Month: September 2012

The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife: How a Fake Gospel-Fragment Was Composed

Published by

 Francis Watson of the University of Durham has provided a six-page analysis (PDF) of the Coptic fragment which seems to say Jesus was married. This is the most in-depth examination I have seen yet. Professor Watson concludes that The text has been constructed out of small pieces – words or phrases – culled mostly from the Coptic Gospel of Thomas (GTh), Sayings 101 and 114, and set in new contexts. This is most probably the compositional procedure of a modern author who is not a native speaker of Coptic. Among other scholars weighing in, see Gary Manning Jr., Darrell Bock, Christian Askeland, Michael Kruger, Peter Williams and Simon Gathercole, Dirk Jongkind, Daniel Wallace. HT: Scot McKnight Article Source: Justin Taylor Related articles Harvard refuses to publish Jesus-wife manuscript fragment (winteryknight.wordpress.com) “Jesus’s wife” fragment judged fake, Harvard rejects (zionistoutrage.com) Expert: “Wife of Jesus” fragment looks like a modern forgery… (patheos.com) Daniel B. Wallace responds to the “Jesus has a wife” media sensationalism (winteryknight.wordpress.com) Durham University professor calls the “Jesus had a wife” manuscript fragment a forgery (winteryknight.wordpress.com)

Purified 7 Times

Published by

The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times. You, O LORD, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever. (Psalm 12:6, 7 ESV) Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. (Proverbs 30:5 ESV) Everyday we go about life looking for something we can rely on. Something that is constant, trustworthy, immovable. We want relationships that are reliable. We want people we can count on. Friends who will deliver on their promises. Husbands we can trust. Wives we know will be there, when the going gets tough. A career or a job that will be there even in tough economic times. I think this is a fundamental human need. Well, I’ve come to find security and reliability in God through Jesus Christ and his word. You can too! When the scripture says that God’s words are pure, refined, and purified 7 times, it insists that they have no lies, flattery, insincerity or …

Top 10 Leadership Quotes

Published by

Top 10 Leadership Quotes “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” – John C. Maxwell “A real leader faces the music, even when he doesn’t like the tune.” – Anonymous “All Leadership is influence.” — John C. Maxwell “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson “Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.” — General George Patton “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” — Warren Bennis “Managers help people see themselves as they are; Leaders help people to see themselves better than they are.” — Jim Rohn “The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes.” — Tony Blair “The price of greatness is responsibility.” — Winston Churchill “When the effective leader is finished with his work, the people say it happened naturally.” — Lao Tzu ____________________________ Excerpts from Leadership Quotes In picture – George Sigalas, one awesome leader …

Kellogg’s Corn Flakes: taste them again for the first time

Published by

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation. If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:2, 3 A few years ago when the cereal giant Kellogg began to see the Corn Flakes drop in sales, they came up with a brilliant idea – an add that went like this: Kellogg’s Corn Flakes: Taste them again for the first time. Sometimes life can become a bowl of soggy corn flakes – but you need to taste it again in order to fall in love with it (life) again. Maybe it’s your marriage, ministry, work, hobby, Christian life, church, evangelism, prayer life, Bible reading, hospitality, small group, girls night out, family bike ride – that thing you once enjoyed doing, but now have become lifeless, meaningless and even boring. You need to taste it again for the first time – you might rediscover your first-love – Revelation 2:4 In Picture – my boy SB

Fit to Sit: Partakers of Endless Glory

Published by

Part 2: A Commentary on Psalm 15 Verse 3 – Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. The word cherpah, which we here translate a reproach, comes from charaph, to strip, or make bare, to deprive one of his garments; hence choreph, the winter, because it strips the fields of their clothing, and the trees of their foliage. By this, nature appears to be dishonoured and disgraced. The application is easy: a man, for instance, of a good character is reported to have done something wrong the tale is spread, and the slanderers and backbiters carry it about; and thus the man is stripped of his fair character, of his clothing of righteousness, truth, and honesty. All may be false; or the man, in an hour of the power of darkness, may have been tempted and overcome; may have been wounded in the cloudy and dark day, and deeply mourns his fall before God. Who that has not the heart of a devil would not strive rather to cover than make bare the fault? …

Fit to Sit: Partakers of Endless Glory

Published by

Part 1 Commentary on Psalm 15 The questions therefore are, Who can be considered a fit member of the Church of Christ here below? and, Who shall be made partakers of an endless glory? In answer to these questions, the character of what we may term a true Israelite, or a good Christian, is given in the following particulars:- Verse 2. He that walketh uprightly a. He walks perfectly. Who sets God before his eyes, takes his word for the rule of his conduct, considers himself a sojourner on earth, and is continually walking to the kingdom of God. He acts according to the perfections of God’s law; he has respect to all its parts, and feels the weight and importance of all its injunctions. As he is the creature of GOD, he has duties to perform to him. He owes God his heart: May son, give me thy heart; and should love him with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. This is giving GOD his due. As a member of civil society, he …

Five reasons why we miss what God is doing now!

Published by

And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:11-13 ESV) In our text, Elijah had just come to this place from Mount Carmel where he saw God answered him by fire. Yeah! He prayed and fire fell from heaven. But when he came to this cave he thought that God will move in a similar way. And just like …

The Eternal One is my Shepherd

Published by

Psalm 23 The Eternal One is my Shepherd, He cares for me always. He provides me rest in rich, green fields besides streams of refreshing water. He soothes my fears; He makes me whole again, steering me off worn, hard paths to roads where truth and righteousness echo His name. Even in the unending shadow of death’s darkness, I am not overcome by fear. Because You are with me in those dark moments, near with Your protection and guidance, I am comforted. You spread out a table for me, provisions in the midst of attack from my enemies; You care for all my needs. anointing my head with soothing, fragrant oil, filling my cup again and again with Your grace. Certainly Your faithful protection and loving provision will pursue me, where I go, always, everywhere. I will always be with the Eternal One, in Your house forever. In this version or translation of the 23rd Psalm, the message that stands out to me is this: The Eternal One is my Shepherd… He is always with …