Opening the Bible – Page 62 – A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green

High Touch or High Truth?

Unlike the synoptic writers who start with events surrounding Jesus’ birth (Matthew and Luke), or with the ministry of John the Baptizer (Mark), John’s gospel sets a cosmic tone as he goes all of the way back to the beginning. We hear echoes of Genesis 1 as he writes about the beginning, the word, and light. Some have suggestedContinue reading “High Touch or High Truth?”

God Using His Words

What if there were no words? Parents wouldn’t be able to encourage their children to use your words. We would be unable to communicate with each other in the rich, substantive way that words make possible. Without words, our ability to process anything intellectually would be severely diminished. We wouldn’t be able to think our way through someContinue reading “God Using His Words”

Funeral for a Friend

The main difference between funerals in the first century and today has to do with our modern embalming practices. Nothing like this existed then so burial took place not after a few days, but a few hours. When it was determined that a person had died, their eyes would be closed, and their body wouldContinue reading “Funeral for a Friend”

Finding Jesus

John 7 takes place in Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles about six months before Jesus’ crucifixion. As John is prone to doing, he takes an event (like Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman or the feeding of the multitude) and details some of the ripples that emanated from it. In the seventh chapter, the eventContinue reading “Finding Jesus”

Come and See

We were on a once-in-a-lifetime family trip to Greece. Our youngest daughter was there as part of her university’s international study program. Everyone had been counting their nickels for quite some time (even having a home-made gift exchange the previous Christmas). Janice and I flew to Raleigh where our oldest daughter and her husband live. From there we flewContinue reading “Come and See”

Be Bold and Behold!

I have a portable DVD player that’s seen some heavy usage so I was doing a little maintenance on it. I opened the disc area and blew some compressed air into it. As I did, I noticed a warning label: DO NOT TOUCH THE LENS. That made sense— any kind of smudge on the lens would keep the discContinue reading “Be Bold and Behold!”

An Exalted View

David Blaine is an illusionist and stunt performer who has been in the public eye for a couple of decades. His most recent feat was to float upward to almost 25,000 feet while attached to over 50 large balloons in the Great Basin Desert in northern Arizona. As he was ascending, he spoke of havingContinue reading “An Exalted View”

At Our Posts

“Bless” is a big word in Psalms. It occurs in some form over 50 times in the book. Therefore, when we encounter it in the first and last verses of the final psalm of ascent we’re not surprised, and it serves as a fitting conclusion. What began on the road to Jerusalem with a callContinue reading “At Our Posts”

“We Treat You Like Family”

This seems to be the slogan of every other business. I did a search of the phrase and the first page showed it was used by a car dealership, a medical center, a bank, and a real estate company. Sports teams also speak of their fanbases as family. (Although I have yet to find aContinue reading ““We Treat You Like Family””

Coming Attractions

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1 ESV). To say that brothers don’t always dwell together in unity is an understatement. The biblical witness provides us with too many examples of this sad truth. There was Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau and Joseph and his brothers.Continue reading “Coming Attractions”