Moments of Quiet Truth

  "(9) And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, 'This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.' For all the the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. (10) Then he said to them, 'Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.' (11) So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, 'Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.' (12) And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing because they had understood the words that were declared to them." Nehemiah 8:9-12      Many of us are familiar with home decor that uses Scripture verses as a way to encourage the viewer of Biblical truths. How often, though, is the viewer ignorant of the context of

    A lot of what I've been pursuing recently has had an apologetic purpose. In my current pursuit, however, I ran across a statement that pulled me up short. The statement was that the purpose of apologetics is to win the man, not the argument .       The reason this pulled me up short is that I love debate and have often seen it as a means of showing up the other party and winning the argument. I love acquiring new information to use in my arguments. I love the thought that my arguments are well-reasoned and I don't feel like I can make them such without a lot of research. (There are some, especially scholars, who will not respect what you have to say unless you can demonstrate to them that you have thought through your argument and have some answers to their questions.). This has driven me to constantly study and research and learn. What seems to happen as a result of this pursuit is that I lose focus on the person and, instead, focus on the facts. Facts are easier. They can