The Locus at Union Point Church

01/28/2025

https://charlescurtis.substack.com/about

Perspective of an Apprentice of Jesus. Click to read The Cultural Refugee - Charles C. Curtis, by Charles Curtis, a Substack publication. Launched 2 years ago.

11/19/2024

How should we view inspiration and inerrancy with the Bible?

11/12/2024

https://subsplash.com/u/unionpointchurch-newbern/media/d/66d2xtm-bible-and-babel-linguistic-context

An introduction to linguistics and how it relates to Bible study.

11/05/2024

Session 4, New Testament Genres, has been posted for Bible and Babel.

What sort of literary styles and genres did the writers of the New Testament utilize? Why were their choices of genres important for interpretive purposes?

10/31/2024

The Word: Episode 3107, Psalm 110:1, Luke 20:34-47

...how is He his son?

10/31/2024

October 31, 2024

“Feasting Belshazzar”

Blessings folk!

I find Neb’s personal account in Daniel 4 of what happened to him to be amazing.
I believe Daniel 4 shows us that Neb has “true faith”.
I anticipate seeing him in eternity!

Know this!
No one is beyond the saving hand of the Most High God!

We press on - Daniel 5.

It is many years later.

We encounter another king…likely Neb’s grandson?
Neb was definitely his predecessor and patriarch.

Dan 5:1
King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords
and drank wine in front of the thousand.
ESV

King Belshazzar.
His name means “Bel protect the king”.
Hummm…

Bel (Baal?) is a god.

Belshazzar makes a great feast.
A thousand of his lords are there.
Belshazzar drank wine in front of them.
He was “putting on a show”.
He was leading them…

Why the feast?
We are not told.

But we do know some background.

Babylon, the city where this occurred, had a problem.
There was a huge Medo-Persian army encamped up the river.
They were strategizing as to how to conquer Babylon.
Things were looking bleak for Babylon.

What to do?

Politicians never change.
“Squirrel!!”
Distract!

Throw a party!
“Toga! Toga! Toga!”

Support

10/31/2024

Unfortunately, some people’s stories of trauma are awful and, beyond bizarre. Also, unfortunately, what I have been writing about is typically only an option for those people. They are called survivors. And, that’s a good term. But, if you are still alive, you too are a survivor. Your trauma may not be as excessive as someone else’s. But you have it. We all do. And it has created an avatar. The entire inner healing process should not be considered as something only for survivors of such awful trauma. It’s something necessary for every confessing Christian. It’s putting on the easy yoke, basic discipleship. It’s the norm, not the acception.

The spiritual warfare of cleaning the inside of the cup

10/30/2024

The Word: Episode 3106, Psalm 110:1, Mark 12:35-40

...these will receive greater condemnation.

10/30/2024

October 30, 2024

“Right. Just. Able.”

Blessings folk!

What did Neb say about the outcome of all this?

Dan 4:36-37
At the same time my reason returned to me,
and for the glory of my kingdom,
my majesty and splendor returned to me.
My counselors and my lords sought me,
and I was established in my kingdom,
and still more greatness was added to me.

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven,
for all his works are right and his ways are just;
and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
ESV

Things returned to Neb.

His reason.
The glory of his kingdom.
His majesty.
His splendor.
His counselors.
His lords.
They sought him.
His kingdom was established.
More greatness was added to him.

His response?

He praised the King of Heaven.
He extolled the King of Heaven.
He honored the King of Heaven.

Neb declared this about the King of Heaven…

His works are right.
His ways are just.
He is able to humble those who walk in pride.

Neb had learned.

Have we?

Support

10/30/2024

The inside of the cup is your inner life…the one you protect. You must clean this first. The behavior and external appearances (the outside of the cup) takes care of itself. This is how you can talk about unmerited grace and obedience in the same sentence without having it be at the expense of one or the other. It begins and ends with grace. But it changes you. Notice what’s being cleaned: greed, self-indulgence. The first clue you have an avatar is deciding those things belong to Pharisees or that you may have those things on rare occasion but it’s not a big problem. That’s your avatar talking.

Real life without lack

10/29/2024

If sitting on a tack (toil and conflict) is all you know, you probably spent a lifetime learning to live with the pain. The idea of actually getting off the tack sounds crazy because that’s all you’ve known. It hurts, but it’s familiar. You will continue to sit on the tack until the pain of the tack outways the fear of the unfamiliar.

A prison of our own making

10/29/2024

...but the point of entry for a disciple is always inner healing. It has to be, having been formed in a messed up world. Messed up can be normalized too. Sometimes we may even not have a clue what existence would be like without the mess. It’s all we know. And sometimes that may keep us from Jesus, or at least protect the parts of us we want to preserve.

Christian Avatars' invitation to become apprentices