March 30, 2008 -- I am thanking God today for his blessings received in Tulsa, Oklahoma this past week at the Tulsa International Soul-Winning Workshop (ISWW), where from Wednesday evening through Saturday noon I was privileged to meet dozens of gracEmail subscribers from across the USA and elsewhere, to hear powerful, Christ-minded speakers such as Terry Rush, Don McLaughlin and Randy Harris, to worship with the Zoe Group singers and to share three well-received presentations from my own heart concerning "The Sound of His Voice: Discovering the Secrets of God's Guidance." This was the 33rd … [Read more...]
“Propitiation/atonement”: LXX background to a NT verb
In Hebrews 2:17, the unknown author says that Jesus identified with his people as their high priest, “to make propitiation” for their sins. The Greek verb here (hilaskomai), which many English versions translate as “to make propitiation,” brings to the New Testament an interesting biblical background. That background comes from the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament that was the first “Bible” of the early church. Propitiation = atonement The verb hilaskomai, which is translated “to make propitiation” in Hebrews 2:17, appears 12 times in the Septuagint (Hatch-Redpath, 684). Three of those … [Read more...]
RETURN TO ROOTS
Jan. 29, 2008 -- The events of the past weekend bring to mind a poignant story from the life of David, told in 2 Samuel 23:14-16. Hidden from hostile Philistines in a cave at Adullam, David longed for a drink of water from his hometown well at Bethlehem, just five miles away. Overhearing this, three of David's bodyguards risked their lives to obtain it for him. Overcome with emotion and respect for his men's courage, David refused to drink the water but "poured it out to the LORD." To the person blessed with an idyllic childhood, there is something almost holy about one's hometown. I am still … [Read more...]
IN OUR OWN GENERATION
Sara Faye and I married in June 1967 and this year we mark 40 years of wedded life. We celebrated last weekend by splurging on a first-time, Friday-Monday getaway to New York City. It was a delightful surprise to the primary honoree (who, unlike me, loves surprises) and she first discovered our destination when she saw the "LaGuardia" sign above our boarding gate at Houston's Intercontinental Airport. (I derived special pleasure in dropping confusing hints for two weeks before the trip.) Like millions of other visitors to America's largest city, we were awed by the concentration of … [Read more...]
OUTSTANDING ONTARIO
(Sept. 2007) It began with the humbling announcement to these two Houstonians that Ontario Province alone is more than half again larger than all of Texas. Even bigger, however, were the hearts of believers at Stoney Creek Church of Christ in Hamilton, Ontario who hosted this past weekend of ministry, surrounded by two days of sightseeing in their magnificent land of lakes and vineyards, farmlands and cities. Sara Faye and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting many gracEmail readers from Stoney Creek, area Churches of Christ and several other Christian fellowships. One devoted brother reminded me to be … [Read more...]
ANTIGUA DAWN
August 2007 -- It is 5:00 a.m. in Antigua, Guatemala and the town has not yet woken. The security watchman at my hotel lifts two boards that he had wedged earlier against the courtyard doors to prevent night-time entry from the street. "Gracias," I say, as he opens the heavy wooden doors for me, and step through the opening to the narrow sidewalk outside. I look in all directions down empty cobblestone streets. They constitute a grid throughout the town, an anachronistically modern feature created by the founders more than 450 years ago. Stone walls border the streets on both sides, now richly … [Read more...]
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEMORIES
Today -- April 5, 2007 -- brings special memories of my father, Benjamin ("Bennie") Lee Fudge. This would be his 93rd birthday . . . had he not died suddenly and unexpectedly at age 57 in February 1972. It's an amazing thought. I cannot imagine him old. Nor is it easy to think that I have already outlived him by nearly six years. His photo faces me atop my small home office desk as I type these words. He is wearing a suit and tie as he always did, even at home, until he was ready to go to bed. His expression is friendly but serious. He loved life and was full of humor but he was never … [Read more...]
ROBERT SHANK (1918-2006)
I have just learned of the passing of Robert Shank, 88, who died peacefully at his home in Mount Vernon, Missouri on October 16, 2006, ten days after suffering a debilitating stroke. His death concluded an earthly pilgrimage of humble conviction and quiet scholarship, bringing to an end more than 60 years of faithful ministry as a Christian pastor, preacher, author, lecturer and teacher. Following in the footsteps of his Baptist minister father, Shank himself began pastoring Southern Baptist churches in 1941, also serving as teacher and president of a Bible academy. The same year marked his … [Read more...]
TRAVEL BLESSINGS
October 2006 -- Sara Faye and I returned safely on Monday evening from a whirlwind driving trip of about 1,350 miles through parts of Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Along the way we visited a favorite uncle, aunt and cousin of Sara Faye's in Memphis, checked on Sara Faye's old home-place in Franklin, Tenn. and visited my mother in Tupelo, Miss., where we also saw my aunt Beth Ewing and my cousin Dr. Pat Ewing and his family. The whole trip was lovely, we enjoyed the opportunity to just be together, and the colorful Autumn leaves in Middle Tennessee made us … [Read more...]
PEPPERDINE, HOSPITAL AND HOME
Last week (May 2-5, 2006) I attended the Pepperdine Bible Lectures as I have done every year but one since 1991. This year I was among an estimated 6,000 pilgrims drawn from 42 states and 22 countries to the picturesque mountainside campus of Pepperdine University, overlooking the Pacific Ocean at Malibu, California. I taught two well-received classes on the purpose and duration of spiritual gifts (about which more details later). Besides 250+ classes throughout the week, there were two worship assemblies each day in the university Fieldhouse with soul-stirring congregational singing and … [Read more...]
