Sword in the Fire

It's been a while since I have done posts that are pure recommendations, so here goes. Yesterday, I learned that my book The Rest of the Bible had been quoted by one of my favorite online writers, Joel J Miller.  He was writing on the Two Songs of the Three Holy Youths in the Fiery Furnace , which is found only in the LXX Old Testament. If you don't currently read his work, you need to subscribe to Joel J. Miller's posts on Patheos.  I will give you the link in a minute. I have been following Joel for some time.  He's an Orthodox Christian who maintained his own blog, where he wrote great essays only too infrequently. Recently he was picked up Patheos, and online repository for religion writing.  Since then his posts have become more regular and consistently good.   Joel is the Vice President of Acquisitions and Editorial in the Non Fiction Trade Group at Thomas Nelson.  He is also the author of 5 books , and his recent Lifted by Angels has been...

The carols of Christmas have begun as we prepare for the birth of Christ.  Joyous old hymns celebrating “The First Noel”, honoring a “Silent Night”, and hearing angels beckon “Come All You Faithful” pulse through speakers of our local marketplace.  Orthodox songs are absent in popular American life, so we may be less familiar with the words and meanings.  Leading up to the Nativity, several hymns repeat each service, bringing to us the theology of the Church and helping us understand the fullness of the Incarnation.  No service of the Christmas season is more full of wonder and theology than the Royal Hours preceding the celebration of the Nativity of Christ.  Hymns explaining the mystery of God becoming Man through the womb of a Virgin are scattered among litanies, Psalms, and Readings of Scripture.  Yet throughout this service a strange phrase is repeated:   click here for the rest Theron Mathis

Wednesday, November 7, many Christians awoke to disappointing election results.  If not in the presidential race, then probably somewhere else---governor, senator, representative, school board, county coroner.  To appreciate the mood, here is a sampling of some of my favorite mournful and joyful Tweets:                            -  read the rest here.   Theron Mathis

Thank you to all the readers of The Rest of the Bible!   It's been a little over a year, since the print and ebook publication, and I continue to be encouraged by the response. There is very little in print regarding those "extra" Old Testament books, and this book fit that need. If you have ever wondered about the content of Tobit, the Maccabees, Judith, etc, but never had the time to dig and read, this book will give you an overview of each book as well as discussing how Christian throughout history have used and understand these stories. Thank you as well to those who commented on Amazon. Here are a sample of the reviews. It is about time someone took to giving a good outline and reading companion to these books. So often they are overlooked because sadly most bibles do not include them.  This is not only a readable book for those interested but in my mind opens up a world of 'forgotten' Scripture to the modern eyes. A simple but brilliant idea...

In Adult Sunday School, we are reading St. John’s account of the feeding of the 5000.  This miracle of Jesus never fails to impress.  Five thousand men plus their families have come to Him to hear His teaching and perhaps get a glimmer of the miraculous because, for many in the crowd, there have been rumors of miracles: rumors that people were healed, blind could see, life was transformed into something new.  Who wouldn’t want to be present for something like this? This would be especially appealing after your life has been spent occupied and controlled by a foreign power, yet the promise of God to your family and religious leaders is that God has given you this land, you will be strong, you will be great, your kingdom will never end... read the rest here Theron Mathis

A couple years ago my main water line burst.  The fix was not a pretty sight.  Half my front yard was excavated leaving a landscaping nightmare.  Years later after much work and settling, the yard is beginning to recover. not my yard, but a close second Turning the earth from the bottom up brought up sizable prehistoric rocks into the front yard.  My first priority to restore any green grass was to remove these large rocks.  From behind the house, the wheelbarrow made its appearance and I bribed a couple of my children to help dad move rocks out of the front yard.  Of course, for them it was not about moving rocks but looking for ancient fossils and possible dinosaur discoveries.   Soon the big rocks were gone, but lo and behold there were still rocks.  Hidden among the large stones were others of lesser size, still preventing a lush landscape of enviable green grass from taking root.   So these smaller stones were hauled aw...

In studying the Gospel of John, I stumbled upon a wonderful story of the Apostle John as an old man, and in memory of his repose today in the city of Ephesus the retelling seems appropriate. John unlike many of the apostles seemed to have never married, being tasked with the care of the Virgin Mary.  Upon her repose, he left Jerusalem and traveled into Asia Minor, where he became the overseer of the churches there making his residence in the city of Ephesus.  During this time, he was exiled and tortured, but eventually made his way back to his beloved city as an old man. John's life was inflamed by the love of God, and the story below demonstrates the zeal and passion that love had upon his life. 6. “Listen to a tale, which is not a mere tale, but a narrative concerning John the apostle, which has been handed down and treasured up in memory. For when, after the tyrant’s death, he returned from the isle of Patmos to Ephesus, he went away upon their inv...