1. How can a mayor declare a 6-month state of emergency? Power on the brain. Or fear of appearing weak or ineffective, maybe.

2. In every circumstance, our faith is tried and found sufficient and full.

3. I’ve lived long enough that I’ve seen this movie before. Panic, money and power, forgotten crisis.

4. Another magazine printed. Already moved on to the next issue.

5. Any readers out there? Some strange virus must have killed them all off. Spread by the web.

6. An original verse: The thought becomes a word which moves the hand, / But only God can do exactly as planned.

7. A Bible verse: “The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he delivers those who are discouraged” Psalm 34.18 NET.

1. The discussion between Jesus and the Samaritan woman has now become a “theological dialogue,” says one writer. And here I thought it was words of salvation.

2. Pray, and watch God do his will through you.

3. Coronavirus is this year’s big word already. Delta’s grounding 30% of its planes, some 900. People preparing for the worst.

4. Was Job proud, or realistic? “If I smiled at them, they hardly believed it” Job 29.24a.

5. Know your limitations. And know your limitless God.

6. An original verse: Every man, they say, has his price; / Here’s mine: the blood of Christ for Paradise.

7. A Bible verse: “Please be willing, O Lord, to rescue me! O Lord, hurry and help me!” Psalm 40.13.

1. God is eternal. He is the I-AM. Jesus is God. He came in the flesh to redeem us from sin. We then can have from him “eternal redemption” Hebrews 9.12.

2. Man-made religions grow easily, because they appeal to man’s lower nature. But the true gospel grows powerfully because it is God’s power to save, Romans 1.16-17.

3. God’s first word to man was a blessing, Genesis 1.28. From the first, God intended good for man.

4. The Jewish religion at the time of Jesus was a far cry from the law given by God through Moses. Man had changed it. All such change is for the worse, as today.

5. An denominationalist wrote there are many “Christianities” and gloried in that fact. What a shame!

6. An original verse: To God belong the first and best, / A sign that’s his, as well, the rest.

7. A Bible verse: “Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, gained what was promised, shut the mouths of lions” Hebrews 11.33 NET.

1. Justice is only assured when there is an all-powerful and eternal God who at some determined moment, chosen in his wisdom, is able to take on evildoers past and present.

2. For some “speaking in tongues” is the essential Christian experience. But the gospels do not record that Jesus did it.

3. If the coronavirus is as bad as they say, borders ought to be closed now. But nobody really knows, do they?

4. Obadiah ends this way: “And the Lord himself will be king!” Jesus fulfilled this prophecy.

5. The prophet echoes the principle of retribution, or reciprocity: “As you have done to Israel, so it will be done to you” Obadiah 15.

6. An original verse: Where’s food and drink for famished souls? / God’s table is chocked with abundant bowls.

7. A Bible verse: “Do not return evil for evil or insult for insult, but instead bless others because you were called to inherit a blessing” 1 Peter 3.9.

1. We’re distributing some free Bibles, in Portuguese, of course, to contacts and interested folk. We received just over 100 free, and are giving them out.

2. Am putting, and encouraging the brethren to put, our website domain for outsiders in the front of the Bible: cristaos.org.

3. Today makes 41 years since she said yes. I’m afraid to ask her if she’s changed her mind.

4. Yup, I asked her to marry me on Valentine’s Day. Aren’t I the romantic one?

5. We ate out tonight (before Paulo came to study at 9:30 pm), sent a pic to kids of restaurant and food, to make them envious. Joel and Leila have been there before.

6. An original verse: God uses all for good — even what’s evil — / And brings us peace and calm in each upheaval.

7. A Bible verse: “A thoroughfare will be there – it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it; it is reserved for those authorized to use it – fools will not stray into it” Isaiah 35.8.

A crime has been committed, already, in the new century. (I count 2020 as the beginning, so there.) It is too early to consider it the crime of the century, since much evil can happen in the next 99 years and 11 months.

Since the beginning of 2020, only one — yes, a single — post has been made to this fine website. Things must change. Now. So read this.

1. Two brothers spent two hours here talking about an evangelistic effort in their congregation, looking for ideas and, methinks, reassurance, since they’ve never planned anything like this.
2. Teacher of class of non-Christians who invited me to teach in Recife emailed me and said his students “loved my words.” Good to know, especially since it was impromptu.
3. Started a series called “The Bible’s Best Advice.” Started, of course, with Christ. Hard to choose, but I went with John 6.27.
4. Have you heard that the theme for this year is “The Year of God”? Last year’s was “The Year of Glory.”
5. No theme verse yet for the year. Time to get moving on that, is it not?
6. An original verse: The deepest darkness God reveals, / The gravest hurt he also feels.
7. A Bible verse: “Listen, you deaf ones! Take notice, you blind ones!” Isaiah 42.18 NET.

1. Connections are a tenuous thing, much like life itself. One minute you have it, the next minute it has slipped through your fingers.

2. Trying to pick up BNC again, our best-read website. And the hardest one to maintain.

3. Decisão (Decision) book released today on cristaos.org/m/ blog. May it move people to act.

4. The Propósitos (Purposes) book is waiting on me to give the go-ahead to the printer. It seems expensive, but probably isn’t.

5. Breakfast with one brother, lunch with another. So I really needed my workout tonight.

6. An original verse: The highest mountains heaved, the valleys buckled, / The Lord descended, and human kingdoms crumbled.

7. A Bible verse: “But now, O Lord, upon what am I relying? You are my only hope!” Psalm 39.7.