Let’s go to the map…

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mapI just kept seeing blogs that had a Cluster Map.  My curiosity was tweeked.  I know how many people each day read my blog, but where are they?  I added my own map on Jan. 11th, at the bottom of the right-hand sidebar.  You can click the map (at the bottom) for a detailed list of how many viewers are from each country.

WordPress has a big following in Australia, so I was not surprised there.  I’ve had comments from Israel before, so I’m still expected “thatdudeyouknow” to dot my map.  The surprises for me come from South Africa, India, and the United Arab Emirates.  I didn’t expect Pakistan to be on my list, nor Spain for that matter.  It’s been fun.

Perhaps the new will wear off after a while, and I will quit checking daily to see what new countries have appeared.  To add a map of your own, visit the Cluster Map website.  It’s as simple as entering your blog URL, then copying the code into a text widget.  Maybe I can someday travel the world and meet each person that reads my blog.  Until then, enjoy the map.

Rapture Index = 158

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rap-indexmap3It shouldn’t surprise anyone that there is a website called Rapture Ready that has a vast menu of things to read on endtimes prophecy, current events, and more articles on how Russia is Magog than you can shake a stick at.  But on the Rapture Ready mainpage is a link to the Rapture Index, and this thing is a hoot. Continue reading →

Jesus on Abraham

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abrahamMoses tells the story of Abraham, Paul mentions Abraham several times, but did Jesus ever talk about Abraham?  He does at length in John 8.  Jesus is explaining that God the Father has sent him, yet the people do not listen to his words but instead do the will of their father, the devil.  His Jewish audience insists their father is Abraham.  Jesus says that if Abraham were their father they would do the things Abraham did, such as rejoice when he saw the Day of the Lord.  Jesus contends they are not sons of Abraham. Continue reading →

In Christ Alone

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I’ve never been one for blogging song lyrics, but the gospel message is all over these verses.  In Christ Alone  (Keith Getty, Stuart Townsend) is one of my favorite songs that any Christian artist has ever produced.

In Christ Alone, my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song.
This cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, and strivings cease.
My comforter, my all in all
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ Alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love, and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save.
‘Til on the cross as Jesus died
the wrath of God was satisfied.
For every sin on him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live. Continue reading →

Bittersweet Explained

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In the December post Bittersweet  I spoke in the language of metaphor and analogy.  Read Bittersweet first; this will make that make sense.

We learned on the 10th of December that my wife Teresa is pregnant.  We have been pregnant twice and had miscarriages twice.  The first (in 2002) was unexpected and very traumatic.  In 2004, we got to the doctor very early (9 weeks) and found that the condition of the baby was already deteriorating.  At 9 weeks there was no heartbeat, and after 2 quantitative HCG tests it was confirmed.  We scheduled a D & C, which was much less traumatizing than the first actual miscarriage.  So in December, when we found out that we were pregnant again for only the third time in 11 years, we had reason for concern.  The news was “bittersweet.”

Teresa is now 9 weeks pregnant, and this evening we heard a heartbeat.  The baby is 7.7 millimeters long, and the doctor says everything is perfect.  We’re still asking for your prayer, but also offering praises at this time.  There are no guarantees in life, but we are now feeling really good about this situation.  For the time it seems God has turned out bittersweet to sweetness.

Uncle Jay Explains the News

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I just leaned about Uncle Jay tonight.  This is his year in review for 2008.  You can check him out on a regular basis at  www.unclejayexplains.com

Welcoming 2009 or Look on the Bright Side

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2009It’s a new year.  It’s our nature to be hopeful.  We have a whole new year with new opportunities, new resolutions, and a chance to start fresh.  A new president will soon take office, with a whole new administration.  Yet 2009 seems to be coming in with an awful lot of 2008 baggage. Continue reading →

New Year’s Resolutions?

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new-yearsI no longer make resolutions, per se.  There are of course a thing or two I would like to change, and in the spirit of turning over a new leaf, it’s hard not to be caught up in the moment.

In the last few weeks, I’ve started several different books and haven’t finished any.  I think at this exact moment I’m in the middle of 4.  Three are theology, one is the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Motorcycling.  So without making a resolution (most last an average of 2 weeks) I would like to say I plan to finish those volumes before I start any others.  I also have a brand new ESV Study Bible that I read about, blogged about, doted over; then read very little of. 

So that’s it.  I plan, intend, commit to do these things; no promises.  And you?

Wacky Questions & Trivia, episode 3

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question_mark_3dActually, this one may not be so wacky.  I saw this evening where someone had been searching for occurrences of knives in the Bible, specifically the word “knife.”  By the way, when I searched for knife, I went first to the ESV website and then to Biblegateway, both listed under Useful Links in the right-hand column.  That’s always where I start a search of the Bible text.  Here’s what I found versus what I expected.

The word knife appears 5 times in the ESV.  Two occurrences are in Genesis, in the story of Abraham going up to sacrifice his son Issac.  There’s a post I need to write.  All of the uses of knife are found in the Old Testament, but I didn’t find the one I expected to.  I remember a story of a king, a fat king as a matter of fact, that was slain with a knife.  He was so fat that the entire knife, handle and all, were swallowed up in his fat roles, and the assassin simply walked out of the throne room.  I search the King James text at BibleGateway; there I found 6 instances of knife, but still not that story.  Did I imagine it?  Couldn’t have.

The king was Eglon of Moab, and the KJV uses the word dagger instead of knife.  The ESV actually uses sword, but without researching any Kebrew linquistics I imagine dagger is a better word.  A sword?  How fat could one person be?  At any rate, I was right about the story, wrong about it being a knife.  That’s being really technical.  The story of Eglon’s death is recorded in Judges chp 3.  It’s probably not one you want to read your children before bedtime.