Very early the next morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. [Mark 1:35]
The “next morning” after what? The next morning after an extremely busy and trying day when Jesus calls his disciples, teaches in the synagogue, drives out an evil spirit from a possessed fellow, heals Peter’s mother-in-law, attracts a big crowd, and is approached by so many diseased and demon-possessed people.
After THAT day…Jesus gets up early and prays.
I wish I had that discipline. I would have probably told the Lord that I need to sleep in or that I need a break from spiritual stuff or that I am just plain exhausted, with no gas left in the tank—even to pray.
If Jesus, the Son of God, prayed, knowing his need for fellowship and dependence on God, don’t I need to do the same? How’s your discipline of prayer?
For your reading accompaniment
Enjoy this beautiful, calm, meditative piece by Estonian composer Arvo Part: “Speigel im Spiegel” (“Mirror in the Mirror”). Think of the infinite sense that parallel mirrors can reflect as you listen to this piece written in 1978 for piano and violin.
Time? Spell it
In his book Confessions, Augustine recounts an occasion when someone asked him, “What was God doing before creation?” To which Augustine responded that since God invented time along with the created world, such a question is nonsense and merely betrays the time-bound perspective of the simple questioner.
Ouch! Remind me not to ask really smart people like Augustine anything that might make me look stupid.
Now here is Augustine’s brilliant, mind-stretching answer: “Before time there is only eternity, and eternity for God is a never-ending present.”
I’ll be back. I need to rest my brain for a bit. 😊
Israel/Hamas truce holding…so far
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” For more than a week now, thousands of trucks and relief workers have been entering Gaza and bringing aid to Gaza’s nearly 2 million displaced residents. Thousands of families have returned to their war-ravaged homes (often to find nothing there but rubble.)
And in the north, an extension of a Lebanon–Israel ceasefire agreement has been reached, giving the Israel Defense Forces until February 18 to withdraw from southern Lebanon.
Speaking of Israel, former Arkansas Governor and evangelical talk show host Mike Huckabee has been named the U.S. Ambassador to Israel. For an Evangelical and a champion of biblical and contemporary Israel, that is quite a significant job landing. Let’s see how he does. Hopefully “lasting peace” will be high on his agenda.
And the best movie award goes to…
I am not sure if it’s the subject matter of the films or if I am just too busy these days, but this may be the fewest of the Oscar-nominated movies I have seen in a given year. Up for best motion picture of 2024 are:
- Anora
- The Brutalist
- A Complete Unknown
- Conclave
- Dune: Part Two
- Emilia Pérez
- I’m Still Here
- Nickel Boys
- The Substance
- Wicked
I have only seen two: Conclave and A Complete Unknown. Of the two, I prefer the movie about the early Bob Dylan. (Note: Sue saw Wicked and loved it!)
That bizarre “salute”
Why did Elon Musk give such an awkward and confusing salute at President Trump’s inaugural event? Was he simply waving to the crowd? Was it a physical expression of his autism? Could he have been giving the Nazi salute? Perhaps it was a salute akin to the so-called “Roman salute” performed by ancient Romans and copied later by Italy’s fascist leader Mussolini? With Musk openly expressing his interest and admiration of the ancient Roman Empire, as well as recently espousing to be a “cultural Christian,” one wonders if he isn’t envisioning a return to Rome’s Constantine era for America.


Between two worlds
This week I begin teaching at Emmaus Theological Seminary. This semester I will be teaching Rhetoric/Expositional Preaching. Over the years I have enjoyed instructing the students on both the art of public oratory and the skill of making the Scriptures come alive and relevant to contemporary audiences. A required text for the class is Between Two Worlds by John Stott, the late brilliant British pastor and scholar. The title of the book is an important concept for all churches and Christ-followers to heed—an important concept for both those who want to simply tip their hats to the Bible and get right to the task of being relevant to today’s culture as well as those who choose to stay embedded in the biblical world with nothing pertinent or helpful to add to the contemporary world. In his book, Stott makes a case for understanding both worlds and building a bridge so the two may become joined by the truth and workings of God.
Champions again!
And hail to the Chiefs! The Kansas City football team will be vying for their third straight Super Bowl championship after beating the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Several Cleveland area connections were featured in the game, with Mentor’s Mitchell Trubisky being the Bills backup quarterback and Cleveland Heights’ own Travis Kelce (aka Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, in case you hadn’t heard) as the star tight end on the Chiefs.
Viva Italia! Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner (unfortunate last name, I know) won the Australian Open championship for the second straight year! The young man played nearly errorless tennis in dispatching his German opponent Sasha Zverev in straight sets.
USA! USA! And though not a repeat championship, a shoutout to 29-year-old Madison Keyes for winning the Australian Open Tennis Championship on the women’s side. This very likeable American player beat the best and second-best women’s tennis players in the world to win the trophy!
I’ll see you on the other side!
“Look upon us, O Lord,
and let all the darkness of our souls
vanish before the beams of thy brightness.
Fill us with holy love,
and open to us the treasures of thy wisdom.
All our desire is known unto thee,
therefore perfect what thou hast begun,
and what thy Spirit has awakened us to ask in prayer.
We seek thy face,
turn thy face unto us and show us thy glory.
Then shall our longing be satisfied,
and our peace shall be perfect.”
[Augustine]