Wednesday's Wonder #14

Tuesday with Jesus #14

Yeshua said to him, "If you are serious about reaching the goal, go and sell your possessions, give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me!"
-- Matthew

Yeshua said to them, "Come, follow me, and I will make you into fishers for men!"

Yeshua, looking at him, felt love for him and said to him, "You're missing one thing. Go, sell whatever you own, give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me!"
-- Mark

On hearing this Yeshua said to him, "There is one thing you still lack. Sell whatever you have, distribute the proceeds to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me!"
-- Luke

Yeshua said to him, "If I want him to stay on until I come, what is it to you? You, follow me!"
-- John

Monday's Madness #14

By now just about everyone has seen or heard about this story:

"A man plotting revenge against his ex-wife dressed up like Santa, went to his former in-laws' Christmas Eve party, shot at partygoers and destroyed his former in-laws' house with a homemade device that sprayed flammable liquid, slaughtering at least nine people before killing himself hours later. Bruce Pardo, 45, saw his marriage fall apart this year when his wife discovered he had abandoned a brain-damaged son years earlier but continued to claim the boy as a tax write-off, the L.A. Times reported."

So how do we process this insanity - and it's insanity on so many levels.

Do we blame God for not being there to prevent these wrongs?

Do we thank God that the man finally took himself out of our world?

Do we call on the sovereignty of God as ordaining these tragedies for His glory from before time began?

Do we just throw our hands up in the air and wonder, "what's this world coming to?" [Though we know it's coming to no good.]

Or ...

Do we actually look at ourselves as part of a broken sinful world where broken sinful people do terrible things to one another because we who are the Body of the Christ are NOT acting at all like the Christ?

Sunday's Song #14

At some point, we must all come to the end of our claims of 'innocence' --



Remember when the days were long
And rolled beneath a deep blue sky
Didn't have a care in the world
With mommy and daddy standing by
When happily ever after fails
And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers dwell on small details
Since daddy had to fly
But I know a place where we can go
That's still untouched by man
Well sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind
You can lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
O beautiful, for spacious skies
But now those skies are threatening
They're beating plowshares into swords
For this tired old man that we elected king
Armchair warriors often fail
And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers clean up all details
Since daddy had to lie
But I know a place where we can go
And wash away this sin
Well sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair spill all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
Who knows how long this will last
Now we've come so far, so fast
But, somewhere back there in the dust
That same small town in each of us
I need to remember this
So baby give me just one kiss
And let me take a long last look
Before we say good bye
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence

Shabath #13

Whether they are remembered on the 27th, 28th or 29th, they are now at rest having been the very first to suffer death because of Jesus of Nazareth, Messiah, Priest, King, and Lord.

Meanwhile, when Herod realized that the Magi had tricked him, he was furious and gave orders to kill all the boys in and around Beit-Lechem who were two years old or less, calculating from the time the Magi had told him. In this way were fulfilled the words spoken through the prophet Yirmeyahu, "A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and lamenting loudly. It was Rachel sobbing for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no longer alive."
-- Matthew

Hunger and Thirst Day

A Merry and Blessed Nativity Day - 2009

Wednesday's Wonder #13

Tuesday with Jesus #13

Let's see ...

December 23rd, hmmmm ...

or let's just say 2 days before his birth ...

so, spending this Tuesday with Jesus as he is about to enter the world as a completely helpless and defenseless baby ...

what goes through a babe's mind at that time -- maybe nothing -- I surely don't remember

but what would you say to such a one as would be your savior --- as the two people who actually were that this penultimate day before birth --

what did Mary think about this child conceived of the Holy Spirit because she found favor with God -- but the whole town knew she hadn't been married when she got pregnant -- an unwed teenage mother -- the town gossips were busy

what did Joseph think as he approached Bethlehem ad looked for a place to stay that would give his wife and the child he was told about a safe place to be born -- a child he was told would "save his people from their sins" -- he married her anyway -- now the town gossiped about him, too

now ... in the days before he is born, his family must get ready for birth shrouded in shame, happening in homelessness, about to be visited by fear, violence, and flight ... a birth that will change their lives forever

and this Jesus, to be born in a day or two, helpless and defenseless but loved ... will grow up to die helpless and defenseless on an execution stake -- abandoned by almost everyone, defended by a thief being executed with him, ...

trusting God completely -- at both ends of his life

Monday's Madness #13

From ABC-13 News:

MACCLESFIELD, N.C. (AP) -- An autopsy report shows a 13-year-old boy left tied to a tree for 18 hours in June died of dehydration and heat stroke.

WRAL-TV reports that Tyler McMillan's autopsy shows his body temperature was 105.6 degrees when he was taken to the hospital. Tests showed a pattern of dehydration.

Authorities say Tyler McMillan's parents found him unresponsive on June 12 after he had been tied to a tree overnight as punishment. His father, Brice McMillan, and stepmother, Sandra McMillan, have been charged with murder and felony child abuse.

The autopsy also found Tyler had insect bites on his arms and legs, bruises on his buttocks and legs that may have been caused by a rod-like instrument and marks on his wrists and ankles consistent with plastic ties.

So, usually Psalm 13 is the primary source for justifying the physical [and all too often extreme] punishement of children. While no one [I hope] would say that the abuse perpetrated against the 13-year-old in the story above is justified, I have to ask: Does Psalm 13 really say that and justify any kind of physical child abuse?

The Hebrew word used in the Psalm [and 191 times in the Hebrew Scriptures] is šēḇeṭ. A masculine noun meaning a rod, a scepter, and a tribe. As a rod, it represents [among other things] a common tool used as a shepherd's staff.

Does a shepherd beat his sheep with his staff? I don't think so.

I would guess that a shepherd would apply his staff to his sheep to bring then back into the flock after wandering off -- firmly for sure -- but also not a beating of any kind.

I think it's called discipline [you know: 'training'] -- kinda related to disciple-ing -- making disciples, training them, you know: "teaching them to observe all that I have commanded" -- just like he said at the end of Matthew.

Sunday's Song #13

No I ain't had nothing to drink
I knew thats probably what you'd think
If I dropped by this time of night
Remember way back when
I promised you I'd drop in
At one of those meetings down at the Y

Well, they started talkin bout steps you take
Mistakes you make
The hearts you break
And the price you pay
I almost walked away

You could hear a pin drop
When this old man
Stood up and said I'm gonna' say it again
Like I do every week
For those who don't know me

It's the simple things in life
Like the kids at home and a loving wife
That you miss the most, when you lose control
And everything you love starts to disappear
The devil takes your hand and says no fear
Have another shot, just one more beer
Yah, I've been there, that's why I'm here

This ole boy stood up in the aisle
Said he'd been living a life of denial
And he cried as he talked about wasted years
I couldn't believe what I heard
It was my life word for word
And all of the sudden it was clear

It's the simple things in life
Like the kids at home and a loving wife
That you miss the most, when you lose control
And everything you love starts to disappear
The devil takes your hand and says no fear
Have another shot, just one more beer
Yah, I've been there, that's why I'm here

I know for us it may be too late
But it would mean the world to me
If you were there when I stand to say
It's the simple things in life
Like the kids at home and a loving wife
That you miss the most, when you lose control
And everything you love starts to disappear
The devil takes your hand and says no fear
Have another shot, just one more beer
Yah, I've been there, that's why I'm here
Oh, I've been there, that's why I'm here

Shabath #12

Hunger and Thirst Day #12

And the lyrics -- slightly edited to reflect a certain man's reality:

Here we are
What is left of a husband and a wife four good kids
Who have a way of gettin on with their lives
I'm not old but I'm getting a whole lot older every day
It's too late to keep from goin' crazy
I got to get away

The reasons that I can't stay don't have a thing to do with being in love
And I understand that lovin a man shouldn't have to be this rough
You ain't the only one who feels like this world left you far behind
I don't know why you gotta be angry all the time

Our kids are strong the spittin images of when we were young
I hope someday they can see past what we had become
I remember every time I said I'd never leave
But what I can't live with is memories of the way we used to be

The reasons that I can't stay don't have a thing to do with being in love
And I understand that lovin a man shouldn't have to be this rough
You ain't the only one who feels like this world left you far behind
I don't know why I gotta be angry all the time

Just ten years have came and went since I walked out of your door
I never quite made it back to the one I was before
And God it hurts me to think of you
For the light in your eyes was gone sometimes
I don't know why this old world can't leave well enough alone

The reasons that I can't stay don't have a thing to do with being in love
And I understand that lovin a man shouldn't have to be this rough
You ain't the only one who feels like this world left you far behind
I don't know why we gotta be angry all the time

So, ... I post this mostly as a confession.

Wednesday's Wonder #12

Tuesday with Jesus #12

Jesus was passing through Jericho. A man named Zacchaeus was there. He was the director of tax collectors, and he was rich. He tried to see who Jesus was. But Zacchaeus was a small man, and he couldn't see Jesus because of the crowd. So Zacchaeus ran ahead and climbed a fig tree to see Jesus, who was coming that way. When Jesus came to the tree, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, come down! I must stay at your house today." Zacchaeus came down and was glad to welcome Jesus into his home. But the people who saw this began to express disapproval. They said, "He went to be the guest of a sinner." Later, at dinner, Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Lord, ... "

--- Luke

[BTW: fill in your own words at the ellipsis in "Lord, ... "]

Monday's Madness #12

Madness Avoidance

Be careful, ... very, very very careful!



You have been warned!

Sunday's Song #12

Shabath #11

At about that time Jesus was walking through some grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began breaking off some heads of grain and eating them [Leviticus 19]. But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested,

Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.

Jesus said to them,

Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He went into the house of God, and he and his companions broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. And haven’t you read in the law of Moses that the priests on duty in the Temple may work on the Sabbath? I tell you, there is one here who is even greater than the Temple! But you would not have condemned my innocent disciples if you knew the meaning of this Scripture:

I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.

For the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”

Then Jesus went over to their synagogue, where he noticed a man with a deformed hand. The Pharisees asked Jesus,

Does the law permit a person to work by healing on the Sabbath?

(They were hoping he would say yes, so they could bring charges against him.) And he answered,

If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you work to pull it out? Of course you would. And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath.

Then he said to the man,

Hold out your hand.

So the man held out his hand, and it was restored, just like the other one!

--- Matthew

Hunger and Thirst Day #11

St. Augustine: from a Christmas sermon:

And so, whatever else there is to be said regarding these hidden treasures among God’s mysteries, this is for others who are more diligent and more worthy than we, to bring out. At all events, we have spoken on this subject to the best of our ability, as the Lord assisted us and inspired us, and as the limitations of time permitted us. If there be anyone among you who has a profounder grasp of this, let him knock at the door of Him from whom we, too, receive what we are able to grasp, what we are able to say. But this do keep in mind before all else – you must not lose your composure over matters in Sacred Scripture which you do not yet understand; and when you do understand them, you must not feel conceit. What you do not understand, threat with reverence and be patient; and what you do understand cherish and keep. (s. 51.35)

Wednesday's Wonder #11

Tuesday with Jesus #11

From KansasBob:

Pride is not an option for a believer.. and neither is humility. We can either clothe ourselves with humility or find God humbling us.. and the latter often resembles humiliation. So what does humility look like? Maybe it looks like love? How about this definition?

Humility is patient, humility is kind and is not jealous; humility does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Humility never fails.

Read the whole post here.

Monday's Madness #11

Clearly qualifying for today's madness, this is actually from NEXT Monday's edition, already published, and just so wrong. The opening above the by-line is: "Opponents of gay marriage often cite Scripture. But what the Bible teaches about love argues for the other side."

Yeah, riiiiiiiiiiiight!!

Okay, so check these links out:

http://www.robgagnon.net/NewsweekMillerHomosexResp.htm

http://insightscoop.typepad.com/2004/2008/12/newsweeks-weak-arguments-against-real-marriage-for-gay-marriage.html

http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2007/mlowery_homosexuality1_jun07.asp

http://insightscoop.typepad.com/2004/2008/12/a-little-bit-more-on-thatthingin-newsweek.html

Bock's Blog

Frank Turk at Teampyro

Sunday's Song #11

Shabath #10

Hunger and Thirst Day #10

Lord, may I hunger and thirst for this wisdom in every day of life that you give me.

The 92 year old, petite, well-poised lady was fully dressed each morning by 8 a.m., with her hair fashionably coiffed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind. Today was a big day in her life, the day she was moving to a nursing home, for her husband of nearly 70 years had recently passed away, making the move necessary.

After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home,she smiled sweetly when told her room was finally ready. As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, a male nurse provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. "I love it," she stated emphatically. The male nurse replied "But Mrs. Jones, you haven't even seen it yet."

"That doesn't have anything to do with it," she replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged...it's how I arrange my mind. I've already decided to love it...It's a decision I make each morning when I wake up. I have a choice. I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with parts of my body that no longer work or I can get out of bed and be thankful to God for the ones that do. Each day is a gift from the Lord, and as long as my eyes are open I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I have storied away just for a day like this in my life."

Old age you see is like a bank account...you withdraw from it what you've put in. So my advice to you during this holiday season would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories now. You'll need them later.

-- HT: BW3

Wednesday's Wonder #10

Tuesday with Jesus #10

About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?" Jesus called a little child to Him and put the child among them. Then He said, "I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on My behalf is welcoming Me. But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in Me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea."
--- Matthew

One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so He could lay His hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering Him. But Jesus said, "Let the children come to Me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children." And He placed His hands on their heads and blessed them before He left.

--- Matthew

Oh, Mark tells the same story this way:

One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so He could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering Him. When Jesus saw what was happening, He was angry with His disciples. He said to them, "Let the children come to Me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it." Then He took the children in His arms and placed His hands on their heads and blessed them.

And Luke's version agrees:

One day some parents brought their little children to Jesus so He could touch and bless them. But when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering Him. Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, "Let the children come to Me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it."

"The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, "Praise God for the Son of David." But the leaders were indignant. They asked Jesus, "Do You hear what these children are saying?" "Yes," Jesus replied. "Haven't you ever read the Scriptures? For they say,

'You have taught children and infants to give You praise.'"

--- Matthew

Monday's Madness #10

The Ethics of American Youth - 2008
[Summary from the Josephson Institute]
Survey of teens reveals entrenched habits of dishonesty — stealing, lying, and cheating rates climb to alarming rates
Josephson Institute's 2008 Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth is based on a survey of nearly 30,000 students in high schools across the U.S. The results paint a troubling picture of our future politicians and parents, cops and corporate executives, and journalists and generals.
STEALING. In bad news for business, more than one in three boys (35 percent) and one-fourth of the girls (26 percent) — a total of 30 percent overall — admitted stealing from a store within the past year. In 2006 the overall theft rate was 28 percent (32 percent males, 23 percent females).

* Students who attend private secular and religious schools were less likely to steal, but still the theft rate among non-religious independent school students was more than one in five (21 percent) while 19 percent who attend religious schools also admitted stealing something from a store in the past year.
* Honors students (21 percent), student leaders (24 percent), and students involved in youth activities like the YMCA and school service clubs (27 percent) were less likely to steal, but still more than one in five committed theft.
* Twenty-three percent said they stole something from a parent or other relative (the same as 2006) and 20 percent confessed they stole something from a friend. Boys were nearly twice as likely to steal from a friend as girls (26 percent to 14 percent).

LYING. More than two of five (42 percent) said that they sometimes lie to save money. Again, the male-female difference was significant: 49 percent of the males, 36 percent of the females. In 2006, 39 percent said they lied to save money (47 percent males, 31 percent females).

* Thirty-nine percent of students in private religious schools admitted to lying as did 35 percent of the students attending private non-religious schools.
* More than eight in ten students (83 percent) from public schools and religious private schools confessed they lied to a parent about something significant. Students attending non-religious independent schools were somewhat less likely to lie to parents (78 percent).

CHEATING. Cheating in school continues to be rampant and it’s getting worse. A substantial majority (64 percent) cheated on a test during the past year (38 percent did so two or more times), up from 60 percent and 35 percent, respectively, in 2006. There were no gender differences on the issue of cheating on exams.

* Students attending non-religious independent schools reported the lowest cheating rate (47 percent) while 63 percent of students from religious schools cheated.
* Responses about cheating show some geographic disparity: Seventy percent of the students residing in the southeastern U.S. admitted to cheating, compared to 64 percent in the west, 63 percent in the northeast, and 59 percent in the midwest.
* More than one in three (36 percent) said they used the Internet to plagiarize an assignment. In 2006 the figure was 33 percent.

Worse than it appears? [And this is the madness part.]
As bad as these numbers are, it appears they understate the level of dishonesty exhibited by America’s youth. More than one in four (26 percent) confessed they lied on at least one or two questions on the survey. Experts agree that dishonesty on surveys usually is an attempt to conceal misconduct.
Despite these high levels of dishonesty, the respondents have a high self-image when it comes to ethics. A whopping 93 percent said they were satisfied with their personal ethics and character and 77 percent said that when it comes to doing what is right, "I am better than most people I know."