58 - Laodicea, I Wish! (ft. Victoria Murgante)

58 - Laodicea, I Wish! (ft. Victoria Murgante)

Jesus didn’t swear, or use coarse language. Neither did Paul. But they did use very forceful injunctions to express strong emotions, and the word they used was ophelon. It can be translated as “Oh, How I wish!” …But that’s probably a little too formal for the actual sense of this word, which is just an expression of sheer frustration. In our vulgar age, this role is usually filled by four letter obscene words. Ophelon isn’t that… It’s not obscene, but it is a placeholder for extreme emotion getting spat out at the listener. The exact terms vary from culture to culture and generation to generation but actually Xennial guys like myself tend to use the interjection “Dude, uncool!” That’s a more faithful sense of what Ophelon means here. Paul also used this word in his immense frustration with the Galatian church getting so caught up in circumcision as being salvific that he darkly jokes that maybe they’d be super saved if they went the full nine yards and chopped more off. Paul’s immensely frustrated, and we know he is because he says ophelon!!! This episode digs deeper into “ophelon” (ὄφελον meaning ‘Oh, How I Wish!’) in Revelation 3:15. Revelation 3:15 - “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. Oh, How I Wish you were either one or the other!” (NIV) Victoria Murgante [http://www.victoriamurgante.com] is a storyteller, a poet and a songwriter. In university, she played in a Klezmer and a Balkan ensemble, and was part of a large gospel choir. To this day, she still composes simple, mild-mannered tunes but you won't hear any of them on the radio. Victoria has worked in a flower shop and a music store; as a primary school teacher, an overnight baker, and manager of the night shift at a bookshop. She began her first job with the public library a few short months after meeting her future husband, Michael. The two now share three children, a fondness for forest rambles, and a home near Lake Simcoe in Central Canada. Her first book is The Traveling Piano Man of Fort Whettershire. [https://victoriamurgante.com/#my-book] www.victoriamurgante.com [http://www.victoriamurgante.com] Mentioned: • Laodicea [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laodicea_on_the_Lycus] • Colossae [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossae] • Victoria Murgante [http://www.victoriamurgante.com] • Roman Historian Tacitus Describing Laodicea Rejecting Roman Help [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Tac.+Ann.+14.27&redirect=true] • Marshall McLuhan [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_McLuhan] • “Stop trying to make fetch happen!” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pubd-spHN-0] • Song of Solomon 5:2 [https://www.biblehub.com/interlinear/songs/5-2.htm]- “I slept but my heart was awake. Listen! My beloved is knocking: “Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one. My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night.” (NIV) What is a Bammerhab? Ps. 31:8 [https://www.biblehub.com/text/psalms/31-8.htm] - “You have not given me into the hands of the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.” (NIV) The phrase “in a spacious place” is the Hebrew word: Bammerhab [https://www.biblehub.com/hebrew/vammerchav_4800.htm]. Thanks to: • Aaron Woodard [https://www.behance.net/woodardUX?locale=en_US&] for Graphic Design • Dave Allam [http://youtube.com/c/allamhouse] of Allam House [https://sound.allamhouse.com/] for podcasting techniques • Bible Hub [https://www.biblehub.com/] for Greek / Hebrew resources This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bammerhab.substack.com [https://bammerhab.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

57 - Suddenly in Philadelphia! (ft. Rachael Watson)

Surprising! Remember back in 2020? One day it was normal, the next day everything everywhere was shut down… for two weeks, or so they said. That was pretty sudden huh? Not much warning? In this penultimate church of Revelation, Jesus uses the Greek word tachy and basically tachy means fast, and Jesus uses it ALL over Revelation. In fact he uses this word three times in his very last speech in Revelation and also the very last words of the entire Bible. The last thing Jesus wanted us to know was tachy, tachy, tachy. Fast, fast, fast. But fast isn’t quite the right translation here, neither is swift, neither is soon, which is what most translators use here. They translate this as behold I am coming soon! Yes, translators have a tough job, and it’s not cool to knock them, but this one here is a pretty major goof up. That’s because the Greek word tachy has other connotations that the translators really should have picked up on, because they match everything else Jesus said elsewhere throughout his entire ministry. Tachy in addition to swift, soon, or fast can also mean shockingly sudden. Tachy can mean surprisingly sudden. And it is in this sense that Jesus is using the word. He really can’t make it any clearer. He called it like a thief in the night… well, that’s a surprise isn’t it? He called it like lightning across the heavens. That’s surprising and sudden too. And the last words that Christ left for us he said it three times. Sudden, sudden, and SUDDEN. He wanted us to know. He will come suddenly and it will be sudden. That’s also why he also uses this term to the church of Philadelphia. Because about seventy years before Jesus wrote to all these seven churches they were all impacted by one of the biggest earthquakes ever recorded in the ancient world. It damaged all the seven cities but it completely flattened Philadelphia, and they had to rebuild it all basically from scratch. And guess how that earthquake arrived? Yes, you guessed it. It arrived SUDDENLY, surprisingly and shockingly. This episode digs deeper into “tachy” (ταχύ meaning ‘Sudden’ or ‘Surprising’) in Revelation 3:11. Revelation 3:11 - “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.” (NIV) ‘When Chaos Crumbles’ is by Rachael Watson [https://rwatsonauthor.substack.com/] Rachael Watson [https://rwatsonauthor.substack.com/] is a multi-genre writer who follows a story wherever it takes her. Her debut middle grade novel, ELIZABRIE, will be published by Bandersnatch Books [https://www.bandersnatchbooks.com/] in 2027. Her longlisted story was published in CrimeBits With Lee Child [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216424958]. Rachael holds a Diploma in Creative Writing from the University of Oxford. Her work has appeared in Calla Press [https://www.callapresspublishing.com/], Havok Publishing [https://gohavok.com/], and been converted into a short film. Mentioned: Tachyon [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachyon] Tachycardia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachycardia] Earthquake of 17 AD [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AD_17_Lydia_earthquake] Emperor Domitian [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domitian] Parable of The Ten Virgins - Matthew 25 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2025&version=NIV] What is a Bammerhab? “You have not given me into the hands of the enemybut have set my feet in a spacious place.” (Ps. 31:8 - NIV) The phrase “in a spacious place” is the Hebrew word: Bammerhab [https://www.biblehub.com/hebrew/vammerchav_4800.htm]. Thanks to: • Aaron Woodard [https://www.behance.net/woodardUX?locale=en_US&] for Graphic Design • Dave Allam [http://youtube.com/c/allamhouse] of Allam House [https://sound.allamhouse.com/] for podcasting techniques • Bible Hub [https://www.biblehub.com/] for Greek / Hebrew resources This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bammerhab.substack.com [https://bammerhab.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

56 - Imagination - Kori Frazier Morgan

How should a Christian approach imagination? Imagination isn’t a virtue or a vice, it’s just the standard equipment of all humankind, made in God’s image. We have imagination because God has imagination. But while His imaginations are always good, ours aren’t. Our creativity can do wonderful things and it can also do terrible things. But the first person filled with the Holy Spirit in the bible was an artist, a craftsman named Bezalel, and the Hebrew makes it clear that his imagination was fired and inspired by the Holy Spirit himself. I discuss with Kori Frazier Morgan how should we approach something like that? Kori is an author, disciple, and creative entrepreneur. A graduate of West Virginia University’s Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing, she has been featured in publications such as Shenandoah, SN Review, Blanket Sea, Cantos, and Clayjar Review. She is the author of the novel in short stories The Goodbye-Love Generation and an essay collection, Why I Dyed My Hair Purple & Other Unorthodox Stories, which explores the integral role of the arts in her Christian testimony and is published by Calla Press Publishing. Kori is the founder and Chief Literary Strategist of Inkling Creative Strategies, an author services company that helps writers reach their full creative potential so they can impact and inspire readers. And I can recommend her personally as she’s helped me with a lot of my novels! This episode digs deeper into “Machashabeth” (מַחֲשָׁבֹ֑ת - meaning ‘artistic work’ or ‘imagination’) in Exodus 31:3-4. Exodus 31:3-4 - “I have filled him (Bezalel) with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze” (NIV) Mentioned: Kori Frazier Morgan’s Site [https://korifraziermorgan.com/] Why I Dyed My Hair Purple [https://www.amazon.com/Dyed-Purple-Other-Unorthodox-Stories/dp/B0DR9ZYMYG/] - Kori Frazier Morgan [https://www.amazon.com/Dyed-Purple-Other-Unorthodox-Stories/dp/B0DR9ZYMYG/] The Goodbye-Love Generation [https://www.amazon.com/Goodbye-Love-Generation-Novel-Stories/dp/B087HC34ZD/] - Kori Frazier Morgan [https://www.amazon.com/Goodbye-Love-Generation-Novel-Stories/dp/B087HC34ZD/] Inkling Creative Strategies [https://www.inklingcreative.work/] Bezalel Media LLC [https://bezalelmedia.co/] Wise Blood [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wise_Blood] - Flannery O’Connor [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wise_Blood] Essay About Books as “Alcohol” [https://sdgmorgan.substack.com/p/creativity-as-a-cocktail] Bandersnatch Books [https://www.bandersnatchbooks.com/] The Banderpod S5:E6 - S.D. Smith [https://bandersnatchbooks.substack.com/p/s5e6-sd-smith-and-the-green-ember] The Habit S7:E4 - Kori Morgan Dyed Her Hair Purple [https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/kori-morgan-dyed-her-hair-purple/id1466283174?i=1000685652784] Phantastes [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantastes] - George MacDonald [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantastes] North Wind Manor [https://www.rabbitroom.com/post/north-wind-manor] What is a Bammerhab? “You have not given me into the hands of the enemybut have set my feet in a spacious place.” (Ps. 31:8 - NIV) The phrase “in a spacious place” is the Hebrew word: Bammerhab [https://www.biblehub.com/hebrew/vammerchav_4800.htm]. Thanks to: • Aaron Woodard [https://www.behance.net/woodardUX?locale=en_US&] for Graphic Design • Dave Allam [http://youtube.com/c/allamhouse] of Allam House [https://sound.allamhouse.com/] for podcasting techniques • Bible Hub [https://www.biblehub.com/] for Greek / Hebrew resources This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bammerhab.substack.com [https://bammerhab.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

55 - Watch Out in Sardis! (ft. G.K. Chesterton)

The Greek word Gregoron in Revelation 3:2 means “Watch out!” or “Wake Up!”. (It’s also where we get the name Gregory.) This episode is the fifth of seven in a little miniseries about the seven churches that Jesus directly addressed, and Jesus told this church to “Wake up!” This church is Sardis, but Jesus’ words to them apply to every single Christian in the twenty first century also. Why did Jesus shout at Sardis to wake up? To answer that, first we have to know what Sardis was. Sardis was the ridiculously wealthy and corrupt capital of the Lydian empire. Sardis was the Paris of its day. It had once been the capitol of the legendarily wealthy Lydian empire. Myth told that Midas came to Sardis to be rid of his golden touch and washed in the waters coming from Mount Tmolus and left behind a reside of gold dust. Midas left his golden touch with Sardis, and everything the city touched turned to gold. Yes, King Midas with the golden touch? Yup, he was Lydian. Remember King Croessus, of the common phrase “Rich as Croessus”? Yup, he was Lydian too. In fact, Croessus had so much gold lying around that apparently he stamped his face on some of it and invented currency. Hence, as the birthplace of currency Sardis was the center of finance in the ancient world, so it was not only Paris but the ancient New York Stock Exchange as well. Yes, Life was good in Sardis and luxuries abounded. Sardis was wealthy beyond belief and to protect that wealth it was built high up on a ridge with some of the most technologically impressive walls of its era. Every military leader agreed, its walls couldn’t be breached by direct attack. Or so they thought… This episode digs deeper into “gregoron” (γρηγορῶν meaning ‘Watch out!’ or ‘Wake up!) in Revelation 3:2. Revelation 3:2 - “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.” (NIV) ‘Vulgarised [https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks13/1301741h.html#p50]’ by G.K. Chesterton [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._K._Chesterton] is public domain from his collection of poetry entitled The Wild Knight and Other Poems [https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks13/1301741h.html] published in 1900. Mentioned: Battle of Pteria - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Pteria]“A Great Kingdom will fall!” [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Pteria] YouTube video of the Ruins of Sardis’ Walls [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0yEFzdlB_0] The Goddess Cybele [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybele] The Man Who Was Thursday [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-man-who-was-thursday-a-nightmare-g-k-chesterton/069200dbd40440e0?ean=9780141191461&next=t] - G.K. Chesterton [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-man-who-was-thursday-a-nightmare-g-k-chesterton/069200dbd40440e0?ean=9780141191461&next=t] ‘Vulgarised [https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks13/1301741h.html#p50]’ by G.K. Chesterton [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._K._Chesterton] “Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality. ” ― C.S. Lewis, [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-screwtape-letters-c-s-lewis/b8e772cea7c1beea?ean=9780060652937&next=t]The Screwtape Letters [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-screwtape-letters-c-s-lewis/b8e772cea7c1beea?ean=9780060652937&next=t] What is a Bammerhab? “You have not given me into the hands of the enemybut have set my feet in a spacious place.” (Ps. 31:8 - NIV) The phrase “in a spacious place” is the Hebrew word: Bammerhab [https://www.biblehub.com/hebrew/vammerchav_4800.htm]. Thanks to: • Aaron Woodard [https://www.behance.net/woodardUX?locale=en_US&] for Graphic Design • Dave Allam [http://youtube.com/c/allamhouse] of Allam House [https://sound.allamhouse.com/] for podcasting techniques • Bible Hub [https://www.biblehub.com/] for Greek / Hebrew resources This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bammerhab.substack.com [https://bammerhab.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

54 - Creation - Sandra Lewis

Yatsar is what a potter does to clay. Yatsar is also what God did to us. Yatsar is a cognate for another Hebrew which means to squeeze, to push, to pressure and to be distressed. This is because the image of formation that yatsar evokes is shaping something like a potter shapes a pot. The potter squishes, squeezes, pushes and pressures the clay. I will bet that the clay if it could talk would say it was feeling a bit distressed! I discuss this with Sandra Lewis, the missionary who created Grace & Peace Community Ministries [https://graceandpeacerva.com/] in Richmond, Virginia to serve families in Richmond’s inner city, with a special focus on those on Raven Street, a division of Mosby Court. This has always been the most violent, dangerous and poor place in all of Richmond. But Sandra went into the neighborhood to show Christ’s love through service. She currently serves 80-100 households surrounding Raven St. in Mosby Court, a public housing community, helping single mothers, kids and others with education, health services, work training, spiritual training and basic needs. Antsy kids love to create stuff with their hands, so Sandra is continually creating art projects and opportunities for them. Yatsar was on her mind because she’s just recently started up a new pottery opportunity for the kids, which came from her study of Diana Glyer’s recent book all about pottery, entitled Clay in the Potter’s Hands. So Sandra’s mind is on pottery and yatsar And that’s where we will start our conversation with her! This episode digs deeper into “yatsar” (יָצָֽר - meaning ‘formed’) in Genesis 2:8. Genesis 2:8 - “Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.” (NIV) Mentioned: Grace & Peace Community Ministries [https://graceandpeacerva.com/] Grace & Peace Community Ministries Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/graceandpeacecommunityministries] Clay in the Potter’s Hands [https://dianaglyer.com/clay-in-the-potters-hands/] - Diana Glyer [https://dianaglyer.com/clay-in-the-potters-hands/] The Problem of Pain - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Problem_of_Pain]C.S. Lewis [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Problem_of_Pain] The Circle Maker [https://www.markbatterson.com/books/the-circle-maker/] - Mark Batterson [https://www.markbatterson.com/books/the-circle-maker/] Area 10 Church - Richmond, VA [https://www.area10church.com/] National Community Church - Washington, DC [https://national.cc/] Tyler Staton [https://www.tylerstaton.com/] Can Can Brasserie [https://cancanrva.com/] Psalm 63 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2063&version=NIV] The Market at 25th [https://www.themarketat25th.com/] A Call to Mercy [https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-call-to-mercy-hearts-to-love-hands-to-serve-mother-teresa/15bca67b1ee633dd?ean=9780451498229&next=t] - Mother Teresa [https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-call-to-mercy-hearts-to-love-hands-to-serve-mother-teresa/15bca67b1ee633dd?ean=9780451498229&next=t] Banff & Lake Louise [https://www.banfflakelouise.com/] What is a Bammerhab? “You have not given me into the hands of the enemybut have set my feet in a spacious place.” (Ps. 31:8 - NIV) The phrase “in a spacious place” is the Hebrew word: Bammerhab [https://www.biblehub.com/hebrew/vammerchav_4800.htm]. Thanks to: • Aaron Woodard [https://www.behance.net/woodardUX?locale=en_US&] for Graphic Design • Dave Allam [http://youtube.com/c/allamhouse] of Allam House [https://sound.allamhouse.com/] for podcasting techniques • Bible Hub [https://www.biblehub.com/] for Greek / Hebrew resources This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bammerhab.substack.com [https://bammerhab.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]