Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
PHall | September 15, 2009
We should all want to move our singing beyond the boundaries that stagnation can restrict it. Beyond the corridors of our throats and lips. Beyond the sound produced that is pleasing to the human ear. Beyond four part harmony. God has ordained an important role for our singing. Sometimes the church has made it something […]
PHall | September 15, 2009
“On Purpose!” We can’t live “On Purpose!” if we don’t know what it is! So…what is our purpose? Or, more accurately, what are our purposes—plural. Yes, our ultimate goal is to reach heaven, but how do we reach heaven? What is our goal here on earth? What is our God-purposed potential? How do we reach […]
PHall | September 15, 2009
I do not like reading the Bible. That doesn’t sound right coming from a preacher, does it? So let me rephrase that – I do not like reading the Bible as I should read it – up close and personal. It is much easier focusing on others instead of myself. For example, reading Matthew 23. […]
PHall | September 15, 2009
Not quite a hypocrite. Eighteen times that word is found: All in the NT; 15 times in Matthew; 3 in Luke; only used by Jesus. Such an easy word to throw around, to accuse others of being…and yet I wonder if those we call hypocrites actually are. First, a hypocrite is someone who pretends to […]
PHall | September 15, 2009
A Happy Ending Triumphantly, Jesus enters Jerusalem. Fulfilling prophecy, the Christ rides a colt both humbly and royally. Friends spread their garments before their King as a symbol of submission (2 Kings 9:13). Palm branches spread out symbolizing victory (Suetonius, Caligula, 32). No wonder this is called “The Triumphant Entry.” No wonder, too, this is […]
PHall | September 15, 2009
In The Parable of the Two Debtors (Matthew 18:23-35), when the first debtor realized the price of his debt – he, his wife and children, and all that he owned had to be sold to repay his debt (v.25) – his debt became personal. His debt became real…at least real enough for him to be […]
PHall | September 15, 2009
What does a guilty conscience do? While a plethora of answers would be possible – and both positive and negative – how about we focus on just one. But I must warn you…us, we might not like the answer. What does a guilty conscience do? It causes us to misunderstand others by assigning false motives […]
PHall | September 15, 2009
“Turn the other cheek” (Matthew 5:39). As a child I didn’t quite understand this. As I physically drew a picture of Jesus’ words in my mind, the assailant’s slap would literally turn the other cheek away, not towards him. So that didn’t make sense. As an adult, do I understand it any better? This verse […]
PHall | September 15, 2009
A Most Powerful Weapon Going away for college, while backing out of the driveway, my mother gave me the following advice – “Don’t forget what your name is!” Either my mother thought that I scored even worse on my SAT scores than I actually had done, or else she was giving some very sound advice. […]
PHall | September 15, 2009
It’s Not About Me Boring, boring, boring. Reading the Bible and getting bored is not a good sign. But if I mentioned my boredom came while reading genealogies, you probably would think, “Oh that explains it. Me too!” Why are Biblical genealogies boring? Name after name after name after name after…well you get the picture. […]