Where Is God’s Country? Psalm 82:1-8 Rise up, O God, and judge the earth, for all the nations belong to you. Psalm 82:8 Where is God’s country? Plenty of people can answer that question, because they think they live in God’s country. I’ve heard people in Montana, New Mexico, California, and Texas refer to the place they live as God’s country. Usually, what they mean is that the area where they live is filled with natural beauty, unspoiled by civilization.... Read more
My son has recently begun his tenure as a college student at New York University. After living for the last four years in countryside outside of Boerne, Texas (population c. 10,000), Nathan is now in the middle of New York City (population c. 8,000,000). So far, he loves city life. For Nathan, part of the adventure of living in Greenwhich Village is discovering little shops and stores and cafes, especially ones that cater to a college student’s budget. So far,... Read more
Part 9 of series: Ancient Ephesus and the New Testament Paul and the Silversmiths, Part 2 When we last left our series on Ancient Ephesus and the New Testament, the city was in an uproar. A gang of silversmiths, at the instigation of a certain Demetrius, was rioting, dragging several of Paul’s colleagues to the theater. When Paul tried to go to the theater, he was dissuaded by some of other Christians and even some civic officials. It simply wasn’t... Read more
Part 8 of series: Ancient Ephesus and the New Testament Paul and the Silversmiths Now that we know something about the goddess Artemis and her importance for Ephesus, we’re ready to get back to the story of Paul’s ministry in this city. As Paul’s ministry began to thrive in Ephesus, a certain Demetrius became concerned. He was a silversmith who made little pieces of jewelry in the image of the goddess Artemis or, as most scholars think, of her temple.... Read more
Part 7 of series: Ancient Ephesus and the New Testament Artemis and Her Temple In my last post, I summarized the beginning of Paul’s ministry in Ephesus as it’s described in Acts 19. We saw that, after first being stymied in his effort to reach out to Ephesian Jews through the synagogue, Paul switched to a lecture hall, where he experienced a more positive response to his preaching. In fact, the success of Paul’s ministry led to a major disturbance... Read more
Part 6 of series: Ancient Ephesus and the New Testament The Apostle Paul in Ephesus In my last post, I quoted a passage from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians in which he wrote, “But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries” (1 Cor 16:8-9). This fits perfectly with the picture painted of Paul’s Ephesian ministry in Acts of the Apostles. In Acts 18,... Read more
Yesterday morning as I perused the New York Times, I was pleasantly surprised to find an article touting the benefits of Kerrville, Texas: “A Hill Country Town that Whispers, Not Shouts.” A midsize town of some 22,000 residents, Kerrville in the location of my workplace. Foundations for Laity Renewal, the parent organization of Laity Lodge, Laity Lodge Youth Camp, thehighcalling.org, and several other ministries, inhabits a small campus in a business/residential neighborhood of Kerrville. In the photo to the right,... Read more
Part 5 of series: Ancient Ephesus and the New Testament Ephesus in the New Testament Early Christianity was significantly an urban movement. This might sound surprising if you’re used to thinking of Christians continuing the mode of Jesus, whose ministry happened largely (but not only) in rural Galilee. Yet, when we pay close attention to the facts of Christianity in the first-century A.D., we see the prominence of cities, including Jerusalem, Antioch (in Syria), Corinth, Rome, and Ephesus. Arguably, Ephesus... Read more
Drinking Tears by the Bucketful Psalm 80:1-19 You have fed us with sorrow and made us drink tears by the bucketful. Psalm 80:5 Scripture regularly associates God with joy, exuberant joy. The Psalms calls us to sing with joy to the Lord (for example, Ps 67:4). The Apostle Paul urges us to be “full of joy in the Lord” (Phi.l 4:4). And, just in case we missed it, he adds, “I say it again—rejoice!” (Phil. 4:5). But joy is not... Read more
A couple of weeks ago, I did something I hadn’t done for a long, long time. I bought a new backpack for “everyday” use. It was not for camping or hiking. Rather, it was to help me cart around my stuff, especially but not only when I’m traveling. As I have used this rather ordinary, nylon, black backpack, I have loved its usefulness. But, I must admit I’ve felt a little odd taking it into business meetings instead of my... Read more
Mark D. Roberts
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In