The Chosen One The idea of the elect/chosen finds its origin in the Old Testament. Scripture states that, primarily, God’s Chosen One is His Son, Jesus Christ. Thus at Jesus’ baptism God declared, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17).[1] Back in the Old Testament God had already announced concerning Jesus, “Behold my ser
In a couple of days people will be flocking to Louisville, Kentucky, for this year’s Generation. Youth. Christ. (GYC) convention. I remember my excitement and fervor as I left the corridors of this same city five years ago at the end of GYC 2010, with the theme Unashamed. GYC is driven by a sense of calling for mission as God’s chosen people and ch
This reflection paper was triggered by some incidents whose mentioning would help to clarify the context of this writing. A church member came to my office for some information. While he waited, I was caught off-guard when he queried, “Pastor, have you heard that Andrews University has publicly endorsed homosexuality?” Instinctively I dismissed his
“The Tyger,” quoted above, is a stunning and sublime work of poetry by the English romantic painter, poet, and printmaker William Blake. But beyond its beauty, it probes into one of the most troubling existential questions of life: the dual presence of beauty and horror, pleasure and pain, happiness and misery, goodness and viciousness. Though the
Materialism could be defined as “a preoccupation with or tendency to seek after or stress material things rather than intellectual or spiritual things.”[1] We can also define it as “any set of doctrines stressing the primacy of material over spiritual factors in metaphysics, value theory, physiology, epistemology, or historical explanation.”[2] Wit
The sight of Shylock’s gleaming knife struck terror and fear into Antonio’s heart. Antonio had defaulted on a loan from Shylock, and as one of the conditions of the contract, Shylock had stipulated taking a pound of Antonio’s flesh. Standing before the jury, Antonio is now overwhelmed with the dreadful thought of Shylock’s sword. These fears domina
The English word “meditate” comes from the Latin meditari, which connotes deep, continued reflection. It involves the narrowing of consciousness to a single theme, symbol, or doctrine, as well as thinking deeply about a particular religious subject.1 Some Distinctions Meditation as practiced in eastern traditions is distinct from the biblical notio
