1. What can I learn while I am in "Egypt?" What am I in danger of forgetting?
2. Do I have unrealistic expectations when I suppose people will see the hand and deliverance of God in things that happen?
3. How much do I need that? Is their affirmation required?
4. What does it take to send me fleeing to the mountains?
5. When I flee in fear, can God still use that recovery time until I am ready for the burning bush?
Ponderables.
Acts 7:17-29
"But as the time drew near for the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased and multiplied until another king who had not known Joseph ruled over Egypt. He dealt craftily with our race and forced our ancestors to abandon their infants so that they would die. At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful before God. For three months he was brought up in his father's house; and when he was abandoned, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. So Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in his words and deeds. "When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his relatives, the Israelites. When he saw one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his kinsfolk would understand that God through him was rescuing them, but they did not understand. The next day he came to some of them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, 'Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong each other?' But the man who was wronging his neighbor pushed Moses aside, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?' When he heard this, Moses fled and became a resident alien in the land of Midian. There he became the father of two sons.
Hometown prophets are without honor according to Jesus. Why such contempt for the familiar?
Why I repost Tidbits
I need reminders of what I have learned.
I cannot remember the sorrow or the circumstances, but I am reminded of the words and reaffirmed in this spirit of the plea.
There is sorrow here today. But we are all OK and the mood here seems calm amidst the anger on both sides. I find opinions are sometimes unhelpful in such times. Prayer and concern are always helpful. Peace begins with me as I follow the Prince of Peace into a turbulent world.
Each of these had an identity crisis. One man was so torn by the forces within him that he no longer knew his true name. A woman had allowed herself to be defined by a persistent illness. A little girl was being defined by a death that would not ultimately prevail.
Get Up Little Girl
"Little girl, " he called, "Damsel," indeed, a damsel in distress, ""Talitha cum," he cried, “Get up!"
And she got up.
There can be no reign if death when Jesus comes.
There can be no victory of infirmity when Jesus is present.
There is no harshness or cold indifference. There is no unsympathetic dismissal of the pain of the moment.
Jesus will speak to us whether we are dead or alive and, inside of ourselves, we will hear and rise.
Little boy, little girl, little man, little woman, hear the voice of Jesus, "Get up."
He speaks with affection, compassion, and absolute authority.
“Get up!”
You who have fallen asleep in sin and discouragement, in despondency, disease, and disheartened detachment from God, yourself, and others, arise!
This is the voice that that called light into being, whose Spirit brooded over the face of the deep in creation. The is the voice of God through a man, the God-man, Jesus, the Word made flesh.
And that voice cries, "Arise."
There was a damsel in distress. When Jesus came to see her. He came to bless, and nothing less, From Death, he came to free her.
Artise! Shake off the chains of death and live. Arise. Be free. Arise, follow the one who raises you, heals you, forgives you, and calls you.
Arise, Little Ones!
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If you prefer to watch on YouTube:
Mark 5
New International Version
They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him.This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain.For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him.Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him.He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!”For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”
Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.”And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.
A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside.The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.”He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened.When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well.Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him.Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake.Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet.He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.”So Jesus went with him.
A large crowd followed and pressed around him.And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years.She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak,because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”
Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James.When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly.He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.”But they laughed at him.
After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was.He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”).Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished.He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
“… make full proof of thy ministry.” – from II Timothy 4:5
Ministry is a full and rewarding life. Every day can be different and exciting and working with people can be a heart-warming and gratifying experience. I love the ministry and wouldn’t trade it for any other work on earth.
Are you ready to sign up, quit your job, and go to Bible College?
Great, but maybe I should be completely honest with you first.
Ministry can be tiring. It can be boring doing the same things that have to be done week after week. It can be emotionally, spiritually, and physically draining. It can mean long hours and unending demands. People can voice unreasonable expectations (no one in this church). Bill collectors want to know when to expect a check, and questions are asked for which one has no answers. Mostly, one can be one’s own worst enemy and sharpest critic.
Ready to have second thoughts? Go ahead, but whatever you do, follow God’s call – because it is not about self-fulfillment, self-gratification, self-image, or anything else about self. It is all about God, His purposes, and His calling.
And besides, it is the most wonderful, joyful, blessed life I can imagine. I love this work because God called me to it and constantly equips me for it – and because He reveals Himself in and through me. You are a minister if you are a born-again believer in Jesus Christ. Discover your gifts, calling, passion, and purpose under God and live it.
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II Timothy 4:1-8
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully. As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Balance is that quality that keeps us from falling over ... most of the time.
Assume less than you suspect.
Inspect even what you expect.
Squint the eye examining minutia.
Ask more questions than you answer.
Preface your declarations with wiggle room for change of mind and heart.
And yet, somehow, live with confidence.
Learn trust.
Relax and believe hope.
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Only a few things are true today that were not true yesterday.
Some are getting more attention.
Nothing was true yesterday that is not still true today.
That's true - now about TRUTH:
IT has always been the same and always will be no matter what is "true" at the moment.
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I sure hope you do not agree with everything I say.
Think for yourself.
God gave me my brain and God gave you one that works equally well ...
Maybe better,.
But I know one thing, if one of our brains was enough,
one of us would not need to be here.
And we both are.'
So there!
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Whatever that is you said is very interesting; tell me more.
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The shortest distance between any two things in time and space seems to be the synchronous relationship between Twitter and Facebook posts. Apparently seamless - or seemingly seamless or seem-less.
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We need better people. We need to treat people better. We need to be better people. I need to focus on the 2nd and 3rd. We need help with that. God help us.
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"My life changed for the better by falling in love with poetry. It made me a better student, made me a more alert human being. And I'd like to try to bring the gifts of poetry to the broadest audience possible." - Dana Gioia
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Retweeted Bʀɪᴀɴɪᴀᴄ® (@BGH70):
Twitter is what happens when you throw a library and street graffiti in a wood chipper.
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Everything comes from somewhere on its way to somewhere else.
Where there is free cheese, there is sometimes a trap.
"Don't envy the rat for the cheese in his trap," Lecrae reminds us.
That cheese is the lure of old realities and our addiction to them.
Entrepreneurs can create new realities.
We are not lab rats or unwelcome guests in a proper home. We are creators and co-creators in an infinite labyrinth of creativity and boundless hope.
We are creating new cheese, better cheese, sustainable cheese.
We are not trapped by the past or by our passing urges. We have been captivated by the big picture, the blue sky, and uncharted future.
Chart your own path and follow with commitment and energy.
Start thinking outside of the box, the trap, or whatever is confining your thinking.
Use your imagination to paint on a new canvas with fresh paint. Take your brush and bring a vision to life that can be seen, refined, colored, and emboldened for a future that is yet to be.
Abandon every notion of fatalism or determinism. Whatever truth they may hold outside of this sphere, they presuppose our choices and activities within it. Think like a person with feet in multiple realities, choosing the reality that has harnessed your calling in this life.
Live as if you have free will and you will at least to the extent that it matters or we can conceive of it. Do not get bogged down with theories when it is time to take action.
Don't just live your dreams; design them; craft them; decorate them; advertise them; present them to the world.
Don't be conformed to the system; build the system around your vision of a better future for all.
Don't pursue anything with total devotion that only benefits you. Thinking big means bringing others along to share in the blessings of all that you accomplish. Think bigger than big. Be a global thinker and extend that thinking beyond your own lifetime.
Anything else is a rat trap.
If someone is out there setting traps, dishing out the food pellets, calling the shots, or manipulating minds, be aware and reject their efforts. Be an entrepreneur in business, in society, and in the realm of the spirit. Be a creator who bows only to the Creator.
And never, ever, envy the mice, the rats, or the masses.
And do not eat their cheese.
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For Discussion:
#Questionforgroup
How do we drive this point home to ourselves?
How do we release ourselves from our own traps?
How do we help the people we coach, mentor, or lead to think more freely?
What are some good questions to ask ourselves or others?
I really do want to be fair, so I am going to examine one or two of my assumptions - yet again. I do that every time I am challenged ...
... well, most every time.
We are not primarily critics of culture as citizens of God's Kingdom - but we are not outside of culture. We are participants and decision makers. We are the kings. We are in authority over this dominion. That brings a heavy responsibility upon us to listen, think, and speak.
I do think it is fair to let public people speak for themselves. We can read what they say in context or listen to their speeches in context. We can try to include context in our quotes and quote accurately. We should try to do that. We may come to some of the same conclusions, but at least we will do so with understanding and sometimes, we will correct ourselves.
Ultimately, it is about the idea.
For the Christian, it is about the intersection, contrast, complement, or enlightenment that is present in the space between idea and gospel. The gospel is the bigger idea for us and it includes some presumptions about a Great Commission and a Great Commandment as well as a fundamental ethic that is not shared by all in society - the ethic of the Kingdom of God.
I have no basis for arguing Kingdom ethics with those who do not share that presumption. I do not require or expect people to buy into my assumptions without that presumption in place.
I am not a big fan of exploiting momentary Freudian slips or fleeting hashtags as the sole basis for criticism of public policy, but sometimes people really do say what they mean in a few sentences - maybe within 280 characters ... at least what they mean in the moment.
How does that translate into policy and what is my responsibility as a citizen two kingdoms?
I think we might also want to pay attention to the relationship between words and actions. In the final analysis, most ideas and prevailing narratives are much bigger than a few individuals, no matter how high profile they may be.
So, I find that going from specific to general and then, back to specific is often necessary to insure that the magnetic north pole is tuning my compass.
I will be working this out for quite some time.
When I stop, please do not send flowers to my grave, but make a memorial gift to some worthy cause.
Born this day in 1903 — George Orwell, British novelist, essayist, and critic (d. 1950), a very complicated and creative mind whose works have been cited by many who would not have agreed with his views then or now.
"When conflicting viewpoints arise in a circle of trust, we arrive at a critical moment. Now we can easily slip back into business as usual ... trying to talk each other into, or out of, some opinion. Now we may forget why we are here: ... to help each person listen to his or her inner teacher." Parker Palmer
It is not what I say or teach that matters. I am a prompter. I present the scriptures, as they are, with suggested applications and clarifying illustrations, but I have no power over what goes on inside the listener/hearer/disciple of Jesus.
That Voice inside of them is their true Teacher. That is the promise and that is the deal.
Eli sent Samuel back to his room to listen. His direction to little Sammy was to say, "Speak, LORD, your servant is listening." As it turned out, it wasn't very good news for Eli, but oh well ... Eli's task was to make space for Samuel to hear. Elijah needed that space many, many years later. Jesus required that space often.
I found myself really enjoying a chuckle. I completely disagreed with the political premise, but the humor was brilliant.
Hopefully we can get back to laughing at ourselves someday.
Here is something about which, I think we can all agree:
"I believe in God as I believe the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." -CS Lewis
In I Kings 19, Elijah is on the run, tired, discouraged, depressed, afraid of dying and wishing to die. He has crashed after a great success and does not know what to do next.
He has some real issues with God and expresses them honestly. Three words come to Him ... simple words with big meaning: Eat. Stand. Go.
It is surprisingly yet, not without expectation, wonderful, how all the readings feed the central truth of the day.
" ... Get up and eat for the journey is too much for you." (7)
Psalm 42 presents us with the notion of "panting spirituality" that longs for the water of life.
"... Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." (11)
Of course, that presence did not make Itself known in any ways that Elijah might have expected. The kind of faith-listening Elijah needed defied norms and his own boxed-in ideas of how God might speak.
" ... Go back the way you came..." (15)
He still have a mission and purpose. In Luke 8, the recently delivered demoniac wanted to hang out with Jesus and His disciples and Jesus sent him back to his home on a mission.
Eat, stand, and go or get up, go out, and go back.
Either way you group them, it culminated with a GO!
Elijah was fashioned for a mission ... one larger than himself .... one for which his own emotional, physical, and spiritual strength were inadequate. Yet, his call was to go, and in order to go, he'd need to be fed and he'd need to listen for direction.
The first great controversy in the early church was over making sure all people were treated fairly and equitably.
This led to the first appointment of official servants whose job was to administer ministry (service) and this, in turn, led to the first martyrdom, Stephen.
It was a season of firsts. The last become first and the first become last.
Read about it in Acts 6:1-15
“When the need to be cared for is dishonored, threatened, or undermined, the individual cannot experience his own self as a unity and his life may become deeply fragmented and splintered. In its extreme form, the disturbance upsets the balance of the mind so that a man gradually loses his sense of identity.” - Howard Thurman, The Discipline of Reconciliation
“And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, ‘What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’” -Mark 4:41
It was when Jesus brought calm that the disciplines found the space to experience the fear. What they had been experiencing before that was the terror and dread of being shipwrecked in the storm. Now, however, it was a kind of holy fear, an experience of the unknown for which they had no frame of reference.
What do you do with that?
So, the fear that the men had when Jesus calmed the sea was not terror, it was breathtaking awe. It was that overwhelming disorientation that comes when you realize that you control nothing.
It is coming to understand, with Anselm, that there is a God who is greater than anything we can conceive of or imagine.
We are knocked off of our feet by the magnitude of the divine presence. We are enveloped in glory. We are struck down by power. At the same time, we are healed and comforted as we settle into trusting that power and the one who possesses it.
We use words like “awe,” “wonder,” “reverence,” and “amazement.”
God defines God’s own glory. God creates it and God shows it in the Lord Jesus Christ. What manner of man is this?
That is the right question. It is always the right question for any who are weighing the wonder of Jesus Christ. It is the right question for every seeker who might be considering his life, ministry, words, and calling?
There lies Jesus, asleep on a cushion in the stern of the boat, resting easy through the squall. Was he so unaware of the ricking of the boat? Could he not hear the crashing of the waves? Could he not sense the panic of his friends?
Was it, as they questioned, that he did not care that they were about to perish?
Doesn’t Jesus care for his companions with whom he shares the boat? Doesn’t he even care about his own wellbeing?
He is, after all, in the same boat, with us. That is incarnation?
He is with us. He is vulnerable. He has determined to go down with us. Yet, in that moment, he knew that no one was going down. At least it seems so.
“Where is your faith?” That is what he asks.
They ask why he is not afraid. He asks why they are?
They ask if he cares. He asks if they believe.
Should believing make that much of a difference in a storm?
He speaks to the storm and calms the storm. Many of us have experienced that in a more esoteric encounter. Many have experienced it in actual time and space miraculous intervention by God at the word of Jesus: “Quiet. Be still.”
Sometimes that word is spoken to the storm. Often, it is spoken to our hearts. There is always something that can be settled in the stormy moments of our lives.
They ask:
“Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
Nature obeys him.
Who is he? What sort of man is he? How do we size him up? How do we respond to him? Who is this man who is showing himself to be more than a mere man?
What do we do with him? We have no box for him. We have no preexisting definition for him. We cannot label him or package him. He is who he is, and it is more than we can describe.
We stand amazed and in awe as we stand, bow, kneel, or fall in his presence.
On this day, he set out to amaze. At least he seized the opportunity to do so.
We all need some amazement in our lives. If God is with us, there is nothing ordinary about it. God is with us in Christ and the reality of it defies explanation or understanding.
Something remarkable has happened among us and to us in Jesus Christ.
The peering gaze and penetrating voice of Jesus, after all the teachings and all the signs and wonders, all the miracles, all the observation, is asking, “Haven’t you yet come to believe? Don’t you trust me? Haven’t you found in me a higher purpose, calling, and grace that overcomes these storms?”
It is as if belief is to be the new norm of our lives.
It is never true that Jesus does not care. Jesus always cares and that care reflects God’s loving concern for us. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are united in that deep caring.
But Jesus models what it looks like to believe and to trust by taking a nap.
What if we, in our amazement and awe, could learn to nap in the boat with Jesus no matter what was happening around us?
It is an amazing thing to be aligned with one whose power calls forth the obedience of the forces of nature. He doesn’t do that every day because those forces are good and nurturing. Yet, there come times when they must be defied and overridden. If it needs to happen in order for God’s purposes to be accomplished and God’s people to be delivered, it will.
Sink or swim, we are protected and guided by the awe-inspiring presence of the Lord in Christ,
In 1905, Chris Gabriel, who wrote over 7000 compositions, must have been feeling some of these emotions when he penned this hymn:
I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus, the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me, a sinner, condemned, unclean.
How marvelous, how wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous, how wonderful
Is my Savior’s love for me!
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Mark 4:35-41 New International Version
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.”
Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.
Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
Art Attribution: Peterson, Kathleen. Tempest, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56574 [retrieved June 20, 2024]. Original source: Kathleen Peterson, https://www.kathleenpetersonart.com.
I've fallen down the rabbit hole into a dystopian "wonderland" of bizarre relativism.
Can someone pinch me back into reality or has the whole world set aside any perspective on truth and compassion?
"Truth is whatever supports my world view?"
Is that it?
All else is bias?
The audacity of me saying that everything that I perceive to be true is truth because I see it that way!
I have biases. Yet, not all bias is irreparably divorced from truth. It just becomes less true when it is not seen for what it is and acknowledged.
My bias?
At least it has been, this, among other things:
People, though flawed and fallen, are also good-hearted, reasonable, and still yearning for truth, justice, compassion, and connection.
People want to think and do right and live the Great Commandment.
Prove me right.
We will need some grace.
Another bias: Humans have the ability to think ... but it takes a lot of effort.
Yet another bias: We can be easily duped by any side of an argument, but we also have the responsibility not to be led along.
We accumulate evidence to support our next argument unless we are actually open to finding truth. That is not to say that we throw out all our premises and principles, but that we acknowledge them as filters & stay aware of the ambiguities and challenges to our ideas of reality
Just because a piece of evidence is too weak to support your world view, it is not necessarily a threat to that view ... it is just not your best argument.
In every court, including the court of public opinion, there is evidence on both sides to be weighed and evaluated. The jury decides (in criminal court, beyond reasonable doubt, in civil court, preponderance of evidence). You are the jury. Do your job.
We are tempted to rely on weak evidence and arguments, sometimes, to support very valid viewpoints. We should not resort to that. We can come up with better points.
Sometimes thinking - sound thinking - requires an appreciation of basic arithmetic.
Good thinking is not enough.
Symbols are easily misinterpreted.
Sound decisions are marks of true wisdom.
I was going to say not to let anyone label you as this or that. But realistically, you cannot stop them. You cannot regulated what they call you or how they think about you. But you do not have to wear the label.
It is true that we have been informed and inspired by some folks who did some horrible things, things from which we may have benefited, things that destroyed other people and their societies. Our thought processes must be balanced if we are going to learn from history and make a better history for those who study our times.
Father Greg has proven that love, acceptance, respect, and trust can turn lives around.
No high school government teacher could ever fill a board like Harvey Margolis.
Why do we say that Juneteenth is a celebration for all when it applied to formerly enslaved people of African descent in Texas?
It is because, when we learn to love freedom, the freedom of one is the freedom of all. We all share in its blessings when received and in its deprivation when it is withheld.
On Juneteenth, we remember the initiative to inform and enforce the liberation of slaves in slavery's final frontier of the rebel states. Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War.
The date, June 19, 1865, refers to the day when enslaved African Americans, basically, in Texas, learned of their emancipation. The star represents Texas, the Lone Star State, as well as the freedom of African Americans in all 50 states.
As I get older, my patience listening to news and commentary gets thinner. That is why I prefer reading news and transcripts. Thank God I learned speed reading early in adulthood.
Retrospect would be pretty useless same for this fact
There is a future in which we are called upon to act
And if the past, with failures and some Yet - there are times I long for a vacation from thinking and knowing.
Times, I say, some, I say.
Not all, not often, not for long.
I do not enjoy having points of view - not always.
I just do and everyone is entitled to my opinion,
I suppose.
Or not.
Your choice.
God bless you.
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Some days I weary of having a point of view.
I can change my vantage & expand my view,
but I haven't figured out how to
-unknow what I know,
-unsee what I see,
-unhear what I hear,
or unshackle myself from the compulsion to cry out and invite others to know, see, hear, think.
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So I comment, cry out, question probe, agitate, irritate, & think out loud for myself, for others, for what I sense is the call of God, & for truth to broaden my own understanding & those of others for the core principles I embrace & the sometimes subtle truths that refine them.
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I love Uber, but must budget & prioritize.
I love my wife, but I have to work into her busy schedule.
I live 10 miles from the nearest bus.
I really don't like to beg for rides.
I'm not driving for your safety & mine.
If I don't show up for something, forgive me.
I love you too
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"From heaven you pronounced judgment;
the earth was afraid and was still;
When God rose up to judgment
and to save all the oppressed of the earth."
- Psalm 76:8-9
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A customer shared an oft-repeated response of surprise when I told her that we weigh the books at Joseph's Java Junction to determine their price (5 cents an ounce). It is either light reading or heavy reading.
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Contention or contemplation? I contend we cannot be ultimately contented with either out of balance.
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Love threatens and intimidates us down to the core where we must authentically contend with it or not at all
.
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Am I willing to sacrifice intimacy in order to never be intimidated?
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The vulnerability of one laid bare before the presence of pure love is both intimate and intimidating
.
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How many "have-to"s can we turn to "get-to"s today? What will it change (other than our own attitudes and capacities)?
4 years ago, I recorded this message from the hospital.
It is true in any realm of thought. One must know and state one’s principle clearly as they form the foundations of all we think and say with intellectual integrity.
A principle is a truth that is universally true regardless of context, implications, interpretation, or application. It can be stated and allowed to sit there, or people can choose to wrestle on their own, or with others about how to interpret or apply it.
While it cannot be taken for granted that all will accept the principle as a premise, it does not need to be argued or defended in debate. It does need to be stated, however, out of respect for those with whom we dialogue as in what the framers called, “a decent respect for the opinions” of mankind.
Knowing and stating one’s premises and identifying the principles that underlie them, is an honest approach to any conversation.
Why give an answer when all potential answers have been predetermined by the questioner to be indictable and misunderstood?
Jesus told his disciples to be as wise as serpents and as gentle as doves. He models this.
He would not let his detractors set the agenda for his mission, ministry, and message. Neither should we.
His teaching was outside the box and he did everything a human could do to make sure no one built a box around it. I say, “anything a human could do,” because that was his chosen self-limitation at the time. He would not magically manipulate thinking.
There is more to this dialogue than I am taking the time to discuss here including the implications of “authority” in the setting, but what it boils down to is that Jesus is making a claim to authority that the questioners were predisposed not to accept and he is saying, “Take it or leave it.”
Now, what about you?
Are you subject to being baited, manipulated or backed into a corner?
It has been said that the person asking the questions controls the conversation. That is why the smart-alec detectives on television respond to their subjects’ inquiries with, “I’m asking the questions here.”
Of course there is no law that says outside of court, who can ask questions or who must answer or how they must answer.
Sometimes either an affirmative or dissenting answer will be equally a lie or a half truth. The intention of the interrogator is to lock you in to something that is not the full truth.
You are free to reject someone else’s agenda for your life or convictions. Jesus provides an example of that.
Of course, we should always be open to dialogue with honest seekers and earnest conversation partners in a mutual exchange and quest for truth.
One day, as he was teaching the people in the temple and telling the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came with the elders and said to him, “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?”
He answered them, “I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?”
They discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us; for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”
So they answered that they did not know where it came from.
Then Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
Here is some guidance from the Hebrew scriptures on how to vote.
Deuteronomy 16:18-20, 17:14-20
Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes in every town the Lord your God is giving you, and they shall judge the people fairly.Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the innocent.Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.
The bottom line was that Israel, in choosing its leaders, was to find people who would not oppress them or practice the same old business as usual, greedy rulers acquiring wealth and wives for themselves.
When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,”be sure to appoint over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite.The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.”He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.
When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests.It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decreesand not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.
Judges were to be just.
Kings were to be fellow countrymen - citizens with a governing function.
That was the reason for appointing one of their own, a former slave, a leader with the best interests of the people at heart.
It was not about some since of ethnic superiority. The king was to be a man who loved God and loved the people.
I have never heard anyone asked, in a presidential debate, "Can you tell me about your love for the people you want to serve?"
What about such a platform? "I love the people. I love all the people. I am their servant and will continue to love them and act on their behalf."
How will we believe such candidates?
We will listen to their words and we will watch their lives.
Can the principles of that specific situational advise be applied to our times and circumstances? How do we find the transferable concepts and practice them?
We are always being called to read, analyze, and do theological reflection on our times. That is what ordinary, every day theologians do. Not to do some keeps us wading in the shallow, mucky water of knee-jerkiness where we miss our divine appointments and fail to capture the meaning of the moment.
'' And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.'' (Matthew 16:1-4 ESV)
Public service is both public and service. It is a service that we do for the public, the people.
He said, “‘Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.’ But they laughed at him.”
Only the last laugh counts!
“…he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him” — Matthew 9:24
The Last Laugh is the laugh that counts.
The last laugh LASTS.
It lasts a long time. It gets funnier with each telling and with each passing year. The pain subsides, but the story survives as the lesson thrives in our lives.
The last laugh AUTHENTICATES.
it authenticates the veracity of our words, the credibility of our ideas, and the integrity of our deeds.
The last laugh SWEETENS.
When we laugh last, the laugh is sweet. It soothes us. It affirms us. It amuses us. It affirms us within
The last laugh TURNS TABLES.
When we get the last laugh, it is because justice and truth have prevailed. We do something far better than win an argument; we win the day.
The last laugh can be SHARED.
The joke does not have to be on anyone. It does not have to be cruel. All can be embraced in it and invited into the celebration. — — — — — — — — — — 50 Years ago, when I graduated at the auditorium where last night’s shooting took place in Richmond, I sang a solo from a choral piece, with our choir:
“O Lord God to Whom Vengeance Belongeth.”
That has always puzzled me. It was chosen by our wonderful choir director, Richard Izquierdo, for whatever reason, I still do not know to this day.
It may have been his way of saying that he was not bound by tradition or his wink at the world, or his announcement that the class of 73 was being turned loose on the world. — — — — — — — — — — We were going forth in the hope of getting the last laugh of verified truth, the triumph of justice, the proclamation of hope, and the possibility of a new day.
In our day, we are preoccupied with winning the small victories, a point here, a quip there, a cruel joke somewhere else and someone’s expense. — — — — — — — — — — Someone asked me:
“Would you say you “give as good as you get” or do you let most things slide by without feeling a need to defend or attack?”
If I “give and I get,” then I am surrendering control of my life to someone else’s behaviors and choices. I am letting the other person run my life and emotions.
If I must defend myself at all times, then I am saying that what someone else thinks of me or says about me changes who I am or determines how I feel about myself.
Frank Sinatra said that the best revenge is success.
Build your life as if your critics do not exist. Become a beacon of truth for them. Show them that you are stronger than their attacks by having a good day in spite of anything they say or do. That is my philosophy.
Am I always successful at it?
Mostly — not always. I am a work in progress.
However, when I don’t practice it, things don’t go as well as when I do.
I would much rather be proactive in my life than reactive. The Golden Rule is as much for us as it is for “them.”
There they formed a coalition of mix-matched socks and were animated by a race of invisible shape-shifters. The symbiotic partnership is a thriving example of how entities can work together to form the formless and inform the clueless.
That is my current theory, but it is in flux.
How I Find Lost Things:
First, I look around.
Then I try to visualize the last time I remember having it and where I was.
I look there.
Then, I retrace my recent steps.
Somewhere along the line, I pray for guidance.
Then, I ask people when they last saw me with it or if they borrowed it.
Then I listen to their advice about where to find it — usually stuff I’ve already done, but sometimes it is helpful.
I walk away and do something else.
I come back and do all of those steps again and ask deeper questions of myself.
I start looking in all the illogical places like the floor around the toilet (where I have often found my wallet) and places like that.
I walk away again.
I start looking for something else.
Eventually it turns up in either some (a) really unlikely place that suddenly makes sense or (b) some likely place where I have looked before.
Keep in mind.
Everything is somewhere.
Things that you left somewhere are most likely where you left them.
Your memory, which was never fool-proof, has a lot more information to handle than it used to — which is a nice way of saying that you are becoming forgetful.
So, how do you find your missing stuff?
Try my list or someone else’s list. When that fails, take a break. Relax and replace.
I the past, it was always my practice to to forget what red and blue are as designations for political persuasions and states.
I have been losing the game because these colors are constantly in my face.
I still now know how to recognize them to some extent, but I am not always successful and forgetfulness prevails. I have no need or desire to correct that deficiency.
Seriously, I can't always keep track of other political and ideological tags and usually don't wish to.
Principles transcend labels.
The problem is that some who embrace the labels closely to their chest have often elevated them above principles in these days.
That being said. if I know where something is coming from, I might detect the attachment of an unspoken or unwritten agenda and I might keep my eyes open and my nose clear to sniff out the peculiar smells of being led in the direction of a sewer -yet with an open but aware mind.
I have found myself agreeing with someone and nodding enthusiastically many times and then realizing that I have wandered into a position I do not hold -- by accident (or manipulation).
So ... while I cannot afford to dismiss an idea, I can examine it carefully.
I don't care what the branding is on a good idea. If it is a good idea, it is a good idea -- same with a bad idea. The camp from which it comes is less important than where we can go with it and whether or not it propels truth or truth-seeking.
Mark Twain said, "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect."
Absolute certainty, set in stone is a cruel myth. It is debilitating when it comes to cultivating new ideas.
We need some tools.
Here are:
Three Crucial Questions For Making Moral Choices
It is all about the questions when making the right choices.
The answers are contained there.
I Corinthians 10:23-24, 31-33 informs us.
1. Is it beneficial?
Is this choice God’s best or just a concession to the moment? Will it help?
2. Is it constructive?
What are the positive results of this choice for the Kingdom? Does it build or destroy?
3. Is it good for others?
How will my choice affect and effect other people?
One Absolute Principle: So, whether you eat or drink, or what ever you do, do it for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble...
Off and On Topic
"I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing." ~~Socrates
"For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." - Paul, I Corinthians 2:2
In larger context, translated by J.B. Phillips (vv. 1-5):
"In the same way, my brothers, when I came to proclaim to you God’s secret purpose, I did not come equipped with any brilliance of speech or intellect. You may as well know now that it was my secret determination to concentrate entirely on Jesus Christ and the fact of his death upon the cross. As a matter of fact, in myself I was feeling far from strong; I was nervous and rather shaky. What I said and preached had none of the attractiveness of the clever mind, but it was a demonstration of the power of the Spirit! Plainly God’s purpose was that your faith should not rest upon man’s cleverness but upon the power of God."
I the past, it was always my practice to to forget what red and blue are as designations for political persuasions and states.
I have been losing the game because these colors are constantly in my face.
I still now know how to recognize them to some extent, but I am not always successful and forgetfulness prevails. I have no need or desire to correct that deficiency.
Seriously, I can't always keep track of other political and ideological tags and usually don't wish to.
Principles transcend labels.
The problem is that some who embrace the labels closely to their chest have often elevated them above principles in these days.
That being said. if I know where something is coming from, I might detect the attachment of an unspoken or unwritten agenda and I might keep my eyes open and my nose clear to sniff out the peculiar smells of being led in the direction of a sewer -yet with an open but aware mind.
I have found myself agreeing with someone and nodding enthusiastically many times and then realizing that I have wandered into a position I do not hold -- by accident (or manipulation).
So ... while I cannot afford to dismiss an idea, I can examine it carefully.
I don't care what the branding is on a good idea. If it is a good idea, it is a good idea -- same with a bad idea. The camp from which it comes is less important than where we can go with it and whether or not it propels truth or truth-seeking.
Mark Twain said, "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect."
Absolute certainty, set in stone is a cruel myth. It is debilitating when it comes to cultivating new ideas.
We need some tools.
Here are:
Three Crucial Questions For Making Moral Choices
It is all about the questions when making the right choices.
The answers are contained there.
I Corinthians 10:23-24, 31-33 informs us.
1. Is it beneficial?
Is this choice God’s best or just a concession to the moment? Will it help?
2. Is it constructive?
What are the positive results of this choice for the Kingdom? Does it build or destroy?
3. Is it good for others?
How will my choice affect and effect other people?
One Absolute Principle: So, whether you eat or drink, or what ever you do, do it for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble...
Off and On Topic
"I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing." ~~Socrates
"For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." - Paul, I Corinthians 2:2
In larger context, translated by J.B. Phillips (vv. 1-5):
"In the same way, my brothers, when I came to proclaim to you God’s secret purpose, I did not come equipped with any brilliance of speech or intellect. You may as well know now that it was my secret determination to concentrate entirely on Jesus Christ and the fact of his death upon the cross. As a matter of fact, in myself I was feeling far from strong; I was nervous and rather shaky. What I said and preached had none of the attractiveness of the clever mind, but it was a demonstration of the power of the Spirit! Plainly God’s purpose was that your faith should not rest upon man’s cleverness but upon the power of God."
Are you disgruntled? Or are you gruntled? Gruntled is a real word, one of the few positives derived from a negative.
"disgruntle (v.) 1680s, from dis-, here meaning "entirely, very," + obsolete gruntle "to grumble" (Middle English gruntelen, early 15c.), frequentative of grunt (v.)."
You actually can take a negative and fashion a positive from it.
Where would you start today?
This is neither a gruntlement nor a disgruntlement; it is a bit off topic. But I will throw it in.
Richard Rohr takes the doctrine of the Trinity to illustrate how we, as Christians, must celebrate "clear distinction, pluriformity, and otherness," while affirming that "the infinite trust and flow between them is so constant, so reliable, so true, and so faithful that they are also completely one. They must be diverse, and they must be one—at the same time. "
It seems every generation must be newly converted. While we seek to transform individual hearts and minds we must also work to create change throughout systems. Until a full vision of equity is realized, we must continue naming and resisting the ways in which so many people are excluded and oppressed.
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Some years back, I got an ad for a Christian social media app. Why do I need a Christian ghetto in which to isolate myself from everyone but the like-minded?
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Rumpelstiltskin!
Oh Smiddleebopper!
Shemamamamamanan!
Oh slush!
Grrrrrrrr.
Fudge!
Son of a biscuit eating Baptist (or Son of a Baptist).
and multiplied their families like flocks of sheep. " - Psalm 107:41
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Make Room
"Make room in your hearts for us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy."
He is saying, "I was sorry that what I said when I told you hard truth made you grieve ... a little sorry, but ultimately glad, because you got yourself straightened out and you ended up with some real comfort."
Real comfort sometimes only comes through soul-grieving and spiritual introspection that cuts away at us and stones the mixed voices or dissent within our hearts.
The phony, temporary, temporal comforts to which we flea in avoidance and denial wear off like an aspirin. God's comfort is deep. It sometimes hurts going in, but it heals us in the process.
That is my personal take-away from this scripture this morning.:
"For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us."
"For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. Therefore we are comforted."
"And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. For whatever boasts I made to him about you, I was not put to shame. But just as everything we said to you was true, so also our boasting before Titus has proved true. And his affection for you is even greater, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. I rejoice, because I have complete confidence in you."
(2 Corinthians 7:2-16 ESV)
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I wrote a long mediation on Psalm 119:57-64 and accidentally erased it. I guess it was for me and between me and God.
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Today's take-away for me today from Psalm 49: Do not be impressed or intimidated by power, wealth, and position. God rules! All else fades away.
“It costs so little to teach a child to love, and so much to teach him to hate.” - Servant of God Father Edward Joseph Flanagan, 1886-1948
“Christian charity does not consist in the shedding of tears, or in mere preaching, but rather in the doing of that which we preach, and in the actual alleviation of the conditions that bring about those tears.” - Father Edward Flanagan
I was planning on feeling poorly today. I was well on my way. I was getting ready to lean into it. Then, some things came up. I got distracted from feeling lousy. I just remembered. Oh well. Too late now.
Raw courage is at its core, the entry level requirement for any venture into the dark unknown where life is an adventure and hope is alive.
"Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands - and then eat just one of the pieces." - Judith Viorst
"... I rejoice, because I have complete confidence in you." - II Corinthians 7:16b
"Exhaust the little moment,
For soon it dies.
And be it gash or gold,
It will not come again
In this identical guise. "
- Gwendolyn Brooks
Retweeted Peter Voogd (@PeterVoogd23):
Be good to people for no reason.
"Whatever you think can’t be done, somebody will come along and do it." -Thelonius Monk
Retweeted Friar Nick (@FrNickOFMConv):
"There is a light that never goes out..."
Retweeted William Shakespeare (@Wwm_Shakespeare):
I’ll wrestle with you in my strength of love.
Retweeted Beth Moore (@BethMooreLPM):
“Break her down.”
—Mortal Man
“Raise her up.”
—Son of God
Taking her by the hand He said to her, “Talitha Cumi” which means, “Little girl, I say to you arise.” Mark 5:41
Retweeted Sammy Rhodes (@sammyrhodes):
John 21. It was beside a charcoal fire that Peter denied Jesus.
It's no mistake that it's by a charcoal fire that Jesus restores Peter.
There is always more grace in Jesus than there is sin in me or you.
It was 1997 or 1998 when I snapped this shot of a little girl in Tijuana.
We all cast a shadow in our lives and we all provide snapshots of ourselves in the lives of the people we meet that last long past the moment in which they were engraved upon our hearts and minds.
I wonder where this little girl is now and if that face is still full of wonder and joy.
I wonder if she remembers this moment when someone wanted to capture that face and I wonder if she knows how many people have been inspired in their moments by her moment.
"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." - I Timothy 6:10
It is not money as some have carelessly quoted, that is the root of all evil. Money is fine. It is neutral. A pot of money in the corner of a room will not attack you from behind and render you any harm.
It is the love of money that is pregnant with the potential to corrupt and give birth to all manner of evil. Another word for it is greed.
Greed initiates wars, ruins relationships, destroys reputations, incites violence, stimulates larceny, and oppresses the poor.
The love of money diverts the focus of otherwise good people to selfish ends and distorts their thinking.
The love of money competes with our love for God and that is all the reason we need to shun it.
Money can be a powerful tool for good, but it is only a tool. Money in God’s hands and in the hands of those who do His bidding can heal the sick, feed the hungry, and proclaim God’s Word throughout the entire world.
It takes money to live in our economy, but when it has the wrong place in our lives, it can make life unlivable.
Money is not good, but it is not bad either. It represents our work and our investments, but that is all it is.
Some people love money and use God and people.
We are called to love God and people and use money.
When all of that is in order we have nothing to fear from money.*-
