Acrostic Contemplations

This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” Zeal is an older term that largely survives in modern English only in reference to a zealot; hardly a term one would want ascribed to themselves.  The related term “jealous” is equally pejorative. Yet within the Bible we find that the term “zeal” […]

This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” YHWH – See J – Jahwe Youth is wasted on the young. That’s the saying, anyway. The assumption is that the young do not know yet how carefree and joyful that time of life is, so they cannot appreciate it fully. It seems […]

This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” Xenophilia is the “is the love for, attraction to, or appreciation of foreign people, manners, customs, or cultures.” I have more than a bit of xenophilia in me; I enjoy learning other languages, traveling, and experiencing other cultures. Indeed, much of what […]

This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” Walk in love, as Christ loved us, and gave himself an offering and sacrifice to God.  Ephesians chapter 5, verse 2, is a sentence often recited at the offertory. (Offertory is not, as some think, the collection of money in a worship […]

This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” See “discernment.”  Vocation is, etymologically speaking, one’s calling. The term comes from the Latin vocatio, a “call” or “summons,” and has been used in Christianity for centuries to describe one discerning their call from God towards a particular way of life, in religious […]

This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” My daughter and I were walking through the terminal to our gate and I was thinking, as I always do, that perhaps I needed a snack. I suddenly stopped, looked up and around and asked, “What airport are we in?” Every airport […]

This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” Trust is the “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something; confidence or faith in a person or thing, or in an attribute of a person or thing.” So says the Oxford English Dictionary. While time is […]

This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” Saints, for many Protestants, are a concept that is foreign, associated with the Catholic Church, candles, and idolatry. Certainly, that is the image that I grew up with, yet as I came to understand the Bible and the history of the Church […]

This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” Restore, regard, redemption, resurrection, repair, respite…again and again we find the prefix “re” in English. From the Latin re, it is an inseparable prefix meaning “back” or “again.” Even a moment’s reflection reveals why we find it so often in our language. […]

This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” Quail. God sent quail. (Or quails, both are acceptable for the plural.) When the Israelites needed sustenance on their journey in the wilderness, God sent quail and manna. No one is quite sure exactly what manna was, it could very likely be […]