following – Page 14 – 300 words a day

What does it mean to trust?

(Paul Merrill writes here every First Friday) “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” Solomon, the man who many consider to be the wisest man ever, said that in Proverbs 3:5. Jesus said trust is being like a child. Remember how it felt when you were learning […]

by Jon Swanson

a teacher who recruits

College admissions offices spend enormous energy recruiting students. Most faculty members don’t. The faculty are part of the product that recruiters sell. “If you come here, you will get to study with Dr. X. He’s the one who wrote that famous commentary on John. In fact, he was on the translation team.” It’s possible that […]

by Jon Swanson

the first thing he did

Andrew spent a day with Jesus. He had been a follower of John (the baptizing one). He was looking for something spiritual. He was looking for someone that would be the one, the answer, the Messiah. And after spending a day with Jesus, Andrew went looking for his brother and said, simply, “We have found […]

by Jon Swanson

beginning to follow

Three men sat talking. Another man walked by. “That’s the one I was talking about,” says one of the three. The other two start walking after the passing man. He turns. “What do you want?” he asks. Their first word, “rabbi”, says everything. A rabbi was a teacher. Rather than sitting in a classroom with […]

by Jon Swanson

there He is

John – the one we know as “the Baptist” – had followers. We don’t think about that, considering that he was a plain-speaking, rough-dressed, wilderness-living kind of guy. He’s the kind of guy that is interesting to visit, but “you wouldn’t want to live there.” I think we don’t really understand John or his time. […]