tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54179683898077608792024-03-05T02:39:29.314-08:00Mamalenas PorchChatting over green tea and brown rice, on the goodness of our Father and other lesser things.mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-21841240759038096572016-06-11T13:14:00.003-07:002016-06-11T13:14:50.360-07:00Anger<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is not a new post... It is one I found while looking for something else. Since changing computers, everything is filed in a rather random way which I don't like on my new MAC....so as I find things I have written, I plan to post them here even if the dates are inaccurate... just so I can find them again. I think I might have written this ten years ago...because it has been at least 10 years that I have been deliberately "dropping anger" and receiving what comes from the hand of God. <br />
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I also mention my goal to "challenge the falacious assumption", without really clarifying what I mean by that. What I mean is that often conclusions are based on false assumptions. Statements are made, which would be true if the assumption they were based on were true...but it's not.... Like, affordable housing will solve the problem of people living in a tent city at City Hall. It won't...because there are large variety of reasons that people are indigent, not just one. (this is just one current example...of many possible....but I'm sure, at the time of writing, I was thinking more of assumptions about the nature of God....than current events. Anyhow...here is the post, just as relevant to me now as then.<br />
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<span class="s1">Several times lately the words of a long forgotten pre-school song from when our kids were toddlers have come back to me. I remember thinking that they were silly words for little children as they were unlikely to ever understand the meaning.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Root them out, Get them gone,</span></div>
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<span class="s1">All the little bunnies in the fields of corn</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Anger, jealousy, malice and pride,</span></div>
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<span class="s1">They shall never in my heart abide.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Isn't it interesting that what we learn by rote as children sometimes comes back to us profoundly as adults. If we could really learn to love as Father does, there would be no place for these "bunnies" in our "corn".</span></div>
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<span class="s1">There were a few years when our girls were young teens when it seemed they were on a cycle of anger with each other......offending and then being offended. I sometimes thought (and told them) how wonderful it would be if one day one of them would just skip their turn. Simply not take up the offence, and so not have a reason to lash back. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Have you ever noticed how profound a difference a reaction makes? If you make a little Faux Pas in traffic say, thoughtlessly drive the limit in the fast lane (as I have been known to do at times - even though everyone knows you're supposed to go 20K over the "limit") and someone zooms up behind you and honks their horn to force you over and then gives you the finger as they fly past you.............. And then there are those people who just smile and wave at you, knowing they have at times probably been guilty of the same crime.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Then there are the door-holders. They see you coming with your arms full and they hold the door for you and smile and say good morning. What a wonderful thing they do! These are the kind of acts which cycle. That is, you are more likely then, to greet the next person with a smile or an act of kindness. But when someone is cranky with you it can start a cycle too....you can think about it all day and drop little acid rain on whomever you meet.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">My double barrelled new years resolution this year is to:</span></div>
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<span class="s1">1. challenge the falacious assumption, (clashing worldviews) and</span></div>
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<span class="s1">2. give up anger, contempt, and condemnation</span></div>
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<span class="s1">It is a real balancing act to do #1 without doing #2. It is difficult to do #1 in love and meekness. I think the key is that I just need to <b>challenge</b> not to necessarily win or fix or even correct. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">If I can really learn to love, I will have #2 beat. Until then, the key for me has been to simply <b>give up </b>these reactions. I have asked Father to help me by flagging these reactionary emotions for me. They rise up so automatically and easily, and it is such a relief to just deliberately "let them go". It is even quite humorous at times. One time I was talking to Leroy about something that got me going with anger, and I could see that he was picking up my offence with me. ( it was so important I can't remember what it was now)Then I told him how Father had flagged my anger and put the thing in perspective for me........and I noticed a visible relief come over Leroy's countenance. It was like taking his blood pressure. First I pumped him up till he was tight enough to be almost alarming and then I just released the pressure and he just sighed and sagged with relief. I thought, "How many times have I caused poor Leroy to pick up my offence with me, when I should have just given it up?"</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Anyhow, now I have given you the impression that I am a seething volcano of anger, and that's not really accurate. However, Father has been showing me that "the wrath of man does not work Father's rightness." As I often do, I have asked Father to do for you what I have asked him to do for me.....to flag anger, contempt, and condemnation when it arises in you so that you can deliberately drop them and replace with love, mercy, humility, esteeming others, etc., and that your own joy and peace of heart will be multiplied as you do.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">This whole issue is related, I think, to the increase of His government of which you spoke in your recent email. Dallas Willard in his book, The Div. Conspiracy, which has been so useful to me the last few years, describes "His kingdom" as "the range of His effective will". May it ever increase in our lives and in our world!</span></div>
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mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-79925286154198242172015-12-07T22:48:00.000-08:002015-12-07T22:48:44.611-08:00The Minister's Daughter<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: darkgreen; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 26px;">This morning, I grabbed my Grandpa's poetry book and it fell open to this poem which was written in 1880 by the Quaker poet, John Greenleaf Whittier.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: darkgreen; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 26px;">It reminded me of a conversation I had with Dad when I rejected the notion of a hell of eternal torment and had begun to learn what I was to lose by that choice. I call it a choice for lack of a better term...because you don't really choose what you believe</span><span style="background-color: white; color: darkgreen; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 26px;"> you just believe what you believe</span><span style="background-color: white; color: darkgreen; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 26px;">... and you either own it, or you live a lie.... He said, "Well, you never heard me preach about hell." And I said, "but the threat of hell is foundational in the teachings of the church....it is the "given" that is the undercurrent of everything." </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: darkgreen; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 26px;">I guess, I admired Dad for expressing what he did to me...but I was a bit disillusioned too...that he would just remain quiet about what he believed...when it makes such a difference in our perception of who God is. "WHO GOD IS" is very important and profoundly effects our relationship to Him. It's why Jesus came...to reconcile us to God...to show us who He really is. (think, "If you have seen Me you have seen the Father.)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: darkgreen; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 26px;">I think the false image creates a destructive dissonance and is often the reason that people walk away from "religion." Atheist humorist George Carlin likes to say,</span><br />
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“Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever 'til the end of time!<br /><br />But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can't handle money!”</h1>
<span style="background-color: white; color: darkgreen; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 26px;">People find this funny. Why? because it does resonate with what "religion" has taught and it shows up as a rediculous caricature the "god" of "religion." </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: darkgreen; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 26px;">Anyhow... I really can't say more... although I have much more to say... Here is the poem... I particularly like the 15th stanza...because a false image of God is, as the poet has expressed...quite simply...an idol...</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fff9f4; color: #222222; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 26px;">The Minister's Daughter</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 26px;" /><br />
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In the minister's morning sermon<br />He had told of the primal fall,<br />And how thenceforth the wrath of God<br />Rested on each and all.</div>
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And how of His will and pleasure,<br />All souls, save a chosen few,<br />Were doomed to the quenchless burning,<br />And held in the way thereto.</div>
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Yet never by faith's unreason<br />A saintlier soul was tried,<br />And never the harsh old lesson<br />A tenderer heart belied.</div>
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And, after the painful service<br />On that pleasant Sabbath day,<br />He walked with his little daughter<br />Through the apple-bloom of May.</div>
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Sweet in the fresh green meadows<br />Sparrow and blackbird sung;<br />Above him their tinted petals<br />The blossoming orchards hung.</div>
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Around on the wonderful glory<br />The minister looked and smiled;<br />"How good is the Lord who gives us<br />These gifts from His hand, my child.</div>
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"Behold in the bloom of apples<br />And the violets in the sward<br />A hint of the old, lost beauty<br />Of the Garden of the Lord!"</div>
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Then up spake the little maiden,<br />Treading on snow and pink<br />"O father! these pretty blossoms<br />Are very wicked, I think.</div>
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"Had there been no Garden of Eden<br />There never had been a fall;<br />And if never a tree had blossomed<br />God would have loved us all."</div>
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"Hush, child!" the father answered,<br />"By His decree man fell;<br />His ways are in clouds and darkness,<br />But He doeth all things well.</div>
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"And whether by His ordaining<br />To us cometh good or ill,<br />Joy or pain, or light or shadow,<br />We must fear and love Him still."</div>
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"Oh, I fear Him!" said the daughter,<br />"And I try to love Him, too;<br />But I wish He was good and gentle,<br />Kind and loving as you."</div>
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The minister groaned in spirit<br />As the tremulous lips of pain<br />And wide, wet eyes uplifted<br />Questioned his own in vain.</div>
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Bowing his head he pondered<br />The words of the little one;<br />Had he erred in his life-long teaching?<br />Had he wrong to his Master done?</div>
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To what grim and dreadful idol<br />Had he lent the holiest name?<br />Did his own heart, loving and human,<br />The God of his worship shame?</div>
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And lo! from the bloom and greenness,<br />From the tender skies above,<br />And the face of his little daughter,<br />He read a lesson of love.</div>
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No more as the cloudy terror<br />Of Sinai's mount of law,<br />But as Christ in the Syrian lilies<br />The vision of God he saw.</div>
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And, as when, in the clefts of Horeb,<br />Of old was His presence known,<br />The dread Ineffable Glory<br />Was Infinite Goodness alone.</div>
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Thereafter his hearers noted<br />In his prayers a tenderer strain,<br />And never the gospel of hatred<br />Burned on his lips again.</div>
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And the scoffing tongue was prayerful,<br />And the blinded eyes found sight,<br />And hearts, as flint aforetime,<br />Grew soft in his warmth and light.<br /></div>
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mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-80345329046303784842015-07-22T19:57:00.000-07:002015-07-22T19:57:21.344-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>This is a painting by the wonderful Victoria watercolorist, Leslie Redhead. http://www.leslieredhead.com/ I hope that Leslie won't mind if I put this charming picture here. Admittedly...these are wrens and they are not sparrows and they are in a maple tree...not a Victoria Lilac....even so...</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR6ijetK-9eAET5ySwNG6oek0WMnigf5szCUtVDQ82BRd__acxFApYH9s79Pobfobv9mTLcSRMTZ9XxVMHwYUAJU8AqWWRsyVk519bWKiTUPmnRJLGGOC531LYhea5jf2VExMqkU5UrC5f/s1600/september-wrens-leslie-redhead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR6ijetK-9eAET5ySwNG6oek0WMnigf5szCUtVDQ82BRd__acxFApYH9s79Pobfobv9mTLcSRMTZ9XxVMHwYUAJU8AqWWRsyVk519bWKiTUPmnRJLGGOC531LYhea5jf2VExMqkU5UrC5f/s320/september-wrens-leslie-redhead.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I have a little bird house, charmingly painted and decorated by a grandchild and wedged into a crook in the branches of the V<span style="text-align: left;">ictoria lilac tree. It has held a nest of little sparrows once or twice in past years. I looked for it today, and found that it had been moved. It must have fallen down and been replaced by the neighbor children. So it was somewhat askew and I took it down to examine the interior by lifting up the hinged roof. Inside was a nest…in a state of disuse and broken a bit by it’s tumble from the tree. The nest was made up of grass, moss, bits of fluff and what have you…but woven in amongst the other materials was a surprising amount of hair. Human hair. Obviously (to me)….MY OWN hair…a lot of it. I wondered how a little bird could have gathered so much of my hair to build her nest. As I have worked around the yard, flicking my hair out of my eyes…taking my hat off and on…I never noticed the loss of a few hairs here and there caught by the wind. But the birds must have a sharp eye for such materials when they are doing the important work of building their nests. My mind went to the words of Jesus in Luke 12: 6&7</span></div>
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<i>Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, </i></div>
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<i>and not one of them is forgotten before God?</i></div>
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<i>But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.</i></div>
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<i>Fear not therefore: </i></div>
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<i>ye are of more value than many sparrows.</i></div>
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Sometimes our losses are heartbreaking and sometimes they are of very little concern to us. But great or small…they are never to no purpose. We have a loving father who is watching out for the sparrows (and the wrens) and at the same time noticing and caring about everything concerning us...right down to the hairs of our head.</div>
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mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-84290183206295983142015-01-03T16:17:00.000-08:002015-01-03T16:17:16.710-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Christian Leadership or the Easy Yoke?<br />
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We live at a time when “Leadership” is the thing which everyone seems to strive after. Everyone wants to speak for a large group of *others*. I used to pray that my children would be leaders and not followers. I meant it in the sense, that they would swim upstream against the crowd rather than just take the path of least resistance and go with the flow. Not necessarily that they would lead a crowd... but that they would not be led by the crowd. <br />
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Leadership is power. That’s why it’s so highly prized, and why it’s so important that we are careful about the leadership we submit to in our lives, and that we challenge those who sometimes assume leadership over us. Someone may be our teacher or leader for a season by our choice but we need to be careful not to hand over our conscience to any other person. It is our life…our only life.<br />
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Matthew 23: (Amplified Bible)<br />
8 But you are not to be called rabbi (teacher), for you have one Teacher and you are all brothers. <br />
9 And do not call anyone [in the church] on earth father, for you have one Father, Who is in heaven. <br />
10 And you must not be called masters (leaders), for you have one Master (Leader), the Christ.<br />
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I noticed these three verses...each verse in conjunction with the role of one of the three members of the trinity and how WE relate with the triune God according to <span style="text-align: center;">John 17:21.</span><br />
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That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, </div>
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that they also may be one in us: </div>
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that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.</div>
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Verse 8 tells us not to assume the position of teacher. I have known a lot of gifted teachers...but I think there may be a difference between a gifting... and office. That's where I would draw a line. Our gifts are not to give us a position...but to bless others. We know from passages such as John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” and Hebrews 8: 10-12 (and others) that the <b>Holy Spirit is our teacher</b>…. So the implication is that since we are not the Holy Spirit…we should not assume His role as teacher for any individual or group. Our role with respect to the Holy Spirit is to listen and to get wisdom…to <b>HEAR</b>.<br />
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Verse 9 tells us not to call any man our Father nor to assume the position or title of this is why I have such issues with titles conferred on religious leaders. <b>God is our Father</b>, and no-one should receive the title father, or reverend or any such thing. Nor should we presume to be a spiritual father to anyone else. We only have one Father, and our part in the relationship is not to BE Him….but to <b>LOVE</b> Him and to emulate His love and character in order to become like Him and bear His glory into our world.<br />
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Verse 10 speaks to the idea of leadership….pastors, shepherds. Often at times of crisis, gifted leaders arise. This is God's prerogative... But I believe we are wrong to give and to assume these as offices. In the book of Samuel, the people prefered to have a King rather than the wise Judges which had God had spoken through in the past. but according to 1Samuel 8:7 "And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them."<br />
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THE LORD is my shepherd. <b>Jesus is the one to whom we look for leadership and example and direction</b>. He’s really good at this so we do harm to insert ourselves or anyone else in this role. 1 Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” Our stance toward the leadership of Jesus is to simply <b> FOLLOW</b> in simple trusting obedience.<br />
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Having said all that, we as individuals can effectively move at the impulse of Father’s love to speak a word of wisdom into each other’s lives, or to support each other along the journey by pointing each other to Christ our leader… reminding each other who’s workmanship we are, and who we are becoming. This is our role in making disciples and joining in the work of Christ, which is reconciling men to God.<br />
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But these are not on going offices (with titles, status and salaries) to be proud of in some religious aristocracy….nor levels of government in some institutional religion. They are relational, momentary, opportunities to be a part of Father’s plan of overcoming evil with good. Not cutting out a niche and building (and monetizing) our own kingdom, as institutional religion so often does…but bringing the kingdoms of the earth into alignment with the Kingdom and the Glory of God.<br />
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Our roles are to listen to the Holy Spirit, to love our Father and to follow Jesus.<br />
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This is the easy yoke Jesus talked about....because we share it with Christ who does all the heavy pulling. And if we have this yoke on…we are ready to move at the impulse of His Love.<br />
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mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-30700128994514943262012-07-19T11:51:00.000-07:002012-07-19T11:51:09.084-07:00Love Is<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've been thinking a fair amount about love lately, and thought I'd blog some of my thought (while I still have them) I have a lot to learn and so I hope I will have more to add to this in a future post, but I will think about that later. As I was contemplating the end of my 40 year marriage, I thought of the many times we had sung the words of I Cor. 13:
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<strong><em>1 ¶Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
4 ¶Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8 ¶Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.</em></strong></blockquote>
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I asked Leroy if we might both meditate on these words, and memorize them...but of course, he declined. Not, I suspect, because he rejects the Bible...but because the suggestion came from me... and he did reject me.
I memorized it anyway because it is so full of truth and beauty, even though I struggled with verse seven..."Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." ...because I knew I had given up hope...and was very discouraged about bearing and enduring all things....
This chapter of 1 Cor. will always be the best description of what love looks like...but how rare it is to find it in ourselves or in others. "...seeketh not her own...is not easily provoked...thinketh no evil..."
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Then I read something which made stop and think (still thinking) I can't find the quote again...so am unable to cite it's author here...but it was to the effect that ... </div>
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<strong><em>"It's not love if it knows the reason why."</em></strong> </div>
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Does this not fly directly in the face of so much of what is written about love? A notable exception is Elisabeth Barrett Brownings poem, It's not about reasons...but ways...
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<strong><em>"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.</em></strong><strong><em>I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death."</em></strong></div>
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If love has a reason...are not motives to be questioned? If we love someone...doubtless there will be <i>things</i> about them that we love...but perhaps if our love is dependent on those attributes, then motives come into question, and it's not true love, because if the attributes...say wealth or good looks....are diminished, then the love is also diminished. So was it love or was it selfishness?
I have heard it said, "What must I do to make her believe that I love her?" and this was rolling around in my head for a long time. Eventually, it occurred to me that, it should be unneccesary to do anything to prove your love. That it should be more a question of "Who is my love compelling me to be?" You see, if the love is not there, there really is nothing that can be done to prove that it is. You can't give what you don't have. It's not possible. But where love is, there is no proof required, because all our life, and all our actions flow out of that love. It is like faith and works. <br />
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<strong><em>James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.</em></strong></blockquote>
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These are the verses that the <em>"got to do"</em> people will quote, and perhaps they do provide a balance to the verses in 1 Cor. 13 that the <em>"get to do"</em> people stand on. James speaks to those who are all talk and no action. 1 Cor. speaks to the futility of even the most dramatic action without love. But in a way they are saying the same thing...that the deeds flow out of the love, but without the love, our words are sounding brass...just noise..and our righteous deeds are filthy rags.</div>
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Here's another quote that resonated with me this week...(perhaps a little off track...but I'm adding it here to remember it)
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<strong><em>"It is very difficult to create authentic relationships between people with such disparate power."</em></strong></div>
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This quote is from an article in a Christian publication about short term mission trips,
<a href="http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/06/18/why-you-should-consider-cancelling-your-short-term-mission-trips/"></a> but it resonates with me in terms of all love relationships. Sometimes love will begin between people with disparate power, but either the power will have to be relinquished or the love will be perverted. In order for love to flourish the superior/subordinate relationship will have to be voluntarily suspended and replaced with a respectful consensus. This is why relationships are frowned upon between people working together as superior and subordinate. This is why relationships are frowned upon between people in a position of power and those under their authority. Love does not go single file or back to front... it goes side by side or face to face.
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So...This is more of two fragments of posts...but I will leave them so for now.
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</div>mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-31080741890605440112012-06-30T11:34:00.000-07:002012-06-30T11:36:25.168-07:00WORSHIPI've been reading Preston Eby's Bible study on the book of Revelation, called "From the Candlestick to the Throne." In part 124 (and yes...years into it...he is still only at Rev. 11:1) where it talks about measuring the temple... Anyhow, I wanted to keep this writing on WORSHIP, so I decided to clip and paste this chunk from the middle of his paper...and post it just as P.E. has written it. I have often thought of writing a song based on Isaiah 29:13 "... this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me..." This is fairly long I guess...but in a nutshell...worship is not just singing a little song or saying nice things about God... Worship is about spiritual prostration... subordination...about living and moving and having our being in God our Father.
I hope this can stand alone....without having read the previous 123 parts of the study...I think it does...but I've read the rest...Anyhow...begin quote now:
<blockquote></blockquote>In this hour the glory of the Lord is filling HIS TEMPLE! In sons there is coming expression of the true ministry of priesthood before God and unto God. God is raising up within His chosen ones an establishment of worship in the Spirit and by the Spirit. Men have done all sorts of things and called it worship! Rituals, ceremonies, liturgies, singing, lifting up the hands, loud praises, shouting, and dancing have all been accepted as worship unto the Lord. I do not mean to say that those things are not of God. But God is doing a new thing! The command has gone forth, “Rise, and measure the altar!” God would have us examine all our religious concepts of worship, lay the plum-line upon them, take the reed like unto a rod and assess the very essence of them, and learn by the Spirit what true worship is! No longer shall it be contingent upon a gathering of people, no longer shall it be an outward show, a response to the command of men to stand, sing, raise the hands, clap, dance, speak in tongues, and praise the Lord, but it shall be worship that springs and flows from the inner sanctum of our inner son, ignited and energized by the fire of God upon the altars of our own hearts. It shall never draw attention to the worshipper, or to worship itself, or be dictated by man, for if man must coax and coach and manipulate then it is not true worship, not in the spirit and not by the spirit. Oh, yes, there is a worship that glorifies the Lord in the heavenly places of the Spirit. How our hearts yearn for this! Many have found themselves cut off and devoid of everything they once thought was worship, and this has led to some questionings about what their spiritual status is, but fear not, my beloved. What you thought was worship probably was not true worship at all; do not lust after the leeks and garlic of Egypt! They are pleasant and taste good, but they are the food of the house of bondage. The Lord is cutting off all former realms, everything we thought to be worship, and leaving us void that we might finally recognize by the “measure of the altar” the true worship that is born of the very spirit of sonship! All the former heavens we have dwelt in are rolling up as a scroll, and we are even now being ushered into a new heaven with a brand new atmosphere of HIS presence and glory. Aren’t you glad!
Well did Ray Prinzing set forth some of the principles of this “measuring of the altar” when he wrote, “For sure, the church realm moves on a soulish level, be it a charismatic realm, or more fundamental. All their worship appeals to the ascetic sense of the soul, stimulating the intellect, or stirring up the emotions, enhanced by the will of the leader manipulating the will of the congregation to sing, shout, dance, or whatever they propose for them to do. This does not necessarily mean that the soul realm is sinful or wrong, but it does signify that we need to be FULLY JOINED TO THE HOLY SPIRIT, if we are to bring forth fruit to His honor and praise.
“True discernment can keep us from becoming involved with just a ‘form of godliness’ which is devoid of the power of God. If it is only a soulish emotion that is stirred, there will be no power in it. For example, the repeated singing of a chorus — does it sing its way into your spirit, until you become lost in adoration and worship to God? Or, does it only stir your emotions to become a soulish song and dance which satisfies the flesh? We do not criticize soulish manifestations, if they are used to lead on into a deeper realm, but they must not be substituted for the pure moving of the holy Spirit. There is no good substitute for the anointing! An understanding heart is also vitally needed to discern between what is ‘will worship’ and that which is truly the outflow of the spirit within. Colossians 2:23 speaks of ‘a show of wisdom in will worship.’ Far too many of our religious expressions are only a form of WILL WORSHIP. By that we mean, either someone else willed you to do it, or else you set your own will in that direction as a means of obtaining favor with God, hoping to become more spiritual, or for some other reason.
“Whenever a form, ritual, or ceremony is devoid of His life, will-worship takes over — a manipulative control with rigid regulations. We become a performer, according to the will of man, rather than a worshipper of God. Thus, as one man well stated, ‘Much of our worship time is nothing more than a ‘happy hour’ in which the participants can enjoy a good time.’ A contrived plan is brought out, who will lead, what songs will be sung, how the tempo will be increased, and we are on our way — programmed according to the will of man! We can sing all our favorite songs or choruses, clap our hands, dance, shout, and have an emotional spree that is carefully orchestrated by the will of the leader, so that we laugh or weep or worship according to their psychological design, and the flow of the music. But where, in all of this will-worship have we really worshipped in spirit and in truth Him who is King of kings and Lord of Lords? The will of man must be surrendered to the will of God!
“It has been well stated that you can praise the Lord from your memory circuits, as you recall His wonderful works, but you can only worship Him when you are conscious of His presence. Worship demands the presence of the one being worshipped! And there is that recognizing that He is with us in every hour of our day, so that at any given moment there might rise from our spirit a flow of adoration and worship to Him. ‘In Him we live and move and have our being.’ Therefore we can worship Him right where we are! It does not require a formal arrangement, cathedral, stained glass windows, padded pews, soft organ music so that we begin to create an atmosphere which we think lends itself to a form of worship” — end quote.
To sit at His feet means to be a worshipper. It is much more than drawing nigh to God with our mouth and pouring forth beautiful expressions of praise or impassioned petitions. “The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him” (Jn. 4:23). The emphasis in this passage is not on worship, but on TRUE WORSHIPPERS. I do not hesitate to tell you that much of the so-called spiritual worship in this hour is in fact idolatrous, for many have made an idol of worship, they worship the beauty and glory and thrill of worship, rather than worshipping the Father. But true worshippers are true worshippers because they do not worship for the ecstasy that comes to them, but in spirit and in truth it is all directed UNTO HIM ALONE. To worship “in spirit and in truth” means to worship out of our spirit in reality. What we do or say is not of prime importance. What we ARE is the thing that matters, for out of a state of being comes our doing. The Holy Spirit cried through the prophet, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth and honoreth me with their lips: but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me…”
It is not sufficient to worship God as an act. If you are not in your state of being a true worshipper, your worship is vanity, matters not one whit how beautiful or spiritual it may appear or sound; it is not in spirit and in truth because it is not originating out of your spirit and is not proceeding out of a state of being. “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, hypocrites” (Mat. 15:7). A hypocrite cannot worship God, matters not how high he raises his hands, how loudly he claps, or how expressive the words, it takes a worshipper to worship God! God is looking for those who have become true worshippers. “This people shall be unto me for a praise, a name, and a glory.” The man born blind whom Jesus healed, with wisdom and understanding declared, “If any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth His will, him He heareth” (Jn. 9:31). He did not say, “If any man worships God,” but, “If any man be a worshipper.” What a word that is! God heareth not sinners, he said, but if any man BE A WORSHIPPER OF GOD AND DOETH HIS WILL, HE HEARETH HIM. Multitudes of people daily “worship” God, but only a few ARE WORSHIPPERS! The simple truth is, it is impossible to worship God externally! Oh, yes, one may go through the physical motions of singing, shouting, prostrating the body, and many other physical actions, but that does not mean he is worshipping. God is a spirit, Jesus said, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Those are the only two “places” where the Father may be worshipped!
Abraham is a classic example of a true worshipper. There arrived for the faithful patriarch that most solemn of days in which the voice of the Almighty fell upon his attentive ear, commanding, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of” (Gen. 22:2). Though this command filled Abraham’s heart with pain, yet he would not be as surprised to receive it as a father would in our day; for such offerings were very common among all those people in the land where Abraham sojourned. Abraham, being strong in faith, never for one moment doubted or disobeyed God’s word. He knew that Isaac was the child whom God had promised, and that God had promised, too, that Isaac should have children, and that those coming from Isaac should become a great nation and a company of nations. He did not see how God could fulfill His promise with regard to Isaac, if Isaac should be slain as an offering: unless, indeed, God should raise him up from the dead afterward, a thought which Abraham’s unwavering faith did not discount. But Abraham undertook at once to obey God’s command! He took two young men with him and an ass laden with wood for the fire; and he went toward the mountain in the north, little Isaac his son walking by his side. For two days they journeyed, sleeping under the trees at night in the open country. And on the third day, Abraham saw the mountain far away. As they drew near to the mountain, Abraham said to the young men, “Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you” (Gen. 22:5).
Ah! He did not say, “I and the lad will go yonder and offer up a sacrifice,” but “we will go yonder and WORSHIP.” So great was His faith in God’s promise that Abraham declared, “and WE (Isaac and I) will come again to you.” He took the wood from the ass and placed it on Isaac, and the two walked up the mountain together. As they were walking, Isaac said, “Father, here is the wood, but where is the lamb for the offering?” And Abraham replied, “My son, God will provide Himself a lamb.” And they came to the place on top of the mountain. There Abraham built an altar of stones and earth heaped up, and on it he placed the wood. Then he took Isaac and tied his hands and feet, and laid him on the wood on the altar. And Abraham lifted up his hand, holding a knife to kill his son. A moment longer, and Isaac would be slain by his own father’s hand. But just at that moment the angel of the Lord out of heaven called to Abraham, and said, “Abraham! Abraham!” And Abraham answered, “Here I am, Lord.” Then the angel of the Lord said, “Do not lay your hand upon your son. Now I know that you love God more than you love your only son, since you are ready to give up your son, your only son, to God.”
The message is clear — Abraham WORSHIPPED GOD in the offering up of Isaac! The “measuring rod” applied to Abraham’s action reveals that he was indeed a true worshipper! When called on to offer up his son, he did it as an act of worship. He prostrated himself, not physically, but in his spirit he bowed low before the will of the Lord. He worshipped! He never raised his hands, sang, clapped, shouted praises, or danced, but his offering up of Isaac was an act of true worship in the presence of God!
Worship is from the Hebrew word shahah meaning “to bow down, to prostrate,” and from the Greek proskyneo meaning “to prostrate, do obeisance to.” Worship is the honor, reverence, and homage paid to superior beings and powers, and to God. It is not words at all, but an attitude, a state of being, a reverent and submissive bending to God’s will. It is not what you are doing that matters most, but the spirit behind your action. You can pray for something and it can be just a selfish, proud, egotistical thing. Or it can be an act of worship to God. It is worship when it is GOD’S WILL you seek, that His kingdom might be brought to pass in the earth!
When David brought the ark to Jerusalem according to the word of the Lord, he worshipped the Lord in the beauty of holiness (I Chron. 16:29). Why did David have to go back for the ark twice? Because the first time it was not an act of worship. It was an act of triumph: he was somewhat arrogant because they were conquering their enemies! If it was worship they would have brought the ark according to God’s way, but they thought, If the Philistines can haul it on a cart, we can do the same. They were carelessly and thoughtlessly doing it their way, and so God smote them. But later David worshipped the Lord in the beauty of holiness, because he reverently brought the ark back according to the Lord’s command: on the shoulders of the Levites and rejoicing in the presence of the Lord!
When Job, that mighty man of the East, received the evil tidings that his sons and daughters were dead, and all his possessions lost, “Then Job arose and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped” (Job 1:20). I’m sure this wasn’t that beautiful, melodious high-sounding worshipful praise we hear in church meetings today, which we call worship! But Job bowed submissively and reverently before the will of God — and he worshipped. If Job had been a complainer, he would have complained. If Job had been a backbiter, he would have backbitten. If Job had been a curser, he would have cursed. If Job was rebellious, he would have rebelled. But Job was a worshipper, therefore he worshipped! He was a man, perfect and upright, one that feared (reverenced) God, and hated evil. That was the testimony of his state of being, which was a state of worship. We may be very congenial and lovable people, with an aura of spirituality surrounding our every movement, when you catch us in the right mood and under the proper circumstances; but when things start to happen as they did to Job, then whatever your state of being is, it will come out! Job fell on his face, and what he was was manifested: he was a worshipper, so he worshipped God! Ah, what would have been our first expression had we been in Job’s place? May God make us true worshippers! Anyone can draw nigh with their mouth and praise God, but it is vanity, a religious pretense if it is not proceeding from a state of being. God wants worship to be in spirit and in truth, which comes out of a worshipful nature: true worshippers worshipping the Father! Truly God is “measuring the altar” of worship this very hour in the life of every man and woman who has received the call to sonship!
If there is no complete committal to God, then the offering up of our possessions will not be worship. “Though I give my body to be burnt,” says Paul, “if it is not an expression of my state of being as a worshipper, filled with divine love, it profits me nothing.” Our Father wants what comes out of every one of His sons to be an expression of what He is doing and of what He has wrought in us. True worship is an expression of our relationship with God, where everything within us is done for the glory and praise and honor of God. That is why it made no difference to God whether Jesus did carpentry work for a number of years, or healed the sick for three and a half years. Jesus was a worshipper! He came only to do the will of His Father whether that meant working or waiting, or winning or losing, or living or dying. The Father said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” when all He had done was carpentry work for about thirty years! When the Father said that He was well pleased with His firstborn Son that Son had never preached a sermon, never taught a multitude, never performed a miracle, never healed a sick person, never raised any dead. Think of it! Can we not see by this that it is only in the spirit of worship that one can sit at the feet of the Father and receive from His great mind and heart the instruction and counsel of His will. May God make us such true worshippers that our walk will be worship!
Take the shoes from off your feet, O saint of God, for the ground on which we stand is holy. The spiritual “temple mount” is the holy mount of God! The temple of God is a people. We miss so much vital truth by our careless thinking about the scriptures. Every stone in that temple is a living person, a son of God. We will understand a great mystery when we understand that every item in the temple of God is composed of people. The Holy of holies is a people. The ark of the covenant is a people. The holy place is a people. And now I want to say that the altar is a people! God has an altar people. The altar is the place of worship, and worship is not merely something we do, it is something we are. God is making us true worshippers. These true worshippers are the altar! And now God is measuring the altar. By His Spirit He is examining, investigating, inspecting, and assessing the spiritual condition and quality of His altar people. He is not measuring how melodiously, harmoniously, and sweet-soundingly we can “sing in the Spirit,” or how loud we can shout praises, or how long or articulately we can pray. We can go through all the forms of what we consider worship and never touch the essence of worship. So the Lord says, “Measure the altar, the altar is a people, it is not what they do, but what they are that must be measured!” Oh, yes!
Now, my beloved, this brings us to an important thought. If you would measure the altar, don’t attempt to do so in a church meeting on Sunday morning! I don’t think anyone would deny that should you measure the altar in a meeting on Sunday morning you might get a false reading. A better time to measure the altar would be after the meeting, on the way home, when the kids are screaming in the car, the spouse is nagging, and the radiator overheats on the congested freeway. Don’t you think that would be a good time to measure the altar? You see, I find that even many “kingdom people” still go into a meeting and turn God on and turn God off. When the meeting starts they put on what Lynn Hiles has called their “precious Jesus face” and pour forth praises and worship, sing, speak in tongues, prophesy, exhort, and appear so very spiritual, but the moment the last “Amen” is said it is all promptly turned off and they become as another person.
A church magazine contained a beautiful picture of a congregation at worship. The children wore smiles. All the mothers and fathers were singing as if they had been made for nothing else. All the grandfathers looked like saints. All the grandmothers beamed, as if it was Mother’s Day. Meanwhile, all the young women looked as if they never had a worldly thought or care. All the young men looked as if they had just made a vow to enter seminary. The choir members wore robes and angelic expressions. The picture, sad to say, was posed. No congregation looks like that! Even so, none of us should have to be told to smile because we are on God’s candid camera. The truth is, however, that oft times the way we appear among the Lord’s people is but a facade. God is measuring His altar, and He is tearing away all our masks; but, thank God, He is also bringing forth in us the true image of His Son. There is light appearing in the face of God’s Christ!
You see, dear saint of God, the true character of any person is revealed by the opposing character of another person or circumstance. Not one of us knows what is in us, until someone comes and says or does something to us, that will bring out that hidden characteristic within. It makes no difference what people say about themselves or how spiritual they appear to be. It matters not how loudly they may affirm that natural things do not bother them; if there is carnality or evil lurking within their nature, an opposing character will immediately bring it to the surface. So we can never know the real, true nature of any man until something comes along to oppose him.
When everything goes according to ones desire or will, then everyone around that person sees only their “better side.” Nothing ever ruffles them or disturbs them, because they are constantly having their own way, getting what they want. But just let something cross them and the trouble begins! When you see the brother or sister in the church service, you see only the best part of them. Everyone is only sweetness and goodness. The ministers are so gracious and kind, the husbands and wives are so nice to each other and to the children. But just walk unexpectedly into the home on Monday morning, or come into the breakfast circle and you will find out how things are going. Or let someone abuse them, swindle them, cheat them, sell them a car that is a lemon, take advantage of them, steal from them, insult them, falsely accuse them, misuse them — ah, it is time to measure the altar!
END QUOTEmamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-78137588428155578472011-10-09T12:24:00.000-07:002011-10-09T12:30:00.280-07:00In Everything Give Thanks (1 Thess. 5:18)It seems from the scriptures that our thanks to God should be an attitude toward Him, because of what He has done; especially in terms of creation; and then in terms of redemption (which it may be suggested… is a stage in the ongoing act of creation.)<br />
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But sometimes, although we are surrounded by the wonderful evidence of creation, it all seems quite distant from our personal experience. Although the meadow is full of wildflowers kissed by the sun and dripping with dew, it does nothing to alleviate our personal pain.<br />
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We have all heard the story of the little girl who when her mother tried to reassure her that God was with her, replied, “I know God loves me mommy, but, when it is thundering and lightning, I want someone with skin on to love me.” I think, though, that there comes a time when the reverse is true. Human comfort can only go so far and we come to the point that we need to be assured that God loves us and that He will never leave us nor forsake us.<br />
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At such a time, it is simply His presence with us that becomes the focus of our thanksgiving.<br />
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Are we thankful for the beauty of creation, for friends and family who love us, for perceived blessings and benefits and privileges…yes. But…<br />
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It occurs to me that our thanks is sometimes pretty conditional. Not based on the vastness of God’s plan…but on our own small role in that plan. A personal story by way of illustration:<br />
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Our dear little granddaughter at age three began to suffer from the sudden onset of a mysterious illness… Diabetes Insipitus. Missing the hormone which makes it possible to concentrate urine…. She was constantly insanely thirsty…and it went straight through her so she was urinating gallons of almost pure water. Many prayers were offered and medical expertise came to our aid providing an artificial hormone to help with the symptoms…but not an understanding of the first cause.<br />
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We gave thanks. Her immediate need and her suffering were alleviated.<br />
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It took almost three years of difficult investigation, frustration and prayers….but when the second hormone…her growth hormone… was knocked out, doctors had a diagnosis... Langerhans cell histiocytosis.<br />
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We gave thanks. A treatment plan could be put in place and while it wouldn’t restore what had been lost, the growth hormone could be replaced too when the treatment was completed…and treatment would arrest the progression of the disease to other less remediable areas such as organs…brain…bones.<br />
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It is with agony that we imagined our darling child undergoing the harsh treatment of chemo-therapy. Why should a perfect little angel, so beloved by all who know her, be subjected to a disease which required a full year of such a difficult regimen of treatment? Wonderfully, though, we find that she is strong, and such a beautifully happy personality that she has not seemed to suffer many of the ill effects of the surgery to implant the port nor the harsh chemicals received through that port.<br />
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We give thanks. She is happy and active and robust in spite of the serious nature of her disease and the toxic chemicals used to treat it.<br />
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That has been my pattern anyway… And I don’t think I’m alone in this. I’m thankful (only) for the <i>good</i> (little) things that happen.<br />
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But wait just one minute! <br />
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We all prayed for complete healing…for several years now. This is not healing! We know that God could have healed her! What’s wrong with God anyhow?<br />
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Am I in effect saying, ‘Well… this was the best He could do…at least He tried…at least He minimized the suffering...got a few things right.’<br />
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We can thank God for what he does right….and yell at Him when He lets us down…. We can say there really is no God after all and we are just kidding ourselves to think that He’s involved in our lives. Or we can accept the fact that He is here…with us…not only allowing, not only NOT intervening… but causing. As in the case of Lazarus…where Jesus stayed away exactly long enough to allow him to die…so He could accomplish a greater work than healing.<br />
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I guess I find myself circling around to the question of, “Does God love me?” Are the millions of people born since Adam simply fodder? Does He care about each individual one? Or will he just choose a few precious individuals and discard the rest?<br />
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Unless God cares about us as individuals, why are we expecting Him to take any kind of an active role in our practical lives? Could He just not pick out the pearls when they happen?<br />
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But if He cares about us as individuals, then it makes sense, that He is active in each of our lives. Doing what He deems necessary to bring us from wherever we start out in life…to what He is making of us. “Some through the fire, some through the flood, some through great danger but all through the blood.”<br />
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It is hard sometimes, but necessary, to learn to give thanks in ALL things…..because all things are of God. Someone that I’ve read a while back…D. Willard…W. Nee…can’t remember who....used the term “first cause” and it has stuck with me. The gist of it is that though we might be angry about something that has been done to us, we are more able to release our anger if we remember than whoever has wronged us, is only the secondary cause (the tool). God is the first cause. So even if we don’t understand…we are given an opportunity to lay down our anger, receive what has happened from God… and to live and react out of the resource of HIS life; rejoicing that He is taking an active part in our “progress” towards spiritual maturity.<br />
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So, whatever is happening, we can be thankful to our Father because we are His workmanship and when we finally learn that He loves us… we will be reconciled to Him and able to “bear all things believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things” knowing that “He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it.” He loves me…and He is here….and for that, I am thankful.mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-79854354023160536802011-10-04T21:26:00.000-07:002011-10-04T21:26:21.107-07:00Dragging the future into the present"Dragging the future into the present." I like that phrase. It's from Rob Bell's book, "Love Wins", and he uses the phrase with reference to the effect of Christ's followers, who pray, "Thy Kingdom come" and then get involved in making it happen. Another writer described it as, "making the invisible visible." Same idea. It's like if we can envision what it would look like, if God's will was done...if His Kingdom had come...and then look around ourselves and as much as we are able in our little bean patch...flesh out that vision...bringing mercy and grace into the little situations in our life... or even being interveners in big ways in our world....dragging that future...that expected and longed for Kingdom into view...wouldn't that be great!mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-66663000928787178012011-09-28T11:41:00.001-07:002011-09-28T11:41:50.926-07:00Victoria 40 day vigil for life.Just a few reflections and surprises on my first hour of the vigil. (I will certainly be participating more during the 40 days.) I guess I hadn’t expected that someone would have come in the night to prepare the sidewalks with pro-abortion graffiti. (hoping for rain tonight to wash it off) That made me almost wish there was a little sign or something that would allow me to identify which side I’m on. The presence of security guards in numbers equal to ours was a surprise. Then reinforcements arrived with a banner…and that was a surprise to me too. The attention of the police…if only to photographically record the graffiti... Then the arrival of the media. I didn’t expect that either. It all made me wonder how I had managed to pick a time slot with so much external stuff going on. I know there are hours that are uncovered….and no one will be physically there praying, and there will be hours when there’s just a couple of people…and no-one will even know what they’re doing, or notice there’s anything going on. No banner…no media…no police….etc… <br />
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But my point is…all those other things are peripheral… our prayer is the effective tool we have; allowing us to partner with Father in His work of redemption. In our culture there is a lot of stock put in making a statement; raising awareness; and bearing witness….and these are all good things but it is the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous man which avails much. Even if some people can’t participate on location…their prayers added to ours are the most powerful tool we have. For me, though, it helped to come down in person for the purpose of prayer. Having done so, I feel like the prayers will just continue throughout my day…. I know there are many who’s hearts are with us but for whatever reason, don’t like to confront, or make a scene. I get that because that is me too. This was my first hour of the vigil….and if people knew how easy it is to just log on…sign up…show up…and then just walk and talk with Jesus….and pray the prayer of Jesus, Thy kingdom come… Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven… just hang out on the corner and silently pray through the psalms or breath out their own prayers …. So, as a newcomer, I’d like to challenge other newcomers to sign up for their first hour of the vigil…mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-73082055733419008202011-09-26T15:27:00.000-07:002011-09-26T16:17:45.138-07:00He loves ME because I'm His childI’ve been reading two books recently about Germany in the Hitler years, “Bonhoeffer- Pastor-Martyr-Prophet-Spy” by Erik Metaxis and “They Thought They Were Free – The Germans” by Milton Mayer. Both books speak of the nature of the relationship between the people and the state and the church and the state, and it has been interesting to read them in tandem. I have been struck by my own need to stand up and be authentic about what I think and believe, because it is only in every individual excusing his silence and opting out of the dialog that evil and error are allowed to thrive.<br />
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It was Martin Niemoller, one of the founding pastors of the “Confessing Church” in Germany (which was formed to resist the Lutheran State Church’s apostasy) who wrote the now famous words,<br />
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They came for the communists, and I did not speak out - <br />
because I was not a communist; <br />
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out - <br />
because I was not a socialist; <br />
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out - <br />
because I was not a trade unionist; <br />
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out - <br />
because I was not a Jew; <br />
Then they came for me - <br />
and there was no one left to speak out for me.”<br />
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The Confessing Church which Niemoller helped to form (along with Bonheoffer) was not perfect. It still had a lot of stuff that left you wondering about their teaching, traditions and beliefs. It was made up of individuals who all seemed to have a variety of ideas about where to draw the line concerning the direction that Hitler was taking Germany and the Lutheran State Church.<br />
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I certainly would have found it difficult to aligning myself with them on all points.<br />
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Most of them were far too strong on “The powers that be are ordained of God.” Some of them were stronger on “We ought to obey God rather than man.” Some even joined in a conspiracy to kill Hitler, believing that in the grand scheme of things, it was less evil to murder Hitler than to allow him to continue to murder thousands of other people.<br />
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I found it disturbing that they wanted to take the place of the State church. Did they not realize that the reason the church had become so antichristian was because it was the STATE church...controlled by the state...by Hitler! The pastors didn’t want to lose their jobs and government salaries (not to mention their lives) by speaking out…so they just went further and further into idolatry and apostasy. So the Confessing Church….imperfect as it was….was raised up in opposition to it.<br />
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The thing is…they did something remarkable. They stood against evil, and despite the fact that in a way, they accomplished very little; possibly went about things wrong; were slow to take stands that seem obvious now; many of them sacrificed their lives to stand against evil.<br />
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So this week two things in my own life have stood out which have made me examine myself. One was the resignation of Rob Bell (author of Love Wins) from his mega-church. As far as I know he has simply resigned from “his” “mega-church” to do other things and was not forced to resign, but I went to Google him to see how it was being presented. What I found was an ugly slug fest amongst Christians and especially Calvinist Christians, who seem as anxious as their leader, John Calvin to murder those who oppose their view. Here is a small sampling from YouTube of their views.<br />
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http://youtu.be/guy7aE9jcs0 John Piper...who made the unloving and uncaring twitter… “Farewell Rob Bell”<br />
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http://youtu.be/XxCKxxRU_s8 Mark Driscoll…another Calvinist speaks on hell<br />
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http://youtu.be/8k6AcQvXxH8 Don’t know who this is but…could he be more graceless?<br />
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Anyhow, I have not yet read Rob Bell’s book, "Love Wins". I’m assuming he is making a case for the concept of “the restitution of all things” as taught in Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15. I am a believer in this teaching which I see as biblical…. Certainly more biblical than the teaching of ETERNAL TORMENT, ( I am absolutely powerless to type that in lower case) which is an affront to the character of God. <br />
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Plutarch, the great Greek biographer, once wrote, “I had rather a great deal men should say there was no such man at all as Plutarch than that they should say there was one Plutarch that would eat his children as soon as they were born” (He preferred to have men deny his existence rather than have them hold an unworthy conception of his character.)<br />
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Honestly, the only reason I didn’t read Bell’s book yet is because of his label as an “emergent church leader” and a pastor of a “mega church”. I thought I might have a tough time swallowing his culture and expression….but I was wrong to judge him just because he is younger and his style is different (he probably knows how to order coffee at Starbucks)…and his interface and involvement with the institutional church is different than mine. So now I’m going to get his book and read it and I think I will find that I enjoy it and probably learn something good…and even if I don’t agree with everything he has to say or his way of saying it, I will certainly agree with his title, “Love Wins.” <br />
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I made a supportive comment on one of his videos and (I didn’t know this would happen) my comment was posted to my FB page… and I am already paying for that one small comment. My point here is…. For the last three years, I have almost given up my right to think….certainly to express who I am and what I believe just in order to keep hostilities at bay….perhaps to prevent being labeled and marginalized by Christians in the same way Rob Bell now is… So now I see that I need to be taking my stand in my own little bean patch. I want my children and my grandchildren to understand me, even if they don’t agree with me. What is the point of them having a relationship with an unauthentic me?<br />
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Church history tells us that all the movements which have brought progress have brought it at the expense of “unity” and peaceful conformity in the church...but in every important case, these movements were in response to great evils which had corrupted the former established church. And then it seems, each new iteration of "the Church" has eventually been corrupted and supplanted by the next movement… Luther was responding the corrupted practice of the Catholic Church of selling indulgences….The confessing church responded to the Lutheran church’s adoption of Hitler’s paganism….etc…etc.<br />
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I believe there is now a movement about which seeks to correct a lie which has been taught about our Father God….that it is not His mercy…but rather his torment which is eternal and I find on reflection, that I could no more go back to believing in Hell is a place of torment where 99% of people already are or should expect to be spending eternity suffering in a literal burning lake of fire….than I could to believing in the tooth fairy. I cannot…so I will have to take my stand. I guess in the immortal words of Sammy Davis Jr., “I gotta be me.” (The lyrics to this old chestnut are actually more apropos than I had imagined)<br />
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In spiritual things...as it seems in all of life, when we stop growing…we start dying. I confess I have stifled my own pursuit of God and His truth…simply to have peace and the hope of relationship. This I can no longer afford to do for several reasons. <br />
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Neil Anderson when talking about our identity in Christ says, “No person can consistently behave in a way that is inconsistent with the way he perceives himself.” I think it has been harmful on many levels to do what I have done in simply sitting down and shutting up. I have never said that anyone should follow me or believe what I believe I just want to follow where Jesus is leading me. I believe that Father deals with us each in His own way and doesn’t need me to bully anyone else. I do wish though, that it wasn’t so habitual for Christians to become angry and hostile rather than patient with those who have divergent ideas, or even dare to question things that have been set down for them. How many times have we all heard people say, “The Bible is as plain as the nose on your face” about this issue or the other, when in fact…it’s often not that plain at all? Makes me wonder if they've ever actually read it.<br />
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Anyhow…enough of that for now… The second thing (if you still remember I said there were two), is that I have been inspired to take my place in the peaceful 40 day vigil for life. It’s something I can do. There are many things I feel unqualified to do…but here I have been presented with a small part to play in a cause I believe is important and vital…and so this is the time to do the small thing that I CAN do, rather than ignore the whole ugly issue. There is no point in being ashamed of my past under-involvement. The thing is that I begin to live out who I am. I am not called to be anyone else….but I fail God if I am not authentically me because he wants to work through and use MY life.<br />
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Do I think these two issues are linked? Yes I do. If God is a personal God….If He cares about the individual, then He hasn’t made billions of people so that he can choose say,144,000 (just an arbitrary number) to keep, and the rest, not only destroy…but torture…not just for a thousand years or so…but FOREVER…not to correct them…but well…why then?<br />
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Also, If God is a personal God, then He cares about the lives of the children that are conceived and murdered in their mother’s wombs…and He cares about the people who have been so hardened off to their humanity and identity in Christ, that they have lost even the basic animal instinct to protect their young. I believe that God is a personal God… that He loves individuals. And I believe that these issues are part of the larger question…. “Does God love ME?” Yes He does...and...LOVE WINS...mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-3880022155694152102011-08-01T12:20:00.000-07:002011-08-01T12:20:27.506-07:00Parable of the fig treeEver notice how in Mark 11 the story of the cleansing of the temple is told within the parentheses of the parable of the fig tree...sorta makes me go hmmm.....mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-9569887598023461332011-03-05T11:54:00.000-08:002011-03-05T11:54:29.317-08:00Ideas about Home-churching children from a Grandma who grew up IN CHURCHI responded to a thread on an online group today and since I had managed to thread together two or three paragraph's I decided to make a blog post out of it. It seems that having grown up in the Institutional Church, many people feel inadequate to the job of passing their faith on to the next generation. Like so many other things, we feel we need the help of professionals. Anyhow...without any further aduiu...(as a certain school principal of my aquaintance liked frequently to say) here is my perspective on Christian education for children:<br />
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With regard to home-churched children, I think it is a good idea to make the Bible a “Subject” whether you are homeschooling or not. So many have given that job up to Sunday schools for so many generations that they no longer feel qualified for it themselves. Having come through SS as a child, the one thing I can say is that I heard the Bible stories and over the years gained a familiarity with those. I think that’s a good place to start with your babies…..keep reading the Bible stories with them and as they get older looking at scripture a little deeper….especially focusing on the teachings of Jesus. If parents did only this they would be doing better than 99% of institutional churches. But if you add to that, everyday demonstrations of the Christ life… kindness…caring….apologies for your own mistakes….and explaining the why’s and the why not’s in terms of Christ’s character and teaching, then WHAM! (I am taking some liberties in the spirit of Timothy’s “older women”.) Work out your faith visibly and audibly in front of your children…being candid and forthright about your weaknesses and failures and questions…. Make them feel free to ask Father their deepest and most difficult questions. Dig in to understand WITH them…rather than giving them the pat answer which is unsatisfying. Keep talking….keep praying with and for them. You are partnering with Father….and your children are His workmanship, not your own. He will ultimately and certainly be doing His part and when we pray for wisdom about our part….we must assume we have been given that wisdom.<br />
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Teach your children some of the great old hymns that have good theology (of course some of them have bad theology….so discriminate) <br />
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Have them memorize great passages of the Bible. There has been a tendency to discard the Bible with some branches of the un-church….in favor of following the spirit, but that’s crazy. Children will desperately need a good grounding in scripture to be able to think in the same terms as Christ. (I am working on memorizing the sermon on the mount. Three chapters well worth committing to memory.)<br />
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I have found youth groups (I went as a youth….and my kids went…and now some of my grandchildren do) to be a source of negative socialization and bad teaching. Also that generally, they divided the loyalties of the children often turning them against parents (who presumably didn’t understand their children better than a freshly minted “youth pastor.”) Dallas Willard (in The Divine Conspiracy) uses the term, “Mutual Condemnation Societies” which is an excellent term for this phenomenon.<br />
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Consequently, (rather than youth groups) I think we (*you*…haha…I’m at a later stage) should cultivate the friendship of families that seem to share your values and so you expose your children to children who might be on the same track as you. Practice hospitality and initiate joint social situations. When our kids were growing up they told us that they liked our friends better than their own. Exposing your children to other adults who demonstrate the Christ life(as opposed to just church attendance) is good for them….and for you. Two of our three children ended up marrying the children from families that we had deliberately cultivated as friends. Don’t worry whether they will be “over-sheltered”….that is impossible in our world where they are constantly bombarded with other perspectives whether good or bad.<br />
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The only other thing I can think of is that we need to constantly and consistently study and follow Christ’s teaching and example ourselves. We cannot pass on what we do not possess.mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-20995562045915643682011-02-14T12:11:00.000-08:002011-02-14T12:11:57.484-08:00What made me love Leroy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwuzhiSL8qlSChmSWlmr5OuwOcOYUgATyAS0qM4yGf68RinoLvpUbQAJLcYDc4MCgJ7tt1RiGOx24xiEzzHoVZSqj5aaDGc0_AFwh0l1YHseCDYWGzAgIWgsDmcsAmlsiGThOLCZMBx3_V/s1600/L%2526SCruising.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwuzhiSL8qlSChmSWlmr5OuwOcOYUgATyAS0qM4yGf68RinoLvpUbQAJLcYDc4MCgJ7tt1RiGOx24xiEzzHoVZSqj5aaDGc0_AFwh0l1YHseCDYWGzAgIWgsDmcsAmlsiGThOLCZMBx3_V/s320/L%2526SCruising.bmp" /></a></div><br />
I was first attracted by his beautiful smile made all the more appealing by his outgoing friendliness… not to mention his perfect teeth<br />
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Next his seeming un-self-conscious, fun loving, get things going nature with regard to social events of which he was more likely than not, the initiator.<br />
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It was wonderful to hear his singing voice and virtuosity in playing guitar and then…to be drawn into participation with him in this was amazing.<br />
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I loved that he had a vision for his life and a plan for it’s unfolding. This gave me the confidence to link my future to his. <br />
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Leroy will most certainly do what he believes to be right.<br />
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Had I not the sense that he intended to follow Jesus wherever He led….Had I not the sense that he loved me and put me second….those would have been the deal breakers.<br />
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They were not….mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-61397994506703608492010-12-26T13:26:00.000-08:002010-12-26T13:40:42.651-08:00Tolstoy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcStlDazByhVNnGxH9LHxEohJ6Rr7JjYd4-G7L3UDZPn4rBJX2T4MVUIYsTFQLsW9acLeKpfTZafM8PGAddcT3EKfmvoeGFNGuHNwoJ1kBfyug-PaWIynOIXYwUE-peA0IxMb4ZWpZyB0H/s1600/L.N.Tolstoy_Prokudin-Gorsky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcStlDazByhVNnGxH9LHxEohJ6Rr7JjYd4-G7L3UDZPn4rBJX2T4MVUIYsTFQLsW9acLeKpfTZafM8PGAddcT3EKfmvoeGFNGuHNwoJ1kBfyug-PaWIynOIXYwUE-peA0IxMb4ZWpZyB0H/s320/L.N.Tolstoy_Prokudin-Gorsky.jpg" /></a></div><br />
I'm still reading Tolstoys "The Kingdom of God is Within You," and finding that I really identify with his political views as much as with his take on the Christian life. I've had people say to me, "You mean you think Tolstoy was a Christian?" Ha...a lot of people maybe think that because he was excommunicated from the Russian Orthodox Church he wasn't a follower of Christ. I heard someone say that he invented his own religion. In a nutshell...his "religion" consisted of rejecting institutional creeds and following the teaching of Christ. The five commands of Christ which we see in His sermon on the mount (Matthew chapter 5) are:<br />
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1. NO KILLING<br />
2. NO ADULTERY<br />
3. NO OATHS<br />
4. NO RESISTANCE OF EVIL<br />
5. LOVE<br />
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There is much talk about legalism vs. "hyper-grace" these days. Legalism is the idea that we can be righteous by simply following the letter of the law (as concerns say...the ten commandments.) "Hyper-grace" (perhaps I made up that term....) is the concept that since we are not able to save ourselves by our works...there is nothing we can do...it is all grace. This is the concept that Paul was speaking to when he said, (Romans 6:1) What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? <br />
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If it was all about the Bar Code style of Christianity...then the legalists and the gracies might have a reason to slug it out to find out who's out and who's in.... But since it is not about getting a ticket to heaven but rather becoming a person who can breath the air of heaven; who will thrive in that atmosphere; who has become fit for service; Jesus is telling us that we have got to go deeper than the letter of the law. Not only should we not kill...we must also give up our murderous hatred. Not only should we not commit adultry...we must abandon lust. We shouldn't have to swear an oath to be believed...we must simply always tell the truth. We must not resist evil men with violence, but rather be mistreated than mistreat. Not only should we love our friends...but our enemies too. It's all about the kind of person we are becoming not about whether we could prove our innocence in a court of law. <br />
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On the other side. For those who claim that they can do as they wish because they are relying on grace...one may ask...what are they becoming. Are we really relying on Christ if we are not even attempting to live His life?<br />
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I found an interesting footnote in my Bible to Habakkuk 1:4 "There is a curious passage in the Talmud (the body of Jewish civil and religious law) which says that Moses gave six hundred injunctions to the Israelites. As these commands might prove too numerous to commit to memory, David brought them down to eleven in Psalm 15. Isaiah reduced these eleven to six in Isaiah 33:15. Micah (6:8) further reduced them to three; and Isaiah (56:1) once more brought them down to two. These two Amos (5:4) reduced to one. However, lest it might be supposed from this that God could be found only in the fulfillment of the law, Habakkuk (2:4 KJV)said, 'The just shall live by his faith.'"<br />
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Tolstoy couldn't stand the brand of Christianity that he saw. The religious dogma; the smoke and icons and holy artifacts and other nonsense of the Orthodox church. Armies marching to war (in direct opposition to Christ's teaching on non-resistance) carrying the images of the saints (idolatry); He had no choice to get himself kicked out. And I have been wondering this week (reading another book from that period of Russian history) what would have happened in Russia if the Russian church had paid more attention to Tolstoy and listened to his views on the teaching of Christ,rather than excommunicating him; whether Russia could have had a peaceful transition rather than a bloody revolution led by violent athiestic forces. <br />
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He wanted the children to be taught to actually follow Christ's teaching, not just learn a faulty catechism by rote. But the institutional church, is an earthly institution after all, and the function of an institution is self-preservation and expansion. Keep things simple for the simple masses and keep them believing that the elite ecclesiastic hiearchy knows best.<br />
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<i>"We may think God wants actions of a certain kind, but God wants people of a certain sort"-</i>C.S. Lewismamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-5335130312061048712010-12-05T11:28:00.000-08:002010-12-05T11:30:43.604-08:00Eternal Kind of LifeEternal Kind of Life<br />
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I had always thought that having eternal life meant unending life. Never really thinking that the word eternal is descriptive of not of time, but of timelessness. In order to be eternal it would have to have no beginning as well as no end.<br />
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It was while reading “The Divine Conspiracy” by Dallas Willard that I was first introduced to the concept that “Eternal life” refers to a KIND of life. (p.53)<br />
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In today’s terminology, I think it might be expressed “sustainable life”…the kind of life that could safely be allowed to continue “forever”.<br />
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When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God…(Genesis 3) God had told them that they would die as a consequence….and they did, but in the mean while, God had to remove them from the idyllic Eden (Gen 3:22) “lest he put forth his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” My Bible has a footnote there which says, “This sentence is left unfinished, as if to hasten to avert the tragedy suggested of men living on forever in their now fallen state.”<br />
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Now leaving Genesis and going to Jesus’ beautiful prayer for us which is in John 17, (Please read the whole lovely chapter...preferably in the Amplified Bible...haha) we see Jesus giving the definition of eternal life which Dallas Willard had indicated in his book. In v.3 (He is talking to His Father) Jesus says, “And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), whom You have sent.”<br />
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I feel like I could go in a few different directions from this point but I hate to have too long of a post….and I want to slow down and write thoughtfully…so for this time I will just leave it at this. “Eternal life” is not about “making it” to heaven….it it about becoming, through the work of Christ and the ongoing workings of the Holy Spirit, the kind of person whom Father God can safely allow to continue in a sustainable (perfect) ongoing life. (To be continued)mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-85966017135114938872010-11-13T11:48:00.000-08:002010-11-13T12:11:46.339-08:00Three signalsWhen I read my Bible, I love to follow the cross references, read all the notes. Both the printed footnotes…and the notes I have left myself. <br />
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As it happened I was reading in John today and came again, to the story of Lazarus. I thought I had blogged on the idea of the three signals some time ago, so I checked and found this one from 3 ½ years ago.<br />
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http://mamalenasporch.blogspot.com/2007/06/comments-on-john-11.html<br />
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I was a little surprised that I had mentioned the idea of the three signals but then only wrote about the first one. (sidetracked with other ideas…haha…to no-one’s surprise)<br />
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So I want to note in this post the other two signals as I see them. This is of interest to me because, Jesus always said things like, “My hour has not yet come,” and “I can do only what I see my Father doing…” He always seemed to know what His Father was doing and what His own next step must be. Since Jesus tells us that we are to do His works in the same way as He has done Father’s works….then the process of guidance must be worth investigating to try to see how Jesus received guidance. So…to recap….<br />
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<b><i>The first signal</i></b> I noticed, which seemed to indicate to Jesus that “His hour” was at hand was the signal of Lazarus. (John 11:4) When Jesus received the news of Lazarus’ illness He said, “This sickness is not to end in death; but (on the contrary) it is to honor God and to promote His glory.” Then He hesitated going to him for a couple of days….on purpose…. Somehow, this gave me the impression that Jesus was receiving a signal…direct guidance…. I will not get sidetracked again although the whole story gets my mind stirring with thoughts which I’ve already mentioned in my other post on John 11. It is enough to note that after the miracle of Lazarus, both Jesus and Lazarus had been catapulted to rock star status, so much so that “From that day on they took counsel and plotted together how they might put Him to death.” 11:53<br />
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<b><i>The second signal</i></b> (as I see it) is given in Chapter 12. Jesus is attending a dinner at the same home; that of Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus. The story of Lazarus’ resurrection had really blazed abroad…and so many people had showed up to see both of them, that the elite began to think of ways of killing Lazarus too. At the dinner, Mary shocks the guests by entered the room and pouring $20,000 worth of ointment on Jesus feet. (I’m figuring that roughly…because the Bible states that it was worth a years wages for an ordinary working man… 52 weeks x 40 hours x $10 per hour… If he was talking about a plumber…then the ointment was worth A LOT more…haha… Anyhow…it doesn’t matter what the value….or what anyone else (Judas) thought of the "waste." Jesus seemed to receive it as a signal…a sign…a preparation for His death and burial. And we are told that the very next day was Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem which was the first link in the chain of events leading to Golgotha.<br />
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The third signal was puzzling to me at first. But so often, when I find something puzzling…there is a beautiful nugget to be found….and I thought it puzzling when in 12:21-24, we are told that some Greeks had come to worship at the feast and had asked to see Jesus. When Philip and Andrew went to tell Jesus about them, He didn’t set up a meeting for later that evening or for any time for that matter…His response was, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified and exalted…” And He goes on with a beautiful sermon, punctuated by a <i>voice from heaven</i> (which was heard by the bystanders) intended, it seems, to prepare Himself and them for His imminent death. He closes the sermon with the statement, “Whatever I speak, I am saying (exactly) what My Father has told Me to say and in accordance with His instruction.” (So we know that what He has told them… we really need to read again …with comprehension.) But…If only we could realize that kind of guidance…of “walking in the Spirit.”<br />
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So...why that signal? How was the request of those Greek fellows to see Jesus a signal to Him?<br />
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There are two statements that, I believe give us insight into why that might be a signal. Both refer to the expansion and growth of the kingdom of God. In v.24 He states, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it die, it brings forth much fruit.”<br />
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And then in verse 32 He says, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw <i><b>all</b></i> men unto me.”<br />
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Jesus had previously instructed the disciples to preach only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel…but now, I think the coming of the Greeks was a signal that the timing was right for the message of Christ to begin it’s outward spread to the whole world. That the time for the final act had come…for the first domino to fall… And those attending the feast from near and far....would become incidental witnesses to the death and resurrection of Christ and would begin to bring His message to the rest of the world....mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-65865725493310080422010-10-21T00:24:00.000-07:002010-10-21T00:24:20.413-07:00Fruit<b>Fruitfulness is born of Relationship...<br />
Power can only produce works….<br />
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<i>Matthew 7:22 Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord have we not prophesied in Your name and driven out demons in your Name and done many mighty works in Your name? 23 And then I will say to them openly (publicly), I never knew you; depart from Me, you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands.]<br />
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Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:<br />
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</i><b>Relationship...of the vine and branches variety…is the only way to be fruitful…<br />
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Mighty works (even those done in Jesus’ name) can be a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal…in the absence of relationship …<br />
</b>mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-57938168840091799922010-07-12T14:47:00.000-07:002010-07-12T19:02:29.081-07:00Love"I feel loved." I've been noticing lately that people DO actually say that...and I have been wondering what they mean when they say it. A young Hollywood star says it. A woman coming out of a loveless marriage and then marrying again. HA... mostly people who are embarking on their second or third marriage it seems. But not always... <br /><br />I think it is easier for a younger person (or at least one who feels young) to "feel" loved because, the physical attractiveness of youth seems a strong enough to pass for love. Lately, the term "HOT" has replaced "beautiful" or "lovely" as a compliment. I think that is an indication of what is of value and what makes for love-worthiness. But as the old saying goes, "when you're hot, you're hot, and when you're not, you're not." As we age, we shouldn't have to depend upon being "hot" to be love-worthy. I don't pine for that kind of love...but I do pine for genuine love. I don't want to be convinced that I am loved, I simply want to BE loved. I find it difficult to express, even to myself what it is, exactly, that I crave. I don't want to be convinced by deeds or words that I am loved. I want to actually BE loved and have words or deeds flow out of that. I think that if we actually DO love, then a convincing performance won't be necessary. <br /><br />So today I was reading in Ephesians and I came across the definition of love that expressed for me EXACTLY what I desire...and therefore...according to the Golden Rule...exactly how I need to BE. OK, I know that sounds like a performance...and I said performance shouldn't be necessary....but it is...of course...haha. It should just become less neccessary as time goes on and habit becomes nature...becomes genuine...<br /><br />Anyhow, this is what I read. It is from the Amplified Bible and so now you know one more reason why I just love that translation. It's the [amplified] part that is helpful in expressing exactly what love should look like when we get it right. <br /><br /><br /> <em><strong>...WALK IN LOVE...<br /> [esteeming and delighting in one another]<br /> Ephesians 5:2 (AMP)</strong></em><br /><br />I don't see how this can be possible as a one way stream in the long term...even though it might have to begin as one. I think it will have to become a "one another" thing or it won't be possible and we'll just have to settle for an inferior outcome. Maybe the thing that is helpful for me here is to have it so perfectly expressed what the target is...<br /><br /> <em><strong>Esteeming...delighting...one anothering</strong></em>...<strong></strong><br /><br />PS....I love this poem by Walt Whitman...so I'm just adding it on. It speaks to me of how I wish....and imagined things might have been at this stage of life....<br /><br /><em><strong>Not from successful love alone,<br />Nor wealth, nor honor'd middle age, nor victories of politics or war;<br />But as life wanes, and all the turbulent passions calm,<br />As gorgeous, vapory, silent hues cover the evening sky,<br /><br />As softness, fulness, rest, suffuse the frame, like freshier, balmier air,<br />As the days take on a mellower light, and the apple at last hangs really finish'd and indolent-ripe on the tree,<br />Then for the teeming quietest, happiest days of all!<br />The brooding and blissful halcyon days! <br /><br /> Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman, 1891</strong></em>mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-38747687192990234652010-06-01T00:25:00.000-07:002011-02-20T11:46:15.756-08:00Good News?The language of the evangelism I’ve always known hasn’t always sat well with me…but as I’ve been repeatedly told. “I like the way I’m doing it wrong better than the way you’re not doing it at all.” Anyhow, I think I am finding a way to express the Gospel in such a way that I can be at peace with the message…and I think that’s important, because if you’re not convinced it is hard to be convincing. The way we always expressed it seemed more like a threat than “good news” and I think that what we have to share really is good news….to all men. So I say, why bully people, with a threat that is an insult to our loving Father’s nature and intentions? I don’t see Jesus doing that.<br />
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I happened to be in a church service this week and the speaker was giving a “gospel” message, in the course of which he said, “You can become a child of God. You simply have to pray this prayer….etc….and you’ll know that if you die…you’ll go to heaven” It struck me that what bothers me is this very rudimentary start point of the message.<br />
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I thought of verses that I had recently noticed in chapter two of the book of Ephesians. The first two verses speaks of “sons of disobedience…(the careless, the rebellions, and the unbelieving, who go against the purposes of God)” (AMP)<br />
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I noted in the margin….Sons nevertheless….<br />
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Verse three speaks of, “children of God’s wrath, and heirs of His indignation.” <br />
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Again I noted in the margin…..children and heirs nevertheless…<br />
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We often sing songs about “We’re all God’s children …” etc. and since it’s only a song, we don’t get into trouble, but should we genuinely believe that ALL are God children…we would be told…NO…only those who choose to accept Him are His children. (this is spite of the fact that God clearly states in John 15:16 “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,”) So I think we should be able to accept that we are ALL God’s children. If not His….then whose? He created us….He calls us His children….and so I think the message…the good news is…. “You ARE a child of God.” As far as I know…the devil nor anyone else ever created any people, so we are all children of Our Father. (John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.)<br />
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So I guess I might say (when mounting my soap box)…something like… “God has sent me to tell you that YOU ARE His beloved child and you are living a life beneath what He has provided for you. He wants you to come home…He wants you to receive your inheritance. He wants you to align yourself on His side and against the lie that you have believed, which has kept you in bondage.”<br />
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The prayer we should pray is “Thy kingdom come…Thy will be done…by me…in me…through me…and in the whole world. Let me have a role in bringing it to pass.” By means of this prayer…which Jesus taught us to pray….we are saying, “I’m aligning my will with the will of God….My Father….and acknowledging my real identity as His child.”<br />
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I like how Neil Anderson says, “What you do, doesn’t define who you are… who you are determines what you do….” I might not have quoted that just right…but the point is that it is important to know that you are a Child of God, because this important knowledge will bear fruit in your life. You will begin to act and live out of your identity as a child of God. You will be enabled to grow out of your carelessness and rebellion and live out the truth of Acts 17:28 “For in him we live, and move, and have our being;..”<br />
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Dallas Willard speaks about a “bar-code religion.” He says, people have been told that they just need the right bar-code…you pray a prayer…you get your bar-code and then you just forget about it. Your place in Heaven is reserved and that’s really all that matters. But Father wants His Children to grow up to be like Him…. It’s not just Hell avoidance….that’s just a threat….it’s not the good news…it’s bullying…it’s soap sales.<br />
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The good news is, “Father loves you and He wants you to come home. You are His child and although you may be in rebellion… He is the kind of a Father who will never let you go. He created you and He loves you. You are His workmanship and ‘He who began a good work…will be faithful to complete it.’ Come easy and live a blessed life…or be prepared for a long hard road at the end of which…you will find Him waiting.”mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-517130617051430602010-04-18T18:46:00.000-07:002010-04-18T19:02:47.440-07:00Man looketh on the outward appearanceCharter was reading to me while I was there this week, the story of Isaac and Rebecca. I thought it might be a teachable moment on the concept of what to look for in a prospective wife. Never too early...haha.... Anyhow, When he came to the part about the servant praying, "If I ask for water and she gives it to me and offers to water my camels too....let that be the girl..." I questioned Charter, "Do you think that was a good way for the servant to choose a girl?" Of course, I was thinking that by his method he was learning whether the girl was kind, hard working, generous....etc. Blank look.....so I said, why do you think he asked for *THAT* sign and not just (for example) "Let it be the first girl in a blue dress.?" Without hesitation Charter stated, "She might be ugly." Well I guess that pretty well sums up the notion I was out to correct. Maybe I was a bit premature......or maybe a bit too late...but I hope not...mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-20541252536165235542010-04-03T10:47:00.000-07:002010-04-03T11:28:18.210-07:00Upon This RockIs Peter the rock on which Christ's church is built?<br /><br />Once again....while reading a very well-known Christian author, I read a reference to Jesus allegedly telling Peter that he (Peter) was the rock upon which Jesus was going to build His Church. Of course the reference is Mathew 16:17 where Jesus says, "...thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." <br /><br />If we are just reading one word at a time....or one verse at a time...instead of the whole passage in context, it is understandable how we might imagine that this is what Jesus was saying. Just because the name Peter comes from the Greek word petros... which means stone, we assume that interpretation. But what I see in reading the red words in my Bible is that Jesus often used a literary device which I refer to as "THE TURN" (admittedly, I just made that term up myself)<br /><br />Just for one example, I refer to Luke 21:16-18<br /><br />Luke 21:16 And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.<br />17 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.<br />18 But there shall not an hair of your head perish.<br /><br />OK the turn here is that in v. 16 He states plainly that some will be put to death...and in v. 18 he assured them that not a hair of their head would perish.<br /><br />So the turn is that in verse 16&17 He is referring to what is going to come to pass in the natural realm...and in verse 18 He has TURNED and is referring to the heavenly realm. That's just one example...there are more....but I digress....<br /><br />So back to Luke. If we take our reading back a couple of verses....Jesus is asking Peter who people say that He is...and who Peter thinks that He is.... Peter gets the correct answer when he says, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."<br /><br />THIS IS THE ROCK upon which Jesus is building his Church! Sure there is a little play on words with respect to Peter's name....it means stone....But it is the BEDROCK TRUTH of what Peter has just stated which is the Gibralter on which Christ is going to build his church. <br /><br />Just look at how much harm has been done by the notion of the apostolic succession of the Popes etc...the church built on Peter...and all it's various offshoots. Yet all through history Christ has been simultaneously building His church...with living bricks...mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-14708939976780982002010-03-21T18:08:00.000-07:002010-03-21T18:09:42.806-07:00Abraham and IsaacI marvel as I read the story of Abraham and Isaac at the dispassionate way in which the book of Genesis relates the story. It would be amazing if the passage had been written by say, Fyodor Dostoyevky in the style of a psychological novel with all the internal wrestlings of both Abraham and Isaac revealed.<br /><br />Imagine the scene of old Abraham at the age of approximately 125 years taking a rope and binding 25 year old Isaac and suggesting he take his place on the pile of prepared firewood that Isaac had carried to the place on his own shoulders. What thoughts must be going through Isaac’s mind? He is certainly strong enough to resist his ancient father, but he submits to being bound and placed on the alter. <br /><br />What emotions must Abraham be experiencing as he reaches for the knife? How does he continue to trust God, who has given him this son in whom is bound up such an amazing promise. What if God had not spoken in that hideous moment as he raised the knife. <br /><br />I wonder if Abraham expected that Isaac would be raised from death? He had God’s assurance that Isaac was the child of promise, and yet he had been told to lay him on the altar.<br /><br />What amazing confidence Abraham had in his ability to hear God’s voice….and in God’s ability to keep His promises despite any circumstances. And yet, we sometimes believe that God’s plan has been thwarted somehow, and His purposes has been derailed.<br /><br />But it has not….mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-6062329908659244682009-10-27T17:15:00.000-07:002009-10-27T17:29:13.659-07:00It is He<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTavnPKZZI1MVtK0d0SL7ZJPhqAXOnlOaO0H6XBZeamxODt0sS-_URR87r4WZMxJ_nnQ2NHkVs_QN3NQftx07Xxtf1fsTm0eEoCjYYRNbVuUIRa4wXDY5P6sEeRtoYSyfK6f9fOgLRFq5q/s1600-h/DSCF0040.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTavnPKZZI1MVtK0d0SL7ZJPhqAXOnlOaO0H6XBZeamxODt0sS-_URR87r4WZMxJ_nnQ2NHkVs_QN3NQftx07Xxtf1fsTm0eEoCjYYRNbVuUIRa4wXDY5P6sEeRtoYSyfK6f9fOgLRFq5q/s320/DSCF0040.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397438795789655602" /></a><br />I am reading Thomas Merton’s “No Man Is An Island,” and was struck by this short passage. I don’t feel I need to add much…except to say that it speaks to me on several fronts that I have been/am dealing with.<br /><br />1. The craving for significance...which I think it is idolatry<br />2. The need to withdraw from society at times…in order to deal with our stuff….so as not to overwhelm others with our own unhappiness…<br />3. Self-conscious living...which Father has showed me is the flip side of the sin of pride <br />4. We need not worry about our progress…or success….just keep putting Him on in every situation without worrying if anyone sees or takes note…or appreciates…or even about the outcome….<br />5. We are not expected to make of ourselves anything other than what Father is making of us…<br /><br />So with no further adieu….(as they say)….Here’s a nice little bit from T. Merton:<br /><br /><br />“3. All men seek peace first of all with themselves. That is necessary, because we do not naturally find rest even in our own being. We have to learn to commune with ourselves before we can communicate with other men and with God. A man who is not at peace with himself necessarily projects his interior fighting into the society of those he lives with, and spreads a contagion of conflict all around him. Even when he tries to do good to others his efforts are hopeless, since he does not know how to do good to himself. In moments of wildest idealism, he may take it into his head to make other people happy; and in doing so he will overwhelm them with his own unhappiness. He seeks to find himself somehow in the work of making others happy. Therefore he throws himself into the work. As a result he gets out of the work all that he put into it; his own confusion, his own disintegration, his own unhappiness. <br /><br />It is useless to try to make peace with ourselves by being pleased with everything we have done. In order to settle down in the quiet of our own being we must learn to be detached from the results of our own activity. We must withdraw ourselves, to some extent, from effects that are beyond our control and be content with the good will and the work that are the quiet expression of our inner life. We must be content to live without watching ourselves live, to work without expecting an immediate reward, to love without an instantaneous satisfaction, and to exist without any special recognition.<br /><br />It is only when we are detached from ourselves that we can be a t peace with ourselves. We cannot find happiness in our work if we are always extending ourselves beyond ourselves and beyond the sphere of our work in order to find ourselves greater than we are.<br /><br />Our Christian destiny is, in fact, a great one; but we cannot achieve greatness unless we lose all interest in being great. For our own idea of greatness is illusory, and if we pay too much attention to it we will be lured out of the peace and stability of the being God gave us, and seek to live in a myth we have created for ourselves. It is, therefore a very great thing to be little, which is to say; to be ourselves. And when we are truly ourselves we lose most of the futile self-consciousness that keeps us constantly comparing ourselves with others in order to see how big we are."<br /><br />From “No Man Is An Island” by Thomas Merton (Trappist Monk). This is section three of chapter seven, “Being and Doing.”mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-12444322428466943382009-08-30T12:21:00.000-07:002009-08-30T23:28:02.384-07:00Next Year<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZRmmICqlSPg2FQAecRXT0xtL42LPn6zlsCdl5nXANuYZzatU_kC2Ewg1-DcmotTFZunGKI2Ksjn4hYNmlnv-urH9mP7tiw6QbJ5kPaclk-xlyxztNW0tv0jKiVDBVdvgF2GlVJmQA9pnd/s1600-h/geranium+027.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZRmmICqlSPg2FQAecRXT0xtL42LPn6zlsCdl5nXANuYZzatU_kC2Ewg1-DcmotTFZunGKI2Ksjn4hYNmlnv-urH9mP7tiw6QbJ5kPaclk-xlyxztNW0tv0jKiVDBVdvgF2GlVJmQA9pnd/s320/geranium+027.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375840275436343170" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /><br />I was in the back yard assessing—as gardeners will—what worked and what didn’t. The mantra of a gardener is, as we all know, “next year…” So it was with this in mind that I cast my eyes around the yard to determine what had to be done differently next year. A small potted geranium caught my eye. I had bought it because I loved the color and the shape of the flowers and the leaves. I hadn’t any planter to put it in, so I just put it in a pot thinking I’ll let it grow and it can become a mother plant—to take cuttings and then next year I’ll put them in all my container planting.<br /><br />On surveying the plant, it seemed to me that it had not grown a single new leaf all summer. It had just stayed the same size. I wondered at this until it occurred to me that it had never stopped flowering all summer either. It had always had a half dozen or so of those retina-burning scarlet flower clusters even though I had neglected it all summer.<br /><br />Well and good, I thought, but I had wanted the plant to become robust and large enough to take cuttings and it was still as small as it ever was in it’s little four inch pot. I determined right then that this winter, I would take it in, and rip off every blossom….and cut off every new flower bud….to force the plant to use it’s life to not just produce a few beautiful flowers, but to become large and robust enough to use to propagate more of it’s kind. I determined to wound it—and then to nurture and fertilize it over the winter season.<br /><br />Isn’t this what Father sometimes does with us? It is not that our flowers don’t please Him, or that He wants to destroy us…though it may feel that way. Possibly there comes a season when He has to take the drastic measure of ripping off all that we cherish and find our meaning and value in—in order that He can make us fit for a higher and better or bigger purpose. </div>mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5417968389807760879.post-65299458926068004062009-08-05T17:15:00.000-07:002009-08-05T18:14:25.553-07:00C-Dory gathering at Nanaimo<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXSU2Lw65NBQrS6_Sz0lOKflFIoMxcfJRpv9wSNt1t1fwCg2n_QpPjBaFNQlbfSnWMgRXoiT-0C2Ojp-n2vNjjnBXX5f5qltpJDrLWmTwsCZdHvo8XJ-IWiUAGLvl7ejaUN0I0GPFIAXyn/s1600-h/DSCF0123.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366652840672465762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXSU2Lw65NBQrS6_Sz0lOKflFIoMxcfJRpv9wSNt1t1fwCg2n_QpPjBaFNQlbfSnWMgRXoiT-0C2Ojp-n2vNjjnBXX5f5qltpJDrLWmTwsCZdHvo8XJ-IWiUAGLvl7ejaUN0I0GPFIAXyn/s320/DSCF0123.jpg" /></a><br /><div>JULY 30 - AUGUST 3 Nanaimo C-Brat get together.<br /><br />Thursday<br /><br />We launched at Tulista (Sidney) using the long term parking—we purchased a season pass for $120 which is a good deal considering that we will save $8 for each day of parking/launching. The Sidney area is often calm when all others have wind warning so It seems good to have a pass there. It was around 11:30 am when we launched and the tide was up over 2 meters so the launch was smooth…winds light…skies blue. It is a heavenly day – 34 degrees.<br /><br />We toured along the west shore of Saltspring Island tried fishing for a while through Sansom Narrows as there were lots of fish under and big ones jumping but we caught none. Pulled in to Burgoyne Bay to check it out and tied up to a buoy and made our lunch. I am always hungry the minute we launch…haha. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQRyDaW-CjYb2xAbiNUBnBQblzCdWM-Oc_P4JA1TZsAbxbVNHjRU0hVVpWJajjXS7JhfkmSwRpOL2QrT8cE2v-8QDoy2nkfhS6_vsUmkMWcVaE46VP0rHYuD65fF_Ns_9kmkzvMloTdozk/s1600-h/DSCF0001.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366640166693890562" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQRyDaW-CjYb2xAbiNUBnBQblzCdWM-Oc_P4JA1TZsAbxbVNHjRU0hVVpWJajjXS7JhfkmSwRpOL2QrT8cE2v-8QDoy2nkfhS6_vsUmkMWcVaE46VP0rHYuD65fF_Ns_9kmkzvMloTdozk/s320/DSCF0001.jpg" /></a><br />After lunch we explored along tent island at the tip of Kuper Island and then into Telegraph cove which is between Kuper and Thetis island. The water temperature was at 76 degrees and so it made a swim inevitable. Then we passed in front of Capernwray Bible college and cut back across to Chemainus where we had a reservation for the night. We tied up in our slip at the marina which is right beside the ferry terminal and then went up town for ice cream. Came back and read the newspaper and then had a nice cool shower before going to bed. The sun is going down and it is 9:10 Pm. It is warm enough we will have to sleep with the hatch and windows open tonight.<br /><br />Friday<br /><br />We slept well and made our breakfast thinking we’d wait till slack tide (2 PM) to go through Dodd Narrows but the harbour master told us it would not be a concern to go through earlier with the power we have so this we did at around noon after a leisurely tour past Ladysmith and Cedar. We were a little nervous though as there were three boats coming through towards us….two large cruisers following a sailboat which made them go slower than they maybe would have liked.<br /><br />Anyhow, arriving at Nanaimo, there were fellow “C-Brats” watching for member boats and guiding us to our spot and helping us get tied up etc. We have been getting to know Bill and El of the Halcyon, who have lived on a boat for over 20 years (and not a big boat….one like ours) Also, Susan and Tom of the Susan E, Ruth and Joe of the R Matey, Steve and Beledia of the GOYO… and others….There are over 20 boats here.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD-MDi1-TEETalXW7sD0Bkzp-saoIHgcWJDjofWoVNm-TY_OfOwggne-cU8tUmePqmKOQE731cef6Up_grtnL19bMfRQAJM2ajnTj6qLQeWtJC-BVrgSIduY96Qdilft5uACEuQn0sNp1S/s1600-h/DSCF0042.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366642465802598338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD-MDi1-TEETalXW7sD0Bkzp-saoIHgcWJDjofWoVNm-TY_OfOwggne-cU8tUmePqmKOQE731cef6Up_grtnL19bMfRQAJM2ajnTj6qLQeWtJC-BVrgSIduY96Qdilft5uACEuQn0sNp1S/s320/DSCF0042.jpg" /></a> Friday night the group had made arrangements to go to the Dingy Dock Pub on Discovery Island for dinner. Most went over on the little ferry/shuttle….but we took our boat over. Shared mushroom caps, a crab and bacon melt and a side of chilli prawn…yummy.<br /><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Saturday<br /><br />Saturday we were free to do our own thing so we shopped around town a bit. Leroy went to west marine with a few of the men and I went to a boat store downtown and checked used book stores etc. In the evening we had a big potluck supper on the dock. I brought a greek salad and rhubarb squares….Tom had gone crabbing and brought a bunch of crab…cooked and cleaned….lots of good food. </div><br /><div><br />We have been learning from everyone else. Talking about modifications, equipment, fishing, prawning…tours and destinations…and generally getting to know some of the other boaters<br /><br />Sunday<br /><br />More visiting in the morning and then at 11 we had booked a brunch at that lovely restaurant overlooking the harbour. Wonderful place for breakfast! Then we got gas and headed to Dodd Narrows once again some time before slack tide with our new friends, Roger and Cheryl in their boat, “In Cahoots”. Once through the narrows, they went on to Chemainus and we went the other way, exploring De Courcy and Ruxton Islands..along the west side of Valdez and Galiano and down the west side of Saltspring.<br /><br />We had planned to pull in at either Retreat Cove or Montague Harbour on Galiano Island, but I had heard there was a dock at Conover Co<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkmRiFjOuLE7wad0rhkMN7CYwrxP22gQXcAzmDw1j3W3uXsAy31Q3XOQYqdZbo7RNPR0uWbOr6CypH2IsBIDzlFXvRMdLpaT3pqE6nQrEC4raX-jQ5hLuO9IaQNVUc62qkMUErkUgepkc1/s1600-h/DSCF0100.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366648704541831026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkmRiFjOuLE7wad0rhkMN7CYwrxP22gQXcAzmDw1j3W3uXsAy31Q3XOQYqdZbo7RNPR0uWbOr6CypH2IsBIDzlFXvRMdLpaT3pqE6nQrEC4raX-jQ5hLuO9IaQNVUc62qkMUErkUgepkc1/s320/DSCF0100.jpg" /></a>ve, on Wallace Island so we thought we’d go and investigate that first to see if there might be a spot there. We got there and took up the last spot on the dock. Boats were anchored out all over the place. It is a beautiful island and I had a nice swim in the cove, and we took a hike around. Saw the little old buildings where the little resort had been. I had read David Conover’s books years ago, “One Man’s Island” and “Once Upon and Island” so it was fun and interesting to visit the island…which is now a beautiful park. We are hoping for good weather when Cairo comes in September so that we can go for a little overnighter there again. </div><br /><div><br />Monday<br /><br />We had been warned that racoons would visit our boat, so we made sure that everything was put away before we went to bed….but sure enough there were lots of muddy little footprints all over the deck when we got up.<br /><br />We decided to check out several public docks and bays on the way home and we did go and look at Retreat Cove, Montague Bay, and a couple of places on Pender Island. Then we went in to Port Browning on North Pender and then out under the bridge which joins North and South Pender Islands, into Bedwell harbour where we drifted and made our lunch. Once we got going again, the wind was starting to come up a bit and we were getting a little tired, so we headed toward Sidney rather than check the parks at Piers Island and Swartz Bay. Found Tulista boat launch very busy…but I held the boat at the dock while Leroy went for the truck and soon we were pulled out and on our way home.<br /><br />We had a great time…explored some new territory widened our horizons somewhat again….and gained a little more experience….all good. Arrived home tired but happy.</div></div></div></div>mamalenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02746046872114796300noreply@blogger.com4