Love God

"The command to love God is a command that presumes God's love of Israel. Such a love is no vague generality, but rather is manifest in the concrete and daily care of God for his people. We know what it means to love God only because of God's love for us through the law and the prophets. This love can be harsh and dreadful, because to be loved by God is to be forced to know ourselves truthfully." Stanley Hauerwas, Matthew.

See & Hear in 2019 & 2020

See Jesus More Clearly in 2019; Hear our Good Shepherd in 2020 (12/19/2019)

2019: "Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes…and he saw everything clearly" (Mk 8:25).

2020: "The sheep hear his voice … for they know his voice" (Jn 10:3b-4).

A wholesome Christian requires orthodoxy (right beliefs), orthopraxy (right practices) and osteopathy (right emotions / feelings). Since I became a Christian in 1980, I focused exclusively on orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Once I even said to my wife to her chagrin, "Feelings don't matter." It took me 3 decades to realize the error and distastefulness of my insensitive statement. So in my attempts to rectify myself…

Hear & Know God's Voice (John 10:3b-4)

"The sheep hear his voice … for they know his voice" (Jn 10:3b-4).

Literally sheep know the voice of their good shepherd. So when they hear his voice, they will follow him.

To hear is to listen and obey. We will hear, listen and obey someone we know. If we do not know (trust) that person, we'll not hear them out, and disregard or ignore what they say.

The Good Shepherd

"Always insightful, always fresh, consistently surprising, Bailey has produced yet another book that will get many of us rethinking beloved passages of Scripture in completely new ways."

"What a feast Ken Bailey has prepared for us in this book, and what an overflowing cupful of insights and illumination."

"Kenneth Bailey refreshes the souls of readers... he deftly introduces us to a fresh understanding of the Good Shepherd. Anyone who loves the 23rd Psalm will love this book."

A Rich Man