Category Archives: Other voices

El Shaddai: The Nurturing Mountain

El Shaddai: The Nurturing Mountain
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve Me faithfully and live a blameless life. I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.” Genesis 17:1-2. El Shaddai is often translated as God Almighty. And so He…
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Menuha: A place of rest

Menuha: A place of rest
By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. Genesis 2:2 God rested on the seventh day. He gave to us the gift of Sabbath so we can rest as well. When I consider Sabbath, though, I find myself caught up…
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Carrying the Load: Part 2

Carrying the Load: Part 2
… for each one should carry their own load.  Galatians 6:5 Galatians 6 seems to contain a paradox. We saw last week that we are to bear each other’s burdens. But then just a few verses later it says to bear your own burdens. So how does this work? The original text uses two different…
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Simchat Torah: Joy of the Torah

Simchat Torah: Joy of the Torah
Every year around this time I am reminded how much of our Bible is made up by what we call the Old Testament. I’ve been reading through the Bible each calendar year for decades and it usually takes until October to begin Matthew. When I read the OT, passages can still surprise me as I…
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