Building on the Foundation

In the midst of working on several other projects, I came across something that needed a little more study. It’s perfectly demonstrated in the 8th Psalm, and since it’s time to cover that one anyway, I figured we might as well go over it while we’re at it.  The new thing I’m learning about is called a chiasm, a prominent Hebrew literary mechanism used throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament. Paul, being the Hebrew of Hebrews that he was, utilized the chiastic structure quite a lot in his writings.  Psalm 8 is a perfect example of a chiasm. It’s a beautiful Psalm anyway, but with the added layer of the chiasm, it just gets even more beautiful!  Psalm 8 also corresponds quite nicely to the Last Great Day, that eighth day of the feast. In fact, out of the Psalms we have covered, this one probably lines up even more than the others do with their corresponding Holy Day, so take note of that as we go along. To start out, we’ll read through the Psalm, then, once we ha...

We are all familiar with the term “disciple,” and most of us would classify ourselves as disciples. Disciples of Jesus, of course, though many of us might be a bit hard put to define the term. Right off the bat, someone would probably say that disciple means a follower, which is partly true, but it goes deeper than that.  One of the greatest callings in this life is to make disciples of every nation, wherever we might find ourselves. We don't have to be missionaries; that command was for wherever we might be living at this time. The iconic disciple of Jesus, Paul, often stayed in one place for years at a time while he preached to everyone he could find in the area until the Holy Spirit told him it was time to move along.  Our job is to make disciples where we are, not necessarily to travel to do so. The distinction isn't to minimize evangelism, not at all. Rather, it's to drive home the point that making disciples isn't off in a faraway country; it's right here in o...