By: Obed Pineda When a person is surprised with an unexpected gift, usually the phrase that follows is “you shouldn’t have.” It is curious that the expression’s subjective connotation does not necessarily align with it’s objective denotation. Currently, this phrase is often interpreted as a meek reaction of gratitude displayed…
By: Obed Pineda “Also I heard the voice of the LORD, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’” (Isaiah 6:8) A conduit is a channel of some form that is typically used to transmit or distribute something through…
By: Obed Pineda Of the twenty kings who ruled the southern kingdom of Judah (after the twelves tribes of Israel split into two kingdoms) only a handful of them are described by Holy Writ as good and righteous rulers, who “did what was good and right in the eyes of…
By: Obed Pineda Around the year 1050 B.C. the children of Israel made the most tragic and unwise decision in their history, by placing themselves on the “broad…way that leads to destruction” (Matthew 5:13b). The prophet Samuel (and Israel’s last righteous judge) had grown old and he had passed on…
By: Obed Pineda When committing Scripture to memory, it is common to often overlook the “small” words that are found within the pericope. The group of words that are perhaps almost always dismissed as unimportant are known in English literature as prepositions. Although small in comparison to other words in…
By: Obed Pineda It has been suggested that legends and myths are not simply fantasized stories told for entertainment, but instead are object lessons purposely hyperbolized so that the listener will not easily forget the instruction. This theory may find some strength if one approaches Greek mythology with it in…
By: Obed Pined When someone faces a truth that is difficult or unpleasant to accept and instead chooses to remain in a constant state of denial, vehemently rejecting all logical evidence that substantiates it as fact, it is concluded that this person is in a state of wishful thinking. This…
By: Obed Pineda “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is of the LORD” (Proverbs 21:31). During Israel’s post-exilic era, the Jews that had returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel and Jeshua had ceased the rebuilding of the temple because of their adversaries, the Samaritans (cf. Ezra…
By: Obed Pineda It had been a long and eventful day for the Master and His twelve. Mark relates that after returning from a successful campaign of preaching, healing the sick, and casting out demons from the possessed, Jesus instructed His disciples “‘Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place…
By: Obed Pineda While waiting for his audience with Caesar, having appealed his case to the Roman emperor, the apostle to the Gentiles was allowed to remain in custody under house arrest instead of sitting in a cold and harsh prison cell (cf. Acts 25:7-12, 28:16, 23, 30-31). Holy Writ…