The Fireside - All Topics

Paul writes in this text, For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, or height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 NASB

I have had questions about the translation of this verse, and in particular the Greek word translated here as “principalities”. First of all, what exactly is a “principality”?

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This is the story of the very sordid details of a planned development in a pristine high-alpine environment at Wolf Creek Pass, Colorado. This beautiful area sits at 10,000 feet in altitude, and is composed of wetlands that form the headwaters of the South Fork of the Rio Grande, as well as white fir and Engelman spruce, dropping into a basin that holds Alberta Lake, a refuge for cutthroat trout. The entire area sits below the base of Wolf Creek Ski Area, and there are currently lawsuits pending between Kingsbury Pitcher and his son Davey, the owners and managers of the ski area for over 30 years, and Texas billionaire Red McCombs and his millionaire sidekick and gofer, Bob Honts.

View Photos of the "Proposed Village" Area as it is Now

Wolf Creek Ski Area is one of the few family owned and operated ski areas remaining in the west. It is a small area with less than 2000’ vertical drop, yet it sits in a basin directly below the continental divide whose orographics usually present it with snowfall amounts the likes of which the rest of Colorado rarely sees. There are steeps and cliffs of the Kniferidge area that are challenging to the best skiers, but the area is primarily known for its forgiving beginner and intermediate runs, and the terrific views available at the tops of the lifts, which are at the very top of the continental divide. There are no high-speed lifts, and no lodging in the area. The skiing is usually fantastic, and the lift prices are within reach of the common man.

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My husband committed suicide a little over seven years ago. While his story is important in order to really understand what happened, I’m not going to write about that, for the real story is in all the people his death affected. This is the first time I’ve ever wanted to write about it and to share this story of tragedy and pain with others. I do so now with the hope that this story will help you if you have experienced it yourself, either directly with someone you love, or to help you help someone else. For it seems no one is completely untouched by this kind of death.

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Just Words, by Jacob A.O. Preus
Review by Julie Martinez

This is a book that will surely be of interest to those fascinated by linguistics and the sometimes subtle and profound meanings found in the written word. If you have never thought you were interested in linguistics, this book may change your mind!

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God At Work, by Gene Edward Veith, Jr.
Review by Julie Martinez

I first encountered the writings of Dr. Veith a year and a half ago, when I was just hearing the message of Christianity from my friend (who is now my pastor). He lent me a copy of the classic book, "The Spirituality of the Cross". I found his prose to be concise, simply written and easily understood, but deeply profound. The scriptural truths and doctrines I was learning from my pastor were brought home dramatically, and intuitively I grasped not only the faith of Christianity, but its relation to the faith of my own background in Judaism.

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Antagonists in the Church, by Kenneth C. Haugk
Review by Julie Martinez

This is a must-read for any congregation experiencing unhealthy conflict and/or outright attack by "antagonists" in their midst.

This is a link to a PDF file. You will need to have Adobe Acrobat v.5.0 or higher in order to read it.

by Wade Turner

During the Protestant Reformation of the 1500‘s, one issue arose that to this day has created strife among the different denominations: the practice of Infant Baptism. Many sincere and well meaning Christians have argued over this issue. Unfortunately, the Bible does not come out and explicitly say that we should or should not Baptize Infants. But, when examining the evidence in the Scriptures, we will discover that Infant Baptism is indeed a God-pleasing, Biblical practice.

Before we get into the Scriptural support for Infant Baptism, it is important to distinguish between what Baptism is and what Baptism is not. After learning this, we will discover why some groups of Christendom do not support Infant Baptism. Basically, support of Infant Baptism comes down to whether Baptism is viewed as an ordinance (something done for symbolic reasons) or whether Baptism is a sacrament.

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But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity. Micah 5:2

We have the prophetic promise that the Messiah would not only be a descendent of David (Isa 9:6-7), but that he would be born in David’s city, Bethlehem. (Micah 5:2) David’s father, Jesse, was from Ephrathah, also known as Bethlehem. (1 Samuel 17:12) Today, the modern city of Efrat is just outside the Palestinian controlled city of Bethlehem.

But why was the Messiah to come from Bethlehem?

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