Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
PHall | October 13, 2016
Wowed at the Main Event (Luke 7:18-23) I am embarrassed. I don’t inherently get wowed at what’s impressive to God. The blind receive their sight. Wow! The lame walk. Wow again! Lepers are healed. The deaf can hear. The dead are raised? Yes, wondrously the dead are raised! Wow! Wow! and Wow! I would have […]
PHall | October 13, 2016
“The obedience of faith” (Romans 1:5; 16:26) is an intriguing phrase because of its paradoxical nature. Because of this there is an overemphasis by one side, and almost total neglect by another. That “faith” obeys is a conundrum to some because they look at faith as just a mental concept – I believe or trust […]
PHall | October 11, 2016
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen.1:1). Then man lived with God in Eden and God provided him a wife (Gen.2). “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth passed away (Rev.21:1). Then man lived in “the new Jerusalem coming down […]
PHall | October 11, 2016
Being buried alive, pardon the pun, scares people to death. In former times, without our medical advances, people were accidentally buried alive; then literally “saved by the bell” that was placed with the supposed corpse for such emergencies. While being mutilated was a horrible way to die, its benefit was a death that was verifiable […]
PHall | October 6, 2016
Sometimes with a surgery there comes complications. Unwanted complications. Embarrassing situations. If you could foresee everything, you might be tempted to forego the surgery, although it was absolutely necessary. The Great Physician’s surgery on our hearts and souls can and often does result in unforeseen encounters – and even some foreseen. These tempt those who […]
PHall | October 6, 2016
Don’t get lulled into thinking Mark’s introduction is lacking when compared to the other gospel accounts. Mark’s begin with a veiled challenge to Caesar, then uses Jewish prophecy to link John to Jesus as forerunner is to king. Then the God of the Universe claims Jesus as His Son which is again a veiled shot […]
PHall | October 6, 2016
After Jesus’ baptism and wilderness fight, Jesus goes to several synagogues preaching the gospel of God and casting out demons. These “houses of God” are not the only tactical settings for Jesus’ invasion into Caesar’s and Satan’s territory. Mark 1:29ff – Jesus had called Andrew and Simon and is now in their home. Apparently these […]
PHall | October 6, 2016
A Two-Part Outline of Mark: I. Mark 1-8:30 – “Your emperor is nothing like Me because my power is greater than his.” II. Mark 8:31-16 – “I am nothing like your emperor because I give up my power to serve your needs.”
PHall | October 6, 2016
People ask if a congregation is “sound.” Maybe learning about “sound” synagogues might help. In Mark 1:21 Jesus went to the synagogue and started teaching. The congregants were amazed because He taught as one having authority (1:22). A demon-possessed man interrupted their service and Jesus threw out the demon in the man (1:27). Mark 1:39 […]
PHall | September 13, 2016
I love pistachios. Every once in a while, in a bag of pistachios, I get one that isn’t partially open. It is so closed I can’t crack it open. So I throw it away. We are like this to God. Our hearts can’t be totally closed. We aren’t useful to God unless He can crack […]