Hanukkah had begun in Jerusalem. It was winter and Jesus was walking around in the temple at Solomon’s Porch, so the Jews surrounded Him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us bluntly.”
Jesus answered them, “I told you and you don’t believe. The work that I do in the name of My Father testifies on my behalf, but you don’t believe, since you are not from My sheep, as I’ve told you. My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me and I give them everlasting life and they will never ever perish and nobody will pry them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all and nobody can pry them from the hand of My Father; My Father and I are one.” (John 10:22-30)
Various Tangents
How we got the term, “The Abominable Snowman”
Our story begins on the 1921 British Mount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition. The British Empire was at its territorial peak and a team of explorers were commissioned to snoop around the mountains of Tibet to find a route to access Mt. Everest. Political and personal differences were causing schisms among the group and a younger explorer with no former experience in the Himalayas had fallen ill. As you can imagine, tensions were pretty high on this death-defying journey. Fortunately, the team was able to find Lhagba La (meaning, “Windy Gap”), which gave future expeditions access to Mt. Everest. The mission was a success and the team returned home safely.
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At the Leopolitan Book Forum
They hold an annual book festival here in Lviv, so I went out there with a camera to see what I could see. It was a lot of fun, but I couldn’t help but be grieved by something. I believe that everyone struggles with questions like, “Who am I?” “Where did I come from?” “Where am I going?” “What should I be doing in the meantime?” These questions are just too big to ignore. At the book forum, I met some people who are looking for the answers to these questions in all the wrong places. It really puts into perspective how important it is that we are here doing what we do: translation, teaching, and outreach. Here are some pictures:[Read More]
Joktan: The First Creole Speaker
I enjoy nondogmatic speculation on issues where the Bible isn’t entirely clear. Did Jews build the Trojan horse? Did Elijah use Ba’al’s myths against him? We probably won’t know for sure on this side of eschatology, but they are fun things to think about. They can also be edifying topics for discussion because they force us to analyze what is written in the Word and give it precedence over what isn’t written in the Word.
I have developed a hypothesis that Joktan was the first creole speaker in recorded history. This hypothesis begs a few questions: 1) What is creole? 2) Who was Joktan? 3) Why did Joktan speak creole? and 4) Are you sure?
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Fireworks, Corruption, and Rallies
It has been a crazy week. Monday started with Independence Day celebrations and America celebrated freedom, fireworks, and fun (and etymology!). On Tuesday, the tone switched to angry Americans crying out for justice against Hillary. Then on Thursday, the frustration shifted toward the police after some violence in Louisiana and Minnesota… then overnight the country became pro-police again after Dallas lost some of its public servants at an anti-cop rally.
In some ways, the atmosphere reminds me of the Maidan Revolution back in 2013. Corrupt politicians, police brutality, protests, killings, anger, a little bit of nationalism… different details for sure, but on a primitive level the frustrations are quite similar.
When Russia invaded Eastern Ukraine, many people lost their homes and had to flee westward. Lena and I had the opportunity to meet some Christians who were refugees to Kiev, and they said something significant. They said that we, the Christians of Ukraine, were the guilty party in all of this chaos. I agreed with them about Ukraine then, and as I look at America falling apart this week, I can’t help but think the same thing about America now.
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‘Murica
Happy 4th of July! Today, we are going to talk about where the word, “America,” came from.
America is named after the Italian explorer, Amerigo Vespucci, who went to Brazil about a decade after Christopher Columbus and discovered that it wasn’t Asia.
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