Faith, Grace, and Hope

The Friday Five suggestion comes from here . Katherinenzj writes: Friday, October 29, 2010 Revgalblogpal Friday Five: Comfort Media Edition I don't get to watch that much tv anymore, but I actually wrote today's Oprah show down on my calendar. Why? Because she is hosting a Sound of Music cast reunion !!! Those of you who know me may be surprised that I would care so much about such a stereotypically girly flick, but I love it (although admittedly fast forward through the Reverend Mother's rendition of Climb Every Mountain). I can watch this movie over and over and over again. It seems no matter how many new movies, tv shows or books come down the pike I still have my ol' stand by favorites that I can watch/read over and over and when I do they actually bring me comfort - like an old sweatshirt or a favorite food. Today's Friday Five is an opportunity for you to list five of your favorite 'go-to' movies/tv shows/books. This is an interesting Friday Five for ...

2 Kings 5:1-17 The story of the healing of Naaman has lots of interesting details. The first is that God had given victory to him, as a leader of the Aramean army. It’s important to understand that victory for Naaman would have meant defeating Israel, God’s chosen people. At this time, it would have been understood that the victors of a battle had God’s favor and the losers did not. Other important details: - 1. If Aram had not defeated Israel, it is likely that Naaman would never have heard of Elisha. (One possible interpretation of this is that God was always, even prior to Jesus, trying to bring people into the fold of grace.) - 2. The king of Israel believes the king of Aram is setting him to fail with an impossible task. If he does fail, he would expect the king of Aram to attack. - 3. The Jordan was muddy river, barely a trickle in some areas, but the rivers of Damascus were faster, flowing clear streams. The idea of bathing in the Jordan seemed abhorr...