deeperthanyesterday

     In John 15:1, Why does Jesus say "I am the true vine" and not just "I am the vine"? Is it a big deal? Is there any difference?      Decades ago Ernst Haenchen initiated the discourse by explaining what isn't. Some refer to this as the "reality of discipleship" or segregation of physical and spiritual life. Ernst corrected those proposals by stating, "[This] invites misunderstanding as something intellectual, as something that somehow floats colorless over authentic reality. But that is precisely what [John] does not mean. Spiritual existence is living reality in a concrete time and space". 1 His contribution to the development of explaining this passage is how he treats the spiritual as inseparable from the material realm.      Recent scholars such as Gary Burge and George Beasley-Murray shed more light by giving us some historical information "The vine and the vineyard were old and sacred images in Judaism". 2 The Israelites...

** Architecture, see footnote 3.        The reality of the world is that "we do not wage war as the world does". The world is fallen and darkened by evil. The sad thing about it, the majority of people are not aware of it. People either don't have any clue at all or intentionally reject it. Blindness is slowly overtaking the ethos of society in every culture. The cure for this blindness and darkness is the light. It is found in God's word. "What a dark place... if we are living in this world without God's word." 2 Without God's word, our decisions are prone to errors. Without God's word, our judgments are unclear. Without God's word, our minds are vulnerable to attacks of the wicked one. Without God's word, our growth is replaced by the decline Without God's word, our reality is short-sighted and temporal.      Abiding in his word involves discipline and wholehearted devotion. When I was discussing the 5th chapter of one-2-one, I aske...

** Architecture, see footnote 3.        In the second chapter of the one-2-one booklet, it states that "Lordship Begins in the Heart". 1 If we don't start in the heart it will not last long. Our decision to follow Jesus as Lord shouldn't be pressured by external factors. If we don't start in the heart, every time we read and see the commands of the Lord in the scriptures we will treat it as a duty and a restrictive way of living. It is the exact opposite of how the good Lord wants to relate to us. He wants to have a joyful, harmonious in our relationship with him, not in a legalistic way.      One of the reasons "Why we don't obey [is] we get so hung up to self-centered thoughts and wayward emotions". 2 If we disagree with God and choose our own path, it means there is a more superior idea or thought than his. Whenever we get carried away with our emotions it is easy to follow them even it opposes God's will for us.      That is why Ap...

          ** Architecture, see footnote 3.           For a few decades, the Philippines has been captivated by rule and reign of martial law headed by the past president, Ferdinand Marcos. The people didn't like it. They didn't have absolute freedom in their lives. Some were scared. Leaders who opposed him directly or indirectly got killed. But not everyone in the government approved of his tactics and rulership. In 1986, people protested and attempted to boot him out. "The protests, fueled by the resistance and opposition from years of governance by President Marcos and his cronies, culminated with the ruler and his family fleeing  Malacañang Palace  to be forced [exile]". 1      This significant event in Philippine history has been known as "People's power" without any hint of the main actor behind the scenes which is "God". It should've been God's power instead of People's power. The Filipino people ...

** Architecture, see footnote 3.           "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,  so that they cannot see the  light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." 1 - 2 Cor 4:4 (NIV)      " ... to keep them from seeing the light..." 1  - ESV      Translating this phrase from original Greek must be tricky. The Greek word of the word "see" there is (augazō)  which only appears once in the bible compared to the most common (horaō). 2 "See" is the most common except among this few: "to beam forth" - Berean Literal Bible 1 "shine" - King James 1 "dawn" - World English Bible 1      It is interesting to find out what do augazō means, especially it occurred only once in the entire bible where it shows up in this verse. According to the LSJ dictionary, it means, " view in the clearest light, see distinctly, discern " it is also closely related to ...

** Architecture, see footnote 3.             We are living in an era where star players keep on changing teams due to a variety of factors. The era of playing on one single team such as MJ, Kobe, Duncan, Nowitzki is long gone except for Curry and other players. Every time a player shifts to another team debates and arguments are prevalent. It might be good. It might be bad. Depending on how you view the player or team's motive and intention.       The reason why it is a big deal whenever a player switch teams are not only for the betterment of the organization or the player's career but because it is also associated with the word "Identity". The principle is, "My identity is not who I am but whose I am". 1 When the player starts to sign for the team he receives a new jersey, new clothing, which presents who owns him. "... for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." 2  - Galatians 3:27 ...