Author Archives: paulschwabe77

This week we saw a strange miracle take place. A small nation was surrounded by 5 strong hostile nations that were out to get it and actually push it into the Mediterranean Sea and symbolically into the sea of oblivion. This small state nation pushed the enemy back, and pulled off what has been calledContinue reading “Finding Our True Selves”

In a conversation with Bill Griffis of our church last night, we were talking about what difference is really made by going to church. Suppose I was able to follow you as a church goer around for a whole month with a camera and a tape recorder. Then, I would follow a non-church member aroundContinue reading “Finding the Pearl”

The great Quaker historian Arnold Toynbee has pointed out that whenever a great leader has arisen in the world, he creates an almost intolerable tension in society. You can never be neutral to a great creative genius. You either oppose him at great cost, or you commit yourself too him with fanatical dedication. This is certainly descriptive ofContinue reading “Not Peace a Sword”

“Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak.  She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” Matthew 9:20 A strange transformation takes place in those who meet Jesus. They seem to come out ofContinue reading “Touching Christ’s Cloak”

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6 Someone has said: “Man is merely the sum total or his appetites.” I admit that this is a very superficial definition of man, but it does emphasize a very great truth, namely that, “Man is being of manyContinue reading “A Spiritual Appetite”

Acts 20:35. Remember the words of the Lord Jesus who said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” It is intriguing to me that after the four Gospels, Jesus is only directly quoted once in the rest of the New Testament. I do not know why this is. You would think that theContinue reading “The Art of Giving”

We live in a world, where we are put in a strange double bind by words. On the one hand, we are literally being talked to death. Where can we escape from words? The average house has no soundproof room, where you can escape the bombardment of words. Whether it be the constant, incessant chatterContinue reading “Give Me a Clue”

Much of our love is conditional:  Parents: “I will love you if you obey!” Lovers: “I will love you if you fulfill my need!”  Where, Agapao is a Greek for love in its purest form. It is love with no strings attached. It means to love unconditionally, and sacrificially to love as God loves sinners andContinue reading “The Miracle of Unconditional Love”

Matthias Grunewald’s Paintings of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection are among the greatest portrayals of this theme Among all the masterpieces hanging in the galleries of the world. Yet there has always been a mystery about these paintings. He seems to use such a different figure for the crucified and the resurrected Christ. His portrayalContinue reading “Journey into Faith”

The drama of the Prodigal Son is called the greatest short story in the world. Under Jewish law, the father was not free to leave his property as he liked. The elder son received two-thirds of the father’s property, and the younger son received one-third. It was by no means unusual for a father toContinue reading “A Prodigal World and a Loving God”