Here it is...

Please read "Disclaimer" and "On Hold" even if you can't make it through this whole thing.

In the beginning God…
Seems like as good a place as any to begin. And God Said…
How precious is the Word of God. How incredible is the fact that HE, who created the heavens and the earth would choose to make Himself known to such insignificant beings.
In the beginning, God created (Genesis 1:1 of course). And what may be known about Him is plain to us, to all of us, because since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature has been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. (Romans 1:19-20). Creation would have been enough. But he also gave us His word. He communicated with us, from the beginning. And as insurance that the message would be clear and eternal, He chose the languages in which to write the words, and hand picked the prophets, scribes, secretaries by whose hands it would be written. First mentioned is Moses. Exodus 17:14 “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered… Exodus 24:4 Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said…Numbers 33:2 At the LORD’s command Moses recorded the stages of their journey. And this is confirmed by our LORD - John 5:46 If you believed Moses, you would have believed Me, for he wrote about me. What did Moses write? The Torah, the Law, The first five books of the BIBLE, the first recorded covenant between God and His creation, those created in His image and likeness, for His purpose. Ah, the first point of contention. I have heard it said that although man was created in the image and likeness of God (male and female He created them) after the fall man was no longer the image of God, but a totally depraved creature who can not seek God on his own. I would point to Psalm 8:4-6, but on a surface reading in most English translations, I supposed one could argue that David was writing about man before the fall, although I would disagree. James 3:9 mentions “men, who have been made in God’s likeness” and I Cor. 11:7 says that man is the image and glory of God. But again, it could be argued that those verses are talking about men saved by grace. I will just say that it shocked me to discover that some believers do not believe that humans still carry in them, from birth, the image and likeness of God. What does that make us before being saved? It seems to diminish the sanctity of life as I understand it. But going back to Genesis, it is clear that God continued to have communion with mankind even after the fall, and that He spoke to, and cared about individuals even after they totally rejected His covenant and warnings. I’ve already posed the question of Cain in Chapter 4.
In the NIV: Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door. It desires to have you, but you must master it.
In the CEV: If you had done the right thing, you would be smiling. But you did the wrong thing, and now sin is waiting to attack you like a lion. Sin wants to destroy you, but don’t let it. So God is giving Cain a warning and a choice.
Peter and James, who knew our LORD on a very intimate level gave similar warnings.
1 Peter 5:8 “be on the alert, your adversary, the devil prowls like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. James 4:7 Submit therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Warnings and choices, from the very beginning. If and Then, This or That, make the choice, receive the blessing or suffer the consequences. Where does it say that the choice has already been made for us?
Before I move on, while I am still in Genesis, please look at Genesis 6. Can we read it without some theologian telling us, what it really means is this…or of course it doesn’t really mean that. Can we just look at the words as they are written, and draw the logical conclusion? Unless of course Logic is of the enemy and not a quality we can attribute to God. Genesis 6:5-8
NASV - Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually and the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth and He was grieved in His heart, and the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land…for I am sorry that I have made them…But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
CEV - The Lord saw how bad the people on earth were and that everything they thought and planned was evil. He was very sorry that he had made them and he said, I’ll destroy every living creature on the earth…I’m sorry I ever made them, But the LORD was pleased with Noah.
KJV - And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him at his heart and the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth…for it repented me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
Did God know when He set the earth in motion exactly how things were going to turn out? Does He know every single choice we will make before we make it, or does he know every possible/probable decision and consequence of those multitude of choices we make every day? What about the Book of Life? Does (can/should???) man seek God? Who are the Elect? The Predestined? What is our destiny? Jesus taught us to pray…”Thy will be done” in fact He prayed those very words right before he was betrayed into the hands of the angry crowd. Why pray those words? Of course God’s will will be done. Why pray at all? Everything is unfolding exactly as God knew it would (foreknowledge). Everything in fact is unfolding exactly as God planned for it to unfold. (Sovereignty) Now, lest some of my readers (if I have any left that is) start rejoicing, thinking that in my delving into the word, I discovered “they” were right and I was wrong…I am merely stating here the doctrines I will be addressing in this way too long post. Already 1100 words long. And I’m still in Genesis.
I began my research for this piece by reading Deuteronomy 29. The book that I have been using for a guide line referred to Deut. 29:29 and it is a verse that I rediscovered this past year at a Bible Study. ‘The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever. That we may follow all the words of this law.” I was willing to apply this to the question of predestination vs free will, that there were just some things the LORD chose not to explain. But the Bible teacher that recently pointed me to that verse said that we can understand predestination clearly, without question, because it has been revealed to us. No question or debate. What is, is and what the Bible teacher said was, was.
Anyway, I went back to Deut. 29:29 and not wanting to take a verse out of context, I decided to read the whole chapter. And, OHNO! I got hung up on verse 4 - but to this day, the LORD has not given you a mind (heart) that understands That sounds like only people who God chooses to understand will understand. And the rest? Well, damn them anyway. So I grabbed all my other translations, and my Strongs. Here is my discovery. The word that is rendered heart or mind has to do with the intellect, the knowledge. Up until the point of this writing, people hadn’t been given all the information they needed to understand all there was to understand. What they had seen first hand should have been enough, but they were too dense. The whole chapter is about how God expects us to get it, at least as much as He had revealed at the time, about His covenant and our choices. And as far as verse 29 is concerned, of course we can now apply it to the whole of scripture, but note that at its writing the only thing about predestination or divine election revealed was that the sons of Abraham had been chosen as a people set apart.
I want to be very careful not to say “this is what it means.” I want to stick with “this is what it says”. But I have also discovered that “this is what it says” must be qualified sometimes, depending on what version(s) you are using, what Bias or Preconception the translators may have had - since all our translations were produced after the influence of Augustine, Luther, etc affected theology - and what context the words were written in. When it comes to the contexualization of the gospel, we need to be consistent. I am not insinuating that we should all become Jews, but I will point out that the scriptures were written primarily by Jews with a Jewish perspective and that Jesus’ teachings were often directed toward the Jewish leaders of the time. The context we should consider is 1st century Jew (and Gentile) not 15th century Europe.
When I approach the Scriptures, I do so with the understanding that God has revealed Himself as a covenant making and covenant keeping KING. That God is LOVE, mercy and justice are two of His most prominent attributes. That
He is light and in Him is no darkness, or confusion at all. What is true is true, no matter who says it. But truth is not a concept. It is a person, He who said, “I am the Truth…” and so one of the first concepts that I balked at here in the world of blog was that No One Seeks God.
If I were willing to play the game, “I have more verses than you, so I’m right!” I could win this one easily. I have at least 14 and I haven’t gone beyond Psalms yet. Usually, though, when I bring up those verses I hear, “But to whom are they written?” To all of us, right? To anyone who dares to read them. Right? Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So the Scriptures are the Word of God and they are for anyone who hears it (reads it) but ummm, no. Not everyone who hears will believe. And not everyone who says they believe really believes. John 3:16 says, “whosoever believes” James says “Faith without works is dead.” what a tangled web we weave…And yet the Word seems so clear.
“God has set eternity in the hearts of man…Ecc 3:11
It’s there, He put it there. I know citing theologians or philosophers does not hold as much clout as quoting scriptures, but I really like Pascal’s allusion to the “god shaped hole”.
Deuteronomy 4:19...but if from there you seek the LORD you God you will find Him, if you look for Him with all your heart.
In Matthew 7:7 Jesus says “Seek and You will find…” What are we to be seeking? Sutff, Wisdom, Salvation, Truth, God?
My favorite “search God” verses from the New Testament are:
Acts 17:26-27 “From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth, and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that man would seek Him and perhaps, reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.”
And Hebrews 11, the faith chapter
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him (verse 6)”
One more, from my all time favorite book of the Bible
Isaiah 55:6,7 Seek the LORD while He may be found, call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts, Let him turn to the LORD and He will have mercy on him…
So what about Romans 3:11 where Paul is quoting Psalm 14 and 53? ’There is no one who seeks God, no one who understands…”
Well I say, if you look at the Psalms mentioned, you see the same image as in Genesis 6:6. God, looking to see if anyone is seeking Him, but seeing only corruption and then the lament., will the evil doers never learn? All have turned away. Turned away from what? He gave us choices, at times it seems as if everyone is making the wrong choice. If only those who God calls can seek Him, why should He care that the other guys aren’t looking for Him? But He does care. Like with Cain, He gives us warnings, He sends us prophets with words of instruction. It is not His will that any should be lost. He interacts with us daily, hourly, giving us grace, showing us mercy. But we have the choice and the responsibility to choose. We all fall short, and we are to accept the responsibility of our own sins and confess (1John 1:8-10)
Do our choices ever surprise God? Do our prayers ever change His mind?
I think, as with any good parent, God has high hopes and expectations that we will choose wisely. He knows the ultimate outcome of our right choices and of our wrong. Before we decide, He has a plan to prosper us if we choose correctly, and help us if we choose wrong. Since He knows all the possibilities, He is never surprised, yet He may be disappointed. Again Genesis 6:6 and a new discovery I just made, Jeremiah 3:19 “I thought you would call me Father…”
And it pleases Him when we choose Him over our own wishes - “Now, I know…”
Genesis 22:12.
Is God lying, fooling around with us. Or does the Word mean what it says?
As far as prayer goes, intercession prayer specifically
Abraham for Sodom - Genesis 18
Moses and Aaron for the assembly - Exodus 16
Moses for Israel - Exodus 32
In 2 Kings 20, Isaiah is told by the LORD to deliver a message, “thus saith the LORD”.
The king crises and whines and the LORD sends the prophet back…He had heard the kings prayers and changed His mind, which turned out to not be a very good thing for the king, but that doesn’t change the fact that the king’s prayer changed God’s plan.
There are so many other directions I can take this, but it is 2500+ words already. Who will read it anyway? One or two gentlemen who will remain unswayed no matter how many verses I cite, verses that say man is meant to search for God, that Jesus and the apostles wrote that there is, can be, some good in man, that the book of life mentioned in several places is not a prewritten book in which are the names of the elect who were predestined before time to be saved. I read the stories, the records of the covenant, the conditions, the promises. I read of a God who interacts with people on a regular basis. If the plan is prewritten and the elect are predestined, why would He even bother? I’m tired of this. I may have to leave a church I love because of this. I know the Bible pretty well, and I get to know it more each time I read it, but I don’t know a God who wrote evil and pain and damnation into His perfect plan. I have another book in my hands right now, it’s got some good, logical stuff in it. I’d quote it, but it’s just a book. Not the Bible. It does however confirm my original blogging fear. See, I started this whole thing when I read an article by Chris P. on the emergent church. In it he mentioned “Open Theism” and by his brief summary of what it was, I thought, well that sounds like what I believe, but Chris P. said that was Heresy, and I wondered why it was heresy. I started reading some other stuff. Commenting here and there. What was so wrong with candles or incense, or using rocks for a visual metaphor of a Biblical truth, and dancing in worship, even doing the Hula maybe. But I rejected the label “Open Theist” because the anti people out there said that the Open Theists were relativists who did not hold to the authority of the Bible.
But now I have to admit. I am an open theist, as described in the book I’ve been reading.
Some things happen that are not what God planned for us. And sometimes people simply fall victim to unfortunate circumstances. Our experiences matter to God, here and now. He is infinitely sensitive to what happens to us. There is a profound sense of divine sympathy flowing from God, and there is nothing that lies beyond God’s capacity to work for good. Such recognition meets our natural desire to know that tragedies have not occurred in vain, they count for something. And the open view of God does not evoke the objectionable notions that God plans the tragedies to happen.
It has been said here in the world of blogs, that Free Will is not necessarily a Biblical concept. The question has been asked, where in the Bible does it say we are entitled to a Free Will. If it weren’t a Biblical concept, why does God, through His prophets say over and over again to choose? Are we free to choose? Or does God just lead us to believe we have a choice? To be sure, we may think that we are making a decision, but if in reality my selection is already determined by factors of which I am not aware, if God’s knowledge of the future is exhaustive, and liner, and He knows exactly what I will choose, then freedom to choose is an illusion. I am trying to bring this to a logical conclusion. And the only thought in my mind is “I love you LORD.” I need to end this with one more Biblical quotation. Just one more? But which one?
“Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all you heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this. Love you neighbor has yourself!” By the way, that says neighbor not brother. We’ve had some discussions about who our “Brothers” were as opposed to who our Enemies are. It’s been said we don’t have to worry about the unsaved. I can’t believe it’s been said by people who claim to be followers of Christ, but it has been. Remember how Jesus answered the question - Whose my neighbor?. But that is an all together different issue. Be nice. Jesus wants us to be nice. Merry Christmas, and God Bless Us - Everyone…may we all be like trees - Psalm 1:3 trees. 3321 words.

A Disclaimer

I am about ready to post my 121st piece, and it will be a long one.
I just want to say, before it appears, that I am not trying to change anyone’s doctrine or theology. I have enjoyed fellowship with brothers and sisters of all denominations. The only criteria I use to determine if someone is indeed a brother or sister in the LORD is who they say Jesus is? What do they say about His cross? For that reason, I have had communion with all sorts of believers, from Catholic to Wesleyan, from Baptist to Reformed. Greek Orthodox, Messianic Jews, Charismatics, need I go on?
Nor, have I been searching the scriptures for answers. Not that I have all the answers, but most of the questions I ask here on my blog are rhetorical. I must admit that the past few months have been very hard on me. And, I have found myself crying out loud, lamenting…God, you just can’t be who and what they say you are. And in His mercy and patience He has reminded me of His love. He has let me feel his presence. And His Spirit has spoken clearly to my heart. “You know, I AM.”
But the reason I have written the next post - which should be up by Saturday afternoon - is that I have had 2 gentlemen say that I have no Biblical Basis for what I believe. And both have either directly or indirectly implied that people who believe as I do are heretics, stupid, foolish, and working for the enemy. Since one of those two is a personal friend of mine, this accusation was all the more hurtful. According to my statistics, I’ve had over 7000 hits on this site. That amazes me. But the only place I seem to get any comments are the places where this old argument can be addressed. And frankly, I’m a little sick of it.
I guess that is the nature of blogging though. If what you read doesn’t get a rise out of you, you simply move on. If you can’t argue you rather not waste your time commenting or even reading in full what has been written. I’m guilty of it as well. What will be, will be…what is, is. It’s just a blog after all.

Evacuation Drill

"This is only a drill. Incase of a real emergency..."
Today, I will be one of 40 teachers and staff members shepherding nearly 400 junior high students from our school to the closest "safe place". About a quarter of a mile.
Dread!
Dread because it is going to ryle up an already riled up group of pre-adult, pre-christmas, pre-midterm persons.
Dread because I've been walking slow and breathing hard these days.
Dread because what if it were a real disaster? What will happen when it is a real disaster?
When I first started teaching, sweet first graders, I used to cry at fire drills
(I also cry at parades, halmark commercials, when i see convicts cleaning up the highway "I'm praying for your mothers", and last night i cried because the baby in the manger looked like my grandson)
But now we practice lock-downs and evacuations. Fire drills aren't enough.
Maybe it will snow. I'd love to go for a walk in the snow. Even if I would be walking with 400 13 and 14 year olds. But oh my gosh, that would really get them going.
"Seek the LORD while He may still be found!
call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forske his sin and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the LORD and He will have mercy on him, and to our God for He will freely pardon!" Isaiah 55:6-7 come on kids, before it's too late!
my heart is very heavy this morning - i better remember to take my blood presure medicine.

A year ago...

Last year at this time, when I was on duty, I used to hum Christams Carols as I watched the early morning mock foot ball game before the bell. The following is a set of lyrics I came up with concerning the young people at my school.
I know a lot of them a lot better now. And my prayer is even more fervent.
"Arise, shine; for Your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold darkness has covered the earth and deep darkness the peoples. But the Lord will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you, and the Navajo Nation will come to your light, all the nations represented in this, the Four Corners Region, The Colorado Platau will lift up their eyes and see the brightness of Your coming, and say Yes, LORD! Yes...

Green Sleeves in Shiprock
12/07/04
What child is this all dressed in black
With long dark hair and eyes so bright
Who thinks her future is just as dark
As the clothes she hides behind?
He looks so angry
this bright eyed son
The world he lives in is so unkind
But should he smile at a hint of joy
His face can light up the shadows
Jesus, Oh Lord I cry
Release an army of warriors
Fight, Fight the demons here
So the children can see the light.
What child is this without a dream
Dressed in black and shadows
Who cannot hear a word of hope
For the din of the angry clatter
Jesus, Oh Lord I pray
Release an army of angels
Drive away the deafening throng
So they can hear your whisper
Open your hearts while the way is clear
See the truth around you
The Joy and Promise of the Living Light
The truth of the stories you’ve heard.

BRRRRRR

Anyone else out there cold?
It was -1 degree this morning when I got to work.
I had to go out to the football field and convince a dozen or so young men that it was too cold to play outside until the bell rang.
All of them had nothing more than hooded sweatshirts on, and the hoods were not up, nor were they zipped. I'm not sure if it is actually all they have, or just the fashion statement of choice. They wear those hooded sweatshirts, mostly black ones, all year round. When we were having our heat wave and it was 100+, they wore them, they wear them indoors and out.
Oh, well...let me take a look as Psalm 5 before I get back to my research.
"For thou art not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, no evil dwells with Thee."
"Hold them (the ungodly) guilty, O God, by their own devices let them fall, for they are rebellious against thee."
I am very, VERY glad that tomorrow is Friday! And only one more week until Christmas Vacation begins. I love being a teacher!

Monday Morniing

In the CEV, Psalm 4:3,4 reads: The Lord has chosen everyone who is faithful to be His very own, and he answers my prayers. But each of you had better tremble and turn from your sins, Silently search you heart as you lie in bed...trust God.
In the NASB is says: But know that the LORD has set apart the godly man for Himself, The LORD hears when I call to Him, Tremble, and do not sin, Meditate in your heart upon your bed and be still...trust in the LORD.
So did He choose who would be faithful, or did He choose those who were faithful?
Is there a difference. Are the ungodly being called to meditate on the LORD and trust Him, or are those words only for those who have been prechosen to trust?
Tie this in with Genesis 4
verses 6, 7 (NASB) Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your contenance fallen? If you do well, will not you be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door, and it's desire is for you, but you must master it."
Did the LORD believe that Cain could master it, rise above it, resist it? Are warnings and declarations only for those that He has chosen to be faithful? What was the purpose of God's intercourse with Cain here? Was it a warning that Cain could not have possibly heeded? What was Cain's destiny? What was God's will?
Why do people only seem to want to comment on things like this where they can get into an argument? I have to get to work...

The Enemy Within

Isn't that the name of a Movie?
Anyway, yesterday I posted on Psalm 3, in which David gave the LORD some rather violent suggestions as to how to deal with his enemies. Well right now my enemy seems to be the Flu bug. Like those ugly little guys on some commercial...Thanks a lot pastor Art for coughing those germs all over the house. Do germs have teeth?
Psalm 4 is titled (by the NASB) "Evening Prayer of Trust", maybe I'll wait until evening to post on that one. After morning worship, after soup and sandwiches and correcting papers, after watching some silly movie on TV and falling asleep in the middle of it. Might skip evening service, if I'm still feeling poorly. We'll see if God hast relieved me in my distress by then...

December Three, Psalm Three

The heading in the NASB is "Morning Prayer of Trust in God"
sounds like a good way to start this day...
actually the day started about one hour and two cups of coffee ago, I have visited Chris, Wanderer, and Arthur here in Cyber space, read a nice e-mail from my sister and good emergent friend Matt, and soon I will be taking my eldest son "to town" to apply for some jobs. He really needs a job, and for people like him, jobs can be very hard to find. Those of you who know, know why, those who don't know don't have to know...anyway
Back to Psalm Three:
Ahh, it's a good old song - Thou Oh Lord are a shield about me, and the lifter of my head.
But it starts out talking about "Adversaries". Do I have adversaries? I think its important to remember Ephesians 6:12. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, powers, forces of the Dark Side...
Luke, don't listen to him, he's not really your father, not really.
Sorry about that Sci Fi moment
Back to the Psalm
"I pray to you and you answer from your sacred hill." Switched translations there - I'm in the CEV now. There's snow on my mountian. Nice.
David ends this one pretty violently. "Break my enemies jaws and shatter their teeth, because you protect and bless your people." Doesn't sound much better in the more traditional version.
"For thou hast smitten all my enemies on the cheek, Thou hast shattered the teeth of the wicked." I wouldn't pray that concerning anyone I know. I don't really have any enemies - except for the ones mentioned in Ephesians. I've been hurt, and I'm sad, and some people have been just plain mean to me. When I drive into town, I might stop to say hi to my grandkids. I've gone from having them every weekend to 5 minutes a week if I am lucky. I'd like to pray that prayer over the people that have caused this current heart breaking situtation. For a while there I felt something pretty close to hate concerning them. Then we have the accusers to deal with, but that hasn't been as bad as we expected. And there is the rather painful on going debate over theology and doctrine, which I can't seem to avoid - like gum on the bottom of my shoe, or worse, it gets pretty stinky in here sometimes. But I can't blame them...not any of them.
They are not the enemy. We do not contend against flesh and blood. I don't want to contend against anyone or anything. I want to sing - Thou, Oh LORD are a shield about me, My glory and the One who lifts my head...Thy blessings are upon Thy people.

What would Jesus say to the UN?

I can hear Him proclaiming the first 2 verses of Psalm 2.
Maybe the whole thing...
Thats not what this post is about though...
It's just that I'm in a real bad mood and I've been blogging very sarcastic comments around the place today, and I'm being sucked into the same old, same old. Then I read the latest posting on Dawn Is Coming, http://arthurbroberts.blogspot.com/ about not debating and I agree. It's sad but true. And I wonder why we even blog at all. Does any of it matter anyway. Is any mind ever changed? I want to reach out and touch. I want to make a connection. And I have found some interesting friends...But still there is the question, Why? That's all I have to say right now. I'm tired. I'm beat. It's the day after payday and I'm broke...
So, I'm going to say Good Night and God Bless!

God Bless Us Everyone

Good Ol' Tiny Tim!
I have quite a collection of "Christmas Carols". From the Muppets to Jean Luc Picard. Gotta love that story! God bless! Ever wonder what that means? To be blessed by God?
Without going into the Hebrew and Greek...Pastor Art is in bed with the flu and it's way too early for good ol' Strongs, I would say that to be blessed by God would be to become like a tree!
I went to bed last night thinking about Psalm 1. Acutally I was thinking about a comment made in here somewhere, that I had NO Scriptual support for the theological/doctrinal position I take on some matters, that I was just clinging to my feelings about what I think God should be...like some silly woman I guess. No, he didn't exactly call me a silly woman...but you get the gist of it.
Actually, I know quite a lot about the Scriptures. I've had a lot of good teachings both in and out of college. It wasn't a Bible College, it was a private, liberal arts, Free Methodist college. But I digress.
Psalm 1.
As I was going to bed, wondering where I should start to explain Biblically and support through Scripture my stand, it came to mind, that just using the psalms I could explain the whole thing. But then again that's not my job or my purpose for this blog. Pastor Art does a better job with that anyway, and we pretty much agree with this kind of stuff only I am usually a little softer/nicer. Feelings - like some silly old woman.
Ugg. I can't seem to stay on Topic this morning.
Psalm 1. Most traditional and accepted translations start out with a negitive qualifier. Blessed is the man who does not... I happen to have the CEV at my elbow this morning and it's verse one is written in the positive. "God blesses those people who...
refuse evil advice and won't follow sinners or join in sneering at God"
Here is one of those choice issues. Do people have a choice who they hang out with? Ever been told to choose your friends wisely? Psalm 1 basically says, stay away from the wicked, sinners, scoffers. Rather delight in the Word of the Lord. Meditate on it. And you will be blessed. You will be "like a tree". One could do a whole Sunday School Series on the passages in the Scriptures about trees.
"Sinners won't have an excuse on the day of judgement...The Lord protects everyone who follows Him, but the wicked follow a road that leads to ruin." v. 5-6
If/then - Refuse and Delight or Scoff and Burn...I like thinking about the trees better.
Anyway - God Bless Us Everyone.
Make us like trees that stand tall and bear much fruit. T'is the season after all.

December First

december
i have a Christmas tree in my classroom. Funny thing that. It's not very big and the decorations are items that past students have given me or made. At the top of the tree is a little 'story teller' ornament. The story teller is a Hopi tradition I think, an old woman with children all over her. On the one on my Christmas tree, in her middle is a Nativity scene. It's "culturual" and no one has ever told me that I can't have those things in my room. Not all teachers are so lucky. Christmas Trees are funny things aren't they? The UN and USA are trying to decide just what to call them. It's harder for the USA, they have to figure out what to call Christmas without doing serious damage to our economy. We have alot of Holidays on the calendar (Happy Holidays!) "black Friday" doesn't come before the Fourth of July or Valentines day.
So the ungodly world argues against calling December 25 Christmas, and against Christmas Trees and Carols (they have all but won the Nativity Scene debate) While some Christians who love to prove that they are more Christian than those other Christians, blog on about Christmas being a pagan holiday (what about it Wanderer?), Christmas Trees being Idols, the Veggie Tale Christmas playset being graven images, and we all know Jesus wasn't real born on December 25 anyway. I've heard it all. I don't care. I love Christmas. And for me, it starts the day after Thanksgiving (I NEVER shop on that day) and goes to my wedding anniversary, 26 years on Dec. 31 - Love Ya Pastor Art! I think this Christmas will be a sort of sad one for me because of some family issues. I probably won't be able to see my grandchildren and my heart is still breaking over that situation. But I start wearing my Christmas Shirts to school today. I've "written" the Christmas pagent our Children's Church is doing on December 23. I'm going to forget that my theology and doctrine is once again under attack here in the blog world., I won't take it personally! I'm going to deck the halls, my lights and my nativity scene collection will be put up this weekend. I will bake cookies, even though my grand daughter won't be here to help this time. I won't spend too much money, I never do. Honest...never have it to spend. It's not about the gifts anyway. But I will go to the Mall in Farmington, just to see and smell and listen. I'll hum Silent Night and Joy to the World as I go from place to place. Regardless of theology, political correctness, or personal disappointment, I will celebrate the Birth of My King - the King of Kings: The people who walk in darkness will see a great light, those who live in a dark land. The Light will shine upon them...for a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us and the government will rest on His shoulders, And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor. Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace! (Isaiah 9)
Shine Jesus, Shine!

From my friend Lisa -

"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's
already
tomorrow in Australia ." (Charles Schultz)

appearing with the permission of one of my students

For those of you interested in some of the Traditions of The Navajo People...

Thanksgiving Traditions of a New Mexico Family

By Merilu

On Thanksgiving I went to my grandmother’s house and on Thanksgiving my cousin came back from Afghanistan. And we had dinner with my cousin and we butchered a sheep at my grandmother’s house. After that we played my favorite game, the Navajo Shoe game and I had to sing the Navajo Shoe Game song because I knew the song. I learned how to weave with the grandmother and I did the spinning for her. Then I ate my favorite food, blood sauce and that’s where I went on Thanksgiving.

Whats in a Name?

I was planning on writing a piece on why the name of Jesus,
the name of YHWH is important...why we can't say that Buddah, Allah, Isis, etc are all different names for the same diety. But Arthur B. Roberts on Dawn is Coming addressed that in his lastest posting, and I don't feel much like getting overly theological right now.
Names? My husband only uses my name when he is annoyed with me - Maryellen, where did you leave the whatever.
When I was a little girl my mom kept telling me my name was Mary ELLEN, not just Mary which is why I began writing it as one word. Bernadette was my confirmation name, because I was born on Feb. 11 which is the day the Virgin Mary allegedly appeared to a young girl named Bernadette in Lourades France. Iachetta was my maiden name, in Italian it means little hatchet and when I was in fourth grade i started signing my papers Mary Ellen Little Hatchet because it sounded Indian until Sr. Mary Francis made me stop. My first husband's last name was Puff - and as his assistant (he was a magician), I was Genii Puff. When that marriage, and consequently show biz duo broke up, I was just Puff, until I married Pastor Art whose name is Brokop but I wish it was Richman because we are always broke...that's all for now
I humbly remain:
Maryellenbernadetteiachettageniipuffbrokop

About Prayer!

I've been going to a corporate prayer meeting for our community and the four corners region (the Colorado plateau - ask me sometime) on Mondays. Its an intercessory group...thats what its called. I've always had a problem with prayer - especially intercessory prayer. I have no problem giving thanks or glory to the LORD - and I can cry out Laments just as well as David or Jeremiah. But intercedeing and then ending the prayer with "Thy Will Be Done"...of course His will will be done - right? So why pray??? I've asked that one lots of times. Then again - in my heart of hearts I know full well the answer, so I'm just being argumentative.
For this particular post, I am digging deep into my personal archives. You won't find this on my blog. It's from one of my 30+ prayer journals. Something I wrote as we were preparing to do a seminar on the occult and spiritual warfare. We were at a time and place in our faith journey where people were seeing demons behind every bush. We actually heard an evangelist pray against the demon of baldness. I came up with these three questions concerning prayer.
When someone asks you for prayer, or when you find yourself in need of prayer, you need to ask these three questions concerning the crisis you are going to pray about.
1. Is this crisis a result of sin in your life? All sin, even the ones we repent of, carry with them consequences. Sometimes crisis is a result of sin, and we need to confess - repent - and accept the consequences. The Lord disciplines those He loves. Sometimes the crisis is a result of sin committed by someone else. In those cases we need to be sure that we have forgiven the offender, because unforgiveness in itself is a sin, and will, according to Scripture, block the blessings of the LORD.
2. Is this crisis directly from God to teach us or protect us? I used to argue with people who claimed nothing bad could come from God. That leads us to question just what is "bad"? I learned this lesson the first time I had to take my little baby for a shot. Here I was, the one person in the world that my 6 week old baby trusted the most in the world, and I was handing him over to a stranger who was going to stick a needle into his little leg. It was for his own good, but I couldn't explain it to him. It hurt and he cried. I couldn't explain to him the pain was only going to last for a moment. It seemed much longer than a moment to him. But maybe this crisis is a refiners fire, a pruning of the dead branches. I'm not sure how we can be sure if it is or not, but its something we need to consider.
3. If is isn't a result of sin, or a lesson from the LORD than could it actually be an attack from the enemy. Sometimes it is. He isn't very nice you know. But his tricks are always the same. Lies, Fear, Accusation! We can pray against the enemy, we can resist his tricks, we can shine light into the dark world he tries to drag us into with his lies and accusations. But that isn't the first thing we should do everytime we have a problem, or are asked to pray for a person. We can't ignore we have an enemy, nor can we blame him for every "bad" thing or crisis we find ourselves in.
One more thing - from my wise son
One time I was in a real desperate, selfpity, lamentation type of mood and praying LORD, where are you and when are you going to take care of this problem. I probably got into the LORD you are being mean...Lord do something (there are a lot of psalms like that so if David can do it, I can do it) but then my son said - Mom, you are asking God for cookies and He is in the middle of cooking dinner.
Wait upon the LORD and see that He is Good!
Be still and know that He is God.

A Path to Everywhere...

One of my favorite writers has just posted a wonderful theological some what tongue in cheek essay on universalism and relativisim and the exclusivity of Jesus' claims to which I give a resounding AMEN! Check it out on Dawn is Coming - http://arthurbroberts.blogspot.com/
I'll be back with my piece on prayer after church. Blessings

Somewhere

over the RAINBOW
I don’t know how to include pictures with my posts. If I did, I’d post a couple of pictures of rainbows. Specific Rainbows. My blog friend M.C. Pearson has a rainbow on her profile and seeing that rainbow got me thinking. I could write the whole history of our ministry here in New Mexico based on specific rainbow sightings, but it would probably end up being way too long and way too personal for a Blog posting. I did narrow it down to 11 and one of them has already been written about on Gateway of the Rock, so I only have to write about ten.
In the summer of 1998 we made our first trip from Denver to New Mexico to lead a prayer walk on the Navajo Reservation, sponsored by the Farmington Free Methodist church. As a result, I was invited to coordinate a children’s camp the same weekend Pastor Art was invited to a job interview for ministry at “the mission”. On the drive home through the beautiful mountain passes, feeling very encouraged and hopeful, there was a down pour, unusual because the sun was still shining very brightly, so of course, the rainbow was expected. It was glorious, and to the side of the car we could actually see where it began. I commented to my son I wondered what it was like to drive through a rainbow, and just minutes later I found out. We were surrounded by golden, colorful light.
The presence and glory of the Creator was tangible and I knew another great adventure was about to begin. About one month later, we were packed and ready to head south. It was my eldest son’s 18th birthday, and we were having a combination farewell, happy birthday party at our old church. Although we knew without a doubt that this was the LORD’s leading in our lives, we had mixed emotions. There was no promise of income, our two boys would be changing schools, and we were saying goodbye to some very special friends. The day of the party there was another rainbow, very vivid colors. I called my son outside and told him to look at the birthday gift the LORD had sent him. And the day we left, seconds before our new friend from New Mexico drove up with the U-haul, there was one more rainbow, one more sign that we were following the path the LORD had laid before us. There, that takes care of three. In the months to follow there were many more “sightings” always making me stop in my tracks and give glory to God. The next one I will tell about in detail was the one that came before the storm. Things had not turned out the way we expected. We found ourselves wondering why we had come to New Mexico in the first place, and would we ever have that ministry we had dreamt of?
My sons and I were driving home after a retreat into the mountains and the boys were bickering as only brothers in their late teens can. I was getting into it too, and it was feeling very unpleasant. Then there it was, stretching across the road, a beautiful fully double rainbow against a dark and stormy sky. I stopped the car and got out. I remember feeling so discouraged and frustrated. But the rainbow was so beautiful, a sign that God always keeps His promises. When we got home the bickering between the boys turned in to a huge battle, lots of yelling, lots of crying - the whole family trapped in a whirlwind, a twister…would we land in OZ? I’m not sure how many months or how many rainbows passed between that storm and the trip to a place called Pinedale. Pastor Art had done a revival there and there was talk about maybe moving there and ministering. We were going there to help with their Thanksgiving outreach. I wasn’t sure I wanted to move that far out onto the Rez. My mind was wandering into pointless fantasies as drove through the wilderness of the Southwest. But finally the LORD got my attention, and I sighed. “You know LORD, where ever you want us to be…just say the word.” And there was the rainbow. I took a picture of it. We did not move to Pinedale, although we have prayed with the pastor there and have watched with interest the new building project there. I believe that Rainbow was a “don’t argue with me” message. A “watch and pray” message. And maybe, someday we will be called to that ministry. If you, my dear blog friend, are still reading this, thank you for sticking with it. I guess, the LORD wants me to write this more for myself than for anyone else, but you, dear reader are more than welcome to share the experience. Well, after our fourth year in New Mexico, we had the opportunity to pastor the Open Bible Church in Farmington. The facility was very nice, but the mortgage was high and the congregation was small. We took the name “Gateway of the Rock.” We received the Isaiah 61 prophecy. Art became a licensed pastor with Open Bible Standard Churches, but eventually we had to sell the building. (on the Gateway of the Rock site there is a posting called “Mega Church, Micro Church” or something like that, that goes with this part of the story - May Archives http://christstone.blogspot.com The day in December that we started worshiping in our front room, when I went outside to watch for anyone that might actually come (doubting many if any would show up) there was a rainbow. And then the parade of familiar cars - again God was saying “I am with you.”
The past three years, for our family, have been very, very difficult. One of the hardest things I ever had to do in my whole life was to be part of a deposition concerning my eldest son and his terrible crime. I was scared and very upset at the prospect. On the way to the lawyers office I saw a rainbow. I had by then realized that rainbows are never just rainbows. Ok, I can do this LORD. Six hours later I was on my way home, feeling very drained. As I was entering the Reservation it began to rain, I mean it was pouring. An unusually heavy downpour. There was a guy hitch hiking and even though I don’t pick up hitch hikers, I said, out loud, “I don’t care how drunk he is, no one deserves to be out in this kind of rain.” When I pulled over, he and a friend I had not seen before got into the car. They were both obviously drunk. They reminded me of a movie I have seen many times, that tells different “Indian” legends - I thought, “Oh no, I’ve picked up spider and coyote.” Sure enough, right after I picked them up there appeared, on the side of the road, a rainbow. “Look, Look!” said Spider. “A rainbow! You are being blessed for picking us up.” Then they both began singing “This little light of mine…” Next…if you are interested, you should read “Rainbow Over Hogback” on the Gateway of the Rock site.
One time, my son prayed that the LORD would give me a rainbow on the drive home from visiting him in prison because I had seemed more depressed than usual. He did. There was also a rainbow on the day that that same son got home from prison. How many is that? Is anyone counting. The funniest rainbow was seen the last time I was tempted to go into the casino, back in September. There I sat, in the parking lot, knowing full well I should not go in. “Ok LORD, you show me a rainbow and I won’t go in.” So, in the cloudy sky I saw just a patch of color. A rainbow that was not fully formed. I had to look closely to see if it was even actually there. And the LORD says to my heart. “That’s all you’re getting. Now go home.” I did. Today is a very cold, sunny, windy day. My mind is full of a lot of possibilities. I am struggling with a situation that I have at church. The LORD seemed to be saying a whole lot to me this weekend. I’d like to go outside and see a rainbow right now. But rainbows don’t work that way. God doesn’t work that way.
That’s ok. My first “assignment is done. I need another cup of coffee. Blessings on you, whoever you are…for reading this whole silly thing. But if you did actually read it, don’t miss the installment on Gateway of the Rock…http://christstone.blogspot.com/ Rainbow over Hogback. That is one of the best!

more to come...

it has been a long weekend, and we need to be leaving for church NOW! but i needed to check out a few things here first and i have decided that i need to write three posts in the next day or so...
1. A Rainbow is Never Just a Rainbow
2. Three Questions About Prayer
3. It's All in The Name!
see you then...

So much to say...

One of my favorite places to visit these days, here in cyberspace, is the Recent Earth Quake site. I guess I have a "morbid" curiosity in the shaking of the planet. It's been nearly a year since the Tsunami shook the earth. I remember thinking it was the breaking of the sixth seal. I've been watching the heavens, waiting for the sky to split apart like a scroll. Then I had this bright idea that the scroll that John saw was actually the ariel view of the hurricanes.
But these days, what used to be called acts of God become ammunition for policital debates about global warming, over population, racisim and misappropiration of funds.
What wise person coined the phrase "going to hell in a hand basket"?
Wake up oh sleeper!
I've been "seeing visions" and even "dreaming dreams". In worship I have "watched" my students dance before the throne of God. In prayer I have ministered to the brokenhearted, proclaiming the favorable year of the LORD, at "the mission". Gateway of the Rock.
And still, in cyber space, I fall prey to accusations that I am "of the enemy" because of my take on the Augustinian doctrine of predestination and divine election, and that really bothers me more than I can say.
I have searched scripture. I have come to the realization that we must look at the truths proclaimed there in the context of the time and language in which they originated. I have come to realize that many of the doctrines of the Church come from Church Fathers who were antisemetic, and later anticatholic. And I have also been made painfully aware, that these beliefs of mine are considered heresy by many of my Christian brothers and sisters.
And my dearly beloved Pastor Art says "so you are TRYING to start another fight."
Not really.
And I am not really worried that I am not one of "the elect". I am not worried about where I am going to spend eternity. I know that God is LOVE. I know that God is Light and in Him there is no darkness. I know that God is there, and that those who seek Him will find Him. I know that Jesus is exactly what the Bible says He is. Not metaphorical. Savior, Redeemer and Friend! Wait, that's not from the Bible, it's from a song. Still I believe it.
I am one of those Whosoevers in John 3:16.
Time to sign off. And God Bless Us Everyone!

early morning insanity

I have something else to say today. I need to say it, I think. But I’m not so sure how it will be received. Its not a confession really. I already got burned once using this site as a confessional. And I don’t really believe what I am about to write. I know it will sound crazy, it is crazy. But it is weighing on me. I was praying it today as I drove from Farmington to Shiprock. And its wanting to be said.
I finished reading a book today. A silly, science fiction, Star Trek book called Q Squared. Quantum physics, string theory, multiverse vs. universe.
I like Star Trek kind of things. It was a good book for what it was. A story of multiple realities and an all powerful being who was playing with the threads of time. There was this one character, Jack, who unlike all the others only existed in one reality. In all the other realities he had died. And although he didn’t realized it, this state of being alone in the multiverse was affecting his emotional/mental state.
Maybe that is my problem. (No, I don’t really believe this). Maybe in all the other realities I didn’t live this long. Maybe in those other realities I just gave up. Now, I realize that there are not really any other realities (funny sentence that). There were times in the past, in my personal past, when I wanted to give up. But I didn’t. I used to imagine myself sitting in the presence of the Almighty and Him saying to me, “if you just held on a little longer, it would have all turned out ok.” And on the way home yesterday - it is yesterday now (another strange phrase) because it has taken so long to get this written. Anyway, on the way home I prayed “God, how much longer until it turns out ok?”
And it comes back around to the old debate. Is this whole mess God’s divine plan? And another question comes to mind. A question of assurance. I’ve been taught that you can be sure of your salvation. It goes along with the teaching of ‘once saved always saved’. If one can be sure of their salvation, can one then also be sure of their damnation? My daughter-in-law is sure of her damnation. She is convinced that her sin of adultery was part of God’s predestined plan for her life. There is a man who staggers into church every now and then. Usually during Bible studies or prayer groups. And he always asks the same question. “Why am I here? I didn’t ask for this. Why did God make me?” He knows Bible stories and church songs. He’s been down the Roman Road, a few times it sound like. He’s tried the Jesus way. It just doesn’t seem to work for him. He can’t seem to break the hold that alcohol has on him. He can’t seem to escape the darkness. I think he’s been taught somewhere about predestination or Divine election, and in his drunken stupor he realizes he’s one of the many who are predestined for hell. He did not ask for this.
And one more question, can one believe in God, love God, and still be damned? Like Cane, or Esau? Like Judas?
Well now, it’s time for a cup of coffee. Time for me to go out on the porch and wait for the sun to rise. It’s Sunday now. I am so glad it is Sunday.

One Hundred and One

According to my dashboard, this is my 101st posting. I’ve been thinking that perhaps it should be somehow more significant. Maybe a summary of all that I have learned in the 9 months that I’ve been blogging. It would be nice if I could say - I finally Get It! And then, with wisdom and confidence, declare the final answer to the big question - let there be LIGHT!
Blogging…it’s been fun. I’ve made new friends. Started a few wars. I’ve been read. Over 6000 hits. That amazes me. No, I don’t think I’ll quit. In fact, when I’m done with this post I’ll go visiting some of those friends. See what’s been happening. It’s been a while since I’ve been here. Work has been busy. There have been some family obligations that have required time. I was helping a friend with her midterm. And I’ve been sleeping. A lot! A sure sign of depression. My doctor actually put me on an anti-depressant. I don’t cry as much these days. But I still sleep.
When I started blogging I was in the midst of a faith crisis. I was at a cross roads of sorts.
The world was shaking, the darkness around me seemed very deep. And personally, my life was definitely not what I had expected to it to be when I surrendered it to the LORD over 25 years ago. I responded to a comment about open theism. I questioned the whole anti-emergent church rhetoric, especially after finding out that our denomination considered itself emergent. I defended Catholicism, only to be shot down by some prevatican II Catholics who consider all the rest of us - Catholics and non-Catholic damned. I found myself at theological odds with a pastor friend of mine over the Sovereignty of God and discovered an unlikely ally in a young pagan from my hometown.
A voice from my past. A wise young man who listened to Darth Vader and turned to the dark side.
Blogging has led me into some pretty serious Bible studies. It has given me a lot to pray about. But I still don’t get it. No, that’s not true. I do get it. I just don’t know exactly what to do with it. The personal stuff is killing me. And the global stuff is overwhelming. I’m feeling pretty small and insignificant. Powerless. I’m still at that crossroads but the light is about to change to green and I’m not sure where the road ahead is leading. I really rather just find a rock to sit on and wait for the whole scenario to play itself out. Storms, earthquakes, terrorism, the bird flu…can’t do anything about that now can I?
And then there was Lars.
When we first came to this part of the world, it was to pastor a tiny little multicultural church on a 50 year old mission complex, right on the boarder of the Navajo Reservation.
The director of the ministry was a Navajo gentlemen and that was good, since most “Indian” ministries are still run by “Whitemen”. But there were some things that were not so good. While “Pastor Art” was pasturing the church and I was heading up Children’s and Youth ministries, the church grew from about 12 to over 30 (in 4 months time). But there were some things that were not so good. There was another “white” couple at the mission. She worked in the office. He worked on the grounds. He also worked with a bunch of young boys. One of them was named Lars. Before long, all the “whites” were gone. Why and How doesn’t matter much. I’ll only say none of them, none of us were overjoyed about leaving. That was 8 years ago. A young man named Lars was murdered last week. I’m not sure it was the same Lars. It doesn’t matter. Violence at the gates. Darkness in the streets. I pray harder for my students. I pray harder as I drive the highway through the reservation. I pray harder when I worship on Sunday mornings with my Navajo brothers and sisters. I cry out “Thy will be done!” and I still wonder what that really means. Let there be Light dear Lord. Let Your Light shine through Me.

Dragons on the Loose!

just thought i'd mentione the "dragon slayer" is back on Dawn is Coming (see my links).
stories by my favorite sci/fi/fantasy/horror author...
now i need to go slay some dragons of my own...

Halloween

When I was a magician's assistance, known as Genii Puff, this was our busiest time of year. Everyone, it seemed, wanted a Magician, in the spirit of Houdini, to appear at their Halloween party. We did shows at country clubs, private parties, and even churches. There is a program about Harry Houdini on the History station tonight. I just may watch it for old times sake. Houdini died on Halloween. In the later years of his life, after his beloved mother died, he became obsessed with spiritism. He had engaged the services of several promonent mediums, in hopes of contactine his mother, only to discover them all to be fakes. He then set out to expose their trickery. Houdini vowed that if there was any way to return from the dead and communicate with the living, he would do it. There have been attempts to contact him every Halloween since his death. Official and unofficial seances. I've been to a few myself. OoooOoooOo
I'd like to share with you the account of a botched attempt to convert my magician and I to Chrisitanity. It wasn't Halloween. It was actually Christmas time, and we were working in the toy department of a big department store in Rochester, New York. We were demonstrating a magic kit, putting on hourly shows. A group of well meaning youth walked up to us after one of our shows and the leader of the pack declared, "We know who you are working for." As we looked at them in puzzelment, not knowing where the converstaion was headed, he continued - "You're working for the devil". This brought a chuckle from us. Yeah, right. The devil was interested in the cup and ball and sponge rabbit tricks this particular toy featured. But the youth were persistance. They declared that the Bible said that doing magic was a sin and that magicians "should not be suffered to live". "So you want to kill us?" They were beginning to give me the creeps. The magician challenged them to find in the Bible where it said such a thing. They only had New Testaments with them, and they couldn't find it (something like it is there, but they hadn't done their homework.) The leader said it was in the Old Testament, and they didn't have one. The magician was persistant too. "Let's go down to the book department. Surely they have a complete Bible there." So we all headed for the elevator. The verse they managed to find in the Old Testament used the word "Necramancer" not magician. The kids said it was the same thing. It's not. The leader, who began to realize this was going no where, invited us to attend a Bible Study at his church the next Sunday night. He gave us the address. The magician asked if he should bring anything (he was thinking of 'putting on a show' for them.) "Only a Bible" was the reply and the kids (who were not much younger than we were at the time) walked away. The magician had a plan. We had this trick book. It was black and it very much resembled a Bible, but when you opened it, it burst into flames. But I convinced him it wasn't a good idea. I never had gotten an answer to the Question about whether or not they wanted to kill us, and I was afraid they might decide to stone us or burn us at the stake. That was over 30 years ago. I am saved now. The magician is not. God have mercy on his soul...

As the sun goes down...

On my "Einstien" post, Jason asked about how I explained prophesy if God doesn't know what choices will be made before they are made. I begin my answer by pointing out that Yahweh is a covenant making and a covenant keeping God. Most, if not all, the promises made by HIM are preceded by an "if". And for all blessings and curses, we are given a choice. Will we or won't we?
Through the Word, our LORD has revealed Himself to us as a loving parent. Our Father!
I am a parent (and a grandparent as well). I am merely human, and quite flawed, but there are many times when I can predict what my children and grandchildren are going to do. I can look out the window at my grand daughter riding her bike a little too fast, and I can know if she doesn't slow down she will fall. I can even know that when she falls, she'll come running to me and I will wash off her owie and put a bandage on it. When they were little, I would tell my boys not to climb the tree in the vacent lot. They had the choice whether or not to climb. I hoped they would obey, but I wasn't surprised when they didn't. Why did I keep bandages and bactine in the medicine chest?
God knows the time and the seasons - He put them into motion. He knows the last day from the first. He determined it. For each human soul that ever was or ever will be - God has a plan. A good plan, to prosper - not to distroy. And every human soul has a choice, a multitude of choices.
And God has bandgaes and bactine in the medicine chest when we need them.
I know this. I can understand. I see it and can feel it. Sometimes I just don't have the right words to explain it. I go back to Genesis 6:6. When all mankind was making bad choices and all human thought was dark and evil, and God grieved that He had even made them...but Noah found favor in the eyes of God.
I am not an open theist, in the truest sense of the word, because I believe in the truth and authority of the Bible, I beleive in absolute Truth - Jesus Christ, literally and historically as well as spiritually. I believe in His cross. I do not believe that truth is relative. If anything, I would say I am a Weslyan, sympathetic to Catholisim, and in love with Jesus.
And I am still singing "shine Jesus, shine!"

Mid-day

I just wanted to share a portion of John chapter one from The Message, a version lots of people have a problem with. I think this is beautifully said:
We all live off His generous bounty, gift after gift.
We got the basics from Moses,
and then this exuberant giving and receiving,
this endless knowing and understanding -
all this came through Jesus the Messiah.
No one has ever seen God, not so much as a glimpse.
This one-of-a-kind God Experssion, who exists at the very heart of the Father,
has made Him plain as day!

As The Sun Rises

Out my kitchen window it is still night. There is one bright shining star in the west. My indication that it will be another clear, sunny day in Shiprock. I am thinking of Isaiah 60.
"Arise, shine, for you light has come. And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold darkness (great darkness) has covered the earth, and deep darkness the peoples, But the LORD will rise upon you..." Shine Jesus Shine. I think one of the most beautiful, most important passages of Scripture is the first chapter of John. The apostle John was a remarkable man wasn't he? He alone of the twelve was not successfully martyered. Not that the Romans didn't try. And to him was revealed the mysteries of the last and future days. And he began his gospel with the very words that the whole of Scripture begins. "In the beginning..."
In the beginning was the Word...and the Word was God
In Him was life and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it...
There was the true light, which coming into the world enlightened every man...
the word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Shine Jesus Shine!
In Chapter 3:19, right after the all too famous verse...For God so Loved the World...
John quotes Jesus as saying: And this is the judgement, that the LIGHT is come into the world and men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil...He who practices the truth comes to the light...
and in Chapter 8: 12
I Am the light of the world, he who follows me shall not walk in the darkness but shall have the light of life.
And toward the end of his life, many years after witnessing the cross and what followed, John wrote: God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
Once I was lost in the darkness, and began a quest for enlightenment. I knew about Jesus, but I thought there had to be more. I searched diligently and sincerely. On my search I met a man who told me to lay blame and to accept the fact that to achieve true power I would have to be willing to hurt others. That if others were hurt by my actions it was their own fault for letting themselves be vulnerable. Darkness. Yin and Yang. The balance of good and evil. But instead I chose the LIGHT.
That is why I am where I am now. That is why I am who I am.
I liked that Einstien thing I posted because it explained darkness as the absence of light and evil as the absense of God. That makes a lot of sense to me.
By the way, it was Augustine in the third or fourth century that set the foundations of the doctrine of personal predestination and divine election. It was he who explained what those verses meant. And even Augustine saw a problem with the logical conclusion that would be drawn if one brought the argument to its final conclusion. If and Then...If and Therefore...
Is the Sovereign God the author of evil? Is the sinful nature of man, and are the consequences of man's sinfulness all part of God's perfect and divine plan? Is sin darkness? In God there is NO Darkness. Use that as the premise when searching the Word for Truth. Go back to the time and place that our LORD walked this planet in the flesh, and see how the scholars of that time would understand His words. Understand that first the writers of the New Testament were Jews, and although they all experienced a paradime shift because of their encounter with Jesus, what they wrote was still based on Jewish understanding. Understand that God not only chose the time and the scribes but also the languages through which to reveal His Truth. Not that we need to understand Hebrew and Greek to understand that truth, but it was not just to make things tough on young Seminarians that in years past, a man called to be a minister of the gospel was expected to study those languages. The sky out my window is lighter now, and if I don't gulp down my coffee and run out the door I will be late for work. I know what song will be my prayer as I drive down the road. An oldie but holy...Shine Jesus Shine!.

From My Best Friend Bobbie

I don't know who wrote the following, it was forwarded to me by my "bestest" friend in the whole world. Thanks Bobbie.
It sort of goes along with the comment thread that exists in my post about prayer (the second one down I think).
I thought this was as good an explaination as any of why we can say - God Is, God Is love, Evil Exisits. It is atleast the best I've heard in a long time...

Did God Create Evil?

The university professor challenged his students with this question: "Did God create everything that exists? "

A student bravely replied "Yes, he did!"

"God created everything?" the professor asked.

"Yes sir," the student replied.

The professor answered, "If God created everything, then God created evil since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are, then God is evil." The professor was quite pleased with himself and boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said,
"Can I ask you a question professor?"

"Of course," replied the professor.

The student stood up and asked, "Professor does cold exist?"

The professor replied "Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?"

The students snickered at the young man's question. The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist.
According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Everybody or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (- 460 degrees F) is the total absence of heat. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat.

The student continued. "Professor, does darkness exist?"

The professor responded, "Of course it does."

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir. Darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct?
Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present."

Finally the young man asked the professor. "Sir, does evil exist?" Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course as I have already said. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down. The young man's name --- Albert Einstein.

The Joy of The LORD is your strength

Remember that old song - ha ha ha
Didn't know it was in Nehemiah.
I was thinking of that verse on the way home today. I'm not feeling very joyful. I've said many times, over the past three years, that the only joyful - happy thing in my life was my little Elijah.
He kept my heart beating when everything around me was dark and gloomy! And I may not see him again for a long, long time. And I'm worried about him. And as the tears started to leak out of my old eyes again, I remember that song...the joy of the LORD is my strength. Or should be. Right? I remember early in my walk with the LORD thinking maybe we were misreading that verse. Maybe it wasn't about us being joyful. Maybe it was saying that when we were strong it gave God joy...that He could look down us, as we struggled but kept going, as we stumbled but did not fall, did not give up...that our strength gave Him joy...like a parent who is proud of the winning child. I had to look it up. It is in Nehemiah 8 - verse10.
"this day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep...(they were crying because they realized that they had not kept up their part of the covenent)Then he said to them, "Go eat, of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared, for this day is holy to our LORD. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."
Well, right now I don't feel very joyful or very strong...but it is a beautiful day, and I'll be having lunch with my eldest son in a few minutes...thanks be to God.

Psalm 77

But I can still pray for my personal problems sometimes, can't I?
I look at the world around me, the dark - stormy - shakey world. And I know my problems are insignificant when you look at the Big Picture...but oh, it hurts so bad and the tears are always so close to the surface. Sometimes they just start leaking out.
"I cried out to God for help - I cried out to God to hear me! When I was in distress I sought the LORD...at night I stretched out untiring hands and my soul refused to be comforted,
I remembered you, O God, and I groaned. I mused and my spirit grew faint..."
You can read the rest on your own if you like...I will read it when I get to work, and my eyes have cleared. Does it end in hope, like so many of David's laments? Are we supposed to find comfort in knowing that through out the ages, God has often treated his children like this?
Is there any reason for praying at all? His will shall be done, no matter what we do, no matter if we agree with it or not. Not mine, but Yours oh LORD...what choice do we have. Ah, but that's the main point isn't it? Do we have a choice? Let's not go there again.

Intercessory Prayer

This has to be real quick, although I could probably spend hours here today. Anybody pay attention to the Millions More Movement rally this weekend in Washington DC.? Anybody as shaken as I am over the continual invocation of Allah over our Nation's Capitol? Any mention of Jesus was in a list of prophets or teachers, usually mid way through the list that included Budha, Martin Luther King JR. and Mohammad. But that isn't my main subject right now...
During worship yesterday, I fell to my knees, wanting to pray, needing to pray for my sweet grandson Elijah, and for my Son (named for another prophet), and the LORD clearly told me not to. He said "lay them down at my feet and leave them there...you are to "intercede" for your students - for the ones I have entrusted to your care. Focus on them. It was hard. It wasn't where my heart was. But it was powerful. I never much understood intercessory prayer. Why tell God what He needs to do, or ask Him to change His mind, or demand that he hurry up? That was the way intercession seemed to me. Why not just say, Hey God, see that problem over there? Thy will be done...amen!" Besides, why should we intercede when there is only One to intercede, namely Jesus. But this Sunday, as I knelt at the alter - seeing my students, all of whom seems to be lost in the dark - seeing their beautiful faces and imagining them all worshiping the LORD, I think I got at least a hint of what intercession is all about. Maybe?
Blessings all! Oh yeah, The prodical son has returned...we'll be killing the fatted calf soon.

Psalm 142

A lament...


I will write to vent, I will write with tears in my eyes…
Today, out here (in here) somewhere I read these words, let me cut and paste them if I can: The answer is God-centeredness. Meekness is the absolute acceptance of God’s care and managing of our lives. Our task in life changes. We are responsible for doing His will of love in every situation, and He is responsible for the outcomes. We are no longer in management. We are meek.Every human relationship has power dynamics and politics. The meek do not manage power or play the games of politics and by so doing it is the meek that will inherit the earth for only the meek are truly free, trusting in God for outcomes, to live a moral life based not on power and results but on principles and love.
What does that say? What does it say for students who have been entrusted to my care and just don’t care at all about their education or their futures. They are so used to failure and are so surrounded - emerged in hopelessness, that there just doesn’t seem to be any hope.
But that isn’t why I am crying.
It should be.
The LORD told me back in January that I needn't worry about my sons or my grandson…that He was holding them safe and secure…how did He put it?
“don’t worry about them, they are in my hands…I am taking care of them. I will work it all out. Things might have to be shaken up a bit, but don’t worry when things start to shake. I’m working it out…you need to focus on the students I entrust you with, they are your ministry.” That’s how I wrote it down in my prayer journal.
Meekness is the absolute acceptance of God’s care and managing of our lives? Trusting God for the outcomes? Oh dear God, I really don’t think you are doing a very good job! Somewhere else today I read a “study” of Psalm 142 - to be prayed when life sucks…the “priest” said something like that.
So here is Maryellen’s version of Psalm 142 - because right now I really feel like life sucks!
I cry aloud with my voice to the LORD! I beg - plead - alright, I’ll use supplicate. Here my voice Oh LORD!
I pour out my complaint before Him, I declare my troubles - my eldest son will be getting out of prison soon, it’s been three long years since this ordeal began - and it will never, ever end until the KINGDOM comes…He should have been out two weeks ago. Paper work, red tape, no one will be an advocate for sinners as vile as he is, yet YOU valued him enough to die on the Cross for him, and he does love YOU. Romans 8:28? How can any of this work out for the good? And my younger son, he is homeless, sleeping on a friends couch. His car needs expensive repairs. And his ex-wife is refusing him the right to take his son anywhere because his brother is getting out of jail. And his son, my dear little Elijah - is sick, and he is crying for his daddy, and that woman, that adulteress says his daddy can’t spend the weekends with him unless - until the evil uncle leaves town. Menee and Papa Art can’t see him either.
How can anyone get a new apartment, car, and hire a lawyer on wages earned at a pizza joint…no - the church can not help.
back to the Psalm.
My spirit is overwhelmed within me. God knows the path I am walking. He knows the traps that have been set for me and my family. God knows. This is part of His plan? To teach me meekness? I feel as if there is no escape.
And there is no one in this life who can help. God is my only refuge. Oh Lord, bring my soul out of prison, literally, bring my son out of prison. And rescue my other son and grandson while you are at it. Will He deal bountifully with me? Am I as forsaken as I feel?
These are such little problems in the vast scheme of things. People are dying - children are dying. The earth is quaking and storms are raging. I need to focus. I need to trust and obey. But I am so tired. Feeling so old and tired. I need to let God manage things and trust Him for the outcome...but it is so hard.

Have You Heard?

This weekend I heard that 30,000 people were killed in an earthquake in Pakistans. I heard that New Orleans is planning on becoming another Las Vegas. I heard that President Bush's next candidate for Supreme Court Judge isn't fit for the job because she teaches Sunday School. I heard a great sermon on Worship, and a pretty good one on intercessory prayer too. This weekend I also heard the God of Glory Thunder, I saw shooting stars, and heard the LORD say - focus girl, focus!

This is too funny...

i have a few teachers in my blogging audience...
this one is for you
and all you mothers too...
my friend DJ sent it to me LOL

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two
kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I
saw in my own second-grade classroom a few years back.

When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a
few sessions with my students. It helps them get over
shyness, and usually show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids
bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they
catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any
boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it to
school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very
outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of
the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater. She holds
up a snapshot of an infant. "This is Luke, my baby brother,
and I'm going to tell you about his birthday.

"First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and
then Dad put a seed in Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in
there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord."

She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm
trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me.
The kids are watching her in amazement.

"Then, about two Saturdays ago, my mom starts saying and
going, 'Oh, oh, oh!'" Erica puts a hand behind her back and
groans. "She walked around the house for like an hour. 'Oh,
oh, oh!'" Now the kid's doing this hysterical duck walk,
holding her back and groaning. "My dad called the middle
wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on
the car like the Domino's man.

"They got my mom to lie down in bed like this." Then Erica
lies down with her back against the wall. "And then, pop! My
mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got
thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed,
like psshhheew!" This kid has her legs spread and with her
little hands are miming water flowing away. It was too much!

"Then the middle wife starts saying, 'push, push' and
'breathe, breathe.' They started counting, but never even
got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother.
He was covered in yucky stuff; they all said was from Mom's
play-center, so there must be a lot of stuff inside there."

Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow, and returned
to her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since
then, if it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just
in case another Erica comes along.

Received from Tami D.

Just a Quick One

This morning I heard an interesting teaching on the radio as I argued with myself about just how much time I really needed to get ready for work...30 minutes, 20 minutes, maybe I could break my own record and get ready in ten????? anyway...It was Alister Bay - I like his accent- he's doing a series on pastoral responsibility and his text was in Titus (with a flip back to 1 Timothy). I've used those verses to lament about the endless debates over doctrine, and sometimes angry - insulting comments that I've experienced, either firsthand or as a bystander/observer here in blog land. What I found interesting, and very encouraging, is that as a Reformed theologian, Alister listed election and personal predestination as the first thing we should stop arguing about. And then he quoted good old and highly respected Spurgeon as saying the same thing. One of them refered to election and personal predestination as a mystery and said that the wisest of men could spend days debating the issue, with none being the wiser at the end. Spurgeon was quoted as saying that we should be about the business of doing good works, and then we wouldn't have time to argue about the nonessentials. What a concept!
It's been a long, hard week. Work has been exhausting. But it hasn't been a bad week. I've gotten a lot of prayer time in. And I think my kids have actually learned something. The weather is crisp, sunny, autumny, and I love autumn. Worship on Sunday morning was awesome, and the LORD really broke through my stuburn self and gave me a good talking to. Thanks, I needed that! Still, things in Shiprock are pretty intense - the enemy is coming against the Church full force, and people are tired. Not just at our church, the body of Christ in general.
Our personal life isn't much better, but I feel better - more confident - like I am really able to Trust and Obey. Time to finish my day - head home - maybe even eat out. Blessings on you dear blog friends (and strangers). Blog on!

From Everlasting to Everlasting

I've been waking up at 4:00am for a few days now...waking up and getting up and wrapping myself in a blanket because the mornings are getting cold, and sitting out on the front deck - praying. It's not by choice. I rather stay in bed for two extra hours until the alarm goes off. But HE just won't let me. This "morning", if you can call 4:00am morning, I realized that most of the people I pray for, or about, are sleeping at that time of "day". My students, my grandchildren, even most of my friends is far away NY. (What time does the wanderer get up? with a new baby in the house it could be pretty early)
For a thousand years in Thy sight are like yesterday when it pases by, Or as a watch in the night. Psalm 90:4 My last post, about time, led me to Psalm 90 this morning. It's not an easy psalm. It speaks of the wrath of God, being consumed by His anger. It speaks of secret sins, a warning - He knows all and He will expose all. Verse 12 asks that He will teach us to number our days. Then, like in so many of the Psalms of lamentation and repentance it ends on a happier note. One that I will hold on to today, while I am doing paper work, and meeting with parents, and praying in my classroom. O satisfy us in the morning with Thy lovingkindness, That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days, Make us glad - and let the favor of the LORD our God be upon us...When I get to work, I'm going to read it in The Message. It's gonna be a long day. I have to stay late for parent/teacher conferences, and I am tired already. Thank God for coffee!

Time

another thing i "realized" last Sunday was that eternity and liner time negate each other, and eternity is the reality...does that make sense? No matter how long we live, or what we suffer, it is only a drop in the bucket, a molecule in the vast ocean of eternity...whoa, that sounds a little to heady for me...

When I look at the Cross...

so, life continues to weigh heavy on me - my husband and I have been crying out to the LORD for mercy and wisdom - and in the natural things just seem to get worse and worse...
then we watch this stupid movie, a new "cult" film, "What the Bleep do we know?" and I wonder how Christians can even give it a second thought...yet I hear its the subject of many conversations - dialogues concerning spirituality and enlightenment. And I think back on some of the debates I've gotten into lately, concerning open theism, personal predestination, worship style, and Christians who believe in a metophorical Christ...my brain is spinning, my ears are ringing, and I am oh, so tired...
But Sunday, in worship, we meditated upon the cross and I realized something. The cross can not be denyied. The cross can not be ignored. It is the pivotal point of all time and space. It is what seperates Christianity from every other religion, every other world view. One can not reach full enlightenment without considering and realizing the Cross and the wonderful, terrible work that was done there. For God so Love the world...and this is love...that Jesus layed down His Life...His blood was spilled for "whosoever". It is unique, it is remarkable, it is true.
We who call ourselves Christian are responsible for the blood and truth of the Cross. We can not take that responsibility lightly. Sacrifice, Humility, and Love! There is a song, it is part of the annual passion play we put on here in the Four Corners, "can He still feel the nails everytime I fail?" Power in the Blood...Nothing But the Blood...It's under the Blood...
Forget the word Christian...forget the doctrines of man...forget the teachings of Augustine and Luther and Calvin and Wesley...forget churches and the hypocrites that frequent them. If it was about church and christians, I'd give it all up. But I can not forget or deny the Cross, or the beautiful Savior who looked through time and saw me, in all my short comings, and loved me enough to die for me. For my sons, my grandson, my students, for whosoever would hear His call, hear His knock on the door...for whosoever would believe. For the Romans who would pound the nails into His hands and feet, for those who knew and those who didn't know. When I look at the Cross, nothing else matters...there is love and mercy and truth.
One Maundy (Holy) Thursday, my four year old son Jeremiah was sitting in my lap as our formal United Methodist Church celebrated the last supper and passion of Jesus. The candles were being extinguished and the organ music was soft and mournfull. Jeremiah's eyes were bright in the darkness - he seemed scared/troubled. I whispered in his ear that we were remembering how Jesus suffered and died for our sins, and there was saddness in the remembering. He whispered back into my ear the words of a contemporary Christian song from a tape we played often in our car..."yeah mommy, but don't forget Ressurection Power!"
I guess that is all I have to say just now...time to move on with my day...simply trusting the Savior who died for me. Blessings

I didn't pray today...

yet -
I'm at school, third period and prep time. My first two classes (English and Reading with the same students) did not go very well. The kids were loud and disrespectful and I was impatient. About an hour into the moring, I realized, I hadn't prayed yet. I slept in late...my husband drove me to work...we are putting out yet another fire (foxes in the vineyard), and I didn't have a chance to bind this day in the Name of the Lord. It makes such a big difference. Monday and Tuesday I actually got time to annoint the desks and door with oil. In four minutes I will hit POST and get out my Bible...I will put on my praise music and spend time with the Lord.
I haven't spent much time on the computer lately. We were off line at home for a few days, and I am very busy at work. I haven't been able to visit my friends here in blog land. And I miss it. I miss the dialoge. I miss the connection. Sometimes I feel very lonely. But no more self indulgement. Time to get focused. Time to get a lone with the one person who matters most, the only one person who actually matters at all...I'm coming LORD...

putting out fires vs opening another can of worms?

I just wrote such a good post and my computer ate it. So I’ll try to reproduce it. I called it “putting out fires” because one of my commenters said that the Open Theist god spends all his time putting out fires. It is Open Theism that got me started blogging in the first place, but after reading about it and discussing it for a while I realized that NO, I wasn’t an open theist because I believe in the infallibility of the Bible, I am not a relativist, and I do believe that Jesus is the only way to Heaven. Notice I didn’t say that Christianity was the only way…one of my blog mates has a quote on her site from Ghandi that goes something like this: I like your Christ, its you Christians I don’t understand.” In the movie about his life, Ghandi says, “If I had met even one person who lived the life of a Christian, as put forth in the words of Jesus, I would have become a Christian.” Pastor Art has been discussing the problem of contextualizing the gospel. I am reading the origin stories of 4 North American tribes with my 7^th grade social studies class. Each story has a hint of the true story: a creator (the Hopi call him Father), first man and woman (none of them remember their names), a great flood and rainbow to name a few. If we take time to listen to the stories of the land and look into the hearts of the people, we can always find a starting point to begin telling them the rest of the story – the true story. But as far as not contextualizing the gospel – if that is the right thing to do, then we must go back to the context in which it was first told, before Luther, before Augustine, back to first century Christianity. I know we should trust the HOLY SPIRIT, that He can use any portion of any translation of the Scriptures to speak Truth into our lives. I also believe the Bible Translators who have worked so diligently to put the Scriptures into a language we could understand, were sincere in their efforts and deserve our respect. However, I have come to the conclusion, that all of our translations have been greatly influenced by the teachings of Luther, Calvin, and Augustine. Since it is common knowledge that these men (as well as the Roman Catholic translators) had strong anti-jew sentiments, identifying the elect mentioned in the Bible as Jews, would be unlikely. They would need another way to interpret those verses. And since Augustine’s doctrine of personal predestination was so influential in the early church, when the translators had a choice of words, one which supported personal predestination, and another equally viable word, which doesn’t support it – which one would they choose? Of course we don’t all need to be Greek and Hebrew scholars to understand the truths of the Bible, but we who are teachers should be able to search out the truth. Word studies usually show that there are many possibilities…the words chosen often reflect the bias or preconceived ideas of the translators. I do not believe in Divine Election, or Personal Predestination. I am not the only “Christian” in the world who denies that doctrine. If we follow that doctrine to its logical conclusion, than God is the author of lies, and the creator of sin. He is a puppet master and we are all behaving exactly as He willed it from before the beginning of time. That is not God, as He revealed Himself, in the written word or in the living WORD. God is Love. God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. God is a covenant God. He guides, He instructs, He forgives, and He restores. This is not putting out fires, this is being a loving parent who has given His beloved creatures, made in His image, a free will, and a responsibility.

Do people seek God? In my “seek ye first” post I gave several verses that support the claim that we do, and indeed we should seek God. There are many more. When I get to the key board again, I will site some verses that show that God has given us a free will, and that He also has been know to “change His mind” because of the prayers of the faithful. I loved the illustration that Wanderer left on my Romans 1 post, the difference between a story writer and a story teller. There is a light shining in the darkness, the darkness does not comprehend it, but the darkness cannot put it out.

Monday Mournings

I am tired and hungry and heading for home.
I didn't get a chance to pray in my room because there was an unplanned staff meeting this morning before school. and My students were insane today...
There are 50+ comments on my Romans 1 post. My head is spinning.
Do we realize how close we are to the end? Wars and rumors of wars, hurricanes and rumors of volcanoes. The words of revelation are being printed in newspapers around the world and the world continues to embrace darkness. Brings to mind the old "hymn" from the "March for Jesus" movement - Shine Jesus Shine!
that's all I have to say right now...that's all I have to sing!

I am reading a book

I went through my husbands rather extensive theological library and found a small book called "fountations of wesleyan-arminian theology" Art says it's a pretty good one, not too hard to read, so even though I'd rather just read the Word, I think I'll try to get through it. So far, I'm on page 20, read it at the laundry matt. Here are a few jewels I've gleamed from its pages so far:
The author does not wish to "engender heresy hunting" which I would also like to avoid and warns "beware of a schism making a rent in the Church of Christ." and "Since both holiness and predestination are Biblical Doctrines, there should be no division of fellowship over them." So I will read on and report back when I am done.
Also, if any of my old friends, and prayer partners drop by (seems the comments have been monopolized by three rather strongly "opinionated" brothers, which I don't mind (really)) but I miss some of my other blog mates...anyway, my family could use a little renewed prayer...something has come up which may be very difficult to deal with.

Romans One

Ok, so I am writing at work, off the clock though so don't scold. And the only Bible I have here is THE MESSAGE, which most hard core scholars would argue isn't even really a Bible. The cover identifies it as "The Bible in Contemporary Language". It is not broken down into verses, so it is a little hard to reference parts, and the "translators" took a lot of license in how they put things. It mentions train tracks and cotton candy, not exactly Biblical terms.
But, there is a discussion going on in my "Questions" post which led me to write the prior piece about seeking God, and this one on Romans 1, which is really about the same thing. Do people seek God, and can God be known outside the Scriptures, and was there, is there salvation for people who never heard the gospel...
This is how THE MESSAGE puts it.
" But God's angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over the truth. (wow to put a shroud over truth, powerful way to put it huh?) But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is. By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of His divine being, so nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn't treat Him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense not direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all , but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in His hand for cheap figurines you can buy at any road side stand."
One of my commentors suggested that even though the nature of God has been revealed to man from creation and through creation, no one ever got it until Jesus. I believe there were natives in Africa and the Americas who did get it, even before - no - especially before the missionaries came. They knew and worshiped the Creator rather than the creation, they recognized the Spirit of God long before Pentacost. And when the missionaries had sense enough to realize that, they were very willing to accept the Word made Flesh as soon as they heard the "rest of the story". Well, time to go home. Pastor Art should have dinner ready by now. Tuesday night - worship practice and dance team! Yeah!