The Keener Way

  I know, I know. It's been a hot second since I've written anything. The last few months have been a bit weird. To make a long story short, I had an ice skating accident mid-December, that put me in a hospital for two days, gave me a titanium rod in my leg, had me hobbling around with a walker/crutches till January, and left me on work restrictions till the first week of February. Although the entire incident was quite a shocker to me, and everybody I know, my healing has gone as well as it possibly could have. As of now, I'm walking mostly normal, still on a few heavy lifting/high impact restrictions, and doing some light work, part-time, while looking for my next full-time job.  Granted, this long break off work should've been plenty of time to do all kinds of blogging. So, where have I been? Well, for one, I've been doing a lot of job research, trying to pick what direction to go next. Also, I've been writing. In the last couple months, I took a 51,000 word ...

  I read a story the other day, almost definitely AI-generated. It was about a grumpy old man who lived on cans of beans, and his granddaughter, a typical broke homeless Generation Z who moves in with him when she can no longer pay her apartment rent. Grumpy Grandad blamed his granddaughter's money problems on her $7 lattes and Netflix subscription. She blamed inflation, high interest rates, and a bad job market. Overall, the story was quite cliche, drawing on every stereotype that exists in the great debate of trying to afford housing. Granddaughter felt that she deserved to treat herself to lattes and Netflix and ordering out, because the economy was bad, life was hard, and she needed a few simple pleasures in life.  Grandad told her how he worked 14 hour days, living off of a baloney sandwich and a can of beans every single day. Where you stand in this debate is irrelevant. What is important is one particular line of the story that hit  really  hard. The Grandad s...

  I know, its been yet another long gap since I've posted. The thing is, I write stuff as inspiration hits me. Sometimes i get lots of ideas, sometimes they trickle slowly. This time around, I've had an idea for a while, but its been simmering on a backburner until I got the angle I needed this morning.  It started when I received a text with a quote by C.S. Lewis from his essay collection, "God in the Dock", which goes, "Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important." This weighed heavily on my mind, as I often feel like I treat Christianity as only moderately important. Indeed, sometimes it feels like the modern church at large is doing this with great unity. As I mulled over this for some weeks, my church started a sermon series in the book of 1 Peter. What particularly stood out was Chapter 1, verses 13-16. "Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober-min...

  Yeah, I know. Its been a hot second since I posted. Life has been a bit intense lately, with not a lot of breathing space. Anyway, it is time to continue the study on Yeshua's Sermon on the Mount, where He teaches His disciples, "this is what it looks like to be one of my disciples. This is the way I want you to live." And we are now in the section of his sermon where He addresses the taking of oaths. Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ But I tell you not to swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor should you swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ Anything more comes from the evil one. Matthew 5:33-37 BSB  See, the thing is, when someone takes an oath, this kind of insinuates that you can't...

    “What is sin? It is the glory of God not honored . The holiness of God not reverenced . The greatness of God not admired . The power of God not praised . The truth of God not sought . The wisdom of God not esteemed . The beauty of God not treasured . The goodness of God not savored . The faithfulness of God not trusted . The commandments of God not obeyed . The justice of God not respected . The wrath of God not feared . The grace of God not cherished . The presence of God not prized . The person of God not loved . That is sin.” ~John Piper  We live in a broken world. Perhaps more broken than ever, perhaps less broken than ever. There is only one entity who has been alive for the Earth's entire history, and that is our Creator. So only he can judge our current level of broken. But through all of time, man has called things sin which the Lord never forbid, and man has called good things that the Lord explicitly denounced. So I thought I'd do a little script...

  Welcome back, friend, to my series on the Sermon on the Mount, where we explore Yeshua's instructions on how to live as His disciples. Today, we are looking at the part of the sermon where Yeshua tackles anger and reconciliation. In this passage, Yeshua makes a shift from His "blessed are" to "you have heard". But what He says is more than just hearsay. He is quoting Torah. In this instance, He tells the people that the law of Moses says 'Do not murder' and anybody who murders is now subject to punishment by the law. But Yeshua follows this up with "actually, if you so much as become exasperated or enraged with your brother, you will be subject to judgement. Now, if you call your brother 'Raca' (meaning inferior/worthless/empty-headed) you will be condemned by a jury. Now, if you call someone a moron, you will be liable to a 'Gehenna of fire'. What is a Gehenna of fire? This is referring to the valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem,...

  It has been a hot minute since I've read the book of 1 John. But when the sermon at my church sent me there today, I realized I've been needing it this past week. The book really isn't that long. Five very short chapters. Yet there is so much packed inside! For a brief overview: Chapter 1 -The purpose of this letter is to make your joy complete. -If we walk in the light, we have fellowship with the Lord. -If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive. Chapter 2 -Jesus is our atoning sacrifice. -If we keep the commandments of Jesus, we can be sure we have come to know Him. -If you hate your brother, you still walk in darkness. -Whoever loves his brother remains in the light. -The world, fleshly desires, the pride of life, the lust of our eyes... These things are passing away. Do not love them. -Those who departed from the faith were not in it to begin with, and are antichrists. -We have received an anointing from Christ, which teaches us all things. Chapter 3 -When Chr...

  "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." ~Matthew 5:17-20 BSB Not gonna lie, this section of Yeshua's Sermon on the Mount is perhaps one of the most difficult sections to fully grasp. There are so many ways to take this. Here's the thing. Yeshua said: 1. I have come not to abolish, but to fulfill 2. Till heaven and Earth pass away, not one yod (the smallest Hebrew l...

  You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Say what?? Indeed. In Yeshua's sermon on how to live as one of his disciples, He takes a very sudden shift from "blessed are they" to talking about candles and table salt. "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:13-16, BSB  There's a few interesting pieces to this section. And we can nearly fill an entire lesson with salt alone. Salt was a valuable thing in ancient times. There was an era where merchants traded North African salt for...

  "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you." ~Matthew 5:10-12, BSB In His Sermon on the Mount, Yeshua desired to teach His followers the way to be His followers. A type of "you have already become my disciple, you've already repented, already committed to learning my way of life, so here is how I live" The interesting part of this lesson though, starts with the word "persecuted". In Greek, this is "dediōgmenoi", which actually means "to pursue continually" . Which oddly enough can go two ways, depending on the context. For instance, although Psalm 23:6 was written in Hebrew, this Greek word would fit in the context of "goodness and m...

  In continuing with Yeshua's Sermon on the Mount, we're going to spice things up a bit. Rather than looking at one verse, we're going to hit three. Or at least start and see if we get that far. "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." Matthew 5:7-9, BSB In the Roman Empire that ruled during Yeshua's lifetime. mercy was a sign of weakness. Even in the Greek Empire, it was not seen as a virtue. The respected virtues were strength and power, not kindness. Yet Jewish and Christian cultures dared to be counter-culture. They pushed the view that mercy was an attribute of the divine. Indeed, a core attribute. For as the prophet Micah declared, "He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy , and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8, BSB But here, in Hi...

  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6 This fourth blessing of Yeshua's Sermon on the Mount draws many similarities to Psalm 42, a song of the sons of Korah, which begins with those long familiar lines, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after you, O God." Psalm 42:1 BSB And it seems pretty straightforward. Be hungry and thirsty for righteousness, and you will be satisfied. But let's explore the word 'righteousness'. Growing up, it always seemed like kind of a vague concept. It comes up frequently enough in scripture to gather the idea that it's about being upright, being morally pure, being good, etcetera. In a general sense, the keeping of the law. Which is a fairly intense undertaking, considering that Yeshua said, "except your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Obviously, this is something that...

    The third blessing of Yeshua's Sermon on the Mount says that the meek will inherit the Earth. In a Greek transliteration, this comes out to  "Happy are those of willfully surrendered strength, because they are allotted heirs of the land." Matthew 5:5 The Greek word for meekness is "praeis". Countless articles have been written, which compare this to wild horses which have been tamed and turned into warhorses. Which isn't entirely untrue. But digging a little bit deeper into the antiquity of its usage, praeis really doesn't seem to actually implicate any kind of strength or military origins, either in Scripture or in secular sources written in contemporary. But it doesn't imply any sense of weakness, either. It is neither. It is simply its own thing. When used in a people context, it is generally associated with a gentle, regulated temper. When used in the context of beasts, it is simply "tame", whether a broken warhorse or a domestic...

  Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4 Happy are them lamenting, because they paraklēthēsontai Literal Greek to English  Here we have Yeshua's second teaching from His Sermon on the Mount. His second lesson about "you have already become my disciple, you've already repented, already committed to learning my way of life, so here is how I live" But wait! Because they paraklēthēsontai? What kind of a word is that? Well, it is Greek. But wasn't I doing a Greek to English text analysis? Yes. So why did I leave a Greek word there? Well, most Bibles render this as "they will be comforted". But this big, complex word contains so much more than that. There is no English equivalent. So let's look at the root, parakaleo. Para : very close-beside, in the presence of, alongside, very near This denotes a nearness and closeness that is often lost to translation. Think about parallel lines.The two 'L's in parallel are para L...

   If it wasn't obvious from the fact I have a whole blog page dedicated to the former USMC backpack system, I love military surplus stuff. And when it gets cold enough that a hoodie is no longer sufficient, I can be found sporting some combination of the US Army's seven layer extreme cold weather system. How is this relevant to the topic today? Well, the jackets in this system have places to put Velcro patches. I love Velcro patches. I especially love patches that have funny, sarcastic, or witty remarks on them. So I always wear a couple on each jacket. So one Sunday this past winter, I showed up at church with a patch that said "Don't grow up, it's a trap". Which immediately caught the attention of one of my friends from my young adult group. (Yes, I'm calling you out on this. Yes, I know you are going to read this. Yes, you know who you are. :p ) I had it pointed out to me that Paul says, "when I was a child, I thought like a child...but when I was...