In reading Henry’s commentary on Romans 12 this morning, I came across his explanation describing how we should understand the text, “to think soberly…” from verse 3 wherein he states, “It was an excellent thing for Moses to have his face shine and not know it.“
What a fantastic example of having the power of God demonstrably affecting the body of Moses, representing clearly to all the intimacy of his relationship with God, and YET he did not know it.
Kent, Bonnie, and Eden Gravely came over for dinner tonight. They are such good friends, which was evident by the way we were able to connect at intimate levels with each other despite the fact it’s been over a year since either of us has visited the other. It’s the type of friendship that you can easily see lasting well into the next several decades without any difficulty. I thank God for blessing us with the relationship and hope that we will continue to be good stewards of it.
Wow! Impressive book by Tony Jeary. I started reading it around 5pm on Monday and finished it Tuesday afternoon. It’s only about 170 pages. Normally, I would have finished it sooner but I was taking some rather detail notes at the end of each chapter which slowed me down. 
This is the first book by Tony that I have read and I am impressed. Not by the grammatical or spelling mistakes in the book, but by the content and life example he presents. In fact, I am glad that the mistakes are there to trip up all those who think life is about looking perfect. They will most likely never get it anyway, so why should they waste their time reading the entire book. Let them be offended early on and put it down.
I have had this book for a couple months, but was put off a bit by the title. I assumed it would be yet another book on “success” that had more to do with the impression of success rather than true success in life…I was wrong. I look forward to consuming more content from Tony.
My trip to Chicago was not bad overall. I will definitely NOT stay as far out from downtown as I did on this trip. What a pain! Although the hotel had a shuttle to the airport every half hour, it always seemed to take an hour to get there. Then you have another hour on the train in order to reach downtown. I spent close to 20 hours over 3 days on either a shuttle or a train. What a waste.
I was able to spend some time downtown discovering some very unique areas of Chicago that make me want to go back soon.
Here is a pic of the art institute that was well worth the cost.
For all of those who keep asking, I did not get to the Navy Pier. Wish I had. One of the hightlights from my trip was dinner at The Village restaurant (http://www.italianvillage-chicago.com/) as seen below. It is a single family place that’s been around since 1927. I have been to places that have been around for just as long, but this family has definitely instituted a successor training program worthy to be modeled by all in this industry. The food was incredible!
Here is a shot of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago where I have been since Monday. Downtown is a very cool place, and I barely had time to explore a few inches of it. I’ll write up more content later, but back to work for now. I have a meeting this afternoon with the Chicago Emergency Management Center to review their processes and wireless mesh network implementation.
Just doing a little Bible reading before I go to bed…noticed something new about Romans 12:1. My study notes follow:
Romans 12 begins with fascinating approach by Paul where he uses the Greek word, “parakaleo” (pronounced par-ak-al-eh’-o) to call his listeners attention for what was most likely a difficult word to hear.
Strong’s defines this as “to call near, that is, invite, invoke (by imploration, hortation or consolation): – beseech, call for, (be of good) comfort, desire, (give) exhort (-ations), intreat, pray.”
My previous bias has interpreted this statement as an overtly authoritative command from Paul to his listeners. After reading Matthew Henry’s commentary on the matter and reviewing Strong’s reference, I’m inclined to agree with Mr. Henry who states, “Though he might with authority command, yet for love’s sake he rather beseeches…” The thought that Paul would provide such a gracious entreatment to a rather mean-spirited group is exemplary of the Holy Spirit within him.
It is possible that Paul desired to approach the coming chapter as a lamb instead of a lion, knowing the weight of what was to come.
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Liberty just came into my room pouting and whining. I asked her what was wrong to which she stated, “Hannah won’t talk to me.” You would have thought that Hannah had said something incredibly painful or mean by the way she was acting. Fortunately, I know my daughter very well and simply asked her if she would like to have her picture taken so we could put it on the computer. Her countenance immediately changed! |
As I read Matthew 15 again this morning, I could not help but hear Cheryl reminding the children, “Wash your hands!” I wonder how long before one of them reads this and attempts to use it to debate the doctrinal principles of hand washing.
Mat 15:20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. [KJVR, 1850 red letter edition]
Happy Rosh Hashanah!
I am taking the day off to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. Yes, I know that it is not exactly the typically celebrated holiday for a multi-generational pentecostal. There is much to why I am celebrating it that will require further explanations that I am not willing to take time and do now…so just wait.
In the meantime, Cheryl and I are dropping off Hannah, Jack and Liberty with Dalena this afternoon so we can spend some time in prayer and meditation regarding the upcoming year with an overall emphasis on making it a day of rest.
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