The Gardens of Digby Green: In the Dark She kicked at him, but he swept her other foot from under her and slammed her to the floor. His knee came down on her back before he pulled her left hand from under her. Rose screamed despite the man’s weight compressing her ribcage. Grunting, he
The gift of translation is cause for thanks. Why? Most of Jesus’ disciples were Galilean fishermen, who only spoke Aramaic. Matthew might have known Greek or Latin, because he was a tax collector. Those three languages made people in Judea well equipped. But what about the many slaves in the Roman Empire, who didn’t yet
The gift of translation makes languages effective. On Pentecost God provided instantaneous perfect translation for Peter’s sermon to the crowds in Jerusalem. These days, however, it isn’t available. Why? I think God gave the events of Pentecost to jumpstart His church. Twelve disciples faced the task of teaching the entire world the Good News. Adding
The Gardens of Digby Green: Rejects Rose left the church and pushed the upper range of the speed limit on her way back to the shop. Usually, Tim from Roseland Garden Supply was right on time. She’d need every possible minute to cope with arranging her Mother’s Day displays alone. When she’d parked the
Languages—a locus for thanks? At the very beginning of this blog theme, I said words focus my life. So what’s locus doing in the title of this post? No, it’s not a typo. I chose it for alliteration, as well as its rhyme for the expected word, focus. According to Webster’s dictionary, a locus is
Languages are a gift to build the church. I’m beginning this next series of gifts with languages because they formed the first gift given in early church history. Pentecost was God’s miraculous act of translation, undoing the incident at Babel. There, he confused the language of the world’s people. It stopped them from completing their
The Gardens of Digby Green: Poor Kimmy Christine, Jo, and Connie. Her staff was dropping like spent fuchsia blooms. Rose took a deep breath. “You’ve done great work to help me keep up with orders, Connie. Get well as fast as you can.” “Wish I could be there to help you set up the Mother’s
Giving Thanks for Gifts that Build the Church Giving thanks for gifts that build the church, and the people who implement them, should be every bit as practical as the gifts themselves. The particular list we’re considering is the one most frequently termed “spiritual gifts.” Tests exist that purport to help the curious or bewildered
God’s Gifts for Building the Church Now, it’s time to expand to another category: God’s gifts for building the church. Up to this point, the majority of the gifts developed Christ-like character in individuals. Based on the evidence we find in creation, and the numerous gifts we’ve covered in these blog posts so far,
The Gardens of Digby Green: Roseland Digby Green leaned the handle of his shovel against the fork of a sapling as he surveyed his newest garden. Small, and private, not more than three feet by six feet, it fit perfectly into this clearing, with its mixture of light and shade. He’d mulched it well.