Hopewit

1893 Google Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned. (James 5:12) Imagine this. In a country far away, the language is such that every utterance includes a syllable at the end that signals whether it’s true or not true. In that country, if the judge asks the accused, “Did you steal Jacob’s cow-truth?” The answer might be, “No, I did not-lie.” “Since you have lied and said you did not steal the cow, then the truth must me that you did steal Jacob’s cow-truth. Next case-truth.” Every observant parent knows that we have a rudimentary system like this; when we suspect that a child is fibbing, we order the child to repeat it while looking directly at us, and there in their eyes is the signal that what’s claimed is true . . . or not.” The guilty/honest look. (The principal is the same as that behind lie-detectors; lying may

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God. (Isaiah 52: 7-10) The window this morning opens on a green, climbing vista rising to the bare peak that is Volcan Baru, the highest point in Panama and the only place on earth from which one can see both the Atlantic (Caribbean) and Pacific Oceans at the same time. If the Lord were to “lay bare his holy arm” at the apex of Volcan Baru, nations from Colombia to Mexico, from Cuba to Venezuela might be able to