Musings From A Rolling Eyed Turtle

“Nothing is certain except death and taxes” or however the saying goes.  I would beg to differ! But first, it would probably be good to figure out what “certain” means.  Certain is defined as the quality of being reliably true.  That definition would also mean that an anticipated or scheduled event is definitely going to take place. The opposite of certain is uncertain.  Things may or may not be true and events may or may not happen.  A clue to when things are uncertain is when we use words like “if”, “or”, “but”, and “maybe”.  I recently read a verse in Jeremiah where certainty seems to be, well, certain: “Heal me, Lord , and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved.  For you are my praise.”  (Jer 17:14) In this verse, certainty seems to be established by the use of the words “and” and “will”.  Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed.  There are no “ifs”, “ors”, “buts’ or “maybes”.    But uncertainly, at least fro...

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression “knock on wood.”  You’ve probably also heard “keep your fingers crossed.”  “Knock on wood” is a common superstition or good luck charm for people to say in the hope of bringing good fortune or to ward off back luck.  Some will actually knock their knuckles on a piece of wood. “Keep your fingers crossed” is also a common superstition or good luck charm people say in the hope that something good will happen.  Some will physically cross their fingers and maybe even encourage you to do the same with them.   There’s sort of an equivalent in the Bible that predates both expressions: Jeremiah 7:4 says:  Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord , the temple of the Lord , the temple of the Lord !”  (Jer 7:4) At that time, people had evidently developed a false sense of security in the invincibility of Jerusalem because God dwelt in the temple in Jerusalem .  They used the expre...