Tuesday, February 28, 2006
The Show Must Go On
As the saga continues, Edith Schaeffer explains brilliantly, we are tempted to sit in the stands or at the theatre, watching as the curtain closes “to shut off part of history or prophecy” or opens to reveal “clear glimpses of other parts”. Scenes. Games. Fragments. Do you think God put us here to watch, to be trapped in our small reality and limited vision? Sadly, many of us do participate only as fans. And when the show is over, we believe it is down time until the next event. Not to completely disregard our time as fans. Naturally, we are being influenced daily by others in the spotlight. Our lives are a bit passive, a bit active. This analogy is addressing the tossing about, loss of direction as random players of improv or fun addicts who don’t even offer a round of applause to encourage the stars, because their only concern is self.
What if you are the main character? Going back to the Superbowl thing, what if you are the QB or MVP? You’re saying, like me, NOT! But we’re not going there. Imagine your mark being relevant to the Big Story…according to scripture, it is. Our daily choices are either expanding God’s glory or they are rebelling, ultimately putting to a halt and quenching the fires at God’s altar so that the thousands will not see His glory. Your role and mine in the Greatest Show on Earth, is not a circus (although it would often so appear!). The only show that matters will go on into eternity, there is an audience, and you and me are knowingly or surprisingly thrust into the lights! Haven’t given your life to Messiah? It’s not only about you; your audience is watching your performance.
“Jesus made it clear that every human being upon this earth either gathers [people] unto Himself or scatters them abroad. Unbelievers, having spent their whole lives scattering people away from Jesus Christ, [are accountable]. (Kennedy, D. James; Why I Believe; p. 90) Majorly guilt inducing if you are the least bit inclined to hearing the truth. Some would call it hype. Jesus called it like it is. After pulling out all my manmade tools and failing to find the scripture, I prayed and let God send His fire. Given here are the miraculous quotes from Jesus’ premiere performance:
“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.” ~Matthew 12:33
“He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.” ~Luke 11:23
“Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come…so watch yourselves.” ~Luke 17:1&3 (repeated in three gospels)
“Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” ~Matthew 15:13, 14
Friday, February 24, 2006
Elijah's Showdown
Elijah’s meeting of the gods has all the qualities of a great Superbowl game. The sides don’t appear even as Elijah’s God and the four hundred fifty Baal prophets line up on the field. “And Elijah came unto all the [fans], and said, ‘How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him, but if Baal then follow him.’ And the [fans] answered him not a word.” 1 Kings 18:21
The fans are torn on whom to cheer for. So Elijah explains the game. Those 450 guys over there are gonna build an altar, and I, alone, will build another. But nobody lights a match, see; we’ll let the supernatural realm of God or Baal do the kickoff. The terms were agreed upon. But don’t forget, the Israelites know the stats…don’t you think they might already be picking their team?
The 450 win the coin toss. For an entire day, Baal’s team tried to score. There were injuries as they sacrificed some of their blood, using knives. You could say Elijah started some trash talk, “Call a little louder, maybe he is asleep, or perhaps he went on a journey!” But alas, the silence was deafening.
And so, the 450 punt. Elijah, alone, made his altar of twelve stones, for a picture of Israel’s twelve tribes. Then he decides playing with a handicap might be fun. The fans are always intrigued by a quarterback with a broken thumb! So Elijah digs a ditch around the altar and fills it with water! Oh, why not? Drench the bullock! Arrogant? It would appear. Confidence does that sometimes. This is a moment of Superbowl proportion! You had better be confident in something!
“Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel,” Elijah prays, “let it be know this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.”
The prayer isn’t simply for a victory. Anybody can win a game! All it takes is one interception…one fumble…one fluke. Elijah is praying for an about face for his people. “Look people, this is the God I have placed all my confidence in. He is the God who is there.”
Don’t you wish all prayers were answered this way…that all victories were this dynamic? There was fire all right. The energy from God consumed the sacrifice, the altar, and every last drop of the water. Gone. Seven thousand people fell to the ground in stunned humility and worshipped, “The Lord He is God.” God was there. They saw Him at His finest, when there could be no doubt. It was a setup. What was there to be confused about? God’s team, Elijah, alone, won. This man rode to heaven in God’s chariot of fire! He did not die, never separated from his body, like Enoch.
So how’s your showdown? Who do I want to live for? Me? Self-satisfaction? Or God and His victorious glory? Look for Him…He is raining fire for His servants, be it a championship event or on the treadmill of life.
The fans are torn on whom to cheer for. So Elijah explains the game. Those 450 guys over there are gonna build an altar, and I, alone, will build another. But nobody lights a match, see; we’ll let the supernatural realm of God or Baal do the kickoff. The terms were agreed upon. But don’t forget, the Israelites know the stats…don’t you think they might already be picking their team?
The 450 win the coin toss. For an entire day, Baal’s team tried to score. There were injuries as they sacrificed some of their blood, using knives. You could say Elijah started some trash talk, “Call a little louder, maybe he is asleep, or perhaps he went on a journey!” But alas, the silence was deafening.
And so, the 450 punt. Elijah, alone, made his altar of twelve stones, for a picture of Israel’s twelve tribes. Then he decides playing with a handicap might be fun. The fans are always intrigued by a quarterback with a broken thumb! So Elijah digs a ditch around the altar and fills it with water! Oh, why not? Drench the bullock! Arrogant? It would appear. Confidence does that sometimes. This is a moment of Superbowl proportion! You had better be confident in something!
“Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel,” Elijah prays, “let it be know this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.”
The prayer isn’t simply for a victory. Anybody can win a game! All it takes is one interception…one fumble…one fluke. Elijah is praying for an about face for his people. “Look people, this is the God I have placed all my confidence in. He is the God who is there.”
Don’t you wish all prayers were answered this way…that all victories were this dynamic? There was fire all right. The energy from God consumed the sacrifice, the altar, and every last drop of the water. Gone. Seven thousand people fell to the ground in stunned humility and worshipped, “The Lord He is God.” God was there. They saw Him at His finest, when there could be no doubt. It was a setup. What was there to be confused about? God’s team, Elijah, alone, won. This man rode to heaven in God’s chariot of fire! He did not die, never separated from his body, like Enoch.
So how’s your showdown? Who do I want to live for? Me? Self-satisfaction? Or God and His victorious glory? Look for Him…He is raining fire for His servants, be it a championship event or on the treadmill of life.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Today, U.S., Tomorrow, the World!
Quinn played a recording of Antonin Scalia this morning in which the Supreme Court Justice defends the Constitutional law of the United States. (When and where, I missed, sorry.) The attacks on foreign law, living-constitution rulings came swift and clean! Scalia sees this as an increasing problem yet drove the sword of Truth straight through the fraudulent premise by pointing out that we, the U.S., are in the minority by world measures on abortion laws. If the liberal judges, lawmakers, or ACLU were really committed to global, humanist lawmaking, they would dump abortion rights like a hot potato, and Justice Scalia vowed to go along for the ride! He then wasted no time in promising he would jump off the bandwagon before it stopped moving and stand in front of it. Scalia will not betray his country with foreign law rulings. Stunningly, he was next asked, what does this mean for the world? And I quote his in-your-face answer, “I don’t do the world; I do the United States.”
Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer wrote of this stormfront in 1981, A Christian Manifesto, where he unequivocally states (p. 121) “that the United States was founded upon a Christian consensus and that we today should bring Judeo-Christian principles into play in regard to government” (our laws and education) Of course, he insists theocracy is not the name of the game, nor was it the goal of our Founders, yet history remains; the “black regiment”, in clerical garb, was a real and powerful force in the American Revolution.
The globalists, with their humanist consensus, have grown to frightful numbers and have infiltrated some unexpected places. Schaeffer saw this one coming as well. The hippie, humanist yuppies are rearing up in economically sound areas because these cultural liberals joined the system they ironically hate! Now we have economic conservatives working inside the humanist system. (The same holds true within the religious establishment—Schaeffer seems nearly clairvoyant as I read A Christian Manifesto.)
I actually remember Quinn, years ago, being puzzled by a liberal sprout coming out of a Pittsburgh academy attended by the wealthier class. Contradictory? Or an inkling of what is happening now in a Western PA school district, Upper St. Clair. Yes, you can assume from the name, the population of upper class status. Yet, as the conservative run school board ditches a global curriculum, International Baccalaureate, which endorses the “Earth Charter”, showing ties to Marsixm, pushing for demilitarization and “equitable distribution of wealth”, these upper class students and parents are livid! This analysis of IB, according the a school board member, (as quoted in Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, February 22) must be true because ACLU state legal director and papa to an IB student at USC, threatens “a distinct possibility of a lawsuit.”! Well, okay! (Please add sarcasm)
The main point here is, many parents are angrily defending the humanist, global academic program. Huh? The corporate money grabbers are hoping their children will learn how to take their parents’ money to give to the poor someday when they are leaders in the New World community! We are happily (miserably) on our way. Dr. Schaeffer’s plea in the re-released (2005) A Christian Manifesto is direr than ever.
Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer wrote of this stormfront in 1981, A Christian Manifesto, where he unequivocally states (p. 121) “that the United States was founded upon a Christian consensus and that we today should bring Judeo-Christian principles into play in regard to government” (our laws and education) Of course, he insists theocracy is not the name of the game, nor was it the goal of our Founders, yet history remains; the “black regiment”, in clerical garb, was a real and powerful force in the American Revolution.
The globalists, with their humanist consensus, have grown to frightful numbers and have infiltrated some unexpected places. Schaeffer saw this one coming as well. The hippie, humanist yuppies are rearing up in economically sound areas because these cultural liberals joined the system they ironically hate! Now we have economic conservatives working inside the humanist system. (The same holds true within the religious establishment—Schaeffer seems nearly clairvoyant as I read A Christian Manifesto.)
I actually remember Quinn, years ago, being puzzled by a liberal sprout coming out of a Pittsburgh academy attended by the wealthier class. Contradictory? Or an inkling of what is happening now in a Western PA school district, Upper St. Clair. Yes, you can assume from the name, the population of upper class status. Yet, as the conservative run school board ditches a global curriculum, International Baccalaureate, which endorses the “Earth Charter”, showing ties to Marsixm, pushing for demilitarization and “equitable distribution of wealth”, these upper class students and parents are livid! This analysis of IB, according the a school board member, (as quoted in Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, February 22) must be true because ACLU state legal director and papa to an IB student at USC, threatens “a distinct possibility of a lawsuit.”! Well, okay! (Please add sarcasm)
The main point here is, many parents are angrily defending the humanist, global academic program. Huh? The corporate money grabbers are hoping their children will learn how to take their parents’ money to give to the poor someday when they are leaders in the New World community! We are happily (miserably) on our way. Dr. Schaeffer’s plea in the re-released (2005) A Christian Manifesto is direr than ever.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Elijah's Trust
Ironically, Elijah is seen in the wilderness, trusting God for his daily need for sustenance. The Bible study I just started hits on the same wisdom. Food, clothes, money are not for us to dwell on. Big mistake to think God isn’t in these details of life. As a homemaker, I must think about meals and “things”. A raven doesn’t fly by twice a day with today’s groceries; truly, it is almost that easy for us. God provides, yet there is a tendency to get absorbed by these worldly cares. Best to remember we are as helpless as Elijah was during the famine, that we are solely reliant on God’s provision. It is deception to think we are self-sufficient.
Back to Elijah: Because so many of God’s Chosen had taken a turn for the worse by actually worshipping the heathen god, Baal, God had halted provisions. The time had come for a showdown. Kinda, sorta, almost like how Christians have turned to screen worship (pick your altar…TV, computer, video games), mall worship, the church of Fine Dining, the Great Spa and Diet gods. Don’t get me wrong…I am a little too familiar with these 21st century false gods. This is the affluent self-help, self-indulgent age. I guess that is why my friend likes going to Haiti on mission trips. Escaping the daily temptations must feel euphoric…ah, the peace. It is exhausting how we argue with ourselves, moment by moment, deciding which god to worship next, even after we have offered our first fruits to God (devotions)! How do you keep Christ first in everything? As you exercise, are you thinkin’ “I’m gonna to be healthy for God…I’m caring for His temple.” Or is it more like, “I wanna look good. I want to be a size 10 again!” Mine is a mixed bag. The battle pounds away at my energy. Inner conflict sucks the joy out of living for Him! Maybe it’s time for a showdown!
BTW, maybe the conflict isn’t the sin. It occurred to me this morning; Jesus’ greatest triumph was in such a moment. In the Garden, Jesus was in agony as He asked, “Take this cup from Me.” I’m pretty sure Jesus knew His Father’s will already. Was He asking for Him to find another way? Seems He knew there wasn’t another way. Was He saying, “Please God, I’ll do it tomorrow or next month or give me a year…” OR was it a demonstration simply of His human side. Meaning, it wasn’t a fault to HAVE the conflict. He was expressing His desire to escape His fate. It would have been a sin if He hadn’t taken it to the Father God. We are made for conflict because God knew it was gonna be war.
So, trusting like Elijah, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Back to Elijah: Because so many of God’s Chosen had taken a turn for the worse by actually worshipping the heathen god, Baal, God had halted provisions. The time had come for a showdown. Kinda, sorta, almost like how Christians have turned to screen worship (pick your altar…TV, computer, video games), mall worship, the church of Fine Dining, the Great Spa and Diet gods. Don’t get me wrong…I am a little too familiar with these 21st century false gods. This is the affluent self-help, self-indulgent age. I guess that is why my friend likes going to Haiti on mission trips. Escaping the daily temptations must feel euphoric…ah, the peace. It is exhausting how we argue with ourselves, moment by moment, deciding which god to worship next, even after we have offered our first fruits to God (devotions)! How do you keep Christ first in everything? As you exercise, are you thinkin’ “I’m gonna to be healthy for God…I’m caring for His temple.” Or is it more like, “I wanna look good. I want to be a size 10 again!” Mine is a mixed bag. The battle pounds away at my energy. Inner conflict sucks the joy out of living for Him! Maybe it’s time for a showdown!
BTW, maybe the conflict isn’t the sin. It occurred to me this morning; Jesus’ greatest triumph was in such a moment. In the Garden, Jesus was in agony as He asked, “Take this cup from Me.” I’m pretty sure Jesus knew His Father’s will already. Was He asking for Him to find another way? Seems He knew there wasn’t another way. Was He saying, “Please God, I’ll do it tomorrow or next month or give me a year…” OR was it a demonstration simply of His human side. Meaning, it wasn’t a fault to HAVE the conflict. He was expressing His desire to escape His fate. It would have been a sin if He hadn’t taken it to the Father God. We are made for conflict because God knew it was gonna be war.
So, trusting like Elijah, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Friday, February 17, 2006
What If
In Why I Believe, Dr. Kennedy talks about the condemnation due us for our sins of omission…for our lack of faith that has doomed a multitude of lost souls to eternal separation from Him. And if you are one of those who have out and out rejected Christ, you have failed in your purpose in life as well. Solomon’s falling away blocked the truth of the One Holy God from being known to many whom otherwise would. The life you and I demonstrate to the world has eternal consequences. Mrs. Schaeffer goes so far as to call it cruelty when a parent fails to teach his children. Oh, I cringe at the thought. So many days when business or fun, forgetfulness or weariness interfered with any time for God. I’ll admit, it could get too regimented and children could certainly resent the rigidity. It's a common and realistic fear for many Christian parents. But when you love the Lord and you love your children (think heavenly perfection), the daily devotion would be a priority of sheer pleasure. Sigh.
Unfortunately, we are careless and selfish, as Christians and as unbelievers. In the faithful life, the neglect is passive apathy and we can only imagine what “might have been” or “what could be” if every Christian plugged in to the Kingdom continually. Super charge! As for the ones who have grown antagonistic toward God and His Kingdom, the damage is evident everywhere. Is there any need to elaborate? John wrote of the end times, “And when that time comes, all doing wrong will do it more and more, the vile will become more vile, good men will be better; those who are holy will continue on in greater holiness.” ~Revelation 22:11
In other words, the spread is going to widen. Knowledge of the Truth in the world will become more jumbled and dark as the remnant shines brighter. Elijah was one such light…talk about super charge! He is next in the remnant series.
Unfortunately, we are careless and selfish, as Christians and as unbelievers. In the faithful life, the neglect is passive apathy and we can only imagine what “might have been” or “what could be” if every Christian plugged in to the Kingdom continually. Super charge! As for the ones who have grown antagonistic toward God and His Kingdom, the damage is evident everywhere. Is there any need to elaborate? John wrote of the end times, “And when that time comes, all doing wrong will do it more and more, the vile will become more vile, good men will be better; those who are holy will continue on in greater holiness.” ~Revelation 22:11
In other words, the spread is going to widen. Knowledge of the Truth in the world will become more jumbled and dark as the remnant shines brighter. Elijah was one such light…talk about super charge! He is next in the remnant series.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Evolution Sunday!
What on earth are we doing? Oh Great Darwin, you are science. We will worship you, oh Evolution. I am freaked by this and so is the Discovery Institute. I might have mentioned, and meant it, that I am praying for the death of Darwinian theory and all the neo-Darwinian worldview that stems from this junk science, as in unsupported by observable facts.
“No, but natural selection is real!” Duh. “Survival of the fittest does happen!” Double duh. And your point is?
Evolutionist Christians, on this self-proclaimed holiday, want their cake and eat it too, the greedy elite of the faith. “We embrace science,” they chant. Like a royal thumbing of the nose at Bruce Chapman, president of DI, author Michael Behe, Lehigh U., and author Phillip E. Johnson, law prof. emeritus, UC at Berkeley. The Clergy Letter Project denies any disagreement with their Darwinian Deity the scientific validity and respect it deserves. Yet Intelligent Design is simply another theory based on microbiology’s latest findings.
Evolution theory and ID have opposing views of origin. Any Christian who believes evolution is true but with huge leaps of evolving development between species, gaps in evolving life,…does not believe in evolution at all! They simply won’t let go of the word or its founder. They want their cake and eat it too.
Darwin didn’t propose there were gaps and as far as I know, it is not being taught thusly. If evolution HAS EVOLVED? …then shouldn’t science take up a different banner, give it a name, and let poor Charles rest in peace? Would its author still argue all life shares common ancestry?
Intelligent Design is taught in total disconnect to the God of the Bible as simply some intelligent Prime Mover (you know, Designer) which had to have jump-started life because of its intense complexity in its smallest form…the cell. In turn, fossil records support the jump-start of each species. Paleontology: science last I checked.
Nonetheless, Christians who know their Bible, that’s the so-accused fundamentalist evangelical, have grasped this science because it perfectly fits with their already tight hold to the Creation document. Christians do not NEED ID for support of their faith. Their faith, more accurately, has strong underpinnings for ID. Does ID need it? Probably not. After all, it’s science. The fact of the matter is, the two complement each other in Truth. They pass the reality check. God created man in a special way (Hebrew term, bara, used uniquely for creation of man), separate and different from animals, in His own image. Take a look at reality. Man is far, far too complex and advanced; so way beyond any other living thing. How can anyone with an ounce of common sense say we are just the most evolved apes! No, to embrace Darwin’s theory of origins is to minimize God’s power (by saying He had to do it in little steps) and deny the specialness of man.
I’m tired and sad, totally in God’s image. Christianity and science were supposed to be friends. At least it started out that way. Darwin has become a god, thus the conflict.
“Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” ~God
“No, but natural selection is real!” Duh. “Survival of the fittest does happen!” Double duh. And your point is?
Evolutionist Christians, on this self-proclaimed holiday, want their cake and eat it too, the greedy elite of the faith. “We embrace science,” they chant. Like a royal thumbing of the nose at Bruce Chapman, president of DI, author Michael Behe, Lehigh U., and author Phillip E. Johnson, law prof. emeritus, UC at Berkeley. The Clergy Letter Project denies any disagreement with their Darwinian Deity the scientific validity and respect it deserves. Yet Intelligent Design is simply another theory based on microbiology’s latest findings.
Evolution theory and ID have opposing views of origin. Any Christian who believes evolution is true but with huge leaps of evolving development between species, gaps in evolving life,…does not believe in evolution at all! They simply won’t let go of the word or its founder. They want their cake and eat it too.
Darwin didn’t propose there were gaps and as far as I know, it is not being taught thusly. If evolution HAS EVOLVED? …then shouldn’t science take up a different banner, give it a name, and let poor Charles rest in peace? Would its author still argue all life shares common ancestry?
Intelligent Design is taught in total disconnect to the God of the Bible as simply some intelligent Prime Mover (you know, Designer) which had to have jump-started life because of its intense complexity in its smallest form…the cell. In turn, fossil records support the jump-start of each species. Paleontology: science last I checked.
Nonetheless, Christians who know their Bible, that’s the so-accused fundamentalist evangelical, have grasped this science because it perfectly fits with their already tight hold to the Creation document. Christians do not NEED ID for support of their faith. Their faith, more accurately, has strong underpinnings for ID. Does ID need it? Probably not. After all, it’s science. The fact of the matter is, the two complement each other in Truth. They pass the reality check. God created man in a special way (Hebrew term, bara, used uniquely for creation of man), separate and different from animals, in His own image. Take a look at reality. Man is far, far too complex and advanced; so way beyond any other living thing. How can anyone with an ounce of common sense say we are just the most evolved apes! No, to embrace Darwin’s theory of origins is to minimize God’s power (by saying He had to do it in little steps) and deny the specialness of man.
I’m tired and sad, totally in God’s image. Christianity and science were supposed to be friends. At least it started out that way. Darwin has become a god, thus the conflict.
“Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” ~God
Friday, February 10, 2006
About Pomegranates
Well no, I haven’t told very many people about my obsession. It has to do with how I read my Bible these days. The more meaning that is found in the details of Old Testament typology and prophecy, the deeper I desire to delve into every detail. So when I read two hundred pomegranates are on the capitals of the temple pillars, I think, “Why pomegranates?” It didn’t help that my friend had to tell me about the health benefits of this purple red fruit. Or that I found shelves of little bottles of pomegranate juice staring at me at the grocery store! OR that November was National Pomegranate Month! AND did I mention that while doing some research on raspberries, supposed to be rich in ellagic acid (a miracle cure for cancer because it attacks the tumor), I found a company that produces a concentrate of the stuff. Guess what else is rich in ellagic acid? This, I find, after a month of buying pomegranate juice for my mother’s lymphoma…because I was…obsessed.
There are a lot of people claiming the meaning of pomegranates, from the obvious Hebrew scholars to Greek food experts, tarot card readers and tabernacle typologists. I’m goin’ with the latter. Some think the Tree of Life was this amazing fruit plant. The pomegranate itself being a symbol of new life—abundant life—eternal life, one site speculated that the Temple would become the trysting place (meeting—as in lovers) for Christ and His Bride. Makes sense. Creepy cause the tarot card actually gave pomegranates the feminine role and palm trees, the male. Palm trees? That would be the other decorative markings along the Temple walls, symbolizing Righteousness and Victory (Christ?) Don’t get excited…tarot cards are not my thing! All I do know is Christ is the First Fruit and the Bride is to bear much fruit—the broken pomegranate with its magnificent seeds is a type for this fertile growing of the Messiah’s Kingdom: the regenerate nation of God’s children.
Welcome to my weird world of typology.
There are a lot of people claiming the meaning of pomegranates, from the obvious Hebrew scholars to Greek food experts, tarot card readers and tabernacle typologists. I’m goin’ with the latter. Some think the Tree of Life was this amazing fruit plant. The pomegranate itself being a symbol of new life—abundant life—eternal life, one site speculated that the Temple would become the trysting place (meeting—as in lovers) for Christ and His Bride. Makes sense. Creepy cause the tarot card actually gave pomegranates the feminine role and palm trees, the male. Palm trees? That would be the other decorative markings along the Temple walls, symbolizing Righteousness and Victory (Christ?) Don’t get excited…tarot cards are not my thing! All I do know is Christ is the First Fruit and the Bride is to bear much fruit—the broken pomegranate with its magnificent seeds is a type for this fertile growing of the Messiah’s Kingdom: the regenerate nation of God’s children.
Welcome to my weird world of typology.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Here a Year
It is a joy to have the privilege of "feeding five thousand"! How many times have you read a book, an article, or just heard a sweet morsel of truth from the "radical right" media Quinn calls America, and you just wanted to scream from the rooftops...become the first 21st century town crier? The folks who have made it to published status or have 'analyst' tacked on to their famed title at Fox News have no idea how blessed they are. Or maybe they do. Right now, I thank them for being America's voice. It does ease some of the frustration.
On the other hand, I can so relate to the "climb the walls" feeling Quinn and Rose, the smaller genre prophets, who work so darn hard at it only to have a governor a la Rendell and more democrats than the Pied Piper's drones served to them Wednesday morning! (I love my blue state.) The road is about as long and steep as a Yosemite rise. Dr. D. James Kennedy has quite a reach but don't you wonder who's listening?
The pulpits are out there...being used for therapeutic theology in slow doses, sedating the masses. John Whitehead, Grasping at the Wind, profoundly said of this civil religion, "there are believed to be happy endings without moral rebirth, salvation without repentance, achievement without struggle." Don't you just wanna shake 'em? "Snap out of it!"
Well, I desparately wanted to. So here I am, a year later...still more like a whimper under the so very raucous, elite voices of the mainline religious left and MSM. But hey, it's okay. I will be grateful for whatever voice God gives me. Atleast I can sleep at night, nightmares and all. : }
Blogging is my pulpit. Unordained, unorthodox, homeschool-size ministry...how rural can you get? Y'all come back now, ya hear? Tell me about your soapbox!
On the other hand, I can so relate to the "climb the walls" feeling Quinn and Rose, the smaller genre prophets, who work so darn hard at it only to have a governor a la Rendell and more democrats than the Pied Piper's drones served to them Wednesday morning! (I love my blue state.) The road is about as long and steep as a Yosemite rise. Dr. D. James Kennedy has quite a reach but don't you wonder who's listening?
The pulpits are out there...being used for therapeutic theology in slow doses, sedating the masses. John Whitehead, Grasping at the Wind, profoundly said of this civil religion, "there are believed to be happy endings without moral rebirth, salvation without repentance, achievement without struggle." Don't you just wanna shake 'em? "Snap out of it!"
Well, I desparately wanted to. So here I am, a year later...still more like a whimper under the so very raucous, elite voices of the mainline religious left and MSM. But hey, it's okay. I will be grateful for whatever voice God gives me. Atleast I can sleep at night, nightmares and all. : }
Blogging is my pulpit. Unordained, unorthodox, homeschool-size ministry...how rural can you get? Y'all come back now, ya hear? Tell me about your soapbox!
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Be-Attitudes
I recently realized that I have never studied the Beatitudes from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. If anyone knows of a good book or studyguide, I'd appreciate the tip. It isn't that I have never given them some thought. This is a random translation of those thoughts:
Happy are you who know and embrace your desire for God. Your desire will be filled in heaven.
Happy are you who know and embrace your godly sorrow with God. Your sorrow will be comforted.
Happy are you who know and embrace your need for God. Your need will be filled on earth.
Happy are you who know and accept your want to be good. Your goal will be reached!
Happy are you who long for others to be good. Your love will be great.
Happy are you who know and embrace the innocence of salvation. Your focused eye on God will see Your Maker.
Happy are you who know and embrace your need for others. Your need will be filled in the family of God.
Happy are you who know and embrace the reality of those who won't confess their need for God or you. You are and will be needed in God's Kingdom.
Be comforted when rejection comes. They persecuted the prophets! Prophets--the rock solid foundation of God's revelation to His children.
Happy are you who know and embrace your desire for God. Your desire will be filled in heaven.
Happy are you who know and embrace your godly sorrow with God. Your sorrow will be comforted.
Happy are you who know and embrace your need for God. Your need will be filled on earth.
Happy are you who know and accept your want to be good. Your goal will be reached!
Happy are you who long for others to be good. Your love will be great.
Happy are you who know and embrace the innocence of salvation. Your focused eye on God will see Your Maker.
Happy are you who know and embrace your need for others. Your need will be filled in the family of God.
Happy are you who know and embrace the reality of those who won't confess their need for God or you. You are and will be needed in God's Kingdom.
Be comforted when rejection comes. They persecuted the prophets! Prophets--the rock solid foundation of God's revelation to His children.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
God's Goin' to the Superbowl!
Yes, I dwell in Pittsburgh. I am a God blogger. So here's my bit for the Black and Gold! Silly to talk God and football? God is omnipresent, everywhere. And where He is invited, He is active. The Steelers have given Him a free pass in their team prayers...a humble lesson in surrender for all who claim their salvation in Christ.
Let's boost it with a word of our own! For Jerome, who knows, after last game, there is a God and He is merciful!
God of the Bible, shine Your peace on the hearts of our Steelers and their coaches. Bless their minds for clear thinking and grant them self-control in Your Spirit so that Your power and goodness will be seen in their striving, their conduct and ...their victory ; )
Ditto for the fans! Amen.
"Why...must I be guided and limited by what someone else thinks? ...Well, I'll tell you why. It is because you must do everything for the glory of God, even your eating and drinking."
(and playing) ~1 Corinthians 10:31
Let's boost it with a word of our own! For Jerome, who knows, after last game, there is a God and He is merciful!
God of the Bible, shine Your peace on the hearts of our Steelers and their coaches. Bless their minds for clear thinking and grant them self-control in Your Spirit so that Your power and goodness will be seen in their striving, their conduct and ...their victory ; )
Ditto for the fans! Amen.
"Why...must I be guided and limited by what someone else thinks? ...Well, I'll tell you why. It is because you must do everything for the glory of God, even your eating and drinking."
(and playing) ~1 Corinthians 10:31
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Solomon's Prayer
“Lord God of Israel, there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts.” ~1 Kings 8:23
Verse 27 continues, “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!”
When Solomon is humbled even further by the inevitable sins yet to be committed, he asks for the people, "When they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict them, then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk.” (verse 36)
He then turns attention towards those outsiders who will look upon the blessed nation Israel in relationship with their Mighty God. “When [the foreigner] comes and prays toward this temple, hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel and that they may know…that this temple which I have built, is called by Your name.” * (v. 42-43)
Finally, when Solomon was closing his prayer, he stood from his kneeling before the altar, and he offered a blessing upon the assembly in a loud voice, saying, “Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses…” (v. 55-56)
Verse 57: “May the Lord our God be with us, v. 58 …that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, v. 59…that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day may require, v. 60 …that all peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God, there is no other. Verse 61: Let your heart therefore be loyal to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day.”
How is it that this wise man did turn from God further along in history? Scary, isn’t it? We might be sealed but should we get comfy in that knowledge? Israel, the nation, was to be blessed. Israel, the Church, is to be blessed too. But the visible Israel, and the visible church, are in shambles to the point where any blessing from God will not be noted by any “foreigner”, that they may know. This is why we are focusing in on the remnant. God has not forsaken His faithful who continue to pray Solomon’s prayer.
*As Christians, it is understood from New Testament writings, we become His temple, called by His name, when we invite Christ to dwell in our hearts.
Verse 27 continues, “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!”
When Solomon is humbled even further by the inevitable sins yet to be committed, he asks for the people, "When they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict them, then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk.” (verse 36)
He then turns attention towards those outsiders who will look upon the blessed nation Israel in relationship with their Mighty God. “When [the foreigner] comes and prays toward this temple, hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel and that they may know…that this temple which I have built, is called by Your name.” * (v. 42-43)
Finally, when Solomon was closing his prayer, he stood from his kneeling before the altar, and he offered a blessing upon the assembly in a loud voice, saying, “Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses…” (v. 55-56)
Verse 57: “May the Lord our God be with us, v. 58 …that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, v. 59…that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day may require, v. 60 …that all peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God, there is no other. Verse 61: Let your heart therefore be loyal to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day.”
How is it that this wise man did turn from God further along in history? Scary, isn’t it? We might be sealed but should we get comfy in that knowledge? Israel, the nation, was to be blessed. Israel, the Church, is to be blessed too. But the visible Israel, and the visible church, are in shambles to the point where any blessing from God will not be noted by any “foreigner”, that they may know. This is why we are focusing in on the remnant. God has not forsaken His faithful who continue to pray Solomon’s prayer.
*As Christians, it is understood from New Testament writings, we become His temple, called by His name, when we invite Christ to dwell in our hearts.
