Monthly Archives: May 2009

In my eagerness, or stupidity — one or the other — I have chosen to translate from the Greek the passages I will be preaching on in the next two months.

This evening I sat on our sunlit porch and for an hour worked over 4 verses.  The final product is somewhat simplistic — I’ll hone it during the week.

What I found unexpected was that I had fun.  Not since my days of seminary (over 20 years ago) have I done such extended translation.  Flashes of those days came back in an instant.  The thrill of finding just the right English expression to capture the intent of the Greek.  The frustration of parsing verbs — thank goodness for analytical lexicons.  The joy of finding the core thoughts in a sentence.

Some people think I enjoy words.  And that is true.  But my real enjoyment is to find a way for words to form together in such a way that they open our eyes to a new perspective.  Not necessarily a new truth.  But a new way of delving into the truth!

And that brings joy! 

7:30 was bright and early as we set up skillets and cutting boards.  When the service of the food came at 8:30, the pancakes and waffles were great,  sitting next in line to the ham and scrambled eggs.  Fruit salad with cheese and muffins snuggled in nicely, filling up the counter space.  Juices, tea and coffee rounded out the assortment of food.

More food than I eat most mornings.  Delicious!

The conversation with around a dozen guys was easy and informative.  We learned a bit more about each other, and particularly about a new church-planting pastor in town, Scott Holloway.

And thinking is already being done about another breakfast.  Perhaps the end of June?  We’ll see.

The health food store is right next to a liquor store on one side and an adult book store on the other. Both of those stores have large sliding doors that invite everyone in. In the middle of these stores is an inviting store called “The Way”.

So starts my latest story held on my wordpress blog.  Check it out and see what you think.  Click here.

For the past few years I have been on a quiet, patient search for a fuller understanding of the Trinity, which is the unique feature of the Christian faith.  The other two Abrahamic faiths (Judaism and Islam) both deny one or another aspect of the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – three in one – all God!

This has been furthered by the writing of the book, The Shack, by Paul Williams.  Paul was a classmate of mine in my undergraduate years.  Then I’ve been spending time working through David Eckman’s books – he strongly looks at the Trinity for counselling and dealing with such things as addictions.

Today I grabbed a few articles and did some further thinking.  I would have to say that I’m seeing what I’ve always seen, but getting a better picture.  And I’m becoming more convinced that this is a crucial part of the puzzle of living the way God intended us to live.  A Father who loves us, a Son who died for the forgiveness of our sins and the Holy Spirit who helps us to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus.  Put into a full picture, that’s a life without guilt, lived in freedom before God and able to serve others with joy.

Not a bad place to start!