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Sunday Inspiration from Pray the Psalms
By Mark D. Roberts | Sunday, August 12, 2007
Excerpt
Happy are those who consider the poor;
the LORD delivers them in the day of trouble.
Psalm 41:1
Click here to read all of Psalm 41
Prayer
I confess, Lord Jesus, that it’s easy for me to forget the poor. In my daily life I don’t see them very much because I live in such a sheltered environment. And, besides, it’s messy to think about the poor. Their problems are so large; the solutions so overwhelming. Yet I know that You care for the poor. If I’m to be Your disciple, if I’m to have a heart like Yours, if I’m to live in a way that honors You, then concern for the weak, the homeless, and the hungry is essential. Help me to care for the least of these, Your brothers and sisters.
Thank You, gracious God, for Psalm 41, and for so many other parts of Your Word that remind me of the needy and the oppressed. Through the Scripture You challenge me, stretch me, and point me to what really matters. Sometimes I’d rather not experience these things because, frankly, they’re not comfortable. But I need Your Word to enlarge my vision and discipline my heart. So, thanks be to You for the impact of Your Word on my life.
Postscript
Scripture reveals a close connection between God and the poor. I’m continually challenged by verses such as these from Proverbs:
Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker,
but those who are kind to the needy honor him. (14:31)
Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD,
and will be repaid in full. (19:17)
In the last few years, Irvine Presbyterian Church
has been sending teams of people to southern Africa.
There we join with local Christians to reach out
with the love of Christ, caring especially for the poor.
Topics: Sunday Inspiration | No Comments »
Week in Review
By Mark D. Roberts | Saturday, August 11, 2007
Summary of This Week’s Blogging
Hidden Treasure in the British Museum
Monday, August 6
Ancient Ephesus and the New Testament: Introduction
Tuesday, August 7
The Location and Environment of Ephesus
Wednesday, August 8
Touring Ancient Ephesus
Thursday, August 9
Touring Ancient Ephesus, Part 2
Friday, August 10
Usual Airplane Fare
A few weeks ago I waxed eloquent on the wonders of traveling international business class. This was, I explained, an unusual experience for me and part of a tour package. Well, recently I flew within the US in my more ordinary coach section. There we had what is now standard airplace fare. You can still have fun with it, if you’re creative.
Topics: Week in Review | 3 Comments »
Touring Ancient Ephesus, Part 2
By Mark D. Roberts | Friday, August 10, 2007
Part 4 of series: Ancient Ephesus and the New Testament
Permalink for this post / Permalink for this series
A tour of Ephesus usually begins, as I explained yesterday, at the eastern end of the city because from the you walk downhill rather than uphill. In the map to the right you can see several of the major features of the ancient Ephesus, including the two agoras, the theatre, and the Library of Celsus. When you’re walking through Ephesus today, it seems small, like a town that might have had 5,000 residents. In fact ancient Ephesus had perhaps as many as 200,000 residents. Many of their homes have not been excavated or refurbished. But even with all the original structures intact, a person today would be impressed by the extent to which people were crowded together in this city, as in others throughout the Roman Empire.
The Library of Celsus is perhaps the beautiful of the restored buildings in Ephesus, and is often the place of evening concerts and other festivities. This library, which was once one of the largest in the ancient world, was not built during the first century AD, the time of greatest interest for New Testament scholars. It was constructed in AD 135 by a man who built it in honor of his father, Celsus, who had been a governor of Asia Minor (the location of Ephesus in the Roman Empire). Today, the library consists of a rebuilt façade, without the rooms that once contained thousands of scrolls.
If your tour begins in the eastern end of Ephesus, you first walk into one of the two agoras (or marketplaces) of the ancient city. There’s not much left of this civic agora, the place where the official business of Ephesus was once conducted. One of the buildings alongside the civic agora was the Prytaneion. This building was the center of city business. It was dedicated to the goddess Hestia, and contained the city’s sacred flame that was never allowed to go out. There is not much left of the Prytaneion, apart from a couple of rebuilt pillars. It was in this location that two statues of the goddess Artemis were discovered. They are now found in the Ephesus museum. I’ll have more to say about them later.
One of the highlights of the Ephesus tour is the men’s toilet, found along Curetes Street. This bathroom, as we’d say in the USA, once contained about twenty places for me to do their business. It had a running water sewage system in its day. Perhaps the most surprising part of this bathroom is that the seats were placed very few inches apart, without any barriers. So a man might find himself sitting next to another man, almost touching as they used the facilities. Apparently, men used this as a place to socialize. There certainly wasn’t much privacy, that’s for sure.
Rather than continue this blog “tour” of Ephesus, I’m going to change gears in my next post and begin to make connections between the New Testament and the ancient city.
Topics: Archeology and the Bible | 1 Comment »
Touring Ancient Ephesus
By Mark D. Roberts | Thursday, August 9, 2007
Part 3 of series: Ancient Ephesus and the New Testament
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In late June I took a tour of Ephesus. It lasted about two hours, and was quite informative. Our tour guide, a Turkish woman (in center of picture to the right) really knew her stuff. It turns out she had studied archeology in grad school, and had even participated in some of the digs at Ephesus. She only got one thing a little wrong, from my point of view. The so-called “brothel” in Ephesus was not, in all likelihood, a brothel so much as a boarding house. But the brothel story is much more interesting. (If you’re looking for a real ancient brothel, try Pompeii. Seriously. The wall frescoes are x-rated.)
The valley in which Ephesus lies slopes toward the sea. Therefore tours of the city tend to start at the eastern end and work toward the west, which means tourists can walk downhill rather than up. This is helpful in the summer especially, when the temperatures can be quite steamy. When we were in Ephesus, the thermometer was well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and there is almost no shade available among the ruins.
Near the eastern entrance to ancient Ephesus you’ll find plenty of vendors, some of them literally sticking their wares into your face, only a couple of inches from your nose. You can buy clothing, hats (recommended for the tour if it’s hot and sunny), soft drinks, and various souvenirs. Don’t bother with the supposedly authentic old coins. They’re neither authentic nor old.
The beginning of the tour of Ephesus is relatively unimpressive. For the most part, you see dozens of stones, obviously part of ancient buildings. But you won’t see any restored ruins, except in the distance. Almost all of what makes Ephesus so special lies out of view, down the slope of the valley.
Near the beginning of the tour there was a stack of what looked like pieces of terra cotta pipe. Indeed, these sections of pipe were once part of the elaborate fresh water system for Ephesus. The Romans, who were masters of moving water around, had build aqueducts that brought water to the city. Then large pipes, pieces of which you can see in the photo to the right, moved the water around to key locations of the city (the baths, fountains, men’s toilet, etc.).
Topics: Archeology and the Bible | 1 Comment »
The Location and Environment of Ephesus
By Mark D. Roberts | Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Part 1 of series: Ancient Ephesus and the New Testament
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Ephesus, or what is left of it, lies on the western edge of modern day Turkey, just about five miles inland from the Aegean coast. The picture to the right shows the location of Ephesus. It is close to the modern town of Selcuk. Most tourists visit Ephesus by way of the port city of Kusadasi, which is about a 45-minute drive from Ephesus. The countryside between these two cities is fertile, lush with agriculture. It reminded me of farmlands inland from San Diego, California.
Given the current location of Ephesus, you might be surprised to learn that it was once a major port city. No, Ephesus didn’t move, or not much, anyway. Ancient cities did tend to move around a bit. When a city burned down, they’d rebuild it nearby. Ephesus was no exception. But it wasn’t a change of location that made Ephesus a port city. Rather, it was the changing shoreline. In ancient times, Ephesus had a harbor, such that the city went right up to the water. But sediment from the Cayster River eventually filled in the harbor. (The photo to the right shows the location of the ancient harbor.)
Ephesus itself lies in a valley. It is protected by steep hills on either side. In days gone by, this would have helped to guard the city from enemy attack. The valley also adds to the beauty of the location, even today. (In the photo to the right, Ephesus lies on the other side of the two low hills in the middle of the picture, and at the bottom of the larger hill in the background.)
One of the most famous of Ephesus’s ancient structures, the Temple of Artemis, was not located in the center of the city as it was found in Roman times. Rather, the Artemision was a mile or so out of town. All that remains of the temple is a single pillar, which lies just to the left of the center of the picture to the right.
Tomorrow I’ll talk about tours of Ephesus and start in on my online photo tour.
Topics: Archeology and the Bible | No Comments »
Ancient Ephesus and the New Testament: Introduction
By Mark D. Roberts | Monday, August 6, 2007
Part 1 of series: Ancient Ephesus and the New Testament
Permalink for this post / Permalink for this series
For many of us, the events of the Bible seem to take place in some magic world of “Bible lands,” a wonderland rather like the one discovered by Alice. We read about Jerusalem, Nazareth, Corinth, and Ephesus, but picture some hazy world shaped by illustrations in our children’s Bibles. The places in which the stories of the Bible happened seem unreal, and so can the stories.
The more we actually know about the places in which the Bible was written, and in which the stories happened, the more we’ll be able to read the Bible as it was meant to be read, as the account of real experiences by real people in real places. Moreover, we’ll be able to understand the meaning of the Bible more accurately and precisely.
I’ve spent a great deal of my life studying the Bible from both an academic and a pastoral perspective. I’ve also examined in great detail many of the archeological descriptions of biblical sites. The Internet has made all of this much easier and quite wonderful, actually. (Check out sites such as http://www.holylandphotos.org/ and http://www.bibleplaces.com/). But, until this summer, I had visited only one place that could count as part of “Bible lands.” In 1984, and again in 2004, I visited Rome, the city to which Paul’s famous letter is addressed, and which is referenced in several New Testament passages. Strictly speaking, however, none of the biblical stories actually took place in Rome. (Photo to the right: The Areopagus [Mars Hill] from the Acropolis in Athens.)
So you can imagine how excited I was to be able to visit two biblical sites this summer, Athens and Ephesus. Athens plays a minor role in the New Testament as the place where Paul preached his famous “sermon” on the Areopagus (Mars Hill). But Ephesus is arguably one of the most important of cities in early Christianity. Jerusalem probably takes first place in this competition, but Ephesus runs a close second. In the second century and beyond, of course, Rome became the most prominent city for Christianity.
Why was Ephesus so significant for early Christianity? In part, this had to do with the prominence of the city itself in the first century, and its central location along the coast of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). But, more importantly, Ephesus attracted many influential Christian leaders, including Paul, John, Timothy, and others. (Ephesus claims to be the last place where Mary, the mother of Jesus, lived, though the historical evidence for this is mixed at best.)
Prior to my visit to Ephesus, I had studied this city in great detail. It almost felt as if I had been there. So you can imagine my joy in actually seeing the extensive remains of the ancient city of Ephesus with my own eyes. This was in spite of the fact that it was well over 100 degrees on the day we visited, and there is almost no shade in the ancient city.
In the posts that follow I’ll share some of my pictures of Ephesus, and explain how our knowledge of actual city enriches our understanding of the New Testament, especially Acts 18-19. If you’ve been to Ephesus, this can serve as a helpful reminder. If you’ve never been there, consider this an introduction and invitation.
Topics: Archeology and the Bible | No Comments »
Hidden Treasure in the British Museum
By Mark D. Roberts | Monday, August 6, 2007
The British Museum contains some of the greatest treasures of the world. Here you can view that actual Rosetta Stone. This amazing museum is filled with the finest remnants of the ancient world. If you visit the once-famous Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, for example, you’ll see only one lonely pillar, unadorned in the middle of a marsh. But in the British Museum you can examine up close a giant, beautifully carved section of a pillar that once belonged to the Temple of Artemis.
In the midst of some of the finest works of classical art, I found something that 99% of visitors to the British Museum would overlook. For one thing, it was in basement, literally in a back corner, as far from the entrance to the museum and you can get. Moreover, my hidden treasure was not some magnificent sculpture, but simply a Greek inscription, worn away by the years. Nevertheless, when I saw it, my pulse quickened.
Why? you wonder. Because it is an inscription of significance for those of us interested in the New Testament, and especially for those of us who believe that the Gospel writers were accurate historians. (As you probably know, I’ve recently written a book on this theme, Can We Trust the Gospels?)
This inscription comes from the Macedonian city of Thessalonica. It was once part of a Roman gateway there, and was found after the gateway was demolished in 1876. The inscription, much of which I cannot read, mentions the “city rulers” of Thessalonica, using a term that was used in Macedonia, politarche in Greek. (In the close up to the right you can see the letters of this word, spelled an added epsilon. I added letters immediately above the ones carved into the stone.)
Why is this important for New Testament studies, and for the issue of the reliability of the Gospels? First, you need to know that the author of the Third Gospel, whom we call Luke, was also the author of Acts of the Apostles. Second, you need to know that Luke uses the term politarche in Acts 17, when he refers to the “city officials” of Thessalonica (vv. 6, 8). This is the only place Luke uses this particular term. This means that Luke not only knew the term politarche, but also that he was careful to use it only when it was appropriate. This is the sort of nuance that we would find only from a careful historian and writer.
Of course the fact that Luke uses politarche doesn’t prove that his gospel is historically accurate. We need more evidence than this to make such a case. But his use of politarche tells us something important about Luke’s ability as a researcher and it demonstrates the kind of care he exercised in his writing. One who used politarche correctly in Acts could be expected to exercise similar caution when writing about Jesus.
Thus, actually seeing one of the ancient inscriptions that uses the word politarche, I enjoyed an “a-ha” moment in some far away corner of the British Museum. The more we actually learn about the Roman world, the more we realize how much we can trust the New Testament in general, and the New Testament Gospels in particular.
Topics: European Reflections | 2 Comments »
Sunday Inspiration from Pray the Psalms
By Mark D. Roberts | Sunday, August 5, 2007
Excerpt
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Psalm 34:1
Click here to read all of Psalm 34
Prayer
Surely, Gracious God, You are worthy of my continual praise. Given all You have done for me, an endless chorus of gratitude wouldn’t begin to be enough. Yet, how easy it is for me to dismiss the thought of continual praise as some sort of unrealistic exaggeration, rather than as something to which I might truly aspire. Wouldn’t it be something, Lord, if I could learn to live with a consistent awareness of Your goodness, and thus with a ceaseless sense of gratitude?
As impossible as this seems, this is my prayer today. Help me, Lord, to be ceaselessly grateful. May Your praise be my first thought in the morning, and my last thought at night. Even today, dear Father, remind me of Your goodness again and again, so that I might bless You at all times. Amen.
Postscript
“This, therefore, is a rule which should be observed by the saints – they should often all into rembrance whatever good has been bestowed upon them by God; but if at any time he should display his power more illustriously in preserving them from sone danger, so much the more does it become them earnestly to testify their gratitude. Now if by one benefit alone God lays us under obligation to himself all our life, so that we may never lawfully cease from setting forth his praises, how much more when he heaps upon us innumerable benefits?”
John Calvin
Commentary on Psalm 34
Sunset near Leakey, Texas
Topics: Sunday Inspiration | No Comments »
One of My Pet Peeves
By Mark D. Roberts | Saturday, August 4, 2007
Recently my family and I went on a short camping trip to Big Sur, California. This is one of the prettiest spots in the whole state, and, in my opinion, in the whole country. Big Sur combines rugged coastline with redwood forests, soaring mountains with lush meadows. Summertime highs are right around 70 degrees, and it’s usually sunny after the morning fog burns off.
We took a hike, more of a scramble, actually up the Big Sur River. This river flows through a narrow gorge in the mountains. Eventually you can’t go further upstream without some serious climbing equipment, so we turned around.
About a half mile up the river I saw something that made my insides burn with anger. There, on a rock in the middle of the river, somebody had left three bottles, a perfectly placed collection of litter. The perpetrator, nowhere to be seen, cared enough about the beauty of the place to hike and climb in. And then, for reasons that completely escape me, he or she left a bunch of litter to soil the scene for the next visitor. Why? What in the world was this person thinking?
I’m not surprised to see litter at places easily reached by car. I’m used to highway viewpoints strewn with empty beer bottles. I mean, you can expect a bunch of drunks to clean up after themselves, now can you? But I’m always amazed to find litter in exceedingly beautiful and hard to reach spots. I just can’t figure out how somebody can love nature enough to make a major effort to get to some pristine place, only to ruin that place by leaving behind a Coke can. What’s up with that?
On my way out of the Big Sur gorge, I noticed that state park officials had recently added some trash cans and a new sign. But the sign struck me as oddly confusing. It reads, “PACK IT IN - PACK IT OUT. NO GARBAGE COLLECTION IN THIS AREA.” Then there are two brand, spanking new trash cans. Is the sign telling you not to use these cans because nobody will ever collect the garbage? That’s the most literal rendering, but I can’t believe that’s the meaning. I think the sign means: “No garbage collection beyond this point. Please bring your garbage back here and put it in these cans because there will be garbage collection in this exact area.” At least I hope that’s what it means. Sadly enough, however, this sign didn’t appear to make a whit of difference to the person who left the bottles on the rock.
In case you’re wondering, yes, I did collect those bottles. And, yes, I did put them in the shiny new trash cans, in the hope that, indeed, garbage collection does happen in that area.
Topics: Pet Peeves | 1 Comment »
Stumbling into Pottermania
By Mark D. Roberts | Friday, August 3, 2007
While Linda and I were in London, we stumbled into a bit of Pottermania. Taking the Tube to Leicester Square, we emerged to find unexpected crowds of people, especially teenage girls. What was going on? We had accidentally crashed the London premier of the latest Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. (Photo: Daniel Radcliffe, AKA Harry Potter, being interviewed during the London premier.)
By the time the stars were arriving, a thunderstorm was passing overhead. Yet the crowd, cheering “Harry! Harry! Harry!” was undeterred. I watched for a while on a big screen as a reporter interviewed various stars. For those of you who are hard core Harry Potter fans, you’ll be impressed by the fact that I actually saw Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) in the flesh (though they were about 50 years away and looked unimpressively tiny.
Linda and I also thought it would be fun to see if we could find Platform 9 ¾ in Kings Cross Station in London. For the uninitiated, that’s the hidden train platform from which the Hogwarts Express leaves on its way to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Finding Platform 9 ¾ wasn’t easy, but, for us muggles, they have actually labeled it, even adding a trolley (luggage cart) that appears as if it is going through the wall. In the picture to the right you can see my wife on her way to Hogwarts. For a real thrill, check out what happened to Linda next.
In case you’re worried about my dabbling with Harry Potter, you might be interested in a piece I wrote a couple of years ago: Hoodwinked by Harry Potter.
Topics: European Reflections | 2 Comments »
Happy Surprise on the Fourth of July
By Mark D. Roberts | Thursday, August 2, 2007
My wife and I were in London on July 4th, Independence Day for Americans. For the British, of course, July 4th represents the beginning of a losing war effort and the ultimate loss of the American colonies. So I was prepared to receive a cold shoulder from the folks in London that day.
At lunch, an American at a table next to us was complaining about his hotel. Each morning he had received a complimentary copy of USA Today. But on July 4th, nothing showed up on his doorstep. He called the front desk to complain, and was told by a man in a snooty voice, “We don’t distribute that paper on July 4th.” Our lunch mate seemed to think this was a serious comment. I couldn’t help but wonder if it had been said with typical dry British wit. Who knows? (Photo to the right: The Black Lion is just to the right of Cheqepoint.)
My wife and I had supper on July 4th at The Black Lion, a typical pub just to the north of Kensington Gardens. Before we entered the pub, I wondered if I’d end up getting punched by some American-hating Britisher who’d had too many pints of ale. But when we entered The Black Lion, we found an unexpected scene. The whole place was decorated for American Independence Day, complete with red, white, and blue balloons, American flags, a blow-up Statue of Liberty, and a large sign welcoming American visitors and congratulating us on the occasion of our national holiday. Wow! What a happy surprise on the Fourth of July!
Topics: European Reflections | 3 Comments »
Nisi Dominus Frustra
By Mark D. Roberts | Wednesday, August 1, 2007
While in London, my wife and I visited several of the usual tourist sites: Westminster Abbey, the British Museum, Buckingham Palace, and the Tower of London. For those who haven’t been to London, let me say that the Tower of London isn’t a tower so much as an ancient castle. The Tower tour is both fascinating and humorous, especially if you have a quirky sense of humor.
One of the things that caught my eye while we were touring the Tower wasn’t mentioned by our guide. It was a sign over the door of the apartment of the rector of the Tower church. Though it’s hard to read in this photo, the sign says: NISI DOMINUS FRUSTRA. The Latin reads, literally, “Unless the Lord in vain.” It’s a summary of the first verse of Psalm 107 in the Latin Vulgate. In our translation it reads: “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.”
What a great reminder in the midst of a historic building and a magnet for tourists! “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” Unless the Lord is working through me, my writing and my pastoral ministry are in vain. Unless I’m a channel of the Lord’s wisdom and power, my efforts at parenting are empty. Unless I am God’s servant living by His power and for His glory, my life lacks ultimate meaning and purpose.
NISI DOMINUS FRUSTRA. Now there’s something worth posting above your door, on on your refrigerator, or whereever you might see it on a regular basis. Life without the Lord is in vain.
Topics: European Reflections | 10 Comments »
Loving Language, Section 2
By Mark D. Roberts | Tuesday, July 31, 2007
In my last post I talked about having fun decoding some of the modern Greek I saw during my recent trip to Europe. I also enjoyed some of the peculiarities of English in Britain. Of course the Brit might well object that their ways are standard, and ours are peculiar, since their claim to English is stronger than ours. And they may well be right. Nevertheless, I found some of the differences between “English English” and “American English” to be curious.
For example, all around London, but especially in Tube (subway) stations, you see signs reading “Way Out.” Now this isn’t a value judgment, such as we might say “Far Out.” Rather, it’s simply a helpful indicator of the way out of the station. In America the signs would read “Exit.” But I think the British version is more helpful. Who could get confused over “Way Out”?
In Hyde Park I saw a sign that made me laugh. The top part of the sign was ordinary: “NO BATHING, FISHING, OR DOGS ALLOWED IN THIS LAKE.” But the fine print was unusual: “DO NOT ALLOW YOUR DOGS TO CHASE, WORRY OR INJURE THE WILDLIFE.” Up until the moment I saw this sign, I never realized that wildlife could be worried! I’m guessing that “worry” in this context means something like “disturb.” We’d say, “Do not allow your dogs to chase, disturb, or worry the wildlife.” “Worry” is certainly more emotionally suggestive than “disturb.”
In the middle of London I saw another sign that made me chuckle. It read, “Humps for 60 yards.” The illustration showed a picture of a single “hump.” Sure enough, what the sign pointed out was what we would call “speed bumps.” Bumps? Humps? Pretty much the same, I guess, unless you’re a junior high boy with a devious imagination. So, if you’re driving in London, which I’d advise all Americans to avoid, watch out for those humps!
Topics: European Reflections | 3 Comments »
Loving Language
By Mark D. Roberts | Monday, July 30, 2007
One of the things I most enjoy about traveling in foreign countries is being exposed to different languages. During my days as a student I actually studied seven languages. Yes, seven: Spanish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin. All of these except Spanish were required for my doctoral program. Now let me hasten to add that I’ve never been fluent in any foreign language. I was expected to read them, not to speak them. Moreover, I did not take modern Greek or modern Hebrew. So my knowledge of other languages is rather limited and skewed.
Nevertheless, I love learning about languages and trying to figure out how they work and what words mean. During our recent trip to Europe, I had an especially good time doing this while in Greece. Though I can’t speak modern Greek, my knowledge of ancient Greek helps me to figure out the meanings of many modern words.
Of course some of the modern words are the same as the older ones. For example, all of Athens you’ll see signs that have the word ODOS. This means “road” or “street.” Curiously, it is the word used in Acts of the Apostles to name the early Christian movement. Usually odos (which we pronounce ‘hodos’) is translated as “Way.” The early Christians were part of a movement called “The Way.” But, today, odos simply means “street.”
We flew from Frankfurt to Athens on Aegean Airlines. The signs in the plane were in Greek and English. I was fascinated to note that the word for life vest is sosibio (or sosivio as it’s usually transliterated today). This is clearly a combination of two words I know from ancient Greek. Sos is the root of the salvation words, including “to save” (sozo) and “salvation” (soteria). Bio was and still is one of the Greek words for “life.” It’s related, of course, to our word “biology.” So, in Greek, a life vest is, literally a “life saver.” Makes sense, doesn’t it?
The vast majority of the churches in Athens are, you guessed it, Greek Orthodox. No surprise here. But I did see a sign on one church that rather surprised me. It read: ELLENIKH EVAGGELIKH EKKLESIA. The meaning was obvious: “Greek Evangelical Church.” Sure enough, this church was one of the rare exceptions to the Greek Orthodox rule. I don’t know much about evangelical church life in Athens, and this particular church wasn’t open. But it was fun to find such a church and to be able to decode the meaning of the sign.
Topics: European Reflections | 1 Comment »
Sunday Inspiration from Pray the Gospels
By Mark D. Roberts | Sunday, July 29, 2007
Excerpt
He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”
Mark 4:40
Click here to read all of Mark 4:35-41
Prayer
Dear Lord, thank You for this passage from Mark. I need it today. You know that. Like Your disciples, I have experienced Your power in so many, many ways. And, like Your disciples, I can become afraid, as if somehow You had forgotten about me or Your power was inadequate to overcome my problems. I know this is silly, and, more than silly, faithless. Forgive me, Lord, for doubting You.
Help me, I pray, to trust You at all times, even and especially when I’m facing challenges too big for me. Help me to turn to You again and again, to pray without ceasing, and to receive the peace that You alone can give. May I remember Your faithfulness, Your awesomeness, Your majesty. May I place my life in Your hands each day, knowing that You hold me and will not let me fall.
Questions to Ponder
Are there times when you are like the disciples? Times when you feel afraid, as if God weren’t there to help? What do you do in these times?
What helps you to trust God? How might you trust Him even more this day?
Storm on the Sea of Galilee, by Rembrandt, 1633
Topics: Sunday Inspiration | 3 Comments »