Building on the Foundation

*Warning! This post contains trace amounts of sarcasm and was produced in a facility that also manufactures disdain for modern psychology and manipulation tactics.*   What is your love language? If you are under the age of about 35, this question will likely be posed to you at some point.  It is an important question as the health of your relationships seemingly depends on how you answer the question: what can others do to make me happy?  Have I told my spouse or friends how to please me?   The concept of “the 5 love languages” became popular in 1992 with the release of a book by Gary Chapman explaining these principles and how to get the most out of your relationships with other people.  After seeing the wonderful fruits of this book in the lives of my peers, it makes me wonder how anyone has experienced a happy and meaningful marriage without it.  Just think of the people who, for the last 5,900, years had no refined way to request from their spouse's the actions or words that br

  The count to Pentecost — or the Feast of Weeks, as it’s called in the Old Testament — is somewhat controversial, as folks have diverse understandings of when the count should begin. Due to the differences in counting, some may observe Pentecost always on a Sunday during the Hebrew month Sivan (the third month), others on a Monday, and others on Sivan 6th. And there are likely other variations as well. In ancient times, the count to Pentecost began with offering a wave sheaf of the firstfruits of the harvest. God told the Israelites, “When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it” (Lev. 23:10-11). The count concluded fifty days later, on the Day of Pentecost, by offering wave loaves of the firstfruits of a later harvest: “You shall bring from your dwellings t

  In 1 Corinthians 11, the apostle Paul admonished us regarding the Passover, “Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (1 Cor. 11:27-28). This word “examine” is the same one translated “test” in 1 Thes. 5:21: “Test all things; hold fast what is good.” It’s Strong’s # G1381, dokimazo , and it means to try, test, examine, prove, or scrutinize. So before Passover, each one of us must scrutinize and examine his or her own heart, to avoid partaking in an unworthy manner. Among the Corinthians, failure to do this brought about God’s judgment: “For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep” (1 Cor. 11:30). Paul added, “For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged” (v. 31). By this time, most of us have probably begun de-leavening our houses in anticipation of the Feast of Unleavened B