Theological term of the Day

Gehenna

Originally, a location southwest of Jerusalem where children were burned as sacrifices to the god Molech. It later became a garbage dump with a continuous burning of trash. Therefore, it was used biblically, to illustrate the abode of the damned in Christian and Jewish theology. Gehenna is mentioned in Mark 9:43ff and Matt. 10:28 as the place of punishment of unquenchable fire where both the body and soul of the wicked go after death. It is apparently the future abode of Satan and his angels (Matt. 25:41).

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Thanks...

Thanks to everyone for my birthday wishes, cards, and gifts. Definitely the most memorable gift was the "forking" of my yard!

Had it been toilet paper, I would have lost some friends over it!

(I am still trying to figure out who really did it)

This Moment

Father,
I have a strong sensation
that
you brought me to this moment of prayer
because
you plan to share with me
insights to solve my problems.

So I will go out
and
face the sunlight of a new day
and a new week
crammed with undiscovered possibilities. 
I am encouraged!
I am enthused!
I am more hopeful than I have been in a long time!
Amen.

Positive Prayers for Power-Filled Living - Robert H. Schuller

Theological Term of the Day

Eden

Eden is the place where the Garden of Eden was located, "And the Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed," (Gen. 2:8).  It is in this garden that Adam and Eve were created. 

There were four rivers in the land of Eden (Gen. 2:10).  They were the Pishon (Gen. 2:11), Gihon (Gen 2:13), Tigris and Euphrates (Gen. 2:14).  The Garden of Eden is called the Garden of God in Ezek. 28:13.
The Garden was meant for Adam and Eve to till and keep, but they fell and were expelled from the Garden.

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Beneva Christian Church

I am so glad to be a small part of Beneva Christian Church!

I really enjoyed worshiping and sharing with everyone yesterday. For those not able to attend or listen to the message online, we talked about the Ancient Covenant Making Ceremony. I appreciate all the kind words regarding the message, but the real neat part is when God uses His word to teach His people. 

The Summer of Psalms has been lots of fun to work through! 

Next week we will have part 2, and conclude with the second half of Psalm 50.

August 4th will be Psalm 91 (one of my favorite Psalms)

August 11th Trent Johnson will be sharing a message on "Not just being a Fan."

On August 18 I begin a 4 part series titled, "Ordinary to Extraordinary." 

Beauty

Thank you, Father, for filling the world with beauty.
I thank you for the beauty of life,
the beauty of love,
the beauty of children, and
the beauty of old people.
I thank you for the beauty of Christ and for the beauty of
any life when Christ is invited through the Holy Spirit.
Thank you, Father, that you have made my life beautiful too.
Amen.

Positive Prayers for Power-Filled Living - Robert H. Schuller

Theological Term of the Day

Gap Theory

The gap theory is the idea that there is a gap in time between Genesis 1:1 in Genesis 1:2.  The gap lasted for millions of years and accounts for the dinosaurs.  This theory was begun by a Scottish minister named Chalmers in 1814.

• Gen. 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
• Gen. 1:2, "And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

Some say that the fall of Satan occurred between these two verses and that the fall resulted in the earth being formless and void, i.e., the cataclysm.  The theory states that Gen. 1:28 gives a hint to this when it says, "And God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”  The KJV uses the word "replenish" instead of the word "fill" and it is from this word that the theory is said to be validated.  The theory is that there must have been a destruction of the world that needed to be replenished.
The word 'replenish' is mawlay and it means  "to fill, be full, fullness, abundance (participle), to be full, be accomplished, be ended, to consecrate, fill the hand, to satisfy, to fulfill, accomplish, complete, etc.

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Prayer for Today

Sunshine

Like a fresh
burst of golden sunshine that
dissolves the gloomy fog
and makes the glistening grass
sparkle with a green sheen,
so, Lord, you have come
into my mind
at the opening of a new day
assuring me that life is going
to be beautiful.
It's going to be one of my great days - after all!
Amen.

Positive Prayers for Power-Filled Living - Robert H. Schuller

Theological Term of the Day

Gemmatria

Gematria is the study of the numeric equivalents of Hebrew and Greek letters. In both Hebrew and Greek (the languages in which the Bible was written), there are only alpha characters. There are no numeric characters. Therefore, when a Hebrew would want to write a number, he would use the corresponding Hebrew letter.

Hebrew Letter	Hebrew Name	English Letter	Numeric Value		Hebrew Letter	Hebrew Name	English Letter	Numeric Value
א	aleph	silent (א)	1 or 1000		ל	lamed	low	30
ב	Bet	boy	2		מ),ם)*	mem	mike	40 (600)
ג	gimel	god	3		ן),נ)*	nun	new	50 (700)
ד	deled	dog	4		ס	samech	sam	60
ה	heh	hi	5		ע	ayin	silent	70
ו	vav	very, up	6		ף),פ)*	pey	pet, phone	80 (800)
ז	zayin	zebrea	7		ץ),צ)*	tzadi	nets	90 (900)
ח	ches	bach	8		ק	kuf	q, kit	100
ט	tes	test	9		ר	reish	race	200
י	yod	you	10		ש	shin	sam, shem	300
ך),כ)*	chof	kit	20 (500)		ת	tof	test	400

*final form is form of letter found when it occurs at the end of a word. Greek Letter Equivalents

Greek Letter	Greek Name	English Letter	Numeric Value		Greek Letter	Greek Name	English Letter	Numeric Value
A,a	alpha	father	1		N,n	nu	new	50
B,b	Beta	boy	2		X,x	xi	box	60
G,g	Gamma	god	3		O,o	omikron	off	70
D,d	delta	dog	4		P,p	pi	pet	80
E,e	epsilon	end	5					90 is
					R,r	rho	rat	100
			6 is sigma, V final form		S,s,V*	sigma	sam (s,V)	6, 200
Z,z	zeta	zebra	7
H,h	eta	hey	8		T,t	tau	test	300
Q,q	theta	thick (q)	9		U,u	upsilon	up	400
I,i	iota	it	10		F,f	phi	phone (f)	500
K,k	kappa	kit	20		C,c	chi	bach	600
L,l	lamda	low	30		Y,y	psi	cups (y)	700
M,m	mu	mike	40		W,w	omega	orange (w)	800
								900 = sampsi

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Devotion to Jesus

Being a Disciple of Jesus means personal, zealous devotion to a Person. There is an enormous difference between devotion to a person and devotion to a cause. 

Jesus never proclaimed a cause— He invited and called people to personal devotion to Himself. The results of such devotion transforms men and women.

Jesus said, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."  - Matthew 4:19

Strange, but wonderful. 

4th of July

Did You Know?

Independence Day is often marked by fireworks, barbecues and parades.

Fireworks were previously called "rockets." The term "fireworks" was not established until 1777. Later fireworks that made a noise were invented and called "fire crackers." 

By 1880, sparklers had been created. Let the accidental burns begin!

The Picnic

The 4th July Picnic

A Jewish Rabbi and a Catholic Priest met at Albuquerque's annual 4th of July picnic. Old friends, they began their usual banter.

'This baked ham is really delicious,' the priest teased the rabbi. 'You really ought to try it. I know it's against your religion, but I can't understand why such a wonderful food should be forbidden. You don't know what you're missing. You just haven't lived until you've tried Mrs Warren's prized Virginia Baked Ham. Tell me, Rabbi, when are you going to break down and try it?'

The Rabbi looked at the priest with a big grin, and said, 'At your wedding.'

Benjamin Franklin

In light of approaching holiday, I thought of several of the founders of our country and remembered a biography I read of Benjamin Franklin.

 At 26, Franklin published the first edition of Poor Richard's Almanac under the pseudonym Richard Saunders.In his Almanac, Franklin wrote many clever sayings which are still part of our cultural heritage today, and here are several:

- Remember that time is money.

- A little neglect may breed mischief: for want of a nail, the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost.

- A penny saved is a penny earned.

- Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.

- Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

- Fish and visitors smell in three days.

- Genius without education is like silver in the mine.

- God helps them that help themselves.

- Haste makes waste.

- Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?

- It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright.

- Little strokes fell great oaks.

- Never leave that till to-morrow which you can do to-day.

- Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.

- Well done is better than well said.

Ben Franklin experts question whether, in fact, he wrote all his humorous lines. Some believe he researched them and revamped them into his own inimitable style.