GOING ONTO A SIDING

One day I wanted to write in my Journal.  I had the beginning of a thought about what I might write but as soon as I opened the Journal I became distracted by a place I with a paperclip. When I turned to a blank page I no longer remembered the subject.

I wonder how much I should worry about incidences like this.  Is it a sign that I am progressing into dementia?  Is it old age?  Is it merely a normal thing”

Every once and a while I will loose my train of thought.  I will start talking or writing about a subject, briefly think of something else, and then have a blank mind about the subject I started.  Often I can struggle back to it, but for a while it just doesn’t seem to be there - - an apparent blank space.  Sometimes I need someone to remind me.

Later that day a younger person said that the same thing happens to them.  Should this comfort me or are we both a little off?

I get irritated at the way “old folks” drive and react on the road. Though It surprises me when I realize that I am also an “old folk”. My night vision is not as good and my reactions are slower. Maybe I too drive slower than I used to. I once read that a sign of old age is that they no longer see speed limit signs to be challenges.

MAN VS WOMAN

One night Lizzie had an opportunity to speak at a Church about her book, SUBMISSION IS NOT SILENCE.  I was tasked to say something but I did not know what to speak.  I thought perhaps I should address how men should react to women.   As I remember I said something generally along these lines:

I believe men generally may be more direct and task oriented than women.  Many women do not seem as forceful in nature.  We as men must be careful not to over-express male characteristics so that we override women.  We risk making them feel abused and purposeless.  We can isolate ourselves from them and loose their constructive input.

The truth is that men need subtlety to temper their directness and they need to take thought of how the achievement of their tasks effect other relationships surrounding them.

Conversely, women need to keep the task in mind and not get lost in emotion and details.  They need to realize that sometimes people’s feelings have to take second place to the achievement of a goal.

To me it is obvious that men and women need each other, hence:

- - God saw it was not good for the man to be alone.
- - They shall be joined together and shall become one flesh.
- - Male and Female made he them, in the image of God made he them.

The way men think:
- - Marshaling
- - ordering
- - instructing
- - coaching
- - directing

The way women think:
- - relationships
- - Feelings of others
- - Comfort and beauty of the nest
- - Proper direction and nurture for the family

In the end we will take no earthly accomplishments out of this world:  no money, no status and no fame.  As we present ourselves in heaven we will carry with us only the relationships we have built.

WHAT I LIKE TO DO

Some guy said I could discover my passion in 30 minutes if I listed everything I could think of:

- I don’t know if I’m passionate or just crazy but I will work at a software problem until I either get it fixed, or dissolve in frustration.
- I like to design things
- I like two draw out the designs figuring out the nuances and potential strategies as I go.
- I like to build things.
- I like to finish things (as in applying stain and varnish).
- I like to polish the website.
- I like to travel.
- I like to help someone to solve a problem, specially if I know how to do what they are having a problem with.
- I like to imagine things.
- I like to manipulate data - - without caring what the data represents.
- I like to observe scenery (to include nature and man made places like cities, industry or construction).
- I like to play drum set and percussion.
- I like to get finished packages together, thorough packages: as in reports, websiets, assembled items.
- I like to learn about endeavors that others do:  how they do t, why they do it, how they developed it, how they adapt it to different situations, what is the process.
- I like to be part of a team that functions well together.
- I like to act and do things the correct and moral way.
- I would like to protect and deliver others from suffering wrong.
- I like to discover more efficient ways to do things and write things.
- I like large construction projects:  bridges, ships, buildings, civil engineering projects (dams, roads, tunnels).
- I like to discover or develop better, more robust methods.
- I like to devise and construct things that benefit others (and myself).
- I like thinking type projects.
- I like railroads and trains.
- I like large machinery.
- I like being in the woods, country, seaside, mountains.
- I like boating.
- I like playing in music ensembles.
- I like geology.
- I like technical drawings, explanatory drawings in books, etc.
- I like to diagram things or ideas.

After all that, I still don't feel particularly passionate.  I guess passion comes in the moment, not as some sort of continual burning.

HAVE INFLUENCE?

I wonder how far my influence really reaches.  It’s difficult for me to think it reaches beyond my fingertips.  I suppose this is a very negative way to look at it.  Surely it does not reach if I am not among other people, either physically or verbally (phone), visually (YouTube), or other ways (in writing like internet, email or letters).

If I do not seek these things out - -  the ways of being among people - - I can not waste my time bemoaning that I have no influence.  If I do not try to make myself of consequence, then I will be of no consequence.  If I look in the mirror I should smile at myself because I am the only one who’s going to get it done.

I am a very valuable man:  Jesus thought so - - thinks so - - so don’t waste it.

Small dreams bring small results.  Big dreams bring big results.  No dreams bring no results.

CALLING TO READ

Have you ever seen a book on a bookshelf which is calling you saying, "Read me! Read me!"  If there is any book like that surely it is the Bible. It does actually do that.  There are many, many passages that call a person to read or hear its words.
   
When an individual regards the Bible as the word of God -- and reads it -- he forever becomes a different person.  Such individuals are catalysts of change for everyone about them.  The readers unavoidably influence even those who have no regard for the Bible as special.

Those cultures that have seriously regarded the Bible were changed at their roots by it.  As a result of that, every other culture in the world has been forever changed.

 Even the ones who hold to the view "there is no God" have been solidly and unquestionably influenced by the book about God -- the Bible.  If the no-god believers were to attempt to reverse the influence the Bible they would have to undo thousands of years of history.

Each man and woman has at their fingertips access to a huge bank account. It is a mountain of wealth -- the wealth of God's wisdom, instructions, and wishes for us. Yet not many have tapped this tremendous source of God-given wealth provided via his written word, the Bible. In it we can know who we are, why we are here, and where we are going. Few, however, actually read the whole book. Of those who have, not many have read it more than once or twice. Yet through the pages of the Bible God urges us to read. The Bible speaks in many places of man's need put in the time to read its words.

FOR RICHER OR POORER

Here are my ideas about why sometimes the rich get richer:
.
RICH GET RICHER - - - But POOR GET POORER.
.. Comes from wealthy family - - - But poor comes from poor family.
.. Taught how to handle money, assets - - - But poor not taught how to handle money, assets.
.. Has education, specially advanced education - - - But poor has No or little education.
.. Thinks of the future - - - But poor thinks only in the present.
.. Has positive attitude - - - But poor has negative attitude.
.. Keeps good company (i.e moral and like-minded friends and associates) - - - But poor keeps bad company.
.. Seeks competent advisers - - - But poor does not seek advice.
.. Has supportive, uplifting family - - - But poor has a non-supportive family.
.. Comes from stable community - - - But poor comes from unstable community.
.. Has some money or position from which to start and the vision to use it - - - But poor has nothing to start with and no idea of how to change.
.. From a community that seeks to advance it’s own (there are many good communities, but the Mafia would also qualify) - - - But poor from a community that seeks to keep it’s members at the same level.
.. Has helped and is willing to help others - - - But poor restrains self from offering help to  others.
.. Willing to accept help - - - But poor will not accept help.
.. Thinks about wealth a lot (perhaps to the exclusion of more important life/family issues) - - - But poor gives no thought to wealth.
.. Has fortunate time and chance - - - But poor has no luck (Not just the excuse, “I’m not lucky”, but actually is not in the right place at the right time..
.. Recognizes opportunity - - - But poor does not recognize opportunity.

STAR LIGHT, STAR BRIGHT

     Star light, star bright, I don’t know what I think I might . . .
I wondered today if the part of God’s attention toward us and the creation is not a very small part of the total of all that God pays attention to.  We think of his attention toward us as if that is all he has to do.  In fact, whatever part of his “time” he spends on us, however small,  is 100% of all the time we have.  We have our being in him, not he in us.  How can we hope to comprehend the boundaries of God?  Can we say things about him the way we so confidently say we know about distant stars?  We say how big they and how far they are and how hot they are and what they are made of by using only an infinitesimal speck of light gathered through a telescope and processed through a spectrometer.  We start with what we have in front of us on earth (as in helium gas and a prism) and presume the same rules apply uniformly throughout the universe. 

Starting with Copernicus it takes a large highly educated group of us many decades and millions of dollars to do it.

Unlike the stars, which hardly give us anything,  God has given us the Bible which provides us much more than a few bands of differing color.

GOD'S DIRECTIVES

There are several words that repeat in Psalm 119 that refer to how God provides us direction:

WORD . . . What God says to us either through writing (the Bible) or through someone else (an evangelist, pastor, friend, a book).

WAY . . . What we observe from what God says or how he acts.

PRECEPT . . . A principle prescribing a particular course of action or conduct.

COMMANDMENT . . . A direct instruction from God.  This can be in writing, as in the Old and New Testaments.  This can be spoken to an individual human or group.

LAW . . . A set of rules of conduct or procedures established by God or an authority.

STATUTE . . . A particular rule, perhaps part of a body of law.

ORDINANCE . . . A more refined part of a statute perhaps specific to an activity or a certain group of people.

JUDGMENT . . . An opinion that is expressed to further refine an interpretation of a law, statute or ordnance.  This also might be rendered by a judge in a courtroom or by a legislative body.

TESTIMONY . . . A declaration by an entity or witness about the meaning or effect of a law, statute or ordinance.  This can be given by God about what he himself has said or done.  Or it might be given by those who have been affected by a law, statute or ordinance.

DOWNPLAYING YOURSELF

(On October 2009 I wrote:)
You could not have persuaded me yesterday of anything positive about myself.  I would have had a negative answer for everything you said.  I was determined to believe myself worthless.

But why not be determined to find worth and value?  Why be determined to see the no value in a finite life.  Why not rather see its eternal value and consequence?

No matter what anyone thinks about your worth, God provided his life for yours even when you did not know about it.  He thought – and thinks – a lot about you.

It is an insult to God to denigrate what what he thinks and does.

STEP OUT OF THE PAST

Years ago I wrote in my journal:

Last night I had some trouble while going to sleep because my mind kept bringing up things I thought should not be in the mind of a godly man. These were thoughts of wrong sex, or of being violent, or of someone or group being violent toward me. I realized, "These are not the sort of thoughts God would want me to have." Then I said, "I do not want those thoughts". And then, "God, please help me to think good thoughts." I seem to run around this circle several times before I either go to sleep or I break into good thoughts.

Last night I tried to think, "What was there about my childhood that was happy or satisfying, fulfilling?" I could not think of one single thing.*

Apart from my Mother, I don’t think anyone cared if I was around.**

It takes a lot of hard work to undo some of the things entrenched from the past. No matter what in the past might have been happy and fulfilling, what matters most is: what is happy and fulfilling to you today? No matter who cared (or did not care) for you in the past, who cares for you now? Although the past has a hand in forming us, its grip is not so firm that we can not live in - - and change in - - the present time.

* Not exactly true.  In school, I found Band and Science to be fulfilling.
** As I became older, and became more of a person, and not an annoyance, the situation became better.

ALTERNATE BIBLE STORY INTERPRETATION

Its OK to interpret bible stories alternatively.  Some bible stories have an accepted, often repeated, interpretation.  But it’s a worthy exercise to think of an alternate interpretation.  Indeed, you may have never really accepted the “usual” way. For example, there is a “standard” way of perceiving Job's friends.  The usual is to say the "Friends" are not really friendly.  In fact they are glad about Job's calamities.  They are really competitive fault-finders.  They are seeking Job's downfall and don’t mind disheartening him.

If that’s true why would they sit with him for seven days?  Why would they come to see him at all if it was only to find fault?  They could find fault with Job easier by staying at the market place or at the bar.

But there is an alternate way to view Job’s situation.  Let’s suppose the friends are real and are concerned about his calamities.  Not knowing about Satan’s involvement they assume Job has responsibility.  They want to warn him.  By guessing at what may be Job’s faults they are really seeking to find a solution and rescue and uplift Job.

The story of Zacharias also has a standard interpretation.  People usually suppose he is a tax collector and therefore uses his position to rob others.  They say he is a sinner because they assume all tax collectors rob.  They extend this assumption toward Jesus. They think Jesus ought to know who and what this man is and therefore avoid, or even admonish him.

The alternate is to say, yes, he is a tax collector but that's just his job.  It’s a job like a farmer or a shop keeper has a job.  Being a tax collector does not automatically make him a robber.  Jesus knows that he is a man like any other and knows (because God knows these things) this man has a softer heart than most of the others standing about.

Sometimes it’s good to investigate an alternative view of the “usual” interpretation.  It may help us to expand our thinking.  But our motivation for this ought not to be for the purpose of making ourselves stand out from most other people in a thrust to be noticed. 

Often the “usual” interpretation is usually the best.

THE HERE NOW AND THE NOW HERE

Maybe life as I am experiencing it has an intimate connection to the spiritual world.  Jesus said something like:  “As I am in the father so are you in me;  as the Father is in me so am I in you”.  (Look at John 17 and preceding).  He was physically in the world (we could have seen him and touched him and heard him) yet he talked with the Father.  He said, “My Father and I are one”.

So that should be true between Jesus and us today - - we are in him and he in us.  We should treat our daily living as if we are also somehow also presently in heaven.  What if a veil could be pulled back and we could see the spiritual beings about as it was done for Elisha’s servant when he saw the heavenly armies?

How do I adopt an attitude of living my physical life and realizing, experiencing, that I am at the same time living the spiritual life?

I’ll bet we have been tricked into thinking that the physical is now, and the spiritual comes later.  Or we think that any spiritual event is unusual in the physical course of events.  What if the spiritual is coursing along at all times but we have made ourselves unseeing and unhearing toward it?  If everyone else chooses to be blind should we follow meekly along and be blind too?

What do I do to see?  What do I do to listen?

- - Keep looking to see spiritual things
- - Keep listening to hear spiritual things.
- - Keep reading the Bible and rehearse the passages that support spiritual intimacy and perception.
- - realize that “the kingdom is at hand” means it is at hand, it is here, it is a natural thing.
- - Realize your “natural” perceptions could well have a supernatural component.
- - Embrace your “natural” perceptions and ask God to show you what he wants you to supernaturally know.

ON FINDING OUT ABOUT CANCER

I wrote this in my journal on May 29th, 2007:

On 28th of  May I went to the emergency room of Dr. Philips Hospital for the rectal bleeding I had been experiencing.  The bleeding had been going on for about two weeks but on the 29th it was quite heavy.  That morning I was scheduled to fly to Texas for a week's worth of work but my wife and son demanded I cancel the trip and go to the hospital instead.  On Monday the 4th of June I was discharged with a diagnosis of an invasive carcinoma a short distance in on my rectum near the anus.

I saw my primary care doctor, Dr. Myer, for the first time on Tuesday 5 June and went back to work in the afternoon.  I am presently scheduled for a consultation with the colol rectal surgeon, Dr. Farrarra 7 June and a PET scan the afternoon of that same day.

I thought today how the lord has blessed me by giving me a job while this course of events is going on rather than be being retired and just doing hobbies.  It afforded me extra health insurance I would not have had.  The job and the exercise will (secondary to God’s work) help me to overcome this invader in my body.

I do not feel fear.  I do not feel apprehensive.  I do not question God.  I accept it as God’s plan for me.  Perhaps he has some wonderful and fruitful work for me to do and only this type of training can prepare me.  Maybe this is only to start my boys, my girls and my grandchildren thinking about how transient life is, and how grateful, appreciative and involved we should be in each moment of it.  We should maintain an awareness of how moment of this present life affects and flows into the next.

Perhaps I am dumb, not feeling fear, not being nervous or apprehensive.  But then how can “the peace that passes all understanding” be explained?

POINTS FOR ME AND MY BOYS

It’s OK to lose a few screw drivers along the way, but don’t be lax or foolish with your tools.
Try know what your gifts are and try to use them.
Develop the things you like.
Overlook being always right.
Learn how to be a good friend.
Protect the innocent and the weak
Develop your organizational skills; that starts with identifying what they are
Never stop educating yourself.
Be honest with yourself: when it hurts but also when it feels good.
Know how to perceive a wife.
Know what being a spiritual leader means.
Know what being a Father means.
Know what being a Son means.
Know what being a Brother means.
Know what being a Man means.
It is important to select and spend time with good people.
People who are not good affect what you set your goals to be.
Thinking type work always comes before labor type work.

CONNECTING THINGS

Everything is preceded by some other thing.  And everything I’m doing has something else coming after it.  What I’m doing has been helped - - or hindered - - by what I did before.  What I do now can help, or hinder, what I will be doing.  It’s like everything has sticky spider webs attached to it.

I am blessed because I can isolate myself in the moment.  I can ignore the spider webs.  I don’t agonize about what I did, or didn’t do.  I don’t fret about what is next.  Or, maybe, this is a non-blessing.  Maybe I should be thoughtful of how one activity connects to the next.

But on the other hand, I often don’t have the best I could have in the present because of what I’ve left out of what should have come before.  Also I don’t take the opportunity to set up for what is supposed to come next. If I did, it would make it easier for myself.

At the time of procrastination I could replace my for-the-moment self with a reflective, evaluative and forward looking, planning self. 

This would take place at a very time when I don’t want to make any changes.  Maybe I feel this way because I’m between two for-the-moment periods.  Since I am for-the-moment, and don’t presently have anything to do, I feel uncomfortable.

Yet my tendency is always to stay the same.  Changing from one thing to another is something I don’t want to do  - - I want to stay the same, stay the course, whatever it is.

THINKING OF VALUES

While I was still at work, I wondered if I was doing anything that actually had value.  I asked myself what could I write down to tell another of the value I added to a project or a task?  What would that paper say?  In the process it became apparent to me how valuable writing it could be. 

We often get a short distance in time from events and can not recite their true significance, we can not recall the value.  We forget.  If we do not spend some time in analysis, we fail to recognize important details, occurrences and aspects of the events we just completed.  Our memory fades with time.

Once I realized this I came up with three or four areas where my presence did add value.  I realized also there were other areas where I could have added value if events had been slightly altered.  I wrote a list of things to measure.  Measurable items are the ones to which you can assign quantities.  With the list in hand I had a record of my accomplishment and a device by which I could plan future strategies.

Such a list would be valuable to reinspect at later times to see if I could identify additional items to quantify or additional areas where my presence had an effect. Using such a list I could also analyze each task planned for the future to identify other possible quantifiable items.  I could ask each time:
- - What today can I quantify, can I add a quantifiable item to the list?
- - What sub tasks within a quantifiable item can I quantify?

Such observations must be written, kept and reviewed to have any value.
- - This would get me into the frame of mind to quantify things
- - This would help me identify what sorts of things can be quantified.
- - This would help me with the language of quantification:  what should I express, how should I express it?

KILL OR MURDER?

My wife recently wrote the following.  I liked it so much I decided to post it here:

"I like your inquisitive mind...and your question from Psalm 137:9...its still banging around in my head...

"The God of the Bible is not a god we can make up:

"In the Bible are two meanings for putting a person to death: (1) is to kill, (2) to murder. 

"Murder is a sin and God calls for the death penalty.  The other: to kill is the responsibility of a government or the military to dispense justice.  If we are sinned against, vengeance is God's option and He uses government to create law and order and to give us justice.  Our responsibility is not to seek vengeance.  Our job is to forgive...but, Roxy here is something helpful, I think:

"C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity has a freeing explanation of forgiveness:

" 'Does loving your enemy mean not punishing him? No, for loving myself does not mean that I ought not to subject myself to punishment - even death.  If you had committed a murder, the right Christian thing to do would be to give yourself up to the police and be hanged.  It is therefore, in my opinion, perfectly right for a Christian judge to sentence a man to death or a Christian soldier to kill an enemy....'Thou shalt not kill,' (Jesus)...There are two Greek words used in the New Testament for putting to death: the ordinary word to kill and the word to murder.  And when Christ quotes that commandment He uses the murder one in all three accounts...I am told there is the same distinction in Hebrew (in the Old Testament).  All killing is not murder any more than all sexual intercourse is adultery...'

"In Psalm 137, it is referring to justice: God is the One to handle it.  When we forgive we are not pretending we do not "see" the injustice, it is laying down our inclination to pay back.   Forgiveness (and I'm getting this understanding from C.S.Lewis chapter on forgiveness) is "fighting" the hate and hoping the person who hurt us will become a better person. Always remember:  "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." Romans_12:19

"One more thing:  Edom called for Jerusalem to be demolished (Psalm 137:7) (they ) were a historically evil enemy to God's people. Some people have darkened hearts...only God knows what their judgment should be."

LESSONS FROM WEIGHT LIFTING

I learned some things form the time I was doing weight lifting that apply to life in general.   Before going to the gym I apprehended the upcoming weight lifting sessions to be burdensome, threatening, worrisome and frightening.  The following contrasting statements show what I mean:

THOUGHT:  You think of how hard it will be to be under the weight.  REALIZED:  The point of lifting the weight is for it to be hard.  No effort = no adaptation.  When it is hard, it is good.

THOUGHT:  You wonder if you will fail.  REALIZED:  You may fail every once and a while.  You need to be close to that point.  You may not know where that pont is unless you fail.  When you experience failure you know where the point is, then in successive sessions you can come close to  but not cross over the failure point.

THOUGHT:  You wonder if your form will be bad.   REALIZED:  Some times mistakes in form teach what good form is.

THOUGHT:  You wonder if you will injure yourself.  REALIZED:  It is good to have the fear of injury, that keeps you in good form and not over trained.

THOUGHT:  You wonder if people will be in your way.  REALIZED:  If you are not in the gym you do not know how many people will be there.  In fact I found most of the time all has been clear.

THE BODY FOR LIFE CONTEST

Lizzie and I once participated in a physical fitness contest named “Body for Life Challenge”.   The goal was to build strength while losing weight.   We did not “win” but we learned many things more valuable than a trophy or lines in a record book.

While we were in the process of training, I wrote in a journal:
It was hard to get out to the aerobics today.  I wanted to make it an “easy” day, but thought, “this is a contest and you don’t win contests by doing things the easy way, the other contestants are not taking it easy.  They will gladly run past those who are taking it easy.  After you eliminate all the ones who take easy days you have left the ones who are trying hard.  These are competing against each other.  In this class you have to struggle and persevere to win.  It may be you are outclassed by some of the contestants but to assume so and let up on some of your own drive is to allow the others to run past you.  Until you are past the finish line you do not know who the winner will be.

In any case, the real challenge is to strive against your own limitations.  No matter what anyone else does you must run past yourself.  It’s a matter of ruling your body, your mind, your spirit, for these are what must be enhanced so that they can compete against any other.  If you do not master yourself you will overcome no other.  True, God may not have made your body like a professional athlete’s.  Perhaps it is physically impossible for you to win the Tour de France, or to finish the Iron Man.  But even if you could, you have to deal with yourself on a day-by-day, minute-by-minute basis.  It’s your reluctance, your tiredness, your pain, your exhaustion you must deal with and not the difficulties of someone else.  Only in dealing with yourself will you advance in dealing with others.

All this is also true for activities that relate to the spirit and to the character.  It’s you that needs to pray, it is you who needs to read the Bible, you who needs to reach out to others.

As I wrote that day I realized we were coming to the final push . . . “We only have three weeks left in the Body for Life Challenge.  From how we look right now it does not appear we will be in contention for any of the prizes.  Yet we dare not let up in any of our effort.  Who knows, the judges may select us for some reason.  It would be no comfort to have let up, let the contest end, and always know we did not put a hundred percent into it.  If we never hear a word from the contest officials, yet we tried until the last day, we will know we will have tried right until ten feet past the finish line.  Finish up, don’t wind down. 

TRAINING NEW CHRISTIANS

The value of a new, uninitiated Christian, one who has been saved from a background removed from church attendance, is that in his freshness, never being influenced by tradition, he can understand the Scriptures free of possible error introduced over the years by the tradition of men.

On the other side of that coin tradition built through the years by earnest men who have studied the Scriptures can keep new believers from wandering into erroneous territory.

To be protected from error one must read the Scriptures for himself.  Then he has some background against which he can compare to what his teacher is telling him.  It takes time to build up this background.  It also takes time to gain an apprehension of the organization behind the teaching.

A question worth asking is: “what does this man gain by teaching me this, does he have an angle or agenda?  Is the result of this teaching to advance the position or influence of the organization he represents?”

FARMER OR HERDSMAN

Noah believed God for things that had not yet happened - - things for which, I suppose, there was no indication they would happen.  But he thought those things so real he dared not go against them - - he feared God; he knew God would do what he said he would do.  His neighbors may have thought him a fool but Noah proved them foolish by his doing of the things God told him.  What God said happened. 

Was Noah a farmer or a herdsman, or both?  As a farmer it would have been easier for him to grow crops while the four men (Noah and his sons) built the ark.  If he were a herdsman he would have to move the flocks around to keep the pastures fresh.  This would have made the construction much more difficult.  In either case, he had to produce enough extra to fund their subsistence, materials and construction of the ark.  This indicates the possibility that he may have hired the work done from people from outside the family.

For such a large structure he and his sons would have needed plenty of “free time”, time away from providing subsistence.  Primitive construction techniques would also consume time.  Did they use contractors, suppliers?  If they did, they needed the funds to pay them.  They probably ran a very successful farm, or they had large flocks over wide areas with many employees to oversee them.

VIBRATIONS

We perceive vibrations at least two ways: as light and as sound.

The visual artist takes a paint brush and with thought and skill (little or much) captures the vibrations of light - - colors - - in a single place for us to view as a picture.  This static color show is concentrated in one place, with all the relationships frozen for a length of time - - as long as the picture lasts.  It is all concentrated in the picture, which does not change, which lasts for a while, and which many can see.  The viewers all see the same unchanging thing.  In a painting or photograph the sun does not rise or fall and nothing in the scene moves.

The sound artist works to produce interesting vibrations either by himself or with others.  But a single tone or note makes little sense until there is change in tone.  Even many voices together make no sense if there is only one tone.  A single note, or a single chord soon becomes boring; so movement - - rhythm - - progress from one tone to another is necessary.  When one voice moves to different tones it is melody.  When many voices move together it is harmony.  Melody and harmony each require some kind of rhythm or progress from one tone to the next.  Thus the progressing sounds must take up some length of time.  Once the time is done the work of art is finished - gone.

Visual and sound art are different.  Visual art is thin, it takes up only specific vibrations which do not change in relationship and which can last for long periods.  Sound is fat, it must take many changing vibrations and change in relationships which last for a specific length of time.  Paintings can hang in art museums for hundreds of years.  Once a music concert is performed it is over.

THE INCONVENIENCE OF SELF CONTROL

The need to use self control comes at inconvenient times.  They come at times when I am not listening for direction, or don’t particularly want to seek direction.  For example, last night I stayed up late because a) I am used to staying up late and because b) I wanted to do a crossword puzzle.  I did not even think to seek for God’s advice much less dedicating the time to God.  I was busy with the activity I wanted to do.

There seems to be two easy ways to slip off the path of self control.  One is pursuing a path you are "used to": an established routine, something familiar, a habitual activity.  Another is doing something you "want to do": something easy you enjoy and it feels good at the time.

But what I’m used to and what I like to do (crosswords, for example) may not be what at that particular time is the most profitable for me.  More profitable things might be:  memorizing Scripture, reading a book, or practicing drums or another musical instrument.  For the long picture literature and music are more noble things than the number of crosswords I complete or the TV programs I watch.

Maybe I should recognize these "used to it" "want to do" times.  Recognize that they exist, that they will appear at inconvenient times, and make plans to resist them.

SETTING ASIDE SELF CONTROL

How sweet is it to think of self control when I am removed from temptation and, how dim the goal of self control seems when temptation looms near. I remember one night I had the opportunity to a) control my eating, b) study the scripture, and c) practice the congas. Instead I watched PBS. It seems easy to quickly push the right things aside so I can take advantage of the less useful things. It's as if I realize the right thing will have it's way and I won't get to do the less useful thing. Accordingly I just pass quickly as possible over the right things putting them aside. I'm good at doing that and thereby I miss a) the Spirit of God and b) the benefit of accomplishing the right things.

I need somehow to stop the rush. How do I do that? Do I look at my watch and make myself think about what I’m doing for one minute? Two minutes? Do I quote scriptures? Do I say aloud to myself the choices I am considering, announcing to myself the benefits I will have from doing of the good things? Should I do ten push-ups before I can commence on the bad thing? Sit-ups?

I may be my own worst enemy when it comes to acting on my feelings. The things I feel like doing (watching TV) will not benefit me whereas the things I do not feel like doing (memorizing, practicing) will greatly benefit me. This is a case where working from the mind is better than working from the feelings (maybe it always is).

ASKING FOR SELF CONTROL

I noticed at one time in my journal I was asking the Lord for self control.  I seems odd for me to ask the Lord to give me self control since I am the one who should be controlling myself.  I thought either should have it or, minimally, I should want to develop it.  I am the one who should be controlling myself.  If another controls me, it is not myself.  Certainly I would not want someone to force control over me, yet there may be times where I need some assistance.  If another assists me in my control is it a flaw in my spirit or is it it an opportunity to develop my spirit?

I need to consider if I need assistance the Holy Spirit is known to be our "helper".  What is wrong with asking the helper to help?  Self control is identified in the Bible as a "fruit of the Spirit".  Since I have the Spirit residing within me, the fruits thereof are available to me.  This alone is a justification for me to ask.  Not asking for help might be a demonstration of being insensitive to the Holy Spirit. Perhaps if I would ask and then listen I would hear.  Certainly if I do not listen I will not hear.  If I do listen I might hear.  Perhaps the habit of asking and listening increases my sensitivity to hearing.  This may build to a point where I will more thoroughly know God:  know what his will is, sense his direction of my life, feel his direct presence.  This could result through the practice of listening for God's guidance. 

REINS

Jer 17:10 - - The Lord searches the heart and tries the reins of a man in order to give every man according to the man’s ways and according to the fruit of the man’s doings.

God has a continuous view into each person’s thoughts, intentions, feelings, hopes and emotions.  As we can control a horse’s direction with reins, the Lord can control our direction but gives us decisions to make.  The question is: will we obey Him?  Once God tries us (pulls on our reins), he rewards or corrects according to what we have been thinking or according to how we have acted.  Once our thinking or acting has produced a product, he rewards or corrects us for that product - - according to the accomplishments, or mess, we have made for ourselves.  God is directly involved with our lives.

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.” (2Ch.16:9)

ONLY THE APOSTLES ARE WORTHY

A reformed pastor I was listening to said of the “you” in John 16:13 that it was written to the Apostles and not for us.  I wrote in the builtin when he preached it:  “If the ‘you’ is only the apostles according to the context, then should we throw the Bible aside and ignore these verses?  Context only applies = Apostles = Early Fathers = Tradition.  Tradition interprets the Scripture.”  We have to be careful of men’s logical devices such as this one, since they can take us the wrong way from the truth.

At the time I was feeling very sad, almost to tears, for the idea that God does not communicate to me, only to the Apostles, only to this pastor.  Can I take nothing from Corinthians because the book was written to the Corinthians?  Can I take nothing from the Psalms because it was David writing to God?  Or - - is what was good for the Corinthians also good for me?  Are David’s feelings like my feelings and the answers from God also valid for me?  Was what was said to the Apostles also valid for me?

In v25, when Jesus says “I shall show you plainly of the Father” does it mean that at this time, at the coming of the Holy Spirit, that he will show it only to the Apostles?  If this is only for the Apostles then does John 14:15 - 19 mean that only the “yous”, the Apostles, get the Holy Spirit”?  Does this pastor have a lock on Bible meaning that I, the peon, the non-seminary trained dolt, can not have?

Maybe rather the “Apostles” or “disciples” (KJV) are those who are closest to Jesus in a personal commitment level.  They follow closely to him, depending on him, while others come and go.  They are capable with their own intellect to interpret the Scriptures.  They represent Christians while the others, the well trained egotistical others, represent the religious lost.

BUT ITS MY PARTY

At the turn-of-the-century (August 1999) I had a birthday party at my house with my family and some others. During that party my wife and children gave me a djambe which is a type of drum. They all started to sing and I played along with them with my drum. After the first song one of the women there asked if I could play any softer, so I just put my drum aside. Her husband was obviously upset and remained upset the rest of the evening. The others played and sang at my birthday party but I was not welcome to play my drum in my own house.

This helps you to thin out your guest list for future events.

DOES IT MEAN WHAT IT SAYS

I went to a men’s Bible study at a church I once attended where the pastor trotted out his “the primary purpose of the Old Testament is to show Jesus Christ” routine.  I don’t dispute it is A purpose of the Old Testament but I wonder about being the PRIMARY purpose.  It makes it seem that anything else we get out of reading the Old Testament is of lesser value - - value that is inferior.  Therefore any other application we can draw, since it is inferior, can be lightly esteemed or even discarded.  According to this man such applications are more or less worthless.

Why then should we have an Old Testament study if the only answer of worth must be “How does this demonstrate Christ?”

What do I do with a scripture that says, “All Scripture is given for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”?

So, now that I know (according to this pastor) that the Bible is only about Christ, what good is the rest of it?  All I really have to do is see how it relates to Christ, then close the book and forget about the rest since it is minor anyway.  Once I know the one important fact - - that the writing is somehow showing me about Christ - - what else do I need to know?

If I want to find out about homosexuality I should read contemporary books about homosexuality.  The Bible may define the homosexual act as wrong but, so what, since that is not the main intent of the Scriptures, which is to reveal Christ, not necessarily to teach us what is right and what is wrong.

It it permissible for me to ask of the Bible, “does it mean what it says”?

Here are three statements encountered from that particular Pastor:

Statement 1. “Because the culture today is different from the culture of Biblical times we can think of things differently than what the Scriptures say.”

This depends upon what the overarching intent of the Scripture is.  Although some things are definitely different between past and present cultures, other things are comparable.  The role of family, for example, existed and was important in the past as it is today.  While I may not tend sheep as many in ancient Biblical lands did, I can learn from the role of the shepherd basic, important character traits like faithfulness, watchfulness and diligence.  A problem arises when we try to relieve ourselves from the types of personal and social responsibility that is called for in the Scriptures:  for example a life-long marriage to one person.  Because in this present day culture it is easy and acceptable to get divorced does not mean it is an option to choose because it is convenient.  Because today’s society embraces sexual intercourse between people of the same sex does not relieve us from the prohibition of that activity as expressed in the Bible.

Statement 2. “The primary purpose of the Scriptures is to reveal Christ and other revelations are of lesser importance.”

Of course the revelation of Christ is important - - crucial - - to the eternal life of any person, but to say other lessons that could be learned from the Scriptures are of “lesser” importance seems to be a semantical trick.  We know that knowing Christ is vital, yet we still need to know other things like:  we should not kill, we should not steal, we should not commit adultery, etc.  Clearly we must first breathe to stay alive after which we need to do other things like drink water and eat food.  I can not (or at least I should not) pick up The Book, learn about Christ, and then toss it aside as if it’s all I really need.  There is so much more of inestimable value to be found, if we will but pay attention.

Statement 3. “The context of certain Scriptures eliminate the reader from taking the plain meaning of the text as for himself.”

Without an example of a specific scripture this statement makes no sense.  It seems to me you have to first know the plain text meaning of the words you read.  Then you compare what knowledge you have of the context to the meaning of the text.  From the comparison of the text and context you arrive at a conclusion about the intention of what was written.  Whatever conclusion the reader arrives at has meaning for the reader.  What I think this pastor was really wanting to say is that he only is capable of interpreting the meaning.   The average parishioner must look to him, the seminary graduate, for the correct interpretation.  He once said, "The Holy Spirit teaches your pastor, and your pastor teaches you."  The Pharisees said that too.

SENSES

The Scripture speaks of the “Lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life.”  I notice there is no mention of the “Lust of the ear” or the “Lust of the nose.”  Is this because there is some special property of vision?  Is there some way that this particular sense has more power to be damaging? Is it wired more directly into emotions and passions not being filtered first through the thinking mind?

A nude body is of the eye, but music is of the ear.  You can sexually arouse yourself by seeing images of nudes.  You can even imagine morally damaging visual scenes.  But can not sexually arouse yourself through music absent any visual image.  Today’s options include music videos.  If you heard the music without ever seeing the video could you get the same impressions (thoughts, emotions and feelings) as you could be seeing the video?

You can get impressions through the lyrics of music.  The lyrics can carry sexual messages.  Lyrics can be carried and reinforced by music, but the music does not carry the message.  Music without lyrics can  not carry the visual image.  The song “The Stripper” by itself will not convey the image of a stripper, the listener has to have, if fact, seen a stripper’s performance.  The imagery of the stripper, once seen, can be overlaid on the music in the listener’s mind.

Can the music alone give all people the same visual impression?  I’ll bet not.  I’ll bet ten different people could get ten different visual impressions from a piece of music – even one with lyrics, but if all ten saw a video with the music they would all get the same impression - - that of the videographer, not necessarily of the one who composed the music or wrote the lyrics.

The song, “the Song Remembers When” talks of a song being able to evoke a strong memories of a past event.  But it was an event that had a host of other senses tagged to it - - not the least of which is what was seen when the event occurred.  These are the events inside the head of the listener, not of the song writer. The lyricist has his memories, visual or otherwise, and the listener has his; they are not the same.

CHOICES THAT SEEM PREDESTINED

I don’t hold with the theological doctrine of Predestination.  But there is a reason to find value in the theory of the “Predestination” position - - not as the sole position, but as a balance for the “Free will” or “Decisional” position.

Joseph said to his brothers, “You decided to do evil to me, but God used it for good.”  God had determined that Abraham’s seed would go into Egypt and grow there.  Joseph’s brothers on their own volition decided first to murder Joseph, but then to sell him into slavery.  Although their free choice was for evil, by God’s sovereignty the results of it turned out for good:  God’s good, Joseph’s good, the brothers’ good, Israel’s good, and even our good.

To say God made Joseph’s brothers decide to do murder is to say that he made his creatures do something which is against the nature of God himself.  They must have chosen to do the evil.  God, being good by definition, converted the evil into good.  But God, being in existence at all times (past, present and future), knew before the bad happened that it was going to happen.  He did not preclude the brothers’ bad decision.

We should not be afraid to make choices, or be made to think that our choices have no real meaning or effect because some others are fully persuaded about predestination.  “If God has predetermined things what choice do we have, is there really any choice at all, why bother?”  Because, as Joseph’s brothers did, we have options before us that we can choose.  But we should also know that God has all firmly in his control and in the end his will will work for the good.  And if God has all in control, we can see he will be more than willing to give us the power to accomplish his will.  And if we fail to accomplish his will God will make it come out his way anyway in spite of the mess we make.

If Joseph’s brothers can choose evil, then so can we.  But, as an extension to this, we can also choose good.

At some time we are going to be in a place where we will have to choose - - we will not have the luxury of passing the choice by.

EMOTION CHANGES DNA

I Read an article that said emotions from negative social activity, like being rejected or ignored, actually changes our DNA.  They cause emotional or psychological results that can eventually express as physical results.  I quote a portion of this article:  “Within 40 minutes, they and other researchers have found, these experiences affect the expression of individual genes, determining which parts of our DNA are turned on or off . . . they have found, [these experiences] can change how DNA behaves.”

So we are to believe that emotion changes DNA.  I have been taught that DNA is a chemical structure within a cell.  It is supposed to resemble a helix, a double coil, having rungs like a ladder.  The "rungs" of the ladder are our genes.  The article states our emotions are supposed to change these genes.

I suppose if someone, who I thought liked me now says he hates me, has made my genes change.  How could you know my genes have changed?  How can this be proved? Will a piece of skin be taken from me, frozen, sliced up, dyed and microscopically analyzed to show the changes?  This presupposes a skin sample was taken before the "rejection" so it could be compared to the one taken after the "rejection" that the differences could be observed.  Do I need to take a blood test, will that work? 

Remember, this all takes place within 40 minutes so we can not allow for the possibility that the emotional trauma may have physical manifestations resulting in lack of care for physical maintenance or safety.  Even if we allowed 40 hours could not eating or lack of sleep (resulting from the despondency) change my genes?

This seems absurd to me.  I doubt if sad (or angry, or happy) emotions can express directly as physical gene changes.  I don't believe it has any bearing in truth.  This statement seems to be a contrivance to have something exciting and provocative  to write about

Maybe time and physical / psychological experiments will prove me wrong, but until then I'll file this away in the "Wacco" bin.

WHAT A FAST IS, IS NOT

ACCORDING TO ISIAH 58
According to Isaiah 58 this is what a fast in not:
- - Finding pleasure (we do it to get something that will give us pleasure)
- - Exacting our our labors ( we require God to pay something back for our inconvenience)
- - For strife and debate (we are at odds with someone and want God to take our side against them)
- - Smite with the fist of wickedness (we want harm to come to someone else)
- - Make our voice to be heard on high (we want our will to prevail in the courts of heaven)
- - To afflict our soul (a time to make ourselves uncomfortable, perhaps thinking we deserve it)
- - Bow down the head as a bulrush (it is not good for us to be happy, we must be sad to please God)
- - Spread sackcloth and ashes under us (make a public demonstration of our discomfort)

What a fast is:
- - Loose the bands of wickedness (from ourselves, from other people)
- - Undo the heavy burdens (things that are too difficult for us or others to bear)
- - Let the oppressed go free (we help the oppressed gain freedom, or release ourselves from oppression)
- - Break every yoke (the things that are controlling us or others, the things for which we need to give up control)
- - Deal your bread to the hungry (do with a little less in order to feed some hungry)
- - Bring the cast out poor into your house (give up space, privacy)
- - Cover the naked (do with less clothing so that others can have at least some clothes)
- - Not hide yourself from your own flesh (endure some inconvenience for the aid of your relatives)
- - The yoke (do away with the unhealthy associations where others are bad for you and where you are bad for others)
- - Putting forth the finger (Stop looking at others for blame and ignoring your own, sidestepping responsibility)
- - Speaking vanity (Stop talking so much about things that have no lasting eternal value)
- - Draw out your soul to the hungry (seek for a few opportunities to feed the poor)
- - Satisfy the afflicted soul (rather than than thrusting the non-repentant aside provide spiritual aid for them)

BE NOT SILENT

There is the old saying:  "A woman, a dog and a walnut tree -- the harder you beat them, the better they be.”

My Wife has written a book, Submission Is Not Silence.  I think some people react to the title itself without knowing its content.  Some have said things like “submission is good”, “submission is commanded by the Bible”, “wives submit to your husbands as unto the Lord”  When they stop there, never expanding on what they mean, it becomes obvious they have either have not read, or have not fully read my Wife's book.  She never says submission is bad.  She says some forms of submission as administered by some authorities or some men is oppressive, and that it is not good to be silent about it.

She says it is not good to be silent about or to endure truly oppressive submission.  For example it is not good for a woman to submit to being beaten by a man.  She should speak and tell him it is wrong to beat her when reasoning could accomplish what he wants.  If that did not work she should report him to the authorities.  In this country the authorities view wife-beating as a crime, and it is.

It is obvious certain submission is good, and we all submit much of the time.  We all stop for traffic lights.  We drive (in the USA) on the right side of the road.  We don’t speak in church when the pastor is speaking.  We don’t beat up people because they disagree with us or annoy us. 

Some have said "Submission is in the Bible” inferring anything objecting to absolute submission is to speak against the Bible.  When submission is oppressive and harmful it needs to be opposed.  That’s what World War II was about.  Even God does not force absolute submission; we are all free to say, “There is no God”.  A woman should not remain silent if she has an idea that may be better, and she certainly should not remain silent if she is being abused.  Hence the title of my wife’s book:   Submission Is Not Silence.  If some had read beyond the title page they would have realized that.

The saying may be cute, and it may roll off the tongue, but it’s not true that, "A woman, a dog and a walnut tree -- the harder you beat them, the better they be.”

SEVEN TIMES AROUND

On Memorial Day in 1998 I was trying to replace the rack-and-pinion of an old Oldsmobile.  It was a very frustrating job with many time stoppers, the culmination of which was trying to get the clamp from the steering wheel apparatus back onto the shaft of the rack-and-pinion assembly.  Working until 10 pm that night I remembered all the old Navy language.  During my sleep (which was uncomfortable because of a sore bruised back from laying on the concrete) I had a dream.  In it I saw the clamp slipping easily onto the shaft and two holes matching up.

When I continued the job two days later I started by walking around the car seven times praying.  After a little fiddling I noticed a notch on the side of the shaft which looked as if it was supposed to accommodate the pinch bolt.  I rotated the steering wheel to match this notch and the clamp “fell” onto the shaft just like in the dream.

I think God was speaking to me about this.  I Think he gave me the dream to encourage me and to show me the nature of how the two parts would come together.

When I walked around the car seven times, like Joshua marched around Jericho, I felt silly and I wondered if it was doing any good.  Maybe those marching around Jericho also felt silly and wondered if it was doing any good - - yet the walls fell down, and the clamp fell onto the shaft.

The Bible software I use shows me the phrase “seven times” occurs 33 times:  Gen_33:3, Lev_4:6, Lev_4:17, Lev_8:11, Lev_14:7, Lev_14:16, Lev_14:27, Lev_14:51, Lev_16:14, Lev_16:19, Lev_25:8, Lev_26:18, Lev_26:21, Lev_26:24, Lev_26:28, Num_19:4, Jos_6:4, Jos_6:15, 1Ki_18:43, 2Ki_4:35, 2Ki_5:10, 2Ki_5:14, Psa_12:6, Psa_119:164, Pro_24:16, Dan_3:19, Dan_4:16, Dan_4:23, Dan_4:25, Dan_4:32, Mat_18:21, Mat_18:22, Luk_17:4.

FROM PROMISE TO LAND

Psalm 105 speaks of remembering and rejoicing in what the Lord has done.  It speaks of the progress of the Children of Israel from Abraham’s time to the promised land.  He gave the promise to Abraham, Issac and Jacob.  He preserved Israel in the places where they were and in the places where they were to come.  He sent Joseph before them to prepare a place in Egypt.  He brought them to Egypt and developed them into a great number.  He delivered them from slavery.  He brought them to the promised land. 

Promise, Start, Develop, Transition, Delivery

For Israel these elements applied to:
- - The initial stage (the giving of a promise, beginning of a concept)
- - Start of an undertaking (the founding patriarchs)
- - Development of the undertaking (growth in Egypt)
- - Moving of the undertaking toward its purpose (delivery from slavery)
- - Formalizing and establishing the purpose  (bring into the promised land)

Can we look at broad pictures like this and see comparisons in our own lives and families?

- - The initial stage
- - Start of an undertaking
- - Development of the undertaking
- - Moving of the undertaking toward its purpose
- - Formalizing and establishing the purpose

STANDING AGAINST SCORNING

According to Proverbs 21:11:  “When the scorner is punished the simple is made wise:  and when the wise is instructed he receiveth knowledge.”   A scorner is someone who unjustly speaks words of disgust against someone or something else.  He disapproves.  He belittles.  This is not a healthy situation and it is a good thing to correct it.  The scorner needs to be publicly told his words are damaging and are not helpful.  Apparently when this reproof happens the simple person now perceives the scorning for what it is.  When they make this perception - - that scorning is a damaging activity - - they become wiser than they were.  Once someone becomes wise they can increase in knowledge.

Several things happen when you publicly stand against scorning:  a scorning is stopped, exposed for what it is, and people are instructed toward wisdom.  The scorner is also spotlighted for what he is.

WRITE IT DOWN

Sometimes I think what I write is not worth writing if it is not related to Scripture or somehow addressing my relationship with God.  I am tempted to think that I should not write it. 

Yet my innermost thoughts are open to God and he knows most of them are neither related to Scripture nor to Him.  If my innermost thoughts are open to him then whatever I write is even more open because it is recorded, it takes a solid form - - writing does not vanish like thoughts do.  Whatever I am should be as open to me as it is to God.  In other words, I should be able to remind myself of the ground I have covered.  That written thought might serve as a sort of marker or mile post from which I can determine a correction (or confirmation) of the direction my life is taking.  It won’t do to restrain myself if the restraining holds back my development. 

The writing time would be a problem if it encouraged a direction away from God.  But, even then, having it on paper might make the mistake so obvious that it identifies it as something that should be avoided. 

When I re-read these things later I find important markers that help to direct (or redirect) myself.

OLD PRINCIPLES STILL APPLY

When we have a difficulty or question about Scripture what should we do?  We can ask:  what does the Scripture tell us to do (think, act, etc.), what do we want to do (think, act, etc.), and how are the two different?  Then we can ask:  is there an honest way to resolve the differences?  If there is no honest resolution, what are we gong to change; our ways, or the meaning of the Scripture?  This sort of question can come about when we notice the differences between the culture of Biblical times and our present time.

It is not that we should ignore the cultural setting in which God sets forth his principles, but if God has set forth a principle in one culture, and the principle was true (by definition God’s principles are always true) then it will be true in any other culture or time.  The application of the principle may take different forms between cultures.

We cannot change the principle.  If we do we are saying God wrote an irrelevant book:  we are saying sections of it have gone out of date and have lost their meaning.  Therefore we are effectively saying we can determine on our own, and without God’s input, what is the best way for us to act.  If we throw out part of God’s word, what other parts can we throw out?  Which of God’s principles can we selectively disregard?

We do not throw out any part of Scripture.  We ask God for wisdom to know how his principles apply in our times.

POSITIONING

God has provided a certain position for each of us.  It’s as true for us as it is for the big shots.  In 2 Tim 1 we see this example in Paul the apostle’s case.  His positioning came from God through his family, they served God “. . . from [his] forefathers . . .”  His father served God, his Grandfather served God, his nation served God.  Paul grew up in a family that served God. (v3)  Timothy also had a line of faith starting with his Grandmother Lois. (v5)  While many of us do not have this long family tradition, God still cares for us and gives us a position too.

God has a plan for us, a calling which is not according to our works, but according to his own purpose.  God had this plan in place before we ever started to plan our own lives.  It was in place “. . . before the world began. . . .”  Paul was called to be a preacher, apostle, and teacher of the gentiles. (v11)  Timothy had “. . . that good thing . . .” (v13)  God has given you “a good thing” too.

Do we make plans for ourselves which may not be in accordance with God’s plan?  David  tried, he wanted to build the Temple but God wanted his son, Solomon, to build it instead.  What was God’s reason?  As we see in 1Ch_28:3,  "But God said unto me [David], Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood."  Would David pay too much attention to the construction of the building and not to the construction of the nation?  We don’t know.  We know it was not in God’s plan for David.

Some of where we are in life is a result of God’s plan.  The more we have been trying to be sensitive toward God, the more likely we have not disturbed the positioning God has made for us.  Our positioning is close to where it should be.  The more self centered and worldly we have been the more likely we have made the position less effective.

How do we know what God’s plan is for us personally?  By:
- Word of God
- Prayer
- Circumstances
- Other people
- Observation
- Opportunities

SELF-FULFILLING INTRODUCTIONS

I have heard phrases used, particularly contained in PBS programs such as “Nova” or “Front Line”, which I call “self-fulfilling introductions”.  These statements are intended to give an air of established truth to the content that follows them.  The introductory phrases appear to give authority to what comes next, as if to say, “let there be no question about this”.  They provide appearance of a reliable source, albeit an unnamed and unexplained source.  Here are some examples:

 - Research has shown . . .
 - Extraordinary new light indicates . . .
 - Science now knows . . .
 - New evidence has shown . . .
 - There is a new revelation that . . .
 - We now know . . .

One reason for using these phrases may be that the explanation about the nature of the source would be too lengthy to explain in a limited time and would distract from the subject to be presented.  However, there may be other reasons for the self-fulfilling introduction:

- What is to come is really based on theory, not fact.
- The source information does not clearly relate to the presented subject.
- The name of the source might be embarrassing or hard to justify.
- There is really no thorough knowledge about the subject.
- The presentation to follow is intended to argue or favor only one side of an issue that has opposing views.  Example:  Evolution vs. Creation.

Most of the time I like these shows.  If I didn’t like them, I would not watch them.  I do find, however, the pervasive use of the concept of evolution-as-fact annoying.  We must always be careful of what we take for truth and be aware of where it is coming from.  I suggest we modify such self-fulfilling phrases to:


 - Research suggests . . .
 - Extraordinary new light may indicate . . .
 - Science now seems to support . . .
 - New evidence may show . . .
 - There is a new revelation proposing that . . .
 - Some now think . . .

SETTING THE RIGHT COURSE

Consider  2 Tim 3.  These verses written in Scripture centuries ago speak in the current day of some people who are wicked and also are in the church.  It seems to me the list found in these verses can apply equally to the lofty legalist as to the flamboyant charismatic.  It's easy to see the aberrance of some charismatics because they are in the open.  Less apparent are those who have the “form of godliness but deny the power thereof”.  They look good but they aren't good.

When we recognize them we avoid them by our:

- continuing in things learned and assured (proved) (v14)
- learning things having come from good sources (v14)
- life long learning from the Scriptures (v15)

The Scriptures are good for:

- Doctrine  - The teaching of and systematic way of thinking
- Reproof - “You are wrong, stop!  Repent!”
- Correction - “You are going off course.  This is what you must do to correct.”
- Instruction in righteousness – Showing what are the right actions and thoughts

The progression should be as follows:

- First we must know the basic truth – doctrine
- We must stop the wrong activity – reproof
- We must show the way to correct the activity – correction
- We must show the right way to do things – instruction

Here is the Instruction:  2Timothy 3:1 to 7:

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away . . .”

IT’S THE MIDDLEMAN’S JOB

Exo 20:19  “And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”

The people were distancing themselves from God.

1Sam 8:10-11, 18-20:  “And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a KING.  And he said, This will be the manner of the KING that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.  And ye shall cry out in that day because of your KING which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day.  Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a KING over us;  That we also may be like all the nations; and that our KING may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.”  (emphasis added)

When people sought for a king God was displeased with them  They wanted someone to take responsibility of doing the work of governing.  They did not want the responsibility themselves and they apparently did not want to be responsible directly to God.  The government (king) would be the middleman between them and God.  They were distancing themselves from direct relationship with God They wanted to point to the government for the common provision and the common security, they themselves did not want to bother with it.  If there was lawlessness it would be the king’s fault, if there was general immorality it would be the king’s fault.  The king would pay for their health care and for their education.  The king would be responsible for their mental health after earthquakes.

This is a common mark of irresponsibility:  “Let the government do this or that for me . . .”   Or, “It’s not my fault, it’s the government’s fault.”

But people do not want God, they want a king.  “We will not have this man to rule over us . . .” was a cry for distance from their best source of wisdom and strength.

However, God wants each individual within himself to know and obey his law (that is Gods law).  Every man is to know what God’s law is and every man should keep God’s law.  We should do our diligence to hear directly from God.   We can not distance ourselves from responsibility by setting up middlemen.

WHEN IT COMES TO DOUBT

From the first part of Psalm 11 are questions one would ask about raising doubts in a believer (or perhaps it is a question of doubt the believer himself is asking)  The rest of the psalm answers the question (vs 4-7)

We get doubts about what we commonly fear:
- - You should retreat (v1)
- - The wicked are working (v2)
- - They do it in secret, no one sees (v2)
- - If the foundations are destroyed what can the righteous do? (v3)

The answers . . .
- - Got still reigns in heaven (v4)
- - God sees all (v4)
- - God tries everybody, but he hates the wicked (v5)
- - God will punish the wicked (v6)
- - God sees the upright.

GOOD WELLS AND BAD WELLS

From Proverbs 10:32:  “The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness.”  The righteous shows kind consideration when he speaks.  He knows what is acceptable because he has studied the other person and knows something of their state.  He knows how different words would affect him.

The wicked also knows of the other but speaks away from the appropriate answer (froward means away from).  So the wicked shows hurtful consideration, the desire to oppose.

Verse 11:  “The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life, but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked”  A well has an opening from which something must be drawn out.  What good is inside the righteous must be drawn out.  He is not quick with his answers.  When he gives answers they are healthful, as water is healthful.

If there is any healthful thing within the wicked, it is inaccessible because the well is covered.  He does not want to give out health but harm.  Obvious to all who see is the violence that covers his mouth.  It is always on top, always presenting to people.

COURT IS IN SESSION

Psalm 9:7:  “But the Lord shall endure forever:  he hath prepared his throne for judgment.”

I wonder, if man were not sinful would God not have to set up his throne for judgment?  If there were no sin his throne would be needed only for ruling; it would not be needed for discovering sin and pronouncing punishment for the wicked.  But since the wicked exist, God is preparing his throne for a time when they will be brought to account for transgressing his will.  God will outlast any hope of the wicked for covering up, or justifying, or getting past their wicked deeds.  There will be no hope the deeds will be forgotten or overlooked.  From the time a wicked act is performed God’s judgment throne is ready to pronounce a punishment.  Court is in session and the sinner is on the docket.

While the judgment is inevitable we must also remember “. . . the needy shall not always be forgotten:  the expectation of the poor shall not perish forever. . .” as said in v18.  We should consider afresh how we ourselves deserve judgment, but have been excused.  Jesus paid our fines.

TRAINING SPIRITUAL CHILDREN

What do we do to bring up spiritual children?  I think there at least three areas:  Devotions, Training and Example.

Devotions:  When I say devotions I mean reading the Bible as a family, aloud, all together in one place at regular, consistent times.  The Bible is the primary source of our knowledge about who and what and why God is, and what he requires.  There are other means such as at church or Sunday school or TV ministries, but how do you know what they are saying is what the Bible says?  You must read the Bible to know what it says so you can compare it to what the other sources are telling you.  Remember the Bible says, “In the beginning was the Word . . .”

Training:  We can interpret what the Bible is saying to us and our children as we are reading it to them.  We can direct them to other reliable Bible teachers.  We can assure they are among upright, wholesome friends, families and other teachers.  We can oversee what types of media (books, movies, TV, internet, etc.) they consume.  We can encourage them when they demonstrate good character and correct them when they don’t.  We can support them as they engage in activities such as sports, band, theater, etc. and converse with them about their experiences.

Example:  The most effective method is to be a good example.  They will learn as they see us talk among ourselves in the family and with others in public.  They will learn about character as they see our character.  They will learn what is fair and reasonable as they view us being fair and reasonable.  We show them what good works are by doing good works ourselves.  It won’t be so hard to “do as we say” as we ourselves do as we say.  They will learn about giving as they see us giving and as they experience what we give to them.

DRIFTING TRUTH

Proverbs 5:3  “Her mouth [the strange woman] drops as a honeycomb and her mouth is smoother than oil”.  This is how the wisdom of the world sounds, it is sweet and smooth.  It is difficult to overcome because it sounds as if it is good (honey) and it sounds so logical and solid (smoother than oil).  But it is death (v5).  The wisdom of the world is movable (v6).  It has no standard upon which it is based, so it is free to drift in any convenient direction.  When you shine the light of scripture and logic upon it, to show that it is incorrect, it slips aside into avoiding discovery.

The wisdom of the world will cause you to:

-  Give your honor to others (v9) – your sense of worth and dedication will be account to the evolutionists, and not with God’s people or family.

-  Give your years to the cruel (v9) – your time will have vanished among the vitriolic agitators, and not with God’s people or family.

-  Strangers will be filled with your strength (v10) – the materialists will have the effect of your strength and not God’s people or family.

-  Your labors will be in the house of the strangers (v10) – Your labors will be in the house of careerists and not with God’s people or family.

-  Your flesh and body will be consumed – at the end of your life your flesh and body will have been spent for your humanist education, for the vitriolic agitators and wrong-sex proponents, for possessions (many of which will have long since decayed), for your career (which did not further God’s kingdom).

God’s truth does not so shift.

MINING FOR TRUTH

Referring to Proverbs 2:1-5 it seems that it takes a lot of continual effort to get knowledge, understanding and wisdom.  These things don’t come easy and they don’t come quick.  It takes work , and it takes work every day.  You must receive, hide, incline, apply, cry, lift your voice, seek and search.

“Pro 2:1-5  My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; yea, if thou [cry] after knowledge, and [lift] up thy voice for understanding; if thou [seek] her as silver, and [search] for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.”

When you seek for silver and search for hid treasure it is not done in five minutes of idle time before watching a video.  To seek you must decide where to go, you must do diligent research.  You have to determine how your search will be funded.  You must actually go there and methodically comb the area inspecting every rock formation.  You must balance your resources while doing it.  It takes time and it takes resources.  You have to spend something to get something.

So it is we have to spend some time in God’s word to get something out of it.  Seeking through the pages of Scripture brings to us understanding, knowledge, wisdom and is to arrive at the conception of right paths, the right way.  Truth will deliver people who find themselves in the wrong paths.

WHEN DOES “CAUSE AND EFFECT” HAPPEN

By looking at Genesis one I wonder if we can make an observation:  All things that appear to have a cause and effect may not have, or may not always have had, a cause/effect relationship.  God first made the light, then he divided it from the darkness, then he named the darkness “night” and the light “day”,  then the evening and the morning were the first day.  It was after that (three days later, on the forth day) that God created the lights (Sun, Moon, stars) and attached them to the day/night cycle(“rule over the day and over the night”).

- -  There was light without a source for it (Sun, stars).

- - There may have been “day and night” without the rotation of the earth.*

- - Things may become associated into cause and effect after they both are brought into existence:  there was light - - then there were sources for the light - - then the sources were made to “rule” over the light.

Might there be other things that seem to be in a cause and effect relationship which really may not be that way?  Were other energies made before the sources for them came into being?

Is it natural for us, in a human sense, to create “energies” before we create the “sources”?

- - Spirit [goes to] Soul?

- - Idea [goes to] Thought?

- - Feeling [goes to] Thought?

*Was all the light, after the division, on one side of the Earth, and the darkness on the other?  Then the earth rotated to achieve day and night?  Was day and night achieved some other way?

DEVELOPING CHARACTER

Pro 14:8  The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.  - - -  You should understand your way.  You should know and plan for what you are going to do and how and when you are going to do it.

Pro 14:12  There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.  - - -  Many ways seem good, so in your plans make sure you are going where God wants, and not some other way.  God’s way is always safest.

Pro 14:15  The simple believes every word: but the prudent man looks well to his going.  - - -  Think about the direction you go and be wary of your counselors.  Every word of counsel should be examined and re-examined.  All should contribute to the building of God’s kingdom.

Pro 14:18  The simple inherit folly: but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.  - - -  The simple inherit folly because they have not made any plans.  They get whatever Satan brings their way.  The prudent see their plans unaffected by evil; they get them accomplished.

Pro 14:23  In all labor there is profit: but the talk of the lips tends only to penury.  - - -  Plans are good, but if you only talk or write of them, and never work them, they are useless.  You have to take action on your plans adjusting them along the way.

Character and righteousness do not just happen.  They are built step by step on a daily basis.  They do not exist in us because of some naturally inborn, unchangeable part.  They are not like our body type that has been given us from birth.  When we need them, if we have not been developing them, they will not be there.

GOD’S WORDS THROUGH MEN

We endanger ourselves when we think too much of the men who physically penned the Scriptures.  Biblical critics would tell us the men who wrote the Scriptures were captives of their time.  They ignore the possibility that God could use men to capture the Creator’s timeless truths.  Some would say the present time represents a different culture than the past so we should not apply historical ethical writings to ourselves.  Behind the issue is the assumption that Paul, not God, was the author of these words.  Therefore, some would say, we do not have to accept them as scripture because God did not write them. 

But we know the words on every page of the Bible are inspired by God, they are all his words.  How did the men that God used to choose the canonical scriptures choose this or that letter from Paul as authentic?  Was it not because Paul wrote it and it was very obvious to these men that Paul was God’s man (these men having lived closer to the time Paul actually worked and lived)?  Maybe it was because of who the authors were - - Apostles of or “blood relatives” of the Lord Jesus.

Biblical days were days when public discourse was oral.  Even written words were not dominant for most because the printing press was not yet invented.  All discourse tended to be local.  Yet the fame of Paul was widespread.  His fame, if not a sign of God’s working through Paul, at least it is a sign of the magnitude of his importance.  The words were copied and re-copied.  There had to be something more behind them than simply the letter of a churchman.

It is inspiring that the Bible should come from God as a collection of books written by men because, as God has worked among men in the past for the purpose of inspiring us, so he today works to inspire us in the Church - - by men of the present.  Then God was working in real live people who were doing things among their contemporaries.  They wrote it down as, or soon after, it happened.  If you were there, God was working among people you could have heard with your own ears, or touched. 

Although what churchmen of today write will not be in the Bible, God is working still among the people of the Church.

VITRIOL ON POSTS OR COMMENTS

While viewing a Pro-Trump site I saw some posts and comments that were condescending and acid in their tone.  I was sad to see vitriolic language used by anti-Trump people  I was sadder still to see the vitriolic language used at a pro-Trump site.  Vitriol is a sign of rude, insensitive caustic people who seem to want to do damage.  The language is not a simple expression of disagreement but is a indication of intent to embarrass and harm.  It fails to influence the targeted blogger or poster to either moderate the author’s opinion or lessen his resistance to the ‌commentator‌’s opinion.  It rather fortifies his opposition to the commentator‌’s opinion.

Vitriol is more like a declaration of war than a wish to achieve either an change or to reach a mutual agreement.  Vitriol will cause you to isolate yourself from the ones or the situation you wish to influence.  You will show yourself to be a disrespectful person of low manners and little influence.

Why would any other wish to even hear, let alone be influenced, by a rude, angry person?

To get results it is far better to assume the people reading your words are:  intelligent and can understand your point and might decide to make some change from what they think.  While commenting be courteous and assume they will kind enough to realize you both differ and respect you for sentiments.  Don’t act the opposite way yourself by being discourteous and disrespectful.