Recovering from alcoholism
Today I also wanted to share the story from the website Made In His Image. It is a guest post from my friend Scott and describes his battle with alcohol: Hello my name is Scott – I’m an alcoholic.
Harsh Truths
In case you’d like to be jolted awake as this new year begins…
Music Monday: In Christ Alone
This month’s Music Mondays will be composed primarily of more modern Christian songs. We’ll be kicking off today with Lauren Daigle‘s rendition of the modern classic “In Christ Alone”:
VERSE 1
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, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.
VERSE 2
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.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev’ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.
VERSE 3
There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.
VERSE 4
No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow’r of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand.
Naming the books of Moses
I’ve recently started studying the first five books of the Bible in more depth. Almost as soon as I started, I had an “Oh, I never knew that!” moment which is the subject of today’s post.
The opening books of the Bible are known by the Greek word “Pentateuch”, which literally means “five volumes”. Unsurprisingly, there are five books which make up the Pentateuch:
1. Genesis
In Greek, “Genesis” means “Beginning”, which is an appropriate title for this book since it describes the Creation of all things. It also covers the lives of the early Patriarchs, up until the time of Jacob and the Twelve Tribes.
2. Exodus
The second book of the Bible describes the escape of the Children of Israel from Egypt and the giving of the Ten Commandments on Sinai. This is reflected in the book’s title, which literally means “Departure”.
3. Leviticus
If you’ve ever tried to read Leviticus, you’ll know that it goes into great detail concerning all the different sacrifices in the cultic worship of Israel. This worship was performed in the Temple by the priestly tribe of the Levites, which gave rise to the this volume’s title, “Book of the Levites”.
4. Numbers
This book recounts the events of Israel’s sojourn in the desert. Unlike the other volumes in the Pentateuch, its title is not very descriptive, being so named because the opening pages of the book concern a census that was taken among the people.
5. Deuteronomy
The final volume in the Pentateuch contains the Law given by Moses on the plains of Moab prior to his death and before the entry into the Promised Land.
My first “Oh, I didn’t know that!” moment was when I found out the meaning of this book’s title. The Greek word for “Law” is “nomos” and it’s the word used throughout the New Testament to refer to the Law of Moses. You can see this Greek word hidden away in the name of the book: “Deuteronomy“. The prefix, “deutero” means “second” (e.g. “deuterocanon” means “second canon”). Therefore, “Deuteronomy” means “Second Law”. It is so called because it’s the second major piece of legislative material in the Books of Moses.
I previously knew that the Jewish people often refer to the Pentateuch as “The Torah”, the Hebrew word for “Instruction”, “Teaching”, or “Law”. However, what I didn’t know was that the they have different names for each of these books. The names which I listed above (Genesis, Exodus, …) come from the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation of the Pentateuch sometime around 250 BC. Within Judaism, however, the following Hebrew names are used:
1. Bereshith (“In the Beginning”)
2. Shemuoth (“Names”)
3. Wayiqra (“And he said”)
4. Bamidbar (“In the desert”)
5. Debarim (“Words”)
As you might be able to guess from the translations in parentheses, the Jews follow the same naming convention used in Catholic Papal Encyclicals, naming the book after the opening words of the document.
Well, that’s enough nerding out for one day… 🙂
Shameless Saturday!
I’ve been meaning to do one of these posts for quite some time. I know other bloggers, such as Brandon Vogt, do them quite regularly and I think it’s time I did it too…
So, today is “Shameless Saturday”. This is in imitation of Jon Acuff‘s “Shameless Saturdays”:
“Post a link to whatever it is you’re all about with no shame or apologizing or feeling like you’re making a comment on a post you really don’t care about but are instead secretly trying to promote your own blog.
(I’ve done that myself many times. The best way to do it is to say, “That’s an interesting post. It reminds me of something I wrote recently on my blog ……”)”
So, do you have a blog post you’re particularly proud of that you want to share? Do you have a book, ministry or project you want to share with the world? Feel free to post a comment below!
Friday Frivolity: More Christian Pick-Up Lines
I’ve written before about some of the amazing Catholic pick-up lines out there (Part 1|Part 2)…but here are some more!
Do you pray like a Hobbit?
I have no idea whether or not Tolkien intended it to be this way (although I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he did), but have you ever noticed that all the mealtimes mentioned by the Hobbits in “Lord of the Rings” correspond with points in the Church’s Liturgy of the Hours?
Hobbit Meal #1: Breakfast (7am)
The office of “Vigils” is prayed just before sunrise.
Hobbit Meal #2: Second Breakfast (9am)
“Lauds” takes place sometime between sunrise and 8:30am.
Hobbit Meal #3: Elevenses (11am)
“Tierce” is prayed between 8:45am and 10am.
Hobbit Meal #4: Luncheon (1pm)
This corresponds to “Sexte”, which is prayed between 11:30am and 1:30pm.
Hobbit Meal #4: Afternoon Tea (4pm)
The office of “None” is between 2pm and 4pm
Hobbit Meal #5: Dinner (6pm)
Evening pray of “Vespers” is any time between 4:30pm and 8pm.
Hobbit Meal #6: Supper (8pm)
Finally, “Compline” is prayed before bed.
Does anyone know for certain if Tolkien did this on purpose?