August 2010 – Page 2 – 300 words a day

Chapter and verse.

Chapter and verse is how we make reference to what is in the Bible. The title of the book comes first (John). The chapter is next, followed by the verse number or numbers (3:16). We call a particular book/chapter/verse combination a “reference”. The chapter divisions and verse numbers were assigned by editors long after the […]

by Jon Swanson

loving through interruptions.

Jesus is counting down the hours he has with the disciples. He’s facing death. It’s a burden. Though he knows it will turn out okay eventually, he is not looking forward to the process. So he’s covering the important stuff, the ideas that will be on the exam. Judas leaves the room, Jesus takes a deep […]

by Jon Swanson

but it is really really challenging.

We talked about love yesterday, about loving each other. It sounds delightfully lovely. It isn’t. It’s tongue-chewingly, ego-brutalizingly, priority-devastatingly lovely. Walk backwards with me through John 13. Right before Jesus gave his new command, to love one another in the same way he had loved them, Judas left the room, slipping away, arousing no suspicions. […]

by Jon Swanson

what do I do with this stuff I learn?

That’s a significant question. We read. A lot. We hear. A lot. We say A lot. And then we live. A lot. Some of us are very comfortable keeping the input and the output separate. Some of us avoid the hard work of taking the interesting ideas we hear and the fascinating role models we […]

by Jon Swanson

never exactly ready

Any idea what Jesus was thinking that night, the one right before the twelve disciples took off on an internship? They had been with him for many months. They had been watching how he lived, what he taught, where he ate. They had seen how he responded to challenges and conversations and suffering. Then he sent […]