“Jewish Fables,” Josephus, and Exorcism-by-Nostril (!!!)

Posted on 20 May, 2016 by Jon Gleason

Titus 1:13-14

13 This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;
14 Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.

Many Christians have read this passage and believed it, but never known what these “Jewish fables” are to which Paul referred.  I thought it might help believers to understand not only this passage, but also to understand more fully the kinds of errors which concerned Paul, by looking at an example from the Jewish historian Josephus in his work, “The Antiquities of the Jews” (8.2.5).

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Posted in Rightly Dividing | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

A New Name, Written Down in Glory

Posted on 18 May, 2016 by Jon Gleason

I couldn’t post this when it happened, because his grandparents hadn’t been told yet (and they read my blog sometimes, and I didn’t want to give it away before he had a chance to tell them himself!).  Then other things intervened the last couple of days.  But I suppose it is never too late to sing this song, so here it is.

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Posted in Christian Music | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Evangelicals, Donald Trump, and Making America Great

Posted on 5 May, 2016 by Jon Gleason

In my last post, I discussed how Donald Trump had twisted the Scripture for false political purposes, and stated that Christians should not be drawn into this way of thinking.  One comment noted that many evangelical Christians in America support “Trump’s ideals to make America great again.”

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Posted in Thoughts on the News | 16 Comments

Donald Trump’s Blasphemous Vengeance

Posted on 3 May, 2016 by Jon Gleason

I discussed this very briefly a week ago Sunday, but not everyone was present, so I thought I would mention it here, and perhaps elaborate a little more.

I don’t spend a lot of time on politics in the meetings of our church.  Our God calls us to apply the Scriptures to every part of our lives, including our approach to political questions.  But the instruction to “put not your trust in princes” (Psalm 146:3) is particularly relevant when every political party has rejected Biblical truth and morality, and Jesus said that His kingdom is not of this world.  There are many more pressing issues in the life of believers than political questions.

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Posted in The Christian and Culture, Thoughts on the News | Tagged , , | 19 Comments

Catechism For the Christian View of Mathematics

Posted on 7 March, 2016 by Jon Gleason

In my last post (Mr Z and the Christian View of Mathematics), I told how my high school maths teacher, Mr Larry Zimmerman, taught us to see mathematics as it is, one of the ways God revealed different attributes of Himself in His awesome work of creation.

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Posted in Daily Christianity, The Christian and Culture | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Mr Z and the Christian View of Mathematics

Posted on 5 March, 2016 by Jon Gleason

My maths teacher (“math teacher” for those across the pond 🙂 ), Larry Zimmerman, passed on to glory recently.

The best teachers seem to have this wonderful ability to make you fear them and love them at the same time.  It’s a wonderful combination that elicits a strong desire to excel in their students.  One never wants to let down a teacher like that, it leaves a regret that doesn’t go away easily.  At Portland Christian High School in Portland, Oregon, I had three teachers like that, teachers to whom I am deeply indebted.

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Posted in Daily Christianity, The Christian and Culture | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

God’s Grace in Numbers 15

Posted on 27 January, 2016 by Jon Gleason

I hope you are reading your Bible.  If you haven’t been, it’s never too late to start!  And if you’ve never read through your Bible, you can still do it this year — it really isn’t that hard.  If you read four chapters a day, starting today, even with the late start, you’ll still be done well before the end of the year.

If you haven’t started reading your Bible, check out Bible Reading, which I posted back in May of 2014.  It has some suggestions for those who are starting out, and one of those suggestions is that you can actually skip some things, at first, if you find them difficult.

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Posted in Daily Christianity | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments