around noon.

Jesus was alone. His disciples had gone to get food. A Samaritan woman came to get some water, at noon. This is apparently not the time women get their water. She was an outcast. Not only because she was Samaritan and the Jews considered Samaritans half-breeds, idol worshipers and false-Jews. She was an outcast even among her own people. Jesus later tells her why. Because she has been with five husbands and is living with a man who is not her husband at all. I love that Jesus, though acknowledges her sin, seems to be thrilled that she told the truth about it. “You are right when you say you have no husband,” he says, and ends with, “What you have said is quite true.” Continue reading →

Bible Stuff: God Cannot Be Mocked?

1 Reply

MontyPythonGod

 

Today’s Verse

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh,from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Galatians 6:7-8 (NIV)

God Cannot Be Mocked?

The first part of Galatians 6:7  sounds so hard and mighty. I can’t read it without hearing a thundering preacher in my head. “GOD CANNOT BE MOCKED!” Then the voice trails off with threats about how God will destroy us all or something just as horrible. Out of context this seems like a lie. God can be mocked. So I had to address this issue first, for my own sake if anything. Continue reading →

Nobody’s Playing, Episode 3 – The Crazy Straw

4 Replies

Has James finally figured out enough of the game to be able to finish the first stinkin’ level? Thanks to your tips chances are pretty good.

Got the audio issues worked out. I’m recording all the audio like a podcast, directly to a Zoom H2 recorder then adding it to the video in editing. No more blasting voices.

Next episode we’re be replacing two kidneys. Any tips or advice would be appreciated.

What game should be next?