Cūr Lingua Latina?

Posted on October 2, 2026 by kelleys4christ

I am a dilettante when it comes to Latin. I took one semester of Latin as a research language when I was working on my Ph.D. in New Testament, and that, along with my broader language study and teaching background, was sufficient for me to learn to teach Latin on the middle school level. Since I started teaching six years ago, I have also taught Latin in the high school and at the seminary level. 

All this is to say that my interest in Latin is not based on a deeply rooted eduction in the classics but is a function of the historical contingencies that have determined the course of my career. However, I am a lover of languages and can see the ways that various languages are useful for students. So when I write about the benefits of studying Latin, I am not doing so as a partisan.  Continue reading →

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What Jesus Did for Me

Posted on September 26, 2026 by kelleys4christ

I was born into a family that was “spiritual, but not religious.” My mom grew up Catholic and my Dad grew up Methodist, but mostly we just believed that all the religions were basically the same and what counts is trying to be a good person. 

When I was about 6 months old my parents divorced and I grew up moving back and forth between the two of them. My dad was a musician and as I grew up adopted the lifestyle that I saw, a life of drugs and alcohol and sexual immorality. I was really troubled as a young man by a broken relationship with my dad and with depression and thoughts of self harm.  Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Practical Christianity, The Gospel | 1 Comment

Losses and Sacred Wounds

Posted on September 5, 2026 by kelleys4christ

… ἅτινα ἦν μοι κέρδη, ταῦτα ἥγημαι διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν ζημίαν.

“… whatever things were gains to to me, these things I have judged for the sake of Christ to be a loss.” (Philippians 3:7)

I’ve been meditating on Philippians 3:7 today. In chapter 3:2–6, Paul runs through the list of achievements and benefits that he had in his upbringing, and then tells us that they were all losses. It’s not just that he just found something better; they were positively harmful to him. Many of the items he mentioned in the preceding text were goods in themselves (e.g., being circumcised and raised in the Jewish nation). So how can Paul say that they were bad? I think there is something powerful in these verses if we can sit with them and think through the contours of Paul’s thought and apply them to our lives.  Continue reading →

Posted in Devotional, New Testament, Practical Christianity, The Gospel, Theology | Leave a comment

Faith is Like Floating

Posted on August 22, 2026 by kelleys4christ

Faith is like floating

Face up in a world of life

Back turned to infinite death

Continue reading →

Posted in Devotional, Poetry, Practical Christianity, Stations in the Spiritual Life | Leave a comment

The Lying Pen of the Scribes

Posted on June 23, 2026 by kelleys4christ

People are often injured when working. Dangerous items and powerful tools can hurt people if they don’t maintain “situational awareness,” that is, an awareness of potential dangers from their surroundings. This principal applies to those who handle scripture as well. In Jeremiah 23:29, God says that his word is like a fire that burns and a hammer that breaks rocks. Properly applied, these things can be used for all kinds of constructive purposes that lead to the flourishing of human life. But it does not take much imagination to think of ways in which fire and hammers can also harm people as well when not used in a proper manner. Burned bodies and crushed fingers can be the result when people don’t take the proper precautions. 

I have been thinking about this because I was reading Jeremiah 8 this morning. In Jeremiah 8:8, he says, 

How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the Law of the LORD is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie. 

Those of us who are called to interpret and teach scripture should find this an uncomfortable passage, and we should be willing to sit with it a while to let God test our hearts.  Continue reading →

Posted in Ecclesiology, Hermeneutics, New Testament, Old Testament, Practical Christianity, Theology | Leave a comment

Canis Placidus

Posted on May 30, 2026 by kelleys4christ

 

Ecce canis placidus laetusque est grāmine sessus.

Altus vīvusque ut mare obscūrum satiātus.

 

Posted in Languages, Latin, Poetry | Leave a comment

The Lord’s Prayer as Poetry

Posted on March 24, 2026 by kelleys4christ

One of the things I need to do over this break is to look over the manuscript for my forthcoming book based on my dissertation. One of the things I looked at is how the author of the Didache used rhetorical devices to communicate the theme and structure of the book. Continue reading →

Posted in Languages, New Testament, Poetry | Leave a comment

Spring Break Is for Reading!

Posted on March 17, 2026 by kelleys4christ

 

During the school year I rarely get time to do any deep reading. Now that we are tracked out for a couple weeks I get to soak in something that renews my spirit a bit. (Of course, I have lots of work to do too; it’s just that it is not so hectic that I can’t take some time away for other things too.) Continue reading →

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Abes

Posted on March 11, 2026 by kelleys4christ

Tristis est te abesse

Te viventem non intellexi

Te melius intellego

Nunc

Posted in Family, Latin, Poetry | Leave a comment

Birth Pains

Posted on January 26, 2026 by kelleys4christ

“…nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs” (Mark 13:8).

From time to time, you will hear Christians talk about the end of all things. When things go badly they may say, “I think Jesus is coming back soon. Look at how much worse things are getting.” One day Jesus will come back and make all things right. He will raise the dead and transform our bodies into glorified bodies like his without any sin or trace of weakness and suffering. He will put an end to the rebellion and evil of humanity. And scripture does indeed talk about a time of tribulation coming upon the world.  Continue reading →

Posted in Devotional, Historical Theology, New Testament, Practical Christianity, Stations in the Spiritual Life, Theology | 1 Comment