Jesus warned His disciples: 'Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod' Mk 8:15. What does Jesus' mean by the leaven of Herod? The leaven of Herod is conjoined to and contrasted with the leaven of the Pharisees (which is hypocrisy Lk 12:1, a rigorous religious legalism, which …
Author: Donald
New pope of Rome answers questions
I used to say that the Roman Catholic pope in Rome never answers questions, and is not accountable to others. At least, he now answers questions. During the resignation of Ratzinger from the Roman papacy, a discussion on BBC Scotland asked the question whether the job was too much for one man. A papal advisor, …
Mrs James Boyd
Yesterday, Debbie Fisher became Mrs James Boyd. It was a delightful occasion and Elizabeth and I are very pleased for James and Debbie. The first Mrs James Boyd, the first of many loves in my life, was married on 5/1/51 and passed away on 10/11/10. The last major function she attended was the marriage of …
What did Jesus really say?
You may be familiar with the argument that we don't know what Jesus said because His sayings were written down after the event. I came across it recently when people were discussing how to live a good life. Jesus was mentioned as an example, but not as the answer. When various aspects of His life …
Husbands are to study
1Cor 14:34-35: "Let your women keep silence in the churches: and let them ask their husbands at home." Application: this is not so much a restriction on the wife, as a requirement on the husband to study. John Knox on asking questions after sermons: “Everie week once, the Congregation assemble to heare som place of the …
Discerning the Lord’s body
"He that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body." The apostle Paul's epistle to the Corinthians 1Cor 11:29 There are various interpretations of this text and its neighbouring context. Christian exegesis There is a difference between exegesis and Christian exegesis because there are specific biblical principles employed …
Wise preaching
The wise king Solomon's advice on preaching: Ecc 12:10“the preacher sought”: a good preacher studies how to put across his teaching in an acceptable and memorable manner. “acceptable words”: to speak in a manner which will be well received by his hearers. This does not mean pleasing words, which will not upset people, but it …
Tesco mobile don’t know how to take payment from Tesco credit card
I've just spent over an hour trying to make a one-off payment to Tesco mobile with my new Tesco credit card. They have a secure system for testing payment; I went through it till the last stage when it said that it could not take payment. I tried three more times. Then I phoned Tesco …
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PLUTO and the ANZACs
We had a very full evening on Street Pastors last night. It began with a brief chat with an athlete who slowed down her running for a chat about the constellation Orion, shining clearly in the sky, then we came across a veteran of the South Korean war who told us about Pluto. I suspected …
Vain worship of God and a mark of effective Christianity
Jesus teaches about worshipping God in vain: 'in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men' Mk 7:7. Vain worship is empty worship, devoid of proper content, but this is not the emphasis of the Greek word used here, which points to the 'fruitless activity' of such worship. It points to …
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Donald's Thoughts 