You’re probably thinking, “What?!? This isn’t hamantaschen season! Who makes hamantaschen in October?!?” Well, poppy seed filling was on sale at Walmart for only 25¢ per can, so I bought some. The cans aren’t good forever and the expiry date will come before Purim, so it looks like we’re cooking hamantaschen in October this year.
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life
Ministry Update: Et Libros has launched!
After much hard work, we are happy to announce that our new website, www.EtLibros.com is available to the public. Thank you so much for your prayerful support as we’ve been translating, coding and designing the various pieces of this exciting project. If you have any Russian speaking friends, feel free to share Et Libros with them. For those of ya’ll who don’t speak Russian, I thought I’d put an English version of the “About Us” (Russ: О нас) page, as well as the author bios, and links to English versions of some of the articles.[Read More]
Three reasons why you do not want Jeremiah 29:11 to be about you
Have you ever seen a conversation like this take place between two believers?
Believer 1: How is life going, Believer 2?
Believer 2: Oh, life is terrible! My dog left me and I stepped on a LEGO. Things will never get better. Blah blah blah.
Believer 1: Oh no. Be encouraged! The Bible says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Believer 2: Oh, wow! You’re right! Everything is just swell. I think I’ll ride off into the sunset now.
Believer 1 has just quoted Jer 29:11. If we look at the context of this passage, I think we’ll find that he has actually misused this particular verse (though, I’m sure his intentions were good).
Now, Jer 29:11 is a source of encouragement for many believers and I don’t want to rob anyone of encouragement. So, I have compiled a list of three reasons why we should rejoice that this passage is not about us. If Jer 29:11 was indeed about us, then:
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Hanukkah, Jesus, and Potato Pancakes
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)
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]
Judge not?
Many people are quick to quote the first two words of Matthew 7:
Judge not […] (Matt 7:1a KJV)
But, did you know that in the rest of the chapter, there are three judgments that Jesus tells us to make about people? Let’s take a look at what Jesus says in the rest of the chapter and see if we can reconcile it with the entirety of Matthew 7:1.[Read More]