THE REVELATION OF CHRIST to the apostle John on the Island of Patmos contains much symbolism. It presents valuable explanations and instructions regarding the Doctrine of "Last Things," or Eschatology—the Christian doctrine concerning what will happen in the final days. When will Christ return? What will happen when He comes back. What has to occur …
I Am Redeemed!
WHAT DOES IT MEAN to be "redeemed?" Sure, I could list theological, psychological, and sociological definitions, and there is nothing wrong with that approach. Definitions help define us. They allow us to compare, analyze, ruminate, consider, relate. We quantify and qualify through definitions. Relative to theology, definitions establish parameters; they provide the comfort of knowing …
Sometimes Things Just Don’t Go as Planned
IN THE INTEREST OF full disclosure, I sometimes rush into projects pregnant with desire and intention only to hit wall after wall. Many people have said I mean well, but that sounds like a consolation prize, right? In fact, it resembles a kind excuse. Well, at least his heart was in the right place. But …
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A LAND CALLED SOMEWHERE
Flowers stand tall inthis land calledsomewhere, gently flowing, nevertoppled by the wind. Lying on a hill in themidday sun, in a placetoo sweet to forget buttoo difficult to remember,I look hard at myself. The burden of honestyin this place is light asa butterfly, the ceruleansky as inviting asmy mother’s arms. Nothings were something,nowhere was somewhere,the …
The Revelation: Part One
THE REVELATION OF CHRIST to the apostle John on the Island of Patmos contains much symbolism. It presents valuable explanations and instructions regarding the last days, which began the moment Christ was crucified. The Doctrine of Last Things, also called eschatology (from the Gr., eschata), is the "last chapter" in God's story of redemption. In …
First Principles: Part Two
GOD FORMED MAN OUT out of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living creature (see Gen. 2:7). God put the man (Adam) in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it. The name Adam comes from adama, a Hebrew word meaning "earth." …
First Principles: Part One
I HAVE REFERENCED Trevor Hart and Kelly Kapic in the past regarding what constitutes Christian theology. Hart describes the theologian as "...fidelis quaerens intellectum: a believer seeking understanding... theology is the attempt by faith to understand itself, its object, and its place in today's world" (1). Hart calls this "faith thinking." Kapic assures us that …
Paul on Reconciliation
REGARDLESS OF WHAT OTHERS think of us, we are forgiven, redeemed, restored, set free from the past. Our lives have been turned around through the grace of God and the power of the cross. Lies, deceit, selfish motivation, manipulation, provocation—all are gone. We were not merely "remodeled" or "refurbished." Rather, the old self has passed …
“Inheritance” by 17-year-old Youth Poet Laureate Eleanor Wikstrom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8xcwvt3QP0 Eleanor Wikstrom, National YoungArts Winner in Writing (Spoken Word), 2019 Vice Youth Poet Laureate of Oakland, 2020 YoungArts Finalist & Winner in Writing (Spoken Word) reciting her poem "Inheritance" commissioned by the United Nations and read at the 75th Commemoration of the Signing of the UN Charter in 2020. Wilstrom is the Op-Eds Editor …
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After Watching “The X-Files”
At ten, I slept on the couch for weeks,turned the TV low, watched imagesflash late into the night, and listened to infomercialsfor company and comfort after I spooked myselfwatching an X-Files episodeabout an abductee returned to his home.In the opening shot, he stood in a field,his arms stiff, his fingers and lips blue,his skin as …