Hunger and Thirst Day #5

Jesus knew that His mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture He said, "I am thirsty." A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to His lips. When Jesus had tasted it, He said, "It is finished!" Then He bowed His head and released His spirit.
--- John

But our mission is NOT finished, so why do we give up our spirit so quickly?

Wednesday's Wonder #5

Tuesday with Jesus #5

'See, you have been made well! Do not sin any more, so that nothing worse happens to you.' -- John

I'm pretty sure that is a saying of Jesus that few believers [if any] actually believes.

I mean the Greek in that verse has 'mēketi' - an indeclinable adverb meaning 'no longer, no more, not hereafter' [Thayer] and 'hamartane' - a verb that is present tense, active voice, imperative mood, second person singular meaning 'to miss the mark; to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honor, to do or go wrong' [Thayer again]

I guess because the imperative is singular, it could have been meant only for this man [and again maybe only for the woman caught in adultery later in John, which has the same Greek construction.]

Do you think Jesus meant it just for these two? Now, we all know that most preachers say we will all continue to sin -- so did Jesus mis-speak to these two or are they exceptions? Or -- did Jesus really mean it and -- at least by inference - extend the command to each of us who actually believe him?

As usal, you get to decide for yourself.

Monday's Madness #5

USA
Politics 2008 [or not]

Complete madness:
According to Fox News:

1.Federal agents have disrupted a plot to assassinate Barack Obama and shoot or decapitate dozens of black students in Tennessee, the ATF said Monday.
In court records unsealed Monday, federal agents said they broke up plans to rob a gun store and target a predominantly African-American high school by two neo-Nazi skinheads. Agents said the skinheads did not identify the school by name. [Story here.]

2. Ghosts, goblins, gargoyles . . . and Sarah Palin hanging by a noose?
That's the latest imagery of the Republican vice presidential candidate and her running mate John McCain on display at a West Hollywood home that has been decorated for Halloween.
[Story here.]

Are the two stories about equal levels of depravity?

Are the two stories about equal levels of madness?

Yep, I think they are, but ...

you get to decide for yourself.

Sunday's Song #5

Awake O' Sleeper

Shabath #4

[A psalm. A song to be sung on the Sabbath Day.]
It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to the Most High.
It is good to proclaim Your unfailing love in the morning, Your faithfulness in the evening,
accompanied by the ten-stringed harp and the melody of the lyre.
You thrill me, LORD, with all You have done for me! I sing for joy because of what You have done.
O LORD, what great works You do! And how deep are Your thoughts.
Only a simpleton would not know, and only a fool would not understand this:
Though the wicked sprout like weeds and evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever.
But You, O LORD, will be exalted forever.
Your enemies, LORD, will surely perish; all evildoers will be scattered.
But You have made me as strong as a wild ox. You have anointed me with the finest oil.
My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies; my ears have heard the defeat of my wicked opponents.
But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon.
For they are transplanted to the LORD's own house. They flourish in the courts of our God.
Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green.
They will declare, "The LORD is just! He is my rock! There is no evil in Him!"

--- Psalm 92

Hunger and Thirst Day #4

"Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater [works] than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it."
--- John


To hunger and thirst for the faith that believes and lives and trusts these words -- better yet: to actually have/live the faith and be so faithful as to believe and to live and to trust these words.

Wednesday's Wonder #4

Is it any wonder that so few take the Bible's story seriously?




Yeah, that may be harsh, but this kind of minimizing does not really help get the good news spread in a culture that assumes it knows all about it already.

And that may well be the problem: the common understanding of the good news is way too common and not really good news to anyone anymore.

Tuesday with Jesus #4

"I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

Today, Tuesday, October 21, 2008 is Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity
-- http://www.myspace.com/silenced12273

Monday's Madness #4

It would be true madness if they did not agree on this ...



Let us pray that whoever is elected lives up to his answer to this question.

Sunday's Song #4

... not quoted directly from the bible ...



but.-- just might fill in some of the blanks
... especially if you believe Jesus was truly and fully human
-- just like you and me

--- kinda scary ...

Shabath #3

Today is the day the Lord has made -- Shabath Sukkot

"And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the people of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month and for seven days is the Feast of Booths to the LORD. On the first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. For seven days you shall present food offerings to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall hold a holy convocation and present a food offering to the LORD. It is a solemn assembly; you shall not do any ordinary work. These are the appointed feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim as times of holy convocation, for presenting to the LORD food offerings, burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its proper day, besides the LORD's Sabbaths and besides your gifts and besides all your vow offerings and besides all your freewill offerings, which you give to the LORD. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the LORD seven days. On the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest. And you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. You shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.' Thus Moses declared to the people of Israel the appointed feasts of the LORD. "

--- Leviticus

Hunger and Thirst Day #3

Some are not even up to the level of being just “poor”:

The poorest of the poor - those who DO NOT have the resources to live through today into tomorrow - number about 450 million on this planet. That’s 450,000,000 out of more than 6,562,000,000 - roughly 7% of the population of the planet.

What’s the difference between these 450 million and the millions directly above them - the “poorer of the poor” I guess???

According to an Indian economist named Balla, the difference is 29 CENTS a day!!!

29 CENTS a DAY!!!!!!!!

Because Jesus is the one expected and came so that the blind see, the lame walk, the sick are healed, the dead raised and the POOR are given the good news, shouldn’t we be helping these poorest up to at least the level of being just POOR?

Got any loose change in your pocket/purse? It actually can help to fill the DAILY need for a little more than $130.5 Million needed for them to live through to tomorrow.

Harvest Hope, here in SC, needs "funds, food and prayers" to help feed the part of those 450 million around us here in the Columbia area.

REMEMBER: Jesus did a lot more than pray for those hungering and thirsting.

Wednesday's Wonder #3

... when will we ever learn ...

Tuesday with Jesus #3

... even if someone rises from the dead ...

“If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”

So …

What are some of the implications of this statement?

What does it mean to “listen to”? - Clue: Gen. 3:17 and Deut. 6:4

How can someone “listen to” Moses and the Prophets today?

• Moses = Torah = Pentateuch = Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
• Prophets = Nevi’im = Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

Oh yeah, … Who rose from the dead?

Did he (btw: though the words seem to come out of Abraham’s mouth, Jesus was teaching this parable) really mean this for us?

Uh, … yep, I think so … actually, I’m 100% sure that Jesus meant it for us.

Monday's Madness #3

A Modern Parable ...



from Desiring God Ministries

It is madness to try to be two different people.

Sunday's Song #3

Preacher told me last Sunday mornin`
Son, you better start livin` right
You need to quit the women and whiskey
And carrying on all night

Don`t you wanna hear him call your name
When you`re standin` at the pearly gates
I told the preacher, "Yes I do"
But I hope they don`t call today
I ain`t ready

Everybody wants to go to heaven
Have a mansion high above the clouds
Everybody want to go to heaven
But nobody want to go now

Said preacher maybe you didn`t see me
Throw an extra twenty in the plate
There`s one for everything I did last night
And one to get me through today
Here`s a ten to help you remember
Next time you got the good Lord`s ear
Say I`m comin` but there ain`t no hurry
I`m havin` fun down here
Don`t you know that

Everybody wants to go to heaven
Get their wings and fly around
Everybody want to go to heaven
But nobody want to go now

Someday I want to see those streets of gold in my halo
But I wouldn`t mind waitin` at least a hundred years or so

Everybody wanna go to heaven
It beats the other place there ain`t no doubt
Everybody wanna go to heaven
But nobody wanna go now

Everybody wanna go to heaven
Hallelujah, let me hear you shout
Everybody wanna go to heaven
But nobody wanna go now
I think I speak for the crowd

So ...

How'd y'all like the advert to help recover from "the night before"? :-)

Anyway ...

Do ya think everybody wants to go to heaven? Maybe so, but maybe Kenny is right, not yet and not on God's terms -- yeah, the doesn't say exactly that but y'all know it's true anyway.

Partly, maybe, it sounds like the heaven he's singing about -- the one that's being preached about at least by default -- doesn't sound too different from the fun parts of "here and now," to wit:

"Have a mansion high above the clouds ..."

"Get their wings and fly around ..."

"... those streets of gold in my halo ..."

Sounds more like the prosperity gospel than the gospel of Jesus - at least the goal seems that way.

I have serious problems with a very eisogesic interpretation of a [very] few references the bible makes to a "new heaven and a new earth." And, hey, the wing thing isn't even in the bible. I think we ought to get a lot more real about heaven and what the bible actually DOES say about it and about the final destination of believers -- it ain't heaven like Kenny sings about -- it's not heaven at all.

Shabath #2

Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, then he said to them, "This is what the LORD meant: Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning." So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and it did not become foul nor was there any worm in it. Moses said, "Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. "Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, there will be none." It came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. Then the LORD said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions?

--- Exodus

How long indeed?

Hunger and Thirst Day #2

"The sons of Israel said to them, 'Would that we had died by the LORD'S hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.' Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.' So Moses and Aaron said to all the sons of Israel, 'At evening you will know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt; and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, for He hears your grumblings against the LORD; and what are we, that you grumble against us?' Moses said, 'This will happen when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening, and bread to the full in the morning; for the LORD hears your grumblings which you grumble against Him. And what are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against the LORD.' Then Moses said to Aaron, 'Say to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, 'Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your grumblings.'' It came about as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel; speak to them, saying, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'' So it came about at evening that the quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew evaporated, behold, on the surface of the wilderness there was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground. When the sons of Israel saw it, they said to one another, 'What is it?' For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, 'It is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded, 'Gather of it every man as much as he should eat; you shall take an omer apiece according to the number of persons each of you has in his tent.'' The sons of Israel did so, and some gathered much and some little." --- Bible, Exodus

"For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." --- Bible, John

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, ... I have come down from heaven" --- Bible, John

Wednesday's Wonder #2

Tuesday with Jesus #2

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me."

"Go and do the same thing."

Monday's Madness #2

Campaign 2008

After today there are 28 days until November 4.

The mud is flying, the lies are both subtle and bold [decide for yourself which is worse] and the campaigns are resorting to their respective "scorched earth" policies."

And I have to ask -- even though the civil religion of the US ["Judeo-Christianity" so-called] says that voting is not just a right but an obligation if one wants to be allowed voice to complain about the result. Why is not voting -- especially because of the resulting association with one liar or another -- so akin to becoming voiceless.

Not voting is just as much a vote as a 'Present' vote in the halls of our representative assemblies, local, state and national. If an assemblyman, a representative or a senator does not lose his voice in future discussion -- even about the same issue -- why do the guardians of the civil religion not accord the same respect to the citizens who choose not to vote for a "lesser of two evils" as so many as want to say?

So I now say, along with a guy I respect quite a bit, "Stop forming inappropriate relationships with unbelievers. Can right and wrong be partners? Can light have anything in common with darkness? Can Christ agree with the devil? Can a believer share life with an unbeliever? Can God's temple contain false gods? Clearly, we are the temple of the living God. As God said, 'I will live and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.' The Lord says, 'Get away from unbelievers. Separate yourselves from them. Have nothing to do with anything unclean. Then I will welcome you.' The Lord Almighty says, 'I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters.' "

Or is that too strict?

Sunday's Song #2

Don't Think I Don't Think About It



I left out in a cloud of taillights and dust
Swore I wasn't coming back, said I'd had enough
Saw you in the rear view standing fading from my life
But I wasn't turning around, no not this time but

Chorus:
Don't Think I Don't Think About It
Don't think I don't have regrets
Don't think it don't get to me
Between the work and the hurt and the whiskey
Don't think I don't wonder 'bout
Could've been, should'a been all worked out
I know what I felt and I know what i said but
Don't Think I Don't Think About It

When we make choices we gotta live with them
Heard you found a real good man and you married him
I wonder if sometimes I cross your mind
Where would we be today if I never drove that car away

Don't Think I Don't Think About It
Don't think I don't have regrets
Don't think it don't get to me
Between the work and the hurt and the whiskey
Don't think I don't wonder 'bout
Could've been, should'a been all worked out
I know what I felt and I know what i said but
Don't Think I Don't Think About It


Don't Think I Don't Think about it

Don't Think I Don't Think About It
Don't think I don't have regrets
Don't think it don't get to me
Between the work and the hurt and the whiskey
Don't think I don't wonder 'bout
Could've been, should'a been all worked out
I know what I felt and I know what i said but
Don't Think I Don't Think About It

Don't Think I Don't
Don't Think I Don't



How much time do we spend thinking about and even living in our pasts?

Isn't this a song about doing exactly that?

Why are we mesmerized by our pasts, whether we admit to regrets or not?

Why does anyone who "lives for today" live so much with the past?

Should we rather live than IN the present?

Yeah, yeah, I know we it is through our past that we get to our present and if we actually do forget the lessons of the past we will repeat them. But there is something very tiring about carrying so much baggage because a past is now a burden.

"My sin is ever before me," says David, but he is not carrying it forward with him -- he has learned the lesson, it has become part of him -- part of his present and requires no effort because it has been accepted and integrated into who David is now. He knows himself to be a forgiven sinner who has accepted his sinfulness and forgiven-ness.

Maybe our baggage is really unaccepted regret, guilt from mistakes and sin -- really an unwillingness to admit who we are now because we would rather change the past ...

Don't Think I Don't Think About It

Hunger and Thirst Day #1

Matthew 5:6 [YLT}

"Happy those hungering and thirsting for the righteousness -- because they shall be filled"

Greek:
[WH] - μακαριοι οι πεινωντες και διψωντες την δικαιοσυνην οτι αυτοι χορτασθησονται
[TR] - μακαριοι οι πεινωντες και διψωντες την δικαιοσυνην οτι αυτοι χορτασθησονται
[Byz] - μακαριοι οι πεινωντες και διψωντες την δικαιοσυνην οτι αυτοι χορτασθησονται

Forty (40) English translations do not translate the Greek definite article "την" [the] that comes before the Greek word translated "righteousness" or "justice."

Why is this so?

I don't know the ins and outs of Greek grammar but I do have some understanding of English grammar and I have the wild notion that there may be similarities. So, why is the definite article NOT translated here? In English, the definite article serves a purpose. When we are talking about one thing in particular, we use the definite article 'the.' I have read that in Greek, "the definite article is generally used to indicate a specific thing or set of things (e.g. "the book" as opposed to "a book," etc). There is also an important reflexive use of the definite article, in which it is used in a reflexive sense to indicate someone or something that belongs to, has some relation to, or is a physical part of the subject (e.g. when the Greek literally says "the boy reads the book," it may actually mean "the boy reads his book"). The context will determine when the definite article is being used in this reflexive sense."

So I gotta ask any Greek scholars if the context of Matthew 5:6 indicates whether this is a reflexive use [one's own righteousness/justice/justification] or the identification of a specific thing - the only righteousness/justice that is real - God's?

Wednesday's Wonder #1