The B I B L E, yes, that's the book for me!

So, over the past few days, in the post Christmas quiet, I’ve read Ephesians, Jude, and Galatians.
I read them in 5 different versions with Strongs Concordance at my side…oh the wonders of the Computer Age. Three comments:
1. In Ephesians, there is a demarcation between “we” and “you” in the first chapter. WE being Paul and the Jews, who were predestined corporately and the YOU who became part of the elect through the decision to believe the Good News when it was preached to them.
2. Jude has one of my favorite sections about how some need to be corrected gently in love and others need to be dragged forcibly away from the edge of the pit. It also seems to be addressing those who think because Grace saves us we don’t have to worry about doing anything.
3. Galatians is mainly Paul defending his apostolic authority and the fact that gentiles don’t need to become Jews to be righteous. Circumcision is the main issue, although feasts and Sabbaths are mentioned too. I also compared the word “fool” as in Matt. 5 and “foolish” as in Galatians 3. The word “Rhaka” means empty one, or worthless one, that’s the Matt. 5 word. The word in Galatians means stupid, or unwise. I for one, am neither.

"tis the day after Christmas..."

I just posted a piece on Gateway of the Rock about how we celebrated Christmas this year.
I have one more full week off from school. Company tonight, worship practice Tuesday, Dance practice Thursday, Dinner out for our anniverary on Friday, Watchnight service Saturday (happy 2006!) regular Sunday, Free Monday, and then back to school...count down to the Big Test...uggg.
Later guys, love to you all...

Merry Christmas

Just a short note, a quote I got off a friend's blog...
Remember this about God -
"He is intimate with His creation and He is Good"
Isn't that what the Christmas Story is all about?

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!