The Origin of the English Language Word "Goodbye"

        The English language word, Goodbye, a "parting word"used grammatically as an adverbial phrase, is derived from "Godbwye" a shortened form of the Old English phrase God þē mid sīe: (in modern English: "God be with you.")  God  (God) þē ("thou" = "to you") mid ("with") sīe: (a form of "to be").

        The first known recorded occurrence of the word was in 1573 when it was used by the English scholar and poet, Gabriel Harvey. Harvey often wrote in Latin, claimed to have invented the English language hexameter format of poetry, and coined these English language words: "rascality," "extensively," "conscious," "jovial," "notoriety," and "idiom."

He Numbers Your Hairs

                                                               He numbers your hairs

                                                 Birds sing to please Him.  He smiles.

                                                              The stars His garden.

All This Just For Us?

 

                                                      All this just for us?

                                               Glory of God's nature shows His

                                                        smiling love displayed

Cat chases it's tail.

Cat chases it’s tail.

Jesus laughs as Zebedee

yells and shakes his hands


Boanerges is an Aramaic word meaning "sons of thunder."  Jesus gave this nickname to his disciples James and John. The term is never explained further and has engendered many attempts at interpretation.

The Bible says that Jesus knew the hearts of men (John 2: 24-25) and some commentators believe that Jesus gave the nickname to the men in reference to the two brother's loud and hot-headed nature as shown in Luke 9:54.  This may well be the correct interpretation, but there are others.

Dr. James Blevins, my Greek professor at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, believed that the meaning of the phrase laid in "thunder" rather than "sons." The nickname was humorous. He envisioned Zebedee as red-faced and spitting and bubbling as his sons tossed away their fishing nets and followed Jesus.

God Who Built the Stars

God who built the stars.

The Lord of the universe.            

That God knows your name.

Since the Alpha

Three persons in One,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
One since the alpha.

Out of the Tree

Small man, twisted, dark.
Called down from high perch in tree.
New life starts that day.

"1Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd.4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’” 8But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” 9Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” Luke 19:1-9

Book Comment: Poems of Faith

In college, I had a triple major course of study of Biology, Psychology, and English with a minor in Chemistry.  In my poetry classes, the name of Helen Steiner Rice often came up for denigration.  Her poetry was held up as an extreme example of excessive sentimentality and rigid adherence to an ultra-simple rhyming scheme.  Her poems resemble the verses in greeting cards because that is where Steiner began writing her poetry, working for American Greetings.

Helen Steiner Rice (b. 1900, Ohio, USA – d. 1981) was an advertising manager turned poet who has become known as “America’s beloved inspirational poet laureate” and the “Ambassador of Sunshine.”   Her books have sold over seven million copies, so far, and they still are selling well, years after her death.

By all accounts, Mrs. Rice was loved by everyone who knew her.  She was a pious, prayerful woman devoted to her Lord.  She told her friend, Fred Bauer that “I’m just another worker in the vineyard of the Lord, trying to do God’s will.  All I have to say is in the thoughts He places on my heart, thoughts I put to rhyme.”

Poems of Faith (1981) is a collection of 124 of Mrs. Rice’s poems.  In keeping with the nature of Mrs. Rice’s poems, the book is illustrated with paintings of numerous flowers by artist Judith fast.  The poems are not to everyone's tastes, including mine, but there is nothing heterodox or objectionable in any of them.  Millions of people find them to be inspirational statements of Christian faith and devotion. 

A Steinerian poem in response to the critics of Helen Steiner Rice.

http://chestertonandfriends.blogspot.com/2008/05/helen-steiner-rice-clerihew.html

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Some of those listed may surprise you.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (b. 1813, Italy – d. 1901, aka: Joesph Fortuninus Franciscus Verdi, Joseph Fortunin Francois Verdi) Italian composer, mainly of operas.  Roman Catholic.

Hrant Dink: (b. 1964, Turkey – d. 2007) Editor, journalist, columnist, civil rights activist.  Armenian Apostolic Chrurch, Evangelical Protestant.

Ernest David Kelly: Baptist minister, father of actor DeForest Kelly (1920-1999).

Geza Vermes (b. 1924, Hungary) British theologian, historian, expert in Hebrew, Aramaic, and the life of Jesus.  He and his family were Jewish converts to Roman Catholicism.

James Tetsuzo Takeda (b. 1901, Japan; aka: Tetsu) Episcopal priest, chaplain at St. Paul’s University.  He writes Japanese haiku. 

No Excuse

There is no excuse,
For the glories of the Earth
Show it to be so.

"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:" Romans 1:20

A Weak Vessel

I am a weak and deficient vessel for Your Grace.
This is why I am filled with wonder;
For You have chosen to freely fill me with Your Spirit.

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Some of those listed may surprise you.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Edward Crowley: (b. ca. 1830, England – d. 1887) Brewer.  Originally a Quaker, he became a traveling Exclusive Brethren preacher.  His son, Aleister, became the Thelemite occultist known as “The Great Beast 666,” and “the wickedest man in the world.”

Theodore of Tarsus: (b. 602, Turkey – d. 690; aka: Theodore of Canterbury)  8^th Archbishop of Canterbury.

Fulbert  Youlou: (b. 1917, Congo – d. 1972) Congolese Roman Catholic priest, nationalist leader, and politician.  1^st President of the Republic of the Congo.  He lost power after three days of street riots in 1963.

Elpidio Rivera Quirino: (b. 1890, Philippines –d. 1956)  President of the Philippines 1948-1953.  Roman Catholic.

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson: (b. 1830, Massachusetts, USA – d. 1886) Reclusive American poet who wrote over 1800 poems.

God Expects Us to Work

“God gives every bird its food, but He does not throw it into the nest.” J. G. Holland

Josiah Gilbert Holland (1819-1881) was an American novelist, poet, magazine editor, physician, and Methodist hymn lyricist.

God expects us to work.

““Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them.  To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.  The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more.  So also, the one with the two talents gained two more.  But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

   “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.  The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’

  His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

 “The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’

       “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

  “Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.   So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?  Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

    “‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.  For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.  And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” Matthew 25:14-30

” Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”  1 Corinthians 4:2

One Minute Sermon

27 July 2026 update: I apologize. YouTube seems to be blocking or removing many videos.

________________________________________________

This sister talks very fast but she is speaking the truth.

(Some videos will not play properly when you click on the triangle.  Instead,  click on the title line in the picture and the video will begin .  When the video is completed, close the You Tube pop-up window to return to this blog.)

The Connection of the Bible Codes to Kabbalistic Thought

I have said before that I am not a believer in the Bible Codes as the more extreme proponents present the idea. I, of course believe that the human composers of the texts wrote as they were inspired by God. I think that some simple code sequences can clearly be shown to exist (see the sample below), but the more advanced codes which Israeli computer researchers are finding depend on very artificial manipulations of the text like skipping uneven numbers of letters between consecutive letters, etc. It might be a case of finding codes because you are searching for them. The patterns might even have occurred by mere chance, which is doubtful, or, obviously, the codes may exist because the Lord put them there. I do not know. You do not know.

In Genesis 1:22-26; the name of Abraham is spelled out (from the top line down, enclosed in the added boxes) by the letters in the passage with each letter of the name separated from the preceding letter by forty-nine (seven times seven; seven was a sacred number, Genesis 2:2, 4:24, 21:28) intercalary letters. In each of the forty-nine letter sequences, אֱלֹהִים (elohim/God, backlit in gray) appears. The most straight-forward interpretation of this passage is that the human composer of the text intentionally created this format. The ancient Hebrew literature is known to include acrostics and forms of poetry. 

Also, the researchers insist that the codes cannot be used to predict the future. My question is, if the codes are real, why not? God is not bounded by time. Tomorrow is the same to Him as The Creation. It is all Now.

The Israeli researchers also insist that the codes cannot prove that Jesus is the Messiah. Are they afraid that the codes, if real, might do this? Rabbi Jacob Rambsel, a Messianic Jew, insists that he has found a code, "Jesus is my name," in the Suffering Servant passage in Isaiah 53.

The most strict theory of the codes is that they apply only to the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. This is because one Jewish tradition insists that God dictated the Torah letter by letter. 


Because it is important for us to understand the Jewish background of our faith, I will talk tomorrow about the direction in which one stream of Judaism, the Kabbalists, has taken these concepts.

A Web Page About Biblical Poetry

Biblical poetry does not follow the forms many people now associate with poetry.  Rhyming of sounds, lines of equal length, strictly structured beat patterns, and many other modern conventions are not in evidence, especially in Hebrew poetry.  The poetic nature of the text is often not immediately evident in modern translations. Instead, you find pairings of similar ideas (synonymous couplets), opposite ideas (antithetical couplets), and couplets where the second line adds to and completes the first (climactic); acrostics, atbash, songs, alliteration, metaphors, and what can be described as "tongue twisters."  (Amos 5:5, הַגִּלְגָּל֙ גָּלֹ֣ה יִגְלֶ֔ה "hagilgal galoh yigleh," which translates as "for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity."

There is an excellent detailed discussion of Biblical poetry on this web page. 

Free Christian Poetry

Here is a site featuring free poetry for use by individuals and churches.  Be sure to carefully read and abide by their stated terms of usage.

The Acrostic in Psalm 119

Ancient Hebrew poetry has many conventions which are not immediately apparent to the reader, especially when it is read in translation as most of us, including me, must do.  I took several semesters of Hebrew in seminary but I have to admit that I barely understood what I was "learning" and today still understand it only in very patchy form. (Greek to me was much easier as it is Indo-European and is much more similar to English than the Semitic Hebrew.)

The rhythm of Hebrew poetry is irregular and is based on the accented or toned syllables rather than on meter as in English.  Rhymed word sounds are rare.  Refrains, repeated lines, sometimes occur.  The "rhyming" in ancient Hebrew poetry is based on parallelism of ideas in three forms: synonymous (the meanings of the lines are similar); antithetical (the meanings of the lines are opposites of one another; and synthetic (nouns correspond to nouns, verbs correspond to verbs, etc)

One convention of ancient Hebrew poetry which has received much modern attention is the acrostic, in which the first letter of each line spells out a word or makes a pattern.  Psalm 119 is such an acrostic.  Verses 1-8 begin with the letter aleph, verses 9-16 begin with the letter beth, verses 17-24 begin with the letter gimel, then daleth, he, waw, zayin, etc.  Acrostic patterns also occur in Psalms 9, 10, 25, 34,37, 111, 112, and 145.

All of these poetic conventions are human in origin and have nothing to do with the supposed Bible Codes which some believe that God has embedded into the Torah.

Christian Poetry: "Spoken Word"

This video is of SHALOM reciting her poem, "Spoken Word." This video appears to be blocked as of 12 September 2025.

Paul Quoted Pagan Poets????????????????

Paul quoted pagan poets???????????????? Yes. He quoted the poets Menander (1 Corinthians 15:33), Aratus of Cilicia (Acts 17:28), and Epimenides of Knossos (Titus 1:12). He did this because he was intimately familiar with the intellectual debates of his day and was capable of using non-Christian sources to make his points. His use of the sources was not intended as an endorsement of everything else their authors said and wrote.

Modern Christians make a mistake if they "ghettoize" themselves, reading only Christian sources, hearing only Christian voices, insulating themselves from the rest of the world. We can''t go (Matthew 28:19) into the world, evangelizing the world, if we cocoon ourselves away from the world. We are to be "in the world but not of the world." (John 17:14-15; Romans 12:1-2)