Perspective

"If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following. There would be: 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 from the Western hemisphere, both north and south, 8 Africans; 52 would be female, 48 would be male; 70 would be nonwhite, 30 would be white; 70 would be non-CHristian, 30 would be Christian; 89 would be heterosexual, 11 would be homosexual.
Six people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth...and all 6 would be from the United States. Eighty would live in substandard housing; 70 would be unable to read; 50 would suffer from malnutrition. One would be near death; one would be near birth; one (yes, only one) would have a college education. One would own a computer (a year ago, no one had a computer).
How could the wealthy 6 live in peace with their neighbors? Surely they would be driven to arm themselves against the other 94...perhaps even to spend, as Americans do, about twice as much per person on military defense as the total income of two thirds of the villagers.
When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent."
By Philip M. Harter, MD, FACEP, Stanford University, School of Medicine

Longing for More...

Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Psalm 27:8 My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, Lord, I will seek.

I listened to a sermon today from Mars Hill and the speaker highlighted these two scriptures. God has set within us a longing for something more. Within our hearts, we desire something more than the ephemeral. Our deepest desire is for the eternal and therefore, David's heart cries out for him to seek God's face, his face being a sign of his presence.
It's so hard to really be still and do nothing, to empty myself of everything and invite God into that space. Even in my time of "stillness," I must be doing something (i.e. praying, reading, talking, thinking--and having great epiphanies!--etc.). I long to know and understand and grasp the eternal, but I fear emptying myself of the things I can conceptualize and that give me a temporary sense of worth or accomplishment.

"Run and tell that young man, 'Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of men and livestock in it. And I myself will be a wall of fire around it," declares the Lord, 'and I will be its glory within.'" (Zecariah 2:3-5)

Before you read my commentary, what do you think this means??




To have no walls would make a city quite vulnerable, I can imagine. It's cool to see the roles that God promises to take on...protector from outside harm (wall of fire), and filler of what's inside (glory within). He can protect us from the outside but also legitimate us from within.

Zephaniah

In depth in Zephaniah


http://dev.bible.org/interlinear/?book=36&chapter=3

Book??

I want to study out a book. I was thinking about one of the prophets. Anyone want to join me and we can discuss on here??

I want some haverim.

Information from Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, Spangler and Tverberg:

In order to study the Scriptures, students in an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva (seminary) engage in discussions of the Scriptures with other students, called their haverim. They debate over interpretations and help one another to understand different passages. A haver is a "fellow disciple who earnestly desires to grapple with others over issues of faith--someone who wants to delve into God's Word, to be challenged and refined" (74). A group of haver is called a haverim and the gathering of students is called a havruta.
"Haverim need to learn to trust one another, openly expressing their thoughts and feelings, confident that what is shared within the group will not go beyond the group. They also must learn the art of respectful disagreement, challenging each other when necessary. Remember, debate was a normal part of the life of disciples, an essential way to learn" (75).

This is what I desire to build through this blog...a forum for discussing, debating, questioning, examining, exploring, and ultimately discovering the Scriptures in a new way, finding Jesus in the Scriptures. "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." (Mat. 18:20). But I don't want to miss the point...it's not about our study or the insights that God gives. "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." (John5:39-40) I think it's ultimately about finding new life in Jesus! (But I'd like to hear what you think about that, too.)