Greetings!
Grace, mercy, and peace be with you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
There was no Monday Miscellany last week because I was out of town celebrating the graduation of our eldest from Beloit (WI) College. We enjoyed a great experience and time with friends and family. We hope all is well with all of you.
Sundays, May 11 and 18, 2025
The Voice 15.19: Christ Proclaimed in Pretense or Truth | Philippians 1:12-19
Paul was in a predicament, and everyone knew it. He couldn’t not address it when writing to the Philippian Christians. So he wanted to put the best possible spin on the situation: yes, he was under house arrest. But his situation was actually advancing the Gospel in Rome, giving confidence to others to proclaim the Gospel.
But not everyone was doing it for the right reasons. Some wanted to make life worse for Paul. But Paul rejoiced inasmuch as Christ was proclaimed.
We have a lot to learn from Paul.
The Voice 15.20: Balak and Balaam | Numbers 22:2-24:25
The whole Torah narrative has been primarily focused on the people of God…until the Balak and Balaam narrative in Numbers 22:2-24:25. One of the longest, most coherent narratives seen so far was all about the people of God, and yet they are completely oblivious to it all, at least for the moment.
Balak was understandably scared of what the Israelites could do. He was not above spiritually underhanded tactics. Balaam seemed noble, willing to speak only what YHWH would tell him to say. And Balaam got to speak with his donkey!
The whole narrative is riven with irony and represented a continual reminder to the people of God how their blessing in YHWH was secure…as long as they honored YHWH as their true and only God.
And the donkey bit is hilarious.
The Christian Club at West Los Angeles College: It Is Finished | John 19:16-42
John narrated Jesus’ crucifixion in seventeen verses.
John focused on Pilate’s inscription, the dividing of His garments, the women at the cross, commissioning John to provide for His mother Mary, and His final words, indicating His thirst and how it was finished.
John would also relate how Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus prepared Jesus’ body and buried it in a new tomb.
And then they all rested according to the commandment. On Sunday morning, nothing would be the same. Pilate wasn’t exactly wrong; Jesus was the King of the Jewish People. His Kingdom would ultimately undermine Rome and all kingdoms in its own way. And it perseveres.
Lesson: The Internet: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Outline | Podcast | Conversation
People my age and older can remember a time before the Internet became pervasive in our society. For everyone else, the Internet is ubiquitous, and always has been.
So it’s not really a question anymore of if, but rather how, we use the Internet. I mean, hey! Hi! We’re all on the Internet right here, right now!
The Internet has its good uses and purposes. But it has a lot of bad, and a whole lot of ugly. We do well to consider how we can best use the Internet to glorify God in Christ.
Bible Readings for May 19-25, 2025
Acts Reading: Acts 16:9-15
Paul takes the Gospel to Europe. Paul saw a vision of a Macedonian telling him to come and help them. Paul and his entourage then traveled to Macedonia and the Roman colony town of Philippi. They went to a place on a riverbank where they believed Jewish people would meet for prayer; Paul spoke to the women who gathered there. One such woman, Lydia, a God-fearing Thyatiran who sold purple garments, heard the Gospel, and gave heed to it. She and her household were baptized; she constrained Paul and her entourage to lodge with her while he was in Philippi.
Why did God call Paul to Macedonia?
The Psalm: Psalm 67:1-7
The Psalmist exhorted the people to praise God. The Psalter wanted God to be merciful and bless them and make His face to shine upon them so that His way and salvation would be known among the nations. The people and nations should praise God, be glad, and sing, for God will judge all people equitably. All the people should praise God since He has made the earth increase in produce. God would bless His people, and all would revere Him.
Why should we always praise God?
Gospel Reading: John 14:23-29
Jesus promised His disciples His presence and the Comforter. All who love Jesus will keep His word; the Father will love him, and the Father and the Son will relationally dwell with them. Those who do not love Jesus do not keep His words; His words are really the words of the Father. Jesus spoke these things while present with the disciples; the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, would be sent by the Father in Jesus' name and would teach them all things and would bring to mind all He had taught them. Jesus' peace, not as the world's peace, was given to them; they should not be troubled or afraid. If they truly loved Jesus, they would rejoice regarding His departure, since He would go to the Father, and the Father is greater than the Son. He spoke thus before it all took place so they would believe.
When would Jesus leave, and when would the Comforter come?
New Testament Reading: Revelation 21:10-22:5
John saw a vision of life after the end of all things. An angel carried John away in the Spirit to show him the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. John saw the city having God's glory, and spoke of it in terms of many gates and walls and precious stones and gold. The city had no temple since God and the Lamb was its temple. The city did not need the sun or the moon, for God's glory illuminated it. The nations would walk in its light and bring their glory through the gates which would never be shut since there would be no night there. Nothing unclean or abominable would enter it. The river of life flowed from the throne in the midst of the street in the city, and the tree of life alongside it bearing fruit; its leaves would heal the nations. There could be no more curse; the throne of God and the Lamb was in their midst; His servants would serve Him; they would see His face; His name would be imprinted on them. They shall dwell there in light forever.
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
For this week’s image, some Persian jewelry from The Getty Villa.
Book Reviews
There is a lot of unease these days regarding the Holy Spirit. Some faith traditions seem to act as if the Holy Spirit has not been doing a whole lot since the end of the first century. Other faith traditions seem to be almost entirely and only about the Holy Spirit.
Leonard Allen came out of a tradition resembling the former, and his exploration into the nature and work of the Spirit is manifest in Poured Out: The Spirit of God Empowering the Mission of God (affiliate link).
The author began by considering what happened to the Spirit and compared and contrasted the many traditions regarding the faith and the Spirit. He goes beyond the rationalist/Pentecostal contrast to also consider institutional or “Christendom” and the more radical traditions as well. He then considered the Trinitarian nature of God and the Spirit within the Trinity. He then considered the Spirit’s involvement and work in the Kingdom and the metaphors involved therein, the mission and work of God and the Spirit’s role within it, and how the Spirit is active in forming Christians as disciples. He spoke of how the Spirit is at work in glorifying God and refreshing Christians for mission, yet also how the Spirit strengthens in spite of the groaning and corruption within the creation. He concluded with words regarding going out on mission and living in the mission of God according to the Spirit.
The author is certainly reacting to his raising, but it would be challenging to argue he has become a Pentecostal or has gone to the other extreme. This is a great resource to consider in terms of coming to a more balanced understanding of the Spirit and His work.
Who were the terrors of the civilizations of the ancient Near East and the early Classical period? We see them embodied in Ezekiel’s Gog of Magog, and they likely have some kind of reference to the nomad peoples of the steppes, and from the 8th to 3rd centuries BCE, those nomad peoples of the steppes were the Scythians.
In The Scythians: Nomad Warriors of the Steppes (affiliate link), Barry Cunliffe thoroughly and systematically set forth what we presently know about the Scythians.
The author described the rediscovery of the Scythians by the Russians and others over the past few hundred years. Since the Scythians did not write down much of anything themselves, a lot of what was recorded about them came from the Greeks, sometimes allies, sometimes opponents, and so the author set forth what the Greeks had said about them. He described the expanse of the steppe and what seemed to be the development of a people with shared heritage and values from the Far East in Siberia all the way, eventually, to the Hungarian plains, who seem very much like the kind of people the Greeks described as Scythians. The author chronicled their rise at the collapse of the Bronze Age and their expansion by the 6th century BCE across the steppe regions. He chronicled their eventual movement west and their ultimate demise at the hands of other eastern steppe people. The author then chronicled what we know regarding their lifestyle, social hierarchies, religion, and death and burial practices.
The author is quite comprehensive, but the work shows the challenges which arise from chronicling a people who did not leave written records. Archaeological remains abound for the Scythians, and what we can learn from them are well attested in this work, but there’s only so much which can be gleaned from them.
In this way the great and terrifying peoples can be somewhat understood, but only dimly. We can make of that what we will.
We appreciate your continued interest, prayers, and support.
May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirits.
Ethan