THE BIBLE: COVER TO COVER Podcast

In Part 1, I did an introduction of, NAMES IN THE BIBLE Part 1: INTRODUCTION & SOME OF THE NAMES OF GOD. My intentions are to work through the Scriptures (OT & NT), examining the meaning of biblical names, their character, and their God-given roles . In this part 2 we will cover the characters of the first two humans, Adam and Eve.
THE BIBLE AS HISTORICAL NARRATIVE, MOTIVATED BY THEOLOGICAL CONCERNS

In this episode, I address 2 types of people by using the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee as a metaphor. One is teaming with life, the other is stale and dead. Which one best describes us? It is a wonderful example to reflect on our own life and the path that we are on. Where we are heading?
 
If you want to reach out to me with questions, feel free to contact me: at donny@ocfab.ca
Here's a link to my blog page: THE BIBLE AS A UNIFIED HISTORICAL NARRATIVE MOTIVATED BY THEOLOGICAL CONCERNS.

Names do not have the same significance today, as they had for the ancient people. In most cases, the meaning of names in our Western culture is nothing more than phonetic. They carry little significance. When we study the names of people and places in the Bible, we can learn a lot about their character. The names ascribed to the LORD GOD in the Scripture reveal this as well. This helps us understand the story they are part of. Which will further deepen our understanding of the larger narrative. In this first part, I will examine some of the names given to God. I will also explore how these names testify to His character and nature.
LINK TO THE WRITTEN ARTICLE: NAMES IN THE BIBLE PART 1: INDRODUCTION & NAME(S) OF GOD
ANOTHER ARTICLE OF INTEREST: THE LORD WILL PROVIDE (SEE): THE GIFT OF FAITH

Taking a look at Joshua 2; The fall of Jericho, but more importantly, why Rahab and her family were saved from destruction? 
Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him." 
It's a story that highlights what is means to be saved by faith, and not of works. 

The single greatest week in all of human history: The Passion Week. In this episode I examine typically missed details, yet are profound and deep. Details from Jesus's triumphant enter, the Last Supper, In the Garden of Gethsemane, The crown of thorns, and and unusual detail from the Gospel of Mark.  
Link from Expedition Bible channel: Jesus, the pressed olive
Link to my article: THE TABERNACLE: THROUGH THE LENSES OF THE GARDEN OF EDEN AND YESHUA

Shalom, shalom (perfect peace), be upon you. My goal for this article is not to exhaust the biblical definitions of these four words mentioned in the title, that would take an eternity. I intend to help separate the watered-down understanding that our contemporary culture has for these words and give you a deeper and richer theological significance of them.
In the last two articles “trust”, trusting in the character, and faithfulness of God, has been the central theme, and here we will continue with this thread. We will look at the benefits, or rather, blessings that come from trusting in the Creator of this universe, and His desire to continually bless, and to have an intimate relationship with us. What are these blessings that we receive when we have a healthy relationship with Yeshua as our Lord and our Savior? In previous articles, I covered how sin is an intrusion, and is not our true self, but here we will examine how a person can experience God’s blessings and a life of harmony, through HOPE, PEACE, JOY, and LOVE. I am going to present these four topics as a person, and that person is Yeshua, who embodies the essence of hope, peace, joy and love, and without Him, we can’t truly experience the harmony and wholeness they bring to the human experience.
The full article HOPE, PEACE, JOY AND LOVE = YESHUA

A Leper's encounter with Yeshua. A story of exile and restoration; healing and forgiveness. It captures the pervasiveness of sin, while at the same time the reversal of it's tragic effect.   
MARK 1:
40 And a man with leprosy *came to Jesus, imploring Him and kneeling down, and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” 41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. 43 And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, 44 and He *said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 45 But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.
Link to my blog page: THE BIBLE IN ITS ORIGINAL CONTEXT

The central storyline in this article will be about Cain's interaction with God, especially before his violent encounter with his younger brother, Abel. It is a story that captures the essence of what it means to trust in the wisdom of God or choose not to trust in God's wisdom. It's a tragic story yet it reveals so much about the human condition, the character of God, and God's desire to "lift up/exalt" humans through trials and tribulations. Deep down we all desire for something greater, do I dare say, to be exalted, but the way by which God wants to lift us up is contrary to how the world does it. Being "lifted up" is dependent on our relationship and attitude with the Creator of this universe, and our response to Him when He takes us into the wilderness for testing.
Link to the full article: "If you do well, will you not be LIFTED UP?"
 
https://donnywaldner.wordpress.com/

In this episode I draw from Mark 5: 21-43, examining two characters who in desperate times, were driven by faith. When works failed, faith kept them moving towards the One who could truly heal and save them, Christ Jesus. 
Malachi 4:2 But for you who fear My Name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.  
 
THE BIBLE IN ITS ORIGNAL CONTEXT

Shalom, Shalom, may you be filled with the perfect peace of our LORD Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Christ). Most readers who will read this article will be very familiar with the three characters Yeshua meets in the Gospel of Luke (18:18 - 19:10); The Rich Ruler, Bartimaeus a blind beggar and Zacchaeus. It is my hope that the reader will find greater insights into these three biblical characters and how they parallel and or contrast one another. Not only that, but how we can gain a deeper level of understanding when we consider a wider section of the biblical text, instead of only isolating one story from a much larger narrative.
In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark (Zacchaeus is not in the Gospel of Mark), and Luke, these three characters appear in close proximately to one another for a good reason and we will examine why. Many Bible readers oftentimes isolate Yeshua's encounter with the Rich Ruler and therefore miss a deeper point the writer is trying to address. The central theme of this section of the Gospel of Luke is salvation (soteriology) which starts at the beginning of chapter 18. When we compare the Rich Ruler in contrast to Zacchaeus and the Blind Beggar it will deepen our understanding of Luke's theology.
Chapters and verses in the Bible aren't something that the biblical authors utilized, the addition to chapters and verses came much later, in the 16th century. They are very helpful and convenient for us today to quickly find our way around the bible, especially when it comes to cross-referencing different texts. The downside to having these chapters and verses is when a section of the Bible that is meant to be read and considered as one unit, goes into another chapter and therefore oftentimes causes the reader (maybe unconsciously) to assume a new thought or idea is now being addressed. For example, the section we will be covering is from Luke 18:1 - 19:10, and as we will learn it is important to consider this entire section. Note: For the sake of space I will only examine verses 18:18 - 19:10, so the blog doesn't become too overbearing.
As you read this article I want you to keep this verse in mind, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mark 2:17)
Link to the full article: THE RICH RULER, BARTIMAEUS a BLIND BEGGAR, and ZACCHAEUS.