Month: April 2018

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Acts 13 – Super-Relevant Life Lessons from the Bible

As many of you know, that well-worn Bible from the photos with the occasional handwritten marginal notes is my dad’s. He’s had it for nearly as long as I can remember; the date in the front cover is 8/28/88. I was five then. I used to look at the maps in the back, with their bright colors tracing out the boundaries of geopolitical regions and the travels of Christ and Paul. Much of their information went right over my elementary-school head, but now I’m older and wiser, or at least better educated, and for today’s chapter, those maps might conceivably come in handy. Paul connects with Barnabas and gets his first major missionary voyage underway, and two major events occur at Paphos on the island of Cyprus and on the mainland at Pisidian Antioch.

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Acts 11 – Peter and the Art of Self-Defense

In today’s chapter, Peter deals with the fallout from his acceptance of Cornelius as a fellow follower of Christ, and the obvious place to go with it is that racism and religious bigotry have no place in the church. But as true as that is, I don’t want to co-opt the passage or use it as a soapbox to make my own points. Furthermore, there are some peculiarities in Peter’s interactions with the other Jewish Christians here, so let’s trade our broad brush for the detail one as we dig in.

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Acts 10 – Cornelius and Other Greatest Hits from the Newsboys

What do you think of when you think of the Newsboys? One of the CCM industry’s long-running Christian rock acts, the Newsboys have been around since 1985, with hundreds of songs and seventeen studio albums to their name. But chances are you don’t know them for their song “Cornelius.” It’s a bouncy, catchy ode to the converted centurion by the same name from Acts 10, but at the end of the day, it goes afield from the text to applaud general integrity, refusal to compromise, and…such bizarre lines as “What rhymes with Cornelius? Helium.” So, having hooked your interest with an introduction only tangentially related to the content of the passage, let’s set aside the Newsboys’ deep cuts and take a look at the tale of the man behind the song.

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Chocolate Review: Parra White Chocolate with Almonds

Here’s some more chocolate that my parents brought back from their trip to Israel, and man, I had to do some research just to identify it. I nearly missed the only English letters on the wrapper: the main website for the Strauss group, which is in Hebrew. Flipping to the English version of the site, I dug down through their complete brand selection until I recognized the cow logo from the wrapper: it’s their Parra chocolate brand. As noted before, Strauss’ chocolate is not Fair Trade certified, but it is kosher, and the Strauss company has its own commitment to sustainable practices and sourcing. Yeah, but how’s the chocolate, right?

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Acts 9 – Tabitha and Ananias (Oh, and Peter and Paul)

Greetings from the ghost town that is a mall food court at 9:30 AM on a Friday. I just got done with a dental appointment, and to celebrate, I’m subjecting my teeth to sugar and cacao solids. I know it’s been awhile since I said anything about the physical circumstances under which I’m opening up the Bible, but today’s a little out of the ordinary, so here’s me for old times sake, talking about the site where I’m reading about Saul’s conversion.

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Acts 8, contd. – Return of the Philip

If you were reading through the New Testament in canonical order, starting with Matthew and ending with Revelation, then Acts 8 would be the last you’d see of Philip. Even in the first half of the chapter, he ends up leaving the limelight as Peter handles Simon the Ex-Sorcerer’s attempt to purchase distribution rights to the Holy Spirit. But in the latter half of the chapter, Philip gets a solo adventure and an opportunity to do some big kingdom work, and it all starts with an angel and a eunuch.