jdavidmartin68

The Search for Wisdom

“But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living.” (Job 28:12) On an ordinary Wednesday morning, a young mother prayed for the German government with this passage on her heart. She said, “sometimes we just„The Search for Wisdom“ weiterlesen

Praying for your Enemies. For real. During a War.

I began writing this entry on the anniversary of the Russo-Urkainian War´s beginning. For some context: Over the last year, we have been regularly praying for both countries and providing what relief we could in both the Gebetshaus and Koinonia. With that in mind: If you are a Generation Xer in the west, you grew„Praying for your Enemies. For real. During a War.“ weiterlesen

Reflections on the Chosen Season 3

German billboard for The Chosen. “You´ll see him when you´re dead. Or now. The Chosen. The series that changes everything, now on Bible TV.” Photograph taken right here in little ol´ Biburg, near Augsburg. The Christian streaming series The Chosen has now completed its third season on streaming services, available now on The Chosen App,„Reflections on the Chosen Season 3“ weiterlesen

Mourning with those who Mourn- Even When They are Your Enemies

This first full week of February began here in Europe with news of the massive earthquake afflicting southeastern and northwest Syria. As of this writing, the death toll has exceeded 25,000 as of Sunday evening the 12th, and the number of injured has exceeded 75,000. Both numbers are expected to increase in the next days„Mourning with those who Mourn- Even When They are Your Enemies“ weiterlesen

“If only for this life…

…we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:19). We have in the last two weeks received sudden and hard reminders to keep our hearts on our eternal hope in Jesus the Messiah, and that this world is not our “forever home” to use a phrase common„“If only for this life…“ weiterlesen

„On angynne aerst waes word“- welcome to 2023

How was your Christmas? Ours was rather exhausting, really, with Felicia´s school orchestra and choir performing Bach´s Christmas Oratorium (one version of which- not by her school- you can listen to here) and the two of us being occupied with writing and translating right up to the night of the 23rd. Oh, and when we„„On angynne aerst waes word“- welcome to 2023″ weiterlesen

Autumn 22: The Austrian Border, Mushrooms, Ministry Updates

The fall is well advanced, I know, nevertheless what follows is an autumnal update on our activities here in Augsburg, starting with here at Koinonia. You see, we of the Koinonia ecumenical community have a “Gemeinschaftswochenende” , “community weekend” once a year, a retreat that has brought us all to various Christian retreat locations over„Autumn 22: The Austrian Border, Mushrooms, Ministry Updates“ weiterlesen

An Anxious Autumn Reminder: This World is Not Your Home

We’ve been back in the Federal Republic now for most of a month, and the anxious mood of the country seems to have gotten worse. Before the headlines here were taken over by news of Queen Elizabeth’s death and of the startling Ukrainian successes in the Russo-Ukrainian war (update as of September 12th, here), the„An Anxious Autumn Reminder: This World is Not Your Home“ weiterlesen

A Long-Overdue Visit Home

Before this August, we had not been to the U.S. for three years. Yeah. Three years of not seeing family, close friends and associates from the homeland in person. And as much as I would like to blame all of it on the panicked and irrational overreactions of international governments to the COVID-19 wave (and„A Long-Overdue Visit Home“ weiterlesen

Against the Spirit of Angst

Angst is one of those lovely German words that has made it into the English LexiCon. Like FLAK, Weltschmerz, EKG, Schadenfreude and Bratwurst. It is generally translated as „fear“ or „anxiety“, but in my not at all humble opinion as professional translator and holder of a Doctorate in Germanic Languages and Literatures, it would be„Against the Spirit of Angst“ weiterlesen