Babeling Book

I was reading this morning in the book of Genesis about Noah, the flood and the events following the flood.  After the flood killed all living creatures not on the ark, God directed Noah's sons and their wives to be fruitful, multiply and cover the Earth.  That worked for a bit until a group of his descendants settled on the plain of Shinar.  They decided to build a tower there so they could "make a name for themselves" and NOT be scattered over the earth.  This is the first post-flood mention of humanity's ultimate sin: putting ourselves and our needs above God and what he desires for us.  God stepped in, confused their language, and caused them to disperse and cover the Earth as originally directed.  The tower became known as the Tower of Babel.  The Mesopotamian word Babel means "gateway to the gods" and is associated with the Hebrew word, balal, which means to mix, jumble, or confuse.  The Greeks later translated the word Babel to Babylon.  Babylon continues to represent the desires of men and political systems to be greater than God all the way through the Old and New Testaments until its final destruction in Revelation 18: "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great".   God, help us to remember that you are the greatest and that nothing we create can come close to what you have for us.

Bonus fact: While the english word "babble" is actually derived from a Germanic word mimicking infantile, indistinct speech, its proliferation is connected with the biblical account of the Tower of Babel.

Pirate Pay Day

 

It's that time of year when pirates invade Lake Hartwell.  Together, with our good friends down the street, we host Pirate Camp for our grandkids for three fun-filled days.  Captain Hook steals their treasure on the first day which sets off a series of chases on land and sea where the scalawags try to track down Captain Hook and regain the treasure.  They usually find success by the end of the week which keeps them coming back year after year.  While the week is exhausting for us, I continue to believe it is one of the most important things we do all year long.  If you use Facebook, you can check out some of the fun here.   I hope you have the opportunity to invest in your kids and/or grandkids this year!

The pitch seen 'round the world

 I have never played organized soccer, but I did coach my son's 5-year-old team with my brother, Craig.  I confess that by the end of that season, neither I nor our team knew much more about soccer.  My grandkids are a different story.   Most of them play on club teams, and my oldest grandson, Evan, played varsity soccer on the high school team as a freshman this past year.  His team went to the state semi-finals, so my interest in soccer has increased immensely.  The US Team's first World Cup game is in Atlanta on Friday night.  One player to watch will be Christian Pulisic.   Click here to see what we have to look forward to.  Christian has struggled with injuries in the past, but most feel like he is back to full strength.  When asked about a recent injury, he took the opportunity to talk about the role his faith plays in his outlook on soccer.  I love that he is representing US soccer - and our savior.  Click here for the video clip.

Clean-shaven Jesus

 

Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in the popular series, The Chosen, has advanced the perception that Jesus was dark-skinned and bearded.  But a recent discovery may paint a different picture.  Archaeologists in Turkey uncovered what is thought to be the best-preserved early depiction of Jesus ever found.  The third-century fresco depicts Jesus, the Good Shepherd, as light-skinned and clean-shaven.  Additional recent discoveries help show how followers of Jesus grew from a rag-tag bunch of fishermen to one of the world's most important religious movements.  Jesus' clean-shaven face could just be attributed to the artist's perception, as the work was created 200+ years after Jesus' death. However, the more important fact is that we are still talking about Him 2000 years later, and many of us are doing our best to follow and love Him.  Praise God for sending His son to Earth to die for us.