Satur-deja Vu

The armor of God (Ephesians 6) has no pants. That’s because men preparing for hard labor or going into battle were commanded to gird up their loins:

The Proverbs 31 woman girds her loins in strength but it’s usually associated with men. Most modern translations render the Hebrew “she girds her loins with strength” as she dresses herself or she wraps herself in strength but I’ve linked several translations side by side here. God tells Job to gird up his loins like a man in Job 38:3 but there again you have to go to the KJV for that translation, some modern translation give it in the footnotes. 1 Peter 1:13 is rendered “gird up the loins of your mind” in the King James but simply “prepare your minds for action” in the ESV. Girding one’s loins is an old concept because we’re dealing with another culture(s) millenia ago on the other side of the world. Men didn’t wear pants and thus the full armor of God has no pants.

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iMonk Radio Podcast #154

Intro: Looking for a car. Found a good long distance service. What can you discuss/display in front of other Christians? Origins of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. “Living the Christian Year” by Bobby Gross.

Big Topic: A response to a family with a teenage son, rattled in his faith after going out into the “real world” and deciding to become atheist. How do parents respond to a child raised in a Christian home, including church life and Christian school, who then rejects Christian faith?

Note: This is what he is talking about with the sock and shoe spinning, based on the idea that Moses took off his shoes because he was on holy ground. Spin Me Right Round Jesus is the first song in a long montage so feel free to bale out at any time.

Does Jesus Have Scars?

This goes under the heading of trivia question theology. It was discussed in a Facebook group that I am part of. My answer is that when Jesus appears in the upper room to his Apostles, and later to Thomas in particular, he has been resurrected and appears in his glorified body. He can do things like appear and disappear in rooms with all the doors and windows closed. He instantly disappeared from their sight once the men on the road to Emmaus recognized who he was. He showed Thomas the nail prints in his hands and let him feel the wound in his side. Why would Jesus have these wounds after his resurrection? While I believe that there will be no sickness or death in heaven, and that we will be healed of all infirmities, our identity is hid in Christ and his redemptive work is very much tied tied to his death on the cross. Calvary is the point where heaven touches earth. His wounds may be visible for this reason; they are a major part of his story. Those marks define the crucified savior, the suffering servant of Isaiah 53. My reasoning for the wounds being visible may be speculative but the fact that we see Jesus with them after the resurrection is firmly based on the Gospel accounts.

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Satur-deja Vu

Apple Cider Donuts are a cake type of donut with a pretty soft texture. Oreo’s have a crunchy cookie on either side but it’s crazy how much these things taste like apple cider donuts. This was an impulse buy. Fall doesn’t last long, do something wacky.

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iMonk Radio Podcast #153

Intro: Michael mentions a couple of blogs authored by his daughter and son-in-law. Keep in mind these podcasts are over a decade old and with the rise in other social media blogging is not what it used to be. These days Ryan Cordle is the vicar of Zion Lutheran Church in Lafayette, Ohio. Here is the website and you could easily lookup the Facebook page. Subscribe to watch live video every Sunday.

Sins of consumerism, might work that thought into something.

Pastoral care; there is a time to lament. Sometimes a wise man says nothing.

Big topic: The emphasis on grace. It’s almost becoming rare to find and a listener writes in to thank Michael for staying with the gospel of grace.

Satur-deja Vu

Disaster relief leads to salvation. Let’s start off with some good news, that ought to be a welcome change of pace. Natural disasters often bring destruction of property and sometimes loss of life but they present opportunities for the church to step up and act like God’s children. Disaster relief is a real world application of putting others’ needs before our own and doing things for the least of these, expecting nothing in return. Click here to read the Christian Index story shown above.

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iMonk Radio Podcast #152

Intro: Michael announces “Jesus Shaped Spirituality” for fall 2010. Amy Welborn going into semi-retirement. Lots of chatter about church buildings.

2nd half: The hard truth in the Gospel/Law debate is that the Gospel alone can do it. You don’t need to learn the Law, receive the Gospel, then go back to keeping the Law.

Satur-deja Vu, Appendix A

There’s always another thing or two I meant to say. So rather than wait until next Saturday and forget again, here they are.

Dug Days premiered on Disney+ September 1, only a few days after the passing of Ed Asner. The five episode series of shorts is one of the last projects Asner worked on. With a smaller crew, owing partly to Covid, it took Pixar about 11 months to produce the 40 minutes or so animation. All five episodes are currently streaming on Disney+. I hope it goes without say they are delightful.

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Satur-deja Vu

Happy Eggs are happy! Happy Monday was published and links had been shared on Facebook and Twitter. It was a little later than I usually have breakfast and as a I dropped two eggs in the pan I noticed this face smiling back at me. Obviously I ran to get my phone and take a pic. First the eggs were happy. Then the eggs were scrambled with shredded cheese. Then the eggs were a sandwich. The old saying is true: You are what you eat so then I was happy!

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iMonk Radio Podcast #151

Information delivery paradigm. I believe this is the article Michael is responding to. Here is the link.

Why We Love the Church. Do we leave room for the church to be wrong?

Big topic: The influence we have on people over time. The church must be a community of believers doing kingdom work.