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The Enmity Will Come To An End

I have been spending a lot of time recently in the book of Isaiah. Most people seem to be intimidated by this book of prophecy, simply because it is prophecy, and it can be hard to comprehend. But taking the time to understand it is worth it.

Snake

As you get to know this book, you frequently come across little nuggets of Bible knowledge that stun you in their connectedness to the rest of the Bible.

That happened to me this morning.

My favorite passages of Scripture are found in the early chapters of Genesis. I love creation science, and studying the earliest parts of biblical history is one of my favorite things to do.

As you know, the Curse found in Genesis three is where sin entered into the world, and mankind fell. As a result, God pronounces the Curse on Adam and all mankind, on woman and childbirth, and on the serpent. You can see a part of this in Genesis 3:14-15:

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Top Posts For July 2015

August is here! Summer vacation is winding down, school is about to begin, and hopefully some cooler temperatures are in the near future.

Top Posts: July 2015

July was a very busy month for me. From my diagnosis with sleep apnea and the details surrounding that and getting adjusted to a new reality to a mission trip to an Apache reservation in Arizona, July was packed with stuff.

With so much going on, and with traveling taking up a good chunk of the month, I set my writing aside for a few weeks, only covering what I consider to be the bare minimums for JeffRandleman.com and DeliberateDads.com.

However, with the summer ending, and things falling back into a normal routine, I expect to ramp it up a bit more as we enter into the fall.

In looking over my stats for the month however, I realized something significant, to me at least. I usually only pay attention to the top seven posts for the past 30 days. And they are consistently the same ones. It hit me this time, that I rarely look at the next ones on the list. And what I found stunned me.

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Coffee Break – 08.03.2015

Your Monday Dose Of Inspiration

August 3 is a day with a lot of history: In 1492, Christopher Columbus left Palos, Spain with three ships. The voyage led him to what is now known as the Americas. He reached the Bahamas on October 12. In 1880, the American Canoe Association was formed at Lake George, NY, and in 1900, Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. was founded. Finally, in 1933, the Mickey Mouse Watch was introduced for the price of $2.75.

Coffee Break

The History Of Instant Coffee – There is one thing that is the bane of all serious coffee enthusiasts: instant coffee. Even typing it makes me shudder, and sip some of my Jamaican Blue Mountain brewed in my Chemex in protest. But in case you want to know, this is its history.

Jewish Pirates Who Ruled The Caribbean – I have to admit, that is a title I never imagined I would type. But this article is very interesting, and sheds light on a bit of oceanic history that few even know of.

The American Civil War: Then And Now – As a history buff, I find this fascinating. Many of these are places I would love to visit, but haven’t been able to for one reason or another. Until then, this glimpse into the past and present gives a great perspective.

Risen! – Billed as a follow up to The Passion of the Christ, this movie looks pretty interesting. Hopefully, it stays true to the biblical accounts as much as possible.

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Memorize Scripture: Philippians 2:7-8

Paul quotes what is quite possibly an early Christian hymn in this second chapter of his letter to the Philippians. This hymn speaks of Christ becoming nothing and suffering on the cross.

Look at this week’s part of this passage in Philippians 2:7-8:

Philippians 2:7-8

In the first couple of verses in this poetic piece of the chapter, Paul stresses that Christ was equal with God. But he also stresses Christ’s humility, and in these verses, we see just how far that humility took him… All the way to the cross!

There are several actions that Paul states Jesus took in this process of humility. Let’s take each in turn:

Made himself nothing

Jesus voluntarily emptied himself of all of his rights as a part of the Godhead. He poured himself out totally for our sake. The depths of this we will never know this side of eternity, since we cannot fathom the mind of God in its entirety. But it is sufficient for us to know that he left everything he had for you and me.

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Coffee Break – 07.27.2015

Your Monday Dose Of Inspiration

Here are some interesting historical tidbits for you to remember today: In 1866, Cyrus Field successfully completed the Atlantic Cable. It was an underwater telegraph from North America to Europe. In 1909, Orville Wright set a record for the longest airplane flight. He was testing the first Army airplane and kept it in the air for 1 hour 12 minutes and 40 seconds. In 1940, Bugs Bunny made his official debut in the Warner Bros. animated cartoon “A Wild Hare.” And in 2003, it was reported by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corp.) that there was no monster in Loch Ness. The investigation used 600 separate sonar beams and satellite navigation technology to trawl the loch. Reports of sightings of the “Loch Ness Monster” began in the 6th century.

Coffee Break

5 Great Coffee Blogs – If you love coffee, and love reading about coffee, here are some of the top blogs out there.

Why You Aren’t A Morning Person – Some people are great in the morning. Others hate the morning. Here is an interesting article answering some of the questions about why there is a difference.

Note Taking By Hand Vs. Laptop – This is more of the same issue: analog or screen? Digital or paper? The research discussed here is pretty compelling though.

Boba Fett Kite Surfing – Just because…

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Memorize Scripture: Philippians 2:5-6

After encouraging the Philippian believers, and us, to live with humility, Paul gives the ultimate example of humility in Jesus Christ.

Take a look at this passage in Philippians 2:5-6:

Philippians 2:5-6

What better incentive to humility than the example of our Lord himself? This is the example Paul gives as he stresses this attitude for the believers in Philippi. In fact, the term “attitude” may be a little weak. A more literal rendering would be “mindset.” The thought is similar to the final verse of 1 Corinthians 2, where Paul states that we have the “mind of Christ,” although the Greek term used is different.

What Paul is saying here, in effect, is that we are to have the same mind as Jesus, in humility and in focus.

What follows has been debated for ages. Some believe that Paul writes the following verses, a poetic expression or hymn of worship. Others believe that Paul is quoting a more ancient source, an early hymn from before the date of Philippians, in the early 60s AD.

The language and structure are different than the rest of Paul’s letters, indicating that he may not have been the original author. However, the point of this passage is what matters, especially in light of Paul’s thoughts in chapter two.

In this first verse of the Christological hymn, there are two main sections.