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Showing posts from December 27, 2015

The Thin Line

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The Thin Line Many years ago I was a cop in the U.S. Air Force. We were charged with guarding a “Priority A” facility, a site that was high-up in the chain of national security, and also way off the beaten path. You either got there because you were terribly lost, or you were there with intention (good intention, or otherwise). On every fence, and at the three entrances, were signs stating that it was a military installation and deadly force could be employed. One dark evening, at around 11 PM, the shift Sergeant called me for back up. We were in one of the main entry points and just outside the building was the dimly lit parking lot. We could make out someone lurking around the parked cars and looking suspicious. We went out to meet the individual, I with my Combat .38 caliber revolver (no safety, and no “locking and loading”), and the Sergeant with his M-16 rifle. I walked around the back of the cars to come up behind the person, while the Sergeant met him face to face. Thing

"The Gospel of St. John" by J.B. Lightfoot. A Review

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“The Gospel of St. John: A Newly Discovered Commentary” The Lightfoot Legacy Series, Volume 2 J.B. Lightfoot Editors, Ben Witherington II and Todd D. Still IVP Academic (InterVarsity Press) PO Box 1400 Downers Grove, IL 60515 ISBN: 978-0-8308-2945-3; $40.00; November 2015 Reviewed by Rev. Dr. Michael Philliber for Deus Misereatur Long forgotten, lingering on the dust coated back shelves of the Durham Cathedral Library in the Monk’s Dormitory, there appears to be a treasure trove of works, files, and folders, along with blue boxes that contain unpublished material from the classic 19 th Century New Testament scholar and Bishop of Durham, J.B. Lightfoot. The blue-box material is lecture notes on Acts, the Gospel according to St. John, 1 Peter and 2 Corinthians.  They are now being published by IVP Academic as “The Lightfoot Legacy Set” in three volumes and edited by Ben Witherington III and Todd D. Still. The newest work is the 371 page hardback, “The Gospel of S

"O Our Lord and Our God" - 27 December 2015 AM and PM

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Sunday morning: O our Lord and our God, who has reconciled us to yourself and to one another by the death of your Son, having taken away the dividing wall of hostility thru his cross (Ephesians 2.14-16), we pray for your World and your Church. We pray for the wrecked and the poised nations of this world; safeguard your Church in every land by granting each country a wholesome tranquility and a proper affluence. Almighty God, hear our spoken and unspoken discomforts, worries and fears about the fiscal, political and governmental future of our country, and bestow what is best for the good of the populace of this nation and the health of your Church. We ask for you to watch over all our U.S. Military personnel, specifically the deployed. Preserve them that they may return to their families in one piece both emotionally and physically. O our God, we remember these who are in need….restore them body and soul, give them peace of mind and joy in the Holy Spirit. We