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Lenten Observations, March 23, 2026 - Shift in Focus

 Up until yesterday the posts were about Ephesians 1 and 2. I reached a point where I can shift for the last two weeks of Lent.  I am, obviously, a Christian, although that is a word that in today's hypersensitive and consistently offended and offending world, I am not sure I should use. Others have limitations. "Believer" doesn't clarify "in what," "Christ follower" sets a high standard--do we meet it? Language--not an easy tool! Although I'm taking a shift in focus, this post will still refer to Ephesians 2: 13:  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were  far off have been brought near  by the blood of Christ. That is the message of Good Friday. "... brought near by the blood of Christ." I would like to take the blood out of the message, but that's a me problem. A bloody death was what he suffered, not poison, not a broken neck. "They will look upon him whom they pierced" is stated three times in the Bible.  Good Frida...
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Lenten Observations, March 22, 2026 - Ephesians 2:10

 After the acclamation of pure grace in how we receive acceptance with God, Paul discusses creativity -- not ours, but God's: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.  That is me doing verse 10 of Ephesians 2 from memory, from the old AV. Here are some updated translations:    For we are God’s handiwork,  created  in Christ Jesus to do good works,  which God prepared in advance for us to do. NIV   For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. New American Standard   For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them. Holman Christian Standard We are told the word translated workmanship is poema, as in work of art. This verse has a beautiful and inspiring side, and...
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Lenten Observations, March 21, Ephesians 2

8  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves;  it is  the gift of God,  9  not of works, lest anyone should boast. This is one of the first verses Christians kids "back in the day" (a phrase I despise because the day could have been 50 or 5 or 500 years ago!) were taught to memorize.  The themes of Romans are here: no boasting; faith to believe as part of the grace gift; "the just by faith will live."  Why is boasting such a big deal here? I mean, why does God want to avoid mankind's boasting so much? It's hard to see how someone could work well and hard enough to earn the salvation anyway.  I think it's a misapprehension of what boasting is. In the Bible, boasting is not a childish, harmless bragging. It is prideful resistance to God. For example, Psalm 5:5:  The   boastful shall not   stand in Your sight;  You hate all workers of iniquity. Therefore, boasting equals iniquity....
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Poems to Share

                                               
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Lenten Observations, March 20 Wonder v. Wonder

 Ephesians 2:4-7 - But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus I memorized this in the Authorized Version in 1974. It could be the gospel in a nutshell, although perhaps some doctrines are explicitly mentioned.   St. Paul makes this statement in a written document to a community of Christians in Ephesus while he is in jail in Rome in the late 50s A.D. We have easy access to it today; how many documents from then are read by massive of people today? We could read historical accounts and government edicts, plays and poems of the Roman Empire at that time, but very few of us actually do.  Despite its familiarity, we still...
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Interesting Take on Doug Wilson

I hope this essay about Doug Wilson (of Moscow, Idaho, fame) is accessible; I got the link from Facebook, so it should be.  The term "American evangelicalism" has become challenging to me. It seems to be so immersed in politics and revisionist history. Why anyone would feel the need to portray antebellum slavery as anything but brutal, anti-Christian, and anti-American, I cannot fathom. Christian Nationalism seems to be a  re-interpretation" of everything Jesus, Paul, Peter, and John wrote.  I used to depend on identity labels for myself; I avoid them now. This does not make me virtuous, just more comfortable with how I might be perceived by others, which can be regarded as cowardice as well as a form of intellectual honesty.
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Lenten Observations, March 19, 2026 - Ephesians 2:5-7

 In this passage the word "together" is repeated twice. He made us alive together, raised us up together, and made us sit together. Christ's victories are ours because we give our faith allegiance to Him.  I wonder, though, if the together is not also a statement about the Church as a whole. We won't sit with Him individually. The whole Church will be given these places of authority, honor, and esteem with Him.  My Bible notes say "These positional privileges will in the future be experientially realized and enjoyed." That is a Baptist note! I don't think it is that simple. Does it have to be in the future only? 
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