defenseless against suffering

Intolerance?

2012-02-05T03:00:00.000-08:00

Nehemiah

2012-01-29T00:44:00.000-08:00

This narrative begins as Nehemiah hears that the city of Jerusalem is not doing well and has broken down walls and gates destroyed by fire. He is an official in King Artaxerxes's administration and allows the king to see him after he has been heart broken by the news of Jerusalem. The king asks what is wrong, and Nehemiah tells him. The king grants Nehemiah leave and gives him a royal letter granting him safe passage and material help. Upon arrival, Nehemiah secretly surveys the damages and assesses the needs. He then begins to rally the people to rebuild even in spite of an immediate voice of opposition from locals. Chapter three details the various groups and individuals involved and the specific sections of the wall they rebuilt. The enemies of Jerusalem begin to openly mock and seek to discourage the Jews. This escalates to threats and intimidation. The Jews pray and set up a guard. Eventually, they split those who are there in half. Half the men stand guard with weapons drawn while the other half work. Everyone is called to sleep within Jerusalem. Nehemiah encourages the people to trust fully in God.

Nehemiah's next challenge comes from problems within the Jewish community. The wealthy and powerful Jews in the region were oppressing the poor Jews. Nehemiah commands that they cease their exploitation of the people and return their property and the interest charged to them. The wealthy agree to do this. Nehemiah does without his wages and the normal allowance for his expenses as governor of the land to also lighten the burden on the people. He asks for God to remember this.

Outside enemies once again employ various tactics seeking to intimidate and instill fear in the Jews. They even hire a man within the community to act as if he is Nehemiah's friend and claim to have knowledge of an impending attack on Nehemiah, but he does not fall for it. Finally, the wall is finished after 52 days. There are some within the community that have ties to Tobiah, one of Nehemiah's enemies, and they continue to try to influence Nehemiah's perceptions about Tobiah. Nehemiah wants the people to remain vigilant for any attacks. God lays it on his heart to list the exiles who returned to the best of his ability. He does this, and a list is given. There are some priests who want to be listed, but they cannot prove their lineage. Therefore, they are excluded from the priesthood. Many of the leaders give gifts of their own wealth.

Ezra reads the law before the people, and as he is reading it, men are present with Ezra to help and be sure that the people understand it clearly. The people initially weep and grieve as they grasp the law being taught to them, but the leaders correct them and explain this is a holy day. They encourage them to feast, celebrate, and share with those who are without. The next day, they learn about the feast of booths that is proclaimed in the law. They decide to observe the feast of booths. The people join in crying for God's mercy, and the Levites lead the people and seek to acknowledge to God his great faithfulness and their ancestors' stubborn and consistent disobedience. They do this by revisiting their history and many milestones in Israel's past. Finally, they submit a written covenant of repentance to God. Chapter 10 begins with a list of prominent names that signed the covenant, and it goes on to indicate the specific practices that they are pledging to follow through with as they seek to walk in repentance and obedience.

The leaders take it upon themselves to live in Jerusalem, and the people cast lots to pick one in ten from the people to also live there. These people are honored, it seems, because of the higher level of danger to live in the city. A list of Jerusalem's inhabitants is given. A list of priests and Levites is also given. It starts with Zerubbabel and Jeshua who were among the original returning exiles, and it goes from there. The wall of Jeruasalem is dedicated with sacrifices and much loud and joyful celebration. The storerooms for the priestly and Levitical portions of the sacrifices are established. The law of Moses is read, and the Jews choose to separate themselves from foreigners in response to becoming aware that Ammonites and Moabites were never to enter the assembly of God.

Finally, after a time away, Nehemiah discovers many wrongs have taken place upon his return. Eliashib the priest uses what is supposed to be a storage room for the grain, spices, etc. from worhip as a room dedicated to being used by Tobiah, a relative of the priest. Nehemiah throws out Tobiah's possessions and orders the room to be cleansed. The people have not been faithful to bring the portion for the Levites and singers, and they have had to go back to their fields to survive instead of doing their temple duties. He finds people profaning the Sabbath with work and trade, and some people have intermarried. He seeks to correct these wrongs and institute reforms again. The book ends with his request that God remembers all the good he has done for these people.

Paul has a plan

2012-01-14T00:30:00.000-08:00

I recently had the opportunity to engage in an extended conversation with a man who had been homeless for about 3 or more years. During the course of this conversation, the man named Paul would on a couple of occasions start referring to what he had in mind regarding his own future. He was confident that if he could just get his hands on a tent and a sleeping bag from Wal-Mart that he would be set. He also occasionally spoke about some getting back into playing the drums and maybe seeing where that could take him. Paul was certain that if he could get further south, perhaps to Florida, that this location change would also revolutionize his life for the better. These are the kinds of ideas Paul had regarding future opportunities for personal betterment. I am fairly certain Paul was in his late 50's.

Of course, I would try to steer Paul towards seeking help through one of the many homeless shelters available to him in the area. I tried to point out to Paul that it was going down to the 20's the following two or three nights, and he needed to find somewhere he could be safe from such temperatures. Also, the homeless shelters seemed to me to be the obviously best option available for what I considered to be more meaningful improvements in Paul's life going forward regarding job prospects, safety, improving his health, and other potential issues I was sure were probably plaguing Paul. Paul refused that route and remained confident that his plan was the way to go. The last I saw of Paul was outside a Flying J truckstop where he was panhandling money.

I mention this interaction because a couple of days after this, I was revisiting this encounter, and it dawned on me that Paul's skewed thinking is very reminiscent of our own in terms of how I believe we interact with God. I believe that many of us think that we know some "good ideas" to get going in the right direction in regards to spiritual growth and improvement, but our perceptions are so warped by our lengthy time living in a state of spiritual malnutrition that we can't see how short sighted our goals are. We are stubbornly unwilling to submit ourselves to simpler and more fundamental steps (not changing our current situation, but resubmitting our hearts more fully to and intensely in pursuit of Christ). We think if we can just do this or that, it will turn things around, but we are not acknowledging the depth of our need. This is not meant to be a downer for anyone nor accusatory(these thoughts applied to myself when thinking them at the time which was recently). On the contrary, when we allow ourselves to determine the next steps when in a state of spiritual malnutrition (lack of a prayer life, Bible study, fellowship, consistent disobedience, etc.), we are keeping ourselves from walking in a place of fulfillment, meaningfulness, joy, and peace that we don't even think is possible.

We must recognize God is the one with clarity, not us. We get that clarity simply by hiding ourselves deeply within Him as we did when we first came to him as little children.

Learning about Mormonism

2012-01-07T20:26:00.000-08:00

Below are some great video clips walking you through key points regarding Mormonism and the crucial need for Christians to arm themselves with the gospel for effective defense AND witnessing opportunities that can often present themselves to us. I hope you find them as helpful as I have. This has rekindled my appreciation for Way of the Master with Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort. I may be visiting them and their web site more often.

Way Of The Master Mormonism Mormons Part 1

2012-01-07T20:08:00.001-08:00

Way Of The Master Mormonism Mormons Part 2

2012-01-07T20:08:00.000-08:00

Way Of The Master Mormonism Mormons Part 3

2012-01-07T20:07:00.000-08:00

Ezra

2011-12-31T00:46:00.000-08:00

The book of Ezra opens with an expanded account of the proclamation of Cyrus, king of Persia, found at the end of 2 Chronicles. He announces his charge to Judah to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. The fact that this proclamation is a fulfillment of a prophecy by Jeremiah is noted again. Leaders of Judah, Benjamin, Levi, and "everyone whose spirit God had stirred" go to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. The people are given material help from the people around them, and Cyrus returns vessels taken by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon during the initial captivity. An account of those who return is given more completely in chapter two.

Soon after arrival, the altar is built and sacrifices are made. The Feast of Booths is kept. In the beginning of the second year, the rebuilding begins. Upon the laying of the new foundations, there is a profound mixture of both mourning and celebration. Shouts of joy go out for this hugely important first step in the building of a new temple, but shouts of mourning from those who knew of the first temple are also heard loudly.

In chapter four, those who are building encounter opposition from locals. This opposition culminates a letter from a new ruler commanding the building to cease, but, in chapter five the prophets Haggai and Zechariah prophesy and encourage the people to renew the act of building. Zerubbabel and Jeshua lead a renewed thrust of building in a display of their faith in God. They await the final word from King Darius while they continue to build. (Read about Darius in the book of Daniel regarding the story of Daniel and the lion's den). King Darius not only allows the building to continue, but he commands the builders to be given material support from the local government. The temple is finished, and they dedicate it with sacrifices and much celebration. Soon they observe the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month of the Jewish calendar as is proscribed in the law.

King Artaxerxes sends Ezra the priest to Jerusalem. He empowers him legally with a royal proclamation that provides for and protects Ezra and those whom he travels with as they travel and upon their arrival. The proclamation also empowers Ezra to be a teacher of the law of Moses and to establish governance among the people based on that law. After the proclamation of Artaxerxes is recounted, there is a section of Ezra that is written in the first person by Ezra himself. He gives a list of those who went up with him. He gathers a group of Levites, and they fast and pray for protection for their journey. He then divides the offerings for Jerusalem among those traveling to Jerusalem with him, and they depart for Jerusalem. They arrive safely by God's mercy and present their offerings and deliver the king's words to his local officials.

Immediately, Ezra is faced with a scandal of God's people intermarrying with non-Jews. Ezra is horrified and mourns and cries out to God for His mercy. This was a fundamental act of disobedience on the part of the returning exiles. The people join Ezra in his weeping. They pledge to separate themselves again from the non-Jewish residents they've married. A command is sent out for all exiles to gather in Jerusalem in three days or be banished from God's congregation. The issue of repenting from the wrongful intermarriage is made clear to all, and the vast majority repent.

2 Chronicles

2011-12-23T06:47:00.000-08:00

Chapter 1
Solomon offers sacrifices and worships God in Gibeon. God asks Solomon what he would like from God, and Solomon requests wisdom to lead well. God rewards Solomon's request by granting it AND riches, wealth, and honor. Solomon's wealth begins to be recorded.

Chapter 2
Solomon begins building the temple. He acquires skilled labor and materials from Huram, king of Tyre.

Chapter 3
The temple is built in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah(see story of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac in Genesis 22) and on the site where David built an altar to end God's judgment on Israel. Specific measurements and details of the temple are given.

Chapter 4
The altar, the bronze sea, and details regarding the furnishings are recorded.

Chapter 5
The temple is finished, and the ark is brought into the temple. Many, many sacrifices are made. As the priests and musicians praised God, His presence fills the temple.

Chapter 6
Solomon speaks to the people, and then he prays to God regarding the temple.

Chapter 7
After Solomon's prayer, fire comes down and consumes sacrifices. The glory of God becomes so powerful in the temple that the priests cannot enter. The people offer even more sacrifices, and the musicians praise God. The middle court is consecrated. The people hold a large feast. God tells Solomon his prayer for the temple was heard. He challenges Him to be faithful to cry out to God and warns of the consequences of unfaithfulness.

Chapter 8
Details of Solomon's reign are recorded. Building projects, military campaigns, and various specific decisions are mentioned.

Chapter 9
Story of the visit of the Queen of Sheba is told. Solomon's works and the growth of his fame and greatness is recounted. His wealth, kingdom, and influence in the region continued to grow. He reigned 40 years in Jerusalem. Upon his death, his son Rehoboam becomes king.

Chapter 10
Rehoboam is quickly confronted by the people. They request a lighter burden of taxation of their labor and goods. Rehoboam consults his counselors and chooses to follow the counsel of speaking harshly to the people. He loses all the tribes except Judah and Benjamin. This is a fulfillment of a prophecy of judgment from God. Jeroboam becomes ruler of the remainder of Israel.

Chapter 11
Initailly, Rehoboam plans to fight to retake the kingdom. God forbids it, and Rehoboam yields. He builds, and this is recorded. The Levites relocate themselves to Jerusalem because Jeroboam creates a false priesthood and forbids Levites to be priests. Rehoboam marries, has concubines, and has many sons. He places them in leadership throughout Judah and Benjamin. He elevates Abijah (one of his sons) to a place of importance.

Chapter 12
Rehoboam and people forsake the Lord. They are attacked by Shishak, king of Egypt. Shishak pillages the temple and enslaves them for a time. The people repent and humble themselves. Abijah takes the throne upon Rehoboam's death.

Chapter 13
Abijah declares war against Jeroboam and the tribes that follow him. He points out how Jeroboam had led them to follow other gods and has instituted his own priesthood. He declares they will not win if they fight against God. They still fight Abijah, and Judah and Benjamin are delivered by God and are victorious. 800,000 troops of Israel against 400,000 troops of Judah, but God delivers Judah, and they kill 500,000 of Israel and defeat them.

Chapter 14
Asa becomes king of Judah after Abijah. Asa is granted ten years of peace in which he builds up cities and a strong army. Asa reforms the wrong practices of the people and points them to be faithful to God. When he is faced by a large army from Ethiopia, he crys out to God, and he is granted a great victory.

Chapter 15
Asa is encouraged to continue to seek God fully. He and the people do so, and there are even many from Israel who defect and join Judah. Because of this, Asa is granted many more years of peace.

Chapter 16
However, in the 36th year of Asa's reign, he is threatened by Baasha, king of Israel, and he chooses to rely on a treaty with the king of Aram bought with wealth. This treaty accomplishes a victory against Baasha, but God pronounces a judgment because Asa chose to rely on the help of a foreign king instead of God. Asa jails the prophet who pronounces this judgment and even remains unrepentant after he has a severe disease. He dies after 41 years as king.

Chapter 17
Asa's son, Jehoshaphat, reigns. He sought God fully, and he was rewarded by God for this. He sent leaders out to the people to teach them the book of the law of the Lord. Jehoshaphat grows in power, prestige, and respect in the region.

Chapter 18
Jehoshaphat allies himself with Ahab and agrees to fight with Ahab against Ramoth-gilead. Jehoshaphat wants to seek the word of the Lord. Ahab agrees but uses his false prophets who tell him what he wants to hear. Finally, Jehoshaphat prods him to go to a real prophet. Micaiah, the prophet, initially tells Ahab the same as the others, but Ahab senses he is lying. Micaiah prophesies defeat. He also describes a heavenly scene that explains that God knew of and ordained the lying spirit given voice by the false prophets, Micaiah is struck by a false prophet, and he prophesies against the man who strikes him and the death of Ahab. The battle ensues. They are defeated. Ahab is killed, and the prophecies are shown true.

Chapter 19
Jehoshaphat is rebuked by a prophet named Jehu. Jehu was the son of the prophet Hanani whom Asa, Jehoshaphat's father, imprisoned for his rebuke. Jehoshaphat did not respond in the way Asa did. He appointed judges, warned them to judge with integrity, and established a clear chain of governmental authority.

Chapter 20
Judah is invaded by a large multitude, and Jehoshaphat cries out to God in front of the people. God promises a victory that will not even require them to fight. The enemies of Judah kill each other, and Judah takes the spoil and praises God. Jehoshaphat later again allies himself with the wicked Ahaziah, king of Israel. He suffers loss because God is displeased.

Chapter 21
Jehoram, Jehoshaphat's firstborn, reigns. He does wickedly including killing his brothers. Edom revolted and gained independance during his eight year reign, and he led Judah astray in worhiping other gods. Elijah sends him a letter containing God's judgment against him. He was invaded, pillaged, lost his sons, and family, and died of a horrible disease.

Chapter 22
Jehoahaz/Ahaziah (referred to as both) is Jehoram's youngest and only remaining son and is made king. He did evil. His family was tied to Ahab's family. He is killed in the midst of God's judgment that purges the house of Ahab. His mother rules after his death by killing all royal offspring except for a child named Joash who is saved secretly.

Chapter 23
Joash is hidden in the temple for six years. Jehoiada, a priest, organizes the Levites to guard Joash and overthrow the evil queen Athaliah and establish Joash as king. They succeed, and kill the queen. Jehoiada leads the people in reform back to seeking God.

Chapter 24
Upon becoming king and growing older, Joash begins to push for restoration of the temple. After chastising a lukewarm beginning, Joash leads a robust restoration process of the temple. After Jehoiada's death, Joash and the other leaders turned away from their pursuit of God. Jehoiada's son rebukes the king's unfaithfulness, but he is killed by Joash. Aram attacks and wins, and Joash is sick and is killed by his own men. Amaziah, Joash's son, becomes king.

Chapter 25
Amaziah kills his father's assassins. He builds an army and hires soldiers from Israel to help fight. A prophet warns Amaziah not to depend on Israel because God is against them and will be against Amaziah if he depends on them. Amaziah heeds the prophet and sends the soldiers from Israel home. He defeats the Edomites, but angry soldiers from Israel who were sent back raid towns in Judah and kill and plunder. Amaziah adopts worship of god worshipped by Edomites and is rebuked. Amaziah challenges Israel to battle while in unrepentant sin worshipping other gods. He is defeated and captured. He turnes from God and is killed by his own people.

Chapter 26
Uzziah, Amaziah's son, reigns. As long as he seeks God, God helps him have victory. Uzziah gets full of himself and offers incense in the temple. The priests are the only ones who are to do this. When confronted by the priests, Uzziah gets angry, but he immediately breaks out with leprosy. They rush him out of the temple, but he remains leprous the rest of his life. His son, Jotham, manages the kingdom the remaining years of Uzziah.

Chapter 27
Jotham becomes king when his father dies. He builds many things and has victory over the Ammonites. Verse six says, "So Jotham became mighty because he ordered his ways before the Lord his God." His son, Ahaz, reigns upon his death.

Chapter 28
Ahaz does much evil and brings God's wrath on Judah. They are defeated and slain by Aram and Israel. Israel takes captives to make slaves of some of people of Judah. God sends a prophet who warns that God's wrath will be even more directed at them than it already is if they make these people of Judah slaves. Israel cares for and releases them. Ahaz continues to rebel and lead Judah into more unfaithfulness. He trys to bribe Assyria into aiding him, but he is instead attacked and pillaged by the Edomites, Philistines, and Assyria. He never repents. His son, Hezekiah, becomes king upon his death.

Chapter 29
Hezekiah immediately begins to lead the people in repentance and reforms. The Levites and priests cleanse the temple. Hezekiah leads the people in sacrifice and worshipping God in the temple with musicians.

Chapter 30
Hezekiah leads the people in reinstituting the passover. He even sends word thoughout Israel inviting them back to worship the passover together with Judah. Most of Israel scoffs at the king's messengers, but some humble themselves and come to Jerusalem. A huge gathering attends the passover, and even though many do not purify themselves according to the law, Hezekiah prays for them, and God heals them. The people celebrated for two weeks, and God heard their prayer.

Chapter 31
The people tear down many sites of worship of other gods. Hezekiah reinstitutes regular sacrifices and commands the people to give the portion due to the priests. They give more than is needed, and the priests make store room for excess.

Chapter 32
Sennacherib, king of Assyria, invades. Hezekiah encourages the people in the Lord. Sennacherib talks trash and demeans God. His people try to intimidate the people of Judah by questioning their faith in God. Hezekiah cries out, and God delivers Judah by sending an angel to bring destruction on Sennacherib's men. Hezekiah is sick and cries out. He is healed, but wrath is pronounced because of his pride. He humbles himself and the judgment is postponed. Upon his death, Manasseh, his son, reigns.

Chapter 33
Manasseh undid the reforms Hezekiah brought about. He engaged in many terrible evil practices. He lead Judah into evil. God judged him, and he became a captive. While in captivity, he repented. God had mercy on him and brought him back to Jerusalem. He reinstated many reforms and reversed many prior evils. His son, Amon, reigned next and was unrepentantly evil in God's sight. He was killed by his own people. Josiah, his son, is made king.

Chapter 34
Josiah seeks God from a young age and leads Judah into reform and renewed passion for God. He cleanses the land of many wrong practices. He repairs the temple. He discovers the book of the law. He seeks God regarding what he discovers is in the book. God affirms that judgment is coming, but Josiah will be spared because of his tender heart toward God. Josiah promises to serve God with faithfulness.

Chapter 35
Josiah leads the people to reinstate the passover. Josiah is killed in battle. He is greatly mourned, and many, including Jeremiah, utter a lament for him.

Chapter 36
A series of kings follow over the next couple of decades. They are Jehoahaz, Eliakim(Jehoiakim), Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. During Zedekiah's reign, God's pronouncement of captivity at the hand of the Babylonians comes to pass. Jerusalem is pillaged, destroyed, and captured. Finally, once the Persian/Mede empire conquers Babylon, Cyrus, the ruler of the Persians sends Judah back to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.

Love, Comfort, and Economics through the eyes of my small children

2011-12-23T05:54:00.000-08:00

The following is a dialogue between my daughter and I as I was trying to comfort Elijah. I had to leave for work early in the morning, and both the kiddos had awakened early as I was getting ready.

Me...."Elijah, I've got to go to work now." (as he clings to me in the early morning hours. I was trying to get him to lie down next to Ella in our bed and go back to sleep.)

Ella..."He's gonna miss us when he's gone, Elijah."

Me..."Yep, I'm gonna miss all you guys a bunch."

Ella..."He's gonna miss us because he loves us."

Me..."Yes, I love you very much."

Ella..."And he and mommy won't ever stop loving us."

Me..."Yep, that's right." (I'm well into cracking up internally at this point because Ella is putting together pieces of previous assurances that I've given her in the past.)

Ella..."He's got to go to work so the people will give him money."

Me..."Yes. That's right."

Ella...."We can use the money to get our stuff."

Also, recently at the doctor's office, Ella had needed to get a couple of shots. As 5 year olds have been known to do, she was extremely unhappy about the prospect, and she let everyone know it by crying and pleading. In the process, she scared her little brother. He asked why they were "cutting" Ella.

Once Ella had calmed down, Myndall explained to Ella that she had scared Elijah, and he thought they were cutting her. She immediately jumped down off the table and went to him. (the following is a paraphrase.)

Elijah..."You ok Ella??"

Ella..."It's ok, Elijah."

Elijah while rubbing her head/huggin her..."They cut you?"

Ella..."No, they didn't cut me, Elijah. They were just giving me a shot, and I was scared. That's all."

Ella rubs his head and hugs him back.

Just wanted to capture these moments with a written snapshot.

Great insights into what the law means to a Christian

2011-12-06T08:44:00.000-08:00

Unique Old Testament Prophecy pointing to Jesus as Messiah

2011-12-03T15:15:00.001-08:00

Occupy Wall Street

2011-11-02T14:27:00.000-07:00

The below guidelines for protestors can be found at occupywallstreet.org. I list this as a random sampling to show how a single excerpt CAN be taken to show this movement/group simply as a politically active group that is seeking to march and protest peacefully and make their desires and vision of specific change within our country known. However, if you will take the time to read to other excerpts below this first one, I think you will see there are profoundly mixed and disturbing messages coming from the closest thing to leadership and organizers that you can find in this group. There is so much to say about this whole Occupy Wall Street thing, but I thought I'd start with this post that gives a real taste of what they are about based on their OWN words. I welcome interaction about this with anyone who is interested.

Note especially the #2 and #5 of "calls to act" of the final excerpt listed.

March Guidelines

Posted Sept. 25, 2011, 12:23 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt

1.Stay together and KEEP MOVING!
2.Don't instigate cops or pedestrians with physical violence.
3.Use basic hand signals.
4.Empowered pace keeps at the front, back and middle of every march. These folks are empowered to make directional decisions and guide the march.
5.We respect diversity of tactics, but consider how our actions may affect the entire group.

Excerpt from August 12 @occupywallstreet.org
"Strategically speaking, there is a very real danger that if we naively put our cards on the table and rally around the "overthrow of capitalism" or some equally outworn utopian slogan, then our Tahrir moment will quickly fizzle into another inconsequential ultra-lefty spectacle soon forgotten. But if we have the cunning to come up with a deceptively simple Trojan Horse demand ... something profound, yet so specific and doable that it is impossible for President Obama to ignore … something that spotlights Wall Street's financial capture of the US political system and confronts it with a pragmatic solution … like the reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act … or a 1% tax on financial transactions … or an independent investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into the corporate corruption of our representatives in Washington … or another equally creative but downright practical demand that will emerge from the people's assemblies held during the occupation … and if we then put our asses on the line, screw up our courage and hang in there day after day, week after week, until a large swath of Americans start rooting for us and President Obama is forced to respond …"

A Modest Call to Action on this September 17th

Posted Sept. 17, 2011, 9:46 p.m. EST by agnosticnixie

This statement is ours, and for anyone who will get behind it. Representing ourselves (not the movement as a whole), we bring this call for revolution.

We want freedom for all, without regards for identity, because we are all people, and because no other reason should be needed. However, this freedom has been largely taken from the people, and slowly made to trickle down, whenever we get angry.

Money, it has been said, has taken over politics. In truth, we say, money has always been part of the capitalist political system. A system based on the existence of have and have nots, where inequality is inherent to the system, will inevitably lead to a situation where the haves find a way to rule, whether by the sword or by the dollar.

We agree that we need to see election reform. However, the election reform proposed ignores the causes which allowed such a system to happen. Some will readily blame the federal reserve, but the political system has been beholden to political machinations of the wealthy well before its founding.

We need to address the core facts: these corporations, even if they were unable to compete in the electoral arena, would still remain control of society. They would retain economic control, which would allow them to retain political control. Term limits would, again, not solve this, as many in the political class already leave politics to find themselves as part of the corporate elites.

We need to retake the freedom that has been stolen from the people, altogether.
1.
If you agree that freedom is the right to communicate, to live, to be, to go, to love, to do what you will without the impositions of others, then you might be one of us.

2.
If you agree that a person is entitled to the sweat of their brows, that being talented at management should not entitle others to act like overseers and overlords, that all workers should have the right to engage in decisions, democratically, then you might be one of us.

3.
If you agree that freedom for some is not the same as freedom for all, and that freedom for all is the only true freedom, then you might be one of us.

4.
If you agree that power is not right, that life trumps property, then you might be one of us.

5.
If you agree that state and corporation are merely two sides of the same oppressive power structure, if you realize how media distorts things to preserve it, how it pits the people against the people to remain in power, then you might be one of us.

And so we call on people to act
1.
We call for protests to remain active in the cities. Those already there, to grow, to organize, to raise consciousnesses, for those cities where there are no protests, for protests to organize and disrupt the system.

2.
We call for workers to not only strike, but seize their workplaces collectively, and to organize them democratically. We call for students and teachers to act together, to teach democracy, not merely the teachers to the students, but the students to the teachers. To seize the classrooms and free minds together.

3.
We call for the unemployed to volunteer, to learn, to teach, to use what skills they have to support themselves as part of the revolting people as a community.

4.
We call for the organization of people's assemblies in every city, every public square, every township.

5.
We call for the seizure and use of abandoned buildings, of abandoned land, of every property seized and abandoned by speculators, for the people, for every group that will organize them.

We call for a revolution of the mind as well as the body politic.

1 Chronicles

2011-10-09T00:18:00.000-07:00

Chapter 1
Gives a genealogy that starts with Adam and ends with Jacob/Israel.

Chapter 2
Genealogy that begins with Israel and ends with the father of the house of Rechab.

Chapter 3
Genealogy of David recounted past the time of the Babylonian captivity.

Chapter 4
Lists genealogies originating with Judah and Simeon, two of Israel's sons.

Chapter 5
Tells the genelogy of Reuben, Jacob's eldest son. It also recounts the unfaithfulness of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh who settled east of the Jordan River.

Chapter 6
Gives the genealogy of Levi. The priestly lineage is found within Levi and is focused on along with the specific lands given to the Levites.

Chapter 7
Gives genealogies of the tribes of Issachar, Benjamin, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, and Asher.

Chapter 8
Revisits genealogy of Benjamin leading up to King Saul. It also lists generations that came from King Saul.

Chapter 9
Lists prominent people and their positions within Israel. Focuses on Saul and his family as the chapter closes.

Chapter 10
Tells the story of the death of Saul and his sons in battle. The courage of the men of Jabesh-Gilead is mentioned regarding their willingness to honor Saul, and the judgment of God regarding Saul is made clear.

Chapter 11
This tells of David's appointment as king and his arrival in Jerusalem. It also lists David's "mighty men." These are great warriors known for their amazing victories and exploits.

Chapter 12
This tells of those who joined David while he was still in exile from Saul, and it speaks of those who came to him in Hebron after Saul's death but before David was king over all Israel from Jerusalem.

Chapter 13
Tells the story of David's early attempt to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem. He experiences anger because God puts a man to death for touching the ark of the covenant in transit.

Chapter 14
David becomes prominent and marries more wives and enlarges his family once his throne is established. David battles the Philistines and calls upon God's help and guidance in the midst of the battles. He is victorious, and God causes the nations to fear him.

Chapter 15
After building himself houses, David seeks to bring the ark to Jerusalem again. This time he does so in the way that is proscribed by God. They make sacrifices and make it a joyous event. In the midst of the celebration, David dances in a way that causes his wife, Michal, to have disdain for David.

Chapter 16
They bring the ark into the tent, and the celebration continues. David appoints Levites to minister AND to "officially" celebrate, thank and praise the Lord. David assigns Asaph and his relatives to give thanks for the first time that day.(I believe this is the same Asaph seen regularly as an author of many Psalms.) A specific psalm of thanks is recorded. After much praise, thanks, and celebration, the people and David returned to their homes.

Chapter 17
David believes it is wrong for himself to dwell in a large mansion while the ark is housed in a tent. God tells David that he will not build him a house, but God will bless and honor him and protect and prosper Israel under him. God said a descendant of David would build Him a house, and God would establish his kingdom. David expresses humility and awe at God's promises. He is deeply moved and expresses thanks and praise to God.

Chapter 18
The victories of David are recounted, and the individuals he had serving in his administration are mentioned by name. (18:5 "...the Lord gave David victory everywhere he went.)

Chapter 19
After the death of King Nahash, David seeks to send messengers to the Ammonites and the son of Nahash(the new king) to express kindness and friendship. The new king's counselors convince him that David is using these men as a pretense. According to the counselors, they were sent to spy. The new king believes them, and he chooses to disgrace the men. This gradually escalates and becomes a major battle between Israel and the Ammonites and the Arameans. It becomes a major victory for Israel.

Chapter 20
Joab leads the army and accomplishes many victories for David. The Ammonites and Philistines are defeated.

Chapter 21
Satan incites David to take a census which they knew to be a sin. David acknolwedges his guilt and pleads for mercy. God gives him three choices of potential judgments. David chooses the one most directly in God's control and trusts in the mercy of God. David offers a sacrifice, and God stops judging and has mercy on the people.

Chapter 22
David begins preparing the materials for the temple. He charges Solomon to build it.

Chapter 23
David states Solomon will be king. David appoints people to carry out various tasks. David shifts Levite responsibility to assisting the priests because the tabernacle will become the temple which is permanent.

Chapter 24
Tells of priestly lineage.

Chapter 25
David sets aside sons of Asaph, sons of Heman, and sons of Jeduthun. They are to serve as musicians for God at the temple.

Chapter 26
The various guards/gatekeepers are listed. The keeper of the temple treasures are also listed. Leaders are appointed for all Israel on the other side of the Jordan River.

Chapter 27
Various army leaders, tribal leaders, overseers, teachers, and counselors are named.

Chapter 28
David gives a speech to the people. He announces Solomon as king and builder of the temple. He publicly charges him to embrace and not forsake God. He warns him. A general list of materials is given to Solomon along with the specific plans for the temple.

Chapter 29
David continues to speak publicly. He tells of the preparations made so far, and he gives of his own wealth also. He invites others to give voluntarily and many do. David blesses God and prays. He acknowledges that everything is God's, and he cries out for his son. He encourages the people to bless God. They offer many sacrifices with gladness. Solomon is made king, and he is highly exalted by God. David dies full of riches and honor.

2 Kings

2011-08-22T03:29:00.000-07:00

Chapter 1
Ahaziah severely injures himself and inquires of the god of Ekron about his recovery. God sends Elijah to intercept Ahaziah's men and pronounces judgment and death for Ahaziah because of his actions. When the king realizes it was Elijah, he sends members of his army to get him. As each captain commands Elijah to come with them, the men are consumed with fire. Finally, the third captain begs for mercy from Elijah, and Elijah goes with him and delivers the prophetic judgment in person. The prophecy is fulfilled, and Joram(another son of Ahab's) becomes king.

Chapter 2
Elisha is determined to stay by Elijah's side. Elijah asks if there is anything he can do for him. Elisha asks for a double portion of Elijah's spirit. Elijah tells him if he sees Elijah being taken by God, he'll receive it. Elisha witnessess Elijah being taken by God's chariot of fire, and he begins to perform many powerful miraculous signs.

Chapter 3
Moab rebels against Israel once they are under Joram's reign. Joram calls for help from Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. He accepts his request for help. The army runs out of water on their way to the battle. The kings cry out to Elisha. Elisha does not want to help them, but he does because Jehoshaphat is with them.

Chapter 4
Elisha provides for the widow of a prophet by directing her to a miraculous supply of oil which pays off her debt and still remains enough to provide for her and her sons. Elisha also begins being cared for by a Shunnamite woman. He longs to bless her for her kindness. He prophesies that she will have a son. The son gets sick later in life, and dies; the mother runs to Elisha who prays for him, and the son is resurrected. There is also a story about the prophets eating bad stew. Elisha makes it safe to eat by placing meal into it. He also presides over a meal that God miraculously multiplies so it will feed a multitude.

Chapter 5
Elisha tells Naaman(captain of the Aramean army) how to be healed. Naaman is resistant at first, but he yields to Elisha's instructions and is healed. He offers a gift to Elisha, who turns it down. Gehazi, however, acquires a gift from Naaman under false pretenses. Elisha curses him with the leprosy that Naaman was just healed from.

Chapter 6
Elisha travels with some prophets on a wood cutting and building expedition. One of the prophets drops an axe head into the river. He gets upset because the axe is borrowed. Elisha causes it to float. The king of Aram tries to capture Elisha because he is constantly allowing Israel to be saved from Aram. Instead of capturing him, the men of Aram are struck with blindness and led to Samaria and into captivity. They are fed and released once they are given their sight back. While Israel is under siege at a later time, they experience a severe famine, and the king seeks to take out his anger on Elisha.

Chapter 7
Elisha prophecies a dramatic end to the famine. God scares off the Arameans. Four lepers discover the Aramean encampment deserted and full of food. The lepers come and tell the people. Upon this discovery, the famine came to its prophesied dramatic end. An unbelieving army officer is killed in a stampede of hungry people, and Elisha's prophecy about him is fulfilled also.

Chapter 8
Elisha warns the woman whose son he resurrected a coming famine. He tells her she needs to flee the area. After the seven years is over, she returns to reclaim her land. Gehazi, Elisha's servant, is retelling of amazing things he has seen from Elisha just at the time she happens to come before the king to make her request. The king orders all her possessions to be reclaimed. Elisha predicts the cruelty and kingship of Hazael. It comes to pass. Jehoshaphat's son, Jehoram, reigns in Judah. He does evil. Edom was apparently under Jewish rule at the beginning of Jehoram's reign. It continued to the writing of 2 Kings. Jehoram is succeeded by Ahaziah, his son. He was related to King Ahab or Israel. He did evil. Ahaziah joins with Joram, king of Israel, and fights with the Arameans. King Joram is wounded and returns home to heal, and King Ahaziah goes there to visit him.

Chapter 9
Elisha tells one of the prophets to secretly annoiont an army officer named Jehu as king over Israel. The prophet does so and tells Jehu he is to carry out God's judgment on the house of Ahab, wiping them out entirely. Jehu carries out this judgment and providentially includes Ahaziah, king of Judah, because he "happens" to be visiting Joram while he recovers (remember that Ahaziah is tied to Ahab's blood line). Joram's body is cast onto the field of Naboth(Ahab wrongfully took Naboth's field after, his wife, Jezebel, conspired to have Naboth killed). Jezebel is also killed in a brutal way that fulfills God's prophetic judgment.

Chapter 10
Jehu invites the leaders of Jezreel (Ahab's home town) to pick a descendant of Ahab's and fight. They choose instead to kill Ahab's remaining descendants and submit to Jehu. Jehu also kills off the remainder of Ahab's family in Samaria. Jehu tricks the priests of Baal into assembling into one place and has them all killed. Jehu was commended by God for his thorough obedience, but Jehu still doesn't turn from worshipping the golden calves established by Jeroboam, son of Nebat. Jehu dies and his son, Jehoahaz succeeds him as king.

Chapter 11
Meanwhile in Judah, Athaliah, Ahaziah's mother, kills the remaining royal family upon hearing of her son's death. However, Jehosheba, Ahaziah's sister, manages to save one of Ahaziah's sons, Joash. She hides him and his nurse in the temple for six years while Athaliah rules Judah. After six years, Jehoiada, the priest, organizes protection for the young boy and anoints him publicly as king. Athaliah tries to cry treason, but she is put to death quickly. The priest makes a covenant between the king, the people, and God to recommit themselves to serving God. They destroy the temple of Baal and kill his priest. Joash is placed on the throne and begins to reign at age seven.

Chapter 12
Joash collects offerings and spurs repair of the temple. However, when he was attacked by the Arameans, Joash chooses to give them sacred and valuable objects as a ransom to them. Joash is conspired against and killed by his officials. His son, Amaziah, succeeds him as king.

Chapter 13
Back in Israel, Jehoahaz reigned. He did evil for a long time, and God punished Israel by oppressing them with the Arameans. Jehoahaz finally sought the favor of God, and God delivered them but only after their once large army had been almost utterly wiped out. Jehoahaz dies and is succeeded by his son, Jehoash. Jehoash goes to Elisha as Elisha is dying and weeps for the sad state of Israel. Elish prophesies a victory over Aram and a measured amount of furute victory for Israel. Elisha dies. A story of a dead man raised by simply touching Elisha's bones is told. Jehoash recaptures some of the towns taken by the Arameans.

Chapter 14
Amaziah reigns in Judah. He does so justly. He does not abolish all wrong practices, but he does reign justly for the most part. He has some good victories, but when he challenges Jehoash, he is defeated and captured. Jehoash loots Jerusalem and the temple. Upon Jehoash's death, his son Jeroboam reigns. Amaziah lives for 15 years after the death of Jehoash, but he is conspired against and killed. Amaziah is succeeded by his son, Azariah. Meanwhile, Jeroboam does evil. In spite of his evil, God uses Jeroboam to accomplish mercy for many who have been oppressed within Israel. Zechariah succeeds his father, Jeroboam, upon his death.

Chapter 15
Azariah reigns in Judah. He is king for 52 years. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord except for not removing the high places. God afflicted Azariah with leprosy. His son, Jotham, governs during his reign, and he succeeded him as king once Azariah dies.
In Israel, Zechariah did evil. Shallum assassinates him and fulfills God's prophetic limitation of Jehu's descendants on the throne to the fourth generation. Shallum is only king for a month, and Menahem assassinates him and becomes king. Menahem reigns ten years and does evil. Menahem ransoms Israel from Assyria with a payoff. His son, Pekahiah, reigns after his death. He reigns two years and does evil. An officer named Pekah assassinates him and becomes king. Pekah reigns twenty years and loses part of Israel to Assyria. Hoshea kills Pekah and becomes king.
In Judah, Jotham rules well. He rebuilds the Upper Gate of the temple, and his son Ahaz succeeds him.

Chapter 16
Ahaz rules sixteen years in Jerusalem. He does evil. He pays the ruler of Assyria with all the valuable and sacred things in the temple. The Assyrians leave Judah alone and attack their enemies. Ahaz tries to integrate an altar he patterns after an Assyrian altar ino the temple worship. Ahaz dies and is succeeded by his son, Hezekiah.

Chapter 17
During Hoshea's reign in Israel, Assyria invades, conquers, and deports the Israelites to Assyria. Israel is exiled in judgment of their persistent rebellion against God. The Assyrian king resettles Israel with people from other areas. Initially, those people are judged for not worshipping God, but Assyria's king sends a priest to show the people how to worship God. They begin worhipping God, but they continue worshipping their gods as well. This does not change.

Chapter 18
Hezekiah reigns in Judah. He does right in God's eyes, and he is successful militarily as well. Sennacherib of Assyria attacks Judah. Hezekiah pays him to go away. Assyria threatens to capture Judah and speaks disrepectfully of God in the process. Hezekiah is told of the Assyrian boasts and threats by his administrators who have torn their clothes.

Chapter 19
Hezekiah also tears his clothes. He sends his leaders to Isaiah to inquire of God and cry for mercy from Him. Isaiah prophecies death for the Assyrian ruler. The leader of Assyria sends a letter to Hezekiah still boasting of his coming victory. Hezekiah takes it to the temple and lays it before God. Isaiah predicts Sennacherib's fall. God tells of coming freedom and blessing for Judah. The angel of the Lord kills 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. Sennacherib leaves and after returning home, he is killed by his sons while worshipping his god.

Chapter 20
Hezekiah gets sick, and Isaiah tells him he is about to die. Hezekiah cries out for more time to live. God hears him and heals him. He gives him fifteen more years. Isaiah tells Hezekiah, and Hezekiah asks for a sign. He requests for the sun's shadow to go backwards. It does. Hezekiah shows Babylonian ambassadors all his kingdom and treasures. Isaiah prophecies that Babylon will one day take it all along with the people. Hezekiah is just glad it won't be while he is alive.

Chapter 21
Hezekiah dies, and his son, Manasseh rules. He does evil and brings back much of what his father destroyed. He did much evil. God proclaims judgment because of the great sin of Manasseh and the persistent sin of Judah. Manasseh dies, and his son, Amon, succeeds him as king. He reigns two years. He does evil like his father. Amon's servants conspire against him and kill him. They make Josiah, his son, king in his place.

Chapter 22
Josiah does right. He begins rebuilding the temple. In the midst of the rebuilding of the temple, the book of the law is found. Once it is read to the king, he grieves and humbles himself and seeks God. God confirms that judgment is indeed coming to Judah, but God promises mercy during Josiah's lifetime for his tender heart and humility regarding God's judgment.

Chapter 23
Josiah reads the book of the covenant to all the people. He carries out a wide and thorough reform throughout Judah and purges the many foreign gods and places of worship. He even defiles the high places which had been used for many generations. He also destroyed the golden calves and altars of Jeroboam in ways that fulfill prophecy. He honors the grave of the prophet who condemned the altars. He reinstitutes the Passover, clears the land of mediums, spiritists, and those who practive the occult. He turned to the Lord more than any king before or after him, but God still did not relent regarding his coming judgment. Josiah is killed by Pharoah and is succeeded by his son, Jehoahaz. He only reigned three months. He did evil, and he was captured and imprisoned by Pharoah. Pharoah makes Jehoiakim(another of Josiah's sons) the king. He did evil also.

Chapter 24
Jehoiakim becomes Nebuchadnezzar's servant for three years and then rebels. Soon after this, he dies. Jehoiakim's son, Jehoiachin becomes king. He does evil and reigns three months and is taken captive to Babylon. Many were led into exile from Judah during this time. Zedekiah is made king. He did evil in the sight of the Lord. Zedekiah rebels against the king of Babylon.

Chapter 25
Nebuchadnezzar(king of Babylon) carries out retribution for Zedekiah's rebellion and brutally attacks, burns, and plunders Judah. Gedaliah is appointed to rule the few that are left, and he is killed seven months later by a man named Ishmael. This causes many to flee back to Egypt. Jehoiachin, the captive king, is released from prison and given a seat of honor with the new king of Babylon, Evil-merodach.

One Era Ends...and another begins!

2011-06-04T10:29:00.001-07:00

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Just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the huge changes happening in my family's life. This will also have a big affect on my co-driver's life. For one, he won't have the never ending privilege of my company. For those who don't know, I have had the fascinating adventure of being an over the road truck driver for the past two and one half years. The past year and a half have been spent team driving which is a simple way to say I've been working and sleeping in a moving truck for quite some time. We've been to all but six states, and I've been to six of Canada's provinces as well. It has been an amazing ride, and I am grateful to have shared it with my adopted brother whom I've known for 23 years. I am thankful to be able to be home more with my family more than words can express, but I wanted to take a moment and say to the Walker clan how much we love them all and appreciate all the times we've shared stresses and challenges with them, especially during the last year and a half. I know you guys have some exciting times ahead as well. I'll try to dig out pics from any and all who have any interest in my memories from the road. This picture was from our final trip this past week. Love ya man.

Thank you, Jesus, for using this to provide for our families and providing us the opportunity to spend more time with them in the future.

1 Kings

2011-05-31T19:08:00.000-07:00

This book begins with David as an old man. He is brought a young woman named Abishag to care for him and keep him warm. David does not have sex with her. During this time, Adonijah, one of David's sons, allies himself with Joab and Abiathar the priest, and others and announces himself as king. David is informed of this, and he announces Solomon is to be anointed king. Adonijah begs for mercy from Solomon, and Solomon gives it as long as, "...he is a worthy man, not one of his hairs will fall to the ground." Before David dies, he has a few instructions for Solomon. He tells Solomon to be strong and live in obedience to God. He instructs him to carry out judgment on Joab and Shimei, and he is to reward the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite.

David dies. Adonijah requests Abishag as a wife. Solomon discerns why he wants her(to legitimize a claim to the throne), and he declares his actions have brought about Adonijah's death. Solomon has him killed. Solomon also removes Abiathar from serving as a priest for siding with Adonijah. This fulfills the prophecy about the house of Eli from First Samuel. He declares Joab is to be executed for his murders. Joab tries to obtain mercy by clinging to the altar. Solomon has him killed while still clinging. Finally, Solomon orders Shimei to stay in his home town, or he will be executed also. Shimei agrees. Three years later, Shimei breaks their agreement and is killed. Solomon's kingdom is established.

Solomon marries Pharoah's daughter. In the midst of worshipping God and offering sacrifices, Solomon interacts with God in a dream. God offers Solomon anything he wants. Solomon requests wisdom and discernment to govern well. God is pleased and grants his request along with riches and honor. Solomon demonstrates his profound wisdom with two women who both claim to be the mother of the same baby. Solomon's officials and deputies are listed. The peace and prosperity of Solomon's reign, for the government as well as the people, is elaborated on. Also, Solomon's wisdom becomes known far and wide. Solomon strikes a deal and friendsip with Hiram, the king of Tyre, to get timber for the temple and organizes the labor to begin building it.

Solomon begins building the temple 480 years after Israel comes out of Egypt. The materials and processes used are spelled out in some detail. It is finished after 7 and 1/2 years. Solomon also builds his own palace during this time. It takes a total of 13 years. He recruits Hiram, a man from Tyre(not the king of Tyre), to do much of the detail work within the temple. Solomon also makes all the furniture in the temple including golden altar, golden table for the bread of the presence, the lampstands made of gold, and various instruments and decor used within the temple made of gold. The ark is brought into the temple. The entire place is filled with a thick cloud of God's presence. Solomon speaks to and blesses the people. Solomon dedicates the temple in prayer and pleads to God for his justice, provision, protection, and forgiveness toward Israel when they pray to Him from this temple or even when facing toward it. Solomon finishes his prayer with a blessing and a charge to be loyal and obedient to God. Finally, they offer sacrifices and have a feast to celebrate the dedication of the temple.

After the dedication, God speaks to Solomon. He says he has heard Solomon's prayer and has consecrated the temple and vows his eyes and heart will be there perpetually. God also sternly warns Solomon of the consequences of departing from following Him. Solomon gives twenty cities to Hiram, king of Tyre, for his help in building the temple and palace. The forced labor that was used is described in some detail. None of the slaves were Israelites. Solomon offers offerings three times per year on the altar. Solomon also builds a fleet of ships. They were used to bring wealth from overseas. Solomon gets a visit from the Queen of Sheba. She has heard of his wisdom. After hearing it first hand, she praises him and God, and she gives him spices and other wealth. Wealth begins pouring in from all over the known world. He gains rare woods, animals, gold, etc.

Solomon disobeys God and is lead astray by his many foreign wives. God pronounces judgment against him. All but one of the tribes will be taken from him, but it will not happen during Solomon's lifetime, but it will happen during his son's reign. God also raises up adversaries to Israel as judgment. Jeroboam, son of Nebat, flees to Egypt after he is told by a prophet from God that he will rule ten tribes of Israel. Solomon dies. Rehoboam, Solomon's son, becomes king. He chooses to speak and act harshly to the people. This leads to a fulfillment of the prophecy from God regarding the loss of ten of the tribes of Israel to him. Jeroboam chooses to create two golden calves for the people to worship. He also creates his own feast and names his own priests from various peoples not of the tribe of Levi. He did this because the temple was located in Jerusalem within Judah. He feared a loss of the loyalty of the people if they had to worship in Jerusalem. Jeroboam is told by a prophet of God of an impending judgment. Jeroboam commands to have him seized, but Jeroboam's hand immediately is leprous as he points at the prophet. Jeroboam begs for mercy, and the prophet prays for him, and he is healed. Another prophet lies and claims God told him to invite the first prophet home to eat. However, God gave explicit instructions to the first prophet not to go anywhere but home and not to eat anything. Unfortunately, the first prophet places his trust in the second prophet and disobeys God's explicit instructions that came directly to him. The second prophet then has a genuine word from the Lord declaring the death of the first prophet for his disobedience. Jeroboam still does not repent of his idols and false priesthood even after his leprous hand and another sign confirmed the word of the prophet to him. Jeroboam's coming judgment is foretold to his wife by a prophet named Ahijah. Jeroboam dies, and his son Nadab becomes king.

Meanwhile, Judah engages in many sinful behaviors under the reign of Rehoboam. they are invaded, and the king of Egypt takes treasures from the temple and the king's house. Rehoboam dies, and his son, Abijam, becomes king. Abijam only rules three years and does wickedly. Asa, Abijam's son, becomes king after Abijam dies. Asa leads Judah into a time of repentance and renewal. He reigns forty-one years. Asa allies himself with the king of Aram to defeat Israel. Upon Asa's death, his son Jehoshaphat reigns as king of Judah.

During this same time period in Israel, Nadab reigns only two years. He does evil, and he is killed by Baasha. Baasha wipes out Jeroboam's entire family. This fulfills God's judgment against Jeroboam for leading Israel into such a great sin. God issues a judgment against Baasha because he adopts the same sinful practices instituted by Jeroboam. Baasha dies, and his son, Elah, becomes king. Elah's commander named Zimri kills Elah and his entire family in his second year. He fulfills God's promised judgment on Baasha's family. Omri becomes the next king of Israel. He follows in Jeroboam's sinful ways also. He reigns twelve years and dies. His son, Ahab, reigns next. He takes the sinful rebellion to new lows. During this time, Jericho is also rebuilt. The man who rebuilds it does so at the cost of his firstborn while the foundations are being laid, and his youngest son dies near the end of rebuilding it. This fulfills the prophecy in Joshua 6:26.

During Ahab's reign, Elijah, the prophet, shows up on the scene. A drought comes to Israel, but God provides for Elijah. The story of a Sidonian widow who has faith occurs here. God blesses her and her son for trusting in God and Elijah. She is given a "bottomless" bowl of flour and jar of oil until the drought ends. Also, her son dies and is resurrected by Elijah. Next, Elijah has his famous showdown with the prophets of Baal. They create two altars. The prophets of Baal cry out for fire from heaven to consume their sacrifices for hours, but nothing happens (except for Elijah making some hilarious jokes about Baal). Elijah dumps buckets and buckets of water onto his sacrifices, and fire comes down from God and consumes the water and the sacrifices. The people repent of Baal worship, and Elijah has the prophets of Baal brought to him so he can kill them. The drought ends that day.

Elijah flees Jezebel, Ahab's wife. She swears to put him to death. He asks God to take him in death and goes to sleep. An angel provides food and drink for Elijah twice, and he is enabled to walk forty days and nights to Mount Horeb(the mount of God). Elijah cries out to God. God speaks with Elijah. He is told to anoint a new king of Aram, a new king of Israel, and a replacement for himself. The replacement's name is Elisha. Ben-Hadad, the current king of Aram, leads an attack on Israel twice, and Israel is victorious by God's help both times. Ahab chooses to be merciful to Ben-Hadad and releases him. God pronounces judgment against him for this. Ahab covets a man's vineyard, but the man, Naboth, will not sell his vineyard. Ahab sulks about it, and his evil wife creates a plot to have Naboth wrongfully put to death by paying people to lie about him in court. She does this so Ahab can have his vineyard. God issues judgment on Ahab by way of Elijah because of this. Ahab cries out to God and puts on sackcloth and ashes. Because Ahab humbles himself, God gives him a measure of mercy.

After three years of peace with Aram, Ahab wants to go to war with them. He solicits the help of King Jehoshaphat and Judah to fight with him, and Jehoshaphat agrees. Many false prophets tell the king to go to war for he will be successful. Jehoshaphat asks for a word from a real prophet of God. Ahab grudgingly obliges. Micaiah is summoned and goes along with the lie at first. Ahab can tell he is not speaking the truth and demands the truth. Micaiah prophecies defeat and Ahab's death. He is imprisoned. Ahab tries to hide his true identity as king in the battle, but he is hit by a "random" arrow and dies. His son, Ahaziah, reigns in his place and continues to do evil.

2 Samuel

2011-04-25T07:11:00.000-07:00

Second Samuel begins exactly where First Samuel leaves off. Saul is killed in battle against the Philistines. David is informed of Saul's death by a man who claims to have dealt the death blow. David rewards him with his own death because he took it upon himself to end the life of "the Lord's anointed." David is told to go to Hebron by God and reigns in Hebron (a city in Israel) for 7 years. He also praises the people of Jabesh Gilead for their act of honor and kindness to Saul and his family.

Meanwhile, Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, rules part of the kingdom of Israel with Abner as the ruling military leader. There is fighting between Abner's men and David's men led by Joab. After seeking to spare Asahel, Joab's brother, in battle, Abner must finally kill him in defense. The battle is soon halted. Ishbosheth accuses Abner of sexual infidelity with one of his concubines, and Abner gets fed up with Ishbosheth and makes an agreement to turn over the remainder of the kingdom to David. Joab discovers that David allowed Abner to leave unharmed, and he secretly catches up to him and kills Abner out of vengeance for his brother. David points out his ignorance and innocence regarding Abner's murder. He mourns his death, and the people are pleased with his honoring of Abner. Two men kill Ishbosheth while he sleeps. They bring David his head in search of a reward for the death of his enemy. David has them killed because they are guilty of murder. The remaining leaders of Israel ask David to be their king. David takes over Jerusalem and begins to rule the entire kingdom from there. David inquires of the Lord regarding invading the Philistines twice, and he defeats them both times. David goes to get the Ark of the Covenant. A man named Uzzah is killed because he touches the ark. David leaves the ark with Obed-Edom, and Obed-Edom is blessed by its presence. David goes back and gets the ark, taking much greater care to transport it in the prescibed way. He rejoices with the people and dances with only a robe on. His first wife, Michal (Saul's daughter), speaks with disdain to David about dancing in a what she views as an unseemly way. David tells her she ain't seen nothing yet Michal has no more children.

David recognizes the different levels of grandeur between his palace and the shelter of the ark. He voices a desire to build a temple for God and the ark. God tells David that he will not be allowed to build it, but his son will, and David will have a descendant on the throne going forward. David is profoundly humbled by God's kind words and prophecy. David subdues the Philistines, Moabites, Syrians, and other neighbors. David rules justly. Various leaders of government are named. David seeks out a descendant of Jonathon to show his family kindness. He finds and blesses Mephibosheth, Jonathon's son with Saul's wealth and honors him. David seeks to continue and strengthen his relationship with the new generation of leadership within the Ammonites. His messengers are mistreated, and war breaks out between Israel and the Ammonites. This grows into an even larger war with Syria. Israel is victorious.

MAJOR TURNING POINT

David chooses to have adultery with a wife of one of his soldiers. Initially, he tries to cover it up by having Uriah go into his wife while on leave from the battle. Uriah won't. David has him killed. God is UN happy. Nathan, the prophet, tells David a parable about an evil and wealthy man who takes the only sheep a poor man has. As David's anger and judgment burst from his mouth, Nathan points out that David IS the evil wealthy man. David repents, and he is forgiven. However, God declares the baby born in adultery will die. David mourns and fasts and pleads for the life of the baby, but it dies. David and Bathsheba have Solomon. Joab takes cities and challenges David to come out and help finish them off, or Joab claims he'll name the towns after himself. David gains victory.

David's son, Amnon, rapes Tamar. She is a daughter to David from a different mother than Amnon's. Absalom was her brother from David AND the same mother. Absalom has Amnon killed. Absalom flees Israel. David mourns. Joab tries to manipulate David regarding Absalom being away from Israel. David recognizes Joab's involvement, but he chooses to allow Absalom back in Israel. He was not initially allowed to be in David's presence. Absalom finally appears before David, and David kisses him. Absalom begins to position himself to gain power within Israel. Eventually, he stages a takeover of the kingdom. David flees with most of his household. David plants a few spies and friends before he leaves. The flight of David and his household out of the city is chronicled. He meets up with some who help and bless him, and he meets some who curse him. Meanwhile, David's friend who remains his ally asserts himself as a counselor for Absalom. Absalom goes in and sleeps with David's ten concubines. Absalom listens to the counsel of David's friend and spy regarding whether he should pursue David immediately or wait. Because of this, Absalom chooses to go out himself with a large army instead of immediately. David goes across the Jordan and rests. David is told to stay behind while the others fight, and he commands for his leaders to be gentle with Absalom. Absalom gets stuck hanging by his hair in a tree. Joab is told, and he kills him. Israel learns of Absalom's death, and his supporters scatter. David is informed of the victory and of Absalom's death. David mourns deeply for Absalom. Joab rebukes David for giving the appearance of having no appreciation for those who fought for him. David replaces Joab with Amasa as the leader of his military, and he seeks to reunite Israel under him. The people who interacted with David during his flight are revisited during his return. An argument breaks out between Judah and the rest of Israel. This almost leads to another coup and a civil war led by Sheba, a descendant of Benjamin. Joab kills Amasa in cold blood. A wise woman averts civil war by talking with Joab and discovering that Sheba's life would save them from fighting this war. She supervises his death and tosses his head out to Joab.

Next, in chapter 21, we are told of a time when there was a famine in Israel for three years, David seeks God to know why. God tells David it is because Saul killed the Gibeonites whom Israel has sworn not to kill. David speaks with the Gibeonites. They request the death of seven of Saul's descendants. David agrees to this. David takes their remains along with the remains of Saul and Jonathon and bury them in the tomb of his father, Kish. The famine ceases. After this, we are told of several stories of war with various Philistines. In chapter 22, David sings a poetic song of praise and thanks. Next, we read some of David's final words and learn about warriors known as "the mighty men" who served under David. Second Samuel ends with a strange story that reappears in Chronicles. David numbers the people(takes a census). This was forbidden, and God judges Israel, but God gives David a choice regarding what the judgment will be. He chooses to trust in God's mercy. God sends an angel to strike the people, but God stops the angel after some people are killed and before Jerusalem is struck. David is told by a prophet to offer a sacrifice to God, and he does. The plague from God ends.

I Samuel

2011-03-22T14:09:00.000-07:00

This is the beginning of a major transitional period for Israel from the reign of judges to the reign of kings. It is a major point that is made that this was not a neutral shift in regards to the people’s attitude about their allegiance to God. God makes it clear that their choice to have a king is a rejection of His leadership. However, He still chooses not to completely reject Israel and works his purposes even in the face of this new rejection by the people and continues to show Himself merciful.

SAMUEL

The book begins by focusing in on the final generation ruled by the judges. The story of Samuel, the final judge, is told. His mother Hannah is barren, and she cries out to God for a child. She promises that if she is given a child, she will give that child to serve God in the tabernacle all his life. God grants her request, and Samuel is born. Hannah is faithful to her promise and dedicates Samuel to serve while he is still an infant.

Meanwhile, Eli, the current priest and judge in Israel is judged by God for not disciplining his sons. They are behaving, as priests, in a way that is dishonoring and displeasing to God. Samuel hears the voice of God and brings confirmation of this judgment to come for Eli and his sons to Eli himself. Eli acknowledges God’s judgment and awaits it. In the midst of a battle, Eli’s sons are killed, and the Ark of the Covenant is captured. Eli dies at the moment he hears the news. The Philistines possess the ark for a short period of time, but they return it back to Israel after being afflicted and supernaturally assaulted because of their possession of it. Samuel eventually leads the people to repentance once they are willing to turn from unfaithfulness with other gods. In the midst of their unified repentance, the Philistines attack, but this time they are defeated by Israel. Samuel judges Israel for many years after this. The people have no faith in Samuel’s sons, and they choose to cry out for a king. God encourages Samuel to obey their desire, but he is to make clear to them that this is an unwise choice. God also makes it clear to Samuel that the people are rejecting God’s leadership by choosing a king. The people insist. God yields to their desire.

SAUL

The first king of Israel is Saul. God instructs Samuel to anoint him as king. He is extremely uncomfortable and lacking in confidence in regard to his ability to be king. However, he rallies the people to a heroic rescue of the people of Jabesh Gilead, and he seems to be off to a good start. Samuel announces he is no longer going to be their judge. He challenges Israel to identify any point and time when he abused his office. The people confirmed his faithfulness in performing his role as judge without any abuses. Samuel next takes an opportunity to revisit their recent history of unfaithfulness during the time of judges and God’s continued mercifulness in the face of that unfaithfulness. He challenges them to recognize their own wickedness in demanding a king and shows them a sign of the truth of this. The people cry out for mercy. Samuel strongly encourages the people to follow God with their whole heart and warns them of the consequences if they don’t. Saul takes it upon himself to offer a sacrifice that Samuel was supposed to offer. This was a major act of disobedience to God. Samuel prophecies Saul’s loss of the kingdom. Saul fights the Philistines and wins largely due to Jonathon’s involvement and faith in God. Saul is charged with completely wiping out the Amalekites as a judgment from God. Instead, he disobeys and spares the king and the best of the spoils. Samuel pronounces judgment against Saul. Samuel is sent to anoint David as the next king.

DAVID

David is brought in to play the harp to soothe Saul. Saul does not know David was anointed to be the next king. The story of David and Goliath is recounted during this time, and David and Saul’s son, Jonathon, become very close friends. After David’s victory over Goliath, he is raised to a prominent military leader and has great successes. Saul becomes very jealous of David and begins to plot David’s death. Jonathon helps David to remain safe in the midst of his father’s hatred. David finally has to flee. He hides for a while with Israel’s enemies, the Philistines. He also hides in caves and hides his parents with the Moabites until he is not concerned for their safety any longer. (Please note David’s family’s connection with the Moabites from my post regarding the book of Ruth.) David saves a city in Israel from a foreign attack at God’s command. Then God tells David that the same city will surrender David to Saul, David flees again. Saul pursues David, and twice, David has opportunities to kill Saul and end his pursuit, but he is unwilling to because Saul is “God’s anointed one.” Samuel dies, and Israel mourns. David almost carries out judgment against an evil and obstinate man, but he is stopped by the man’s wife, Abigail. The man dies soon after, and David marries Abigail. He also marries Ahinoam, and David’s first wife, Michal, is given by Saul to wed another man. David goes back to the land of the Philistines again after the second time he spares Saul’s life. David engages in secretive raids against his non-jewish neighbors and claims that he was raiding Judah. Achish, a Philistine leader, trusts him because he believes he is raiding Judah. Saul seeks counsel from God, but God does not give him any. This causes Saul to seek out a person who communicates with the dead, and Saul summons Samuel. Samuel rebukes him and tells him of his and his family’s defeat and death in the coming battle against the Philistines. David is not allowed to fight with Philistines against Israel. Philistine leaders other than Achish do not trust him. David and his men’s people are attacked and abducted while they are away meeting with the Philistine leaders. They overtake the Amalekites who took his people and possessions and defeat them and bring their people and possessions back. Saul and his sons are killed in their battle against the Philistines as it was prophesied. Israel is defeated. The Philistines desecrate Saul’s body and display it for their people to see. The inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead send a force in and take back Saul’s remains and bury them. Remember that Saul led Israel and rescued Jabesh Gilead in the beginning of his reign.

Five Years of Blogging

2011-03-19T16:58:00.000-07:00

Wow! I did not expect to be doing this for this long. I know I don't have a large number of folks following this blog, but I can honestly say that I don't care. I truly enjoy writing, and I appreciate those who do follow it. I hope something I've written will be of use and will resonate with others who read it, but I do this for two primary reasons.

1. It helps me process my life and work through my own thoughts.

2. One day I want my kids to have insights into my thoughts, as well as my decisions.

Hopefully, I'll get better as I continue, but I'm thankful to have been given an outlet that gives me so much fulfillment.

P.S.--Thanks to my Myndall for your love and words of support for this creative outlet. I am blessed beyond words by having you as my wife.

Smooches and Sunshine. :)

Praying for our "enemies"

2011-03-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

I suppose we all have them in our lives. I am referring to people who make us cringe at the very thought of them. Oh yes, the reasons vary. Some inspire this response because of their shamelessly poor treatment of others. Some cause us to feel this way because of the deeply held beliefs that are polar opposites to our own. Perhaps they are a little to willing to speak with a cruel sense of disdain about everyone and everything we care for, or they may literally be guilty of violent and abusive acts against us. Regardless of why they cause our blood to boil, our skin to crawl, and our desire to be merciful to evaporate, Jesus has instructions for us.

Pray for them. Bless them. Ask God to help them. Ask Him to forgive them. He does not command us to endorse their behaviors, beliefs, or attitudes. He commands us to pray for them.

In the sixth chapter of Ephesians, Paul makes a clear point. We, as followers of Christ, do not wrestle against flesh and blood. We wrestle against powers that are spiritual in nature. Remember that Paul was persecuting the church before he was leading it.

The violence that people are guilty of in this life, the abuse they perpetrate, the wrong beliefs they adopt and lead others astray with are real, and I am not dismissing them as not genuinely morally wrong, but our "enemies" are not our enemies. We must pray for our "enemies" because if we don't, our true enemy will use our disdain, our cringe, and our unmercifulness to defeat us from the inside out.

When we pray for our "enemies", we yield to our Lord's will, and He grows stronger within us. In praying for them, we acknowledge that the enemy that inspires them and has a hold in their life and through their life is the same one who seeks to gain a control in our lives. The ONLY way to defeat him in our lives and in the lives of those we both love AND cringe toward is to yield to Christ and let His strength win.

Ruth

2011-03-06T04:20:00.000-08:00

The setting for the book of Ruth is during the time period of the Book of Judges. It is near the end of that phase of Israel's national history. It is somewhat unique to other Old Testament books in several ways. One of those ways is the focus on the personal story of Ruth, who is not even a Jewish woman at the beginning of the story. Ruth seems to recognize the uniqueness of Naomi, her mother-in-law. She relocates with Naomi back to Israel AND boldly aligns herself with Naomi's God. In verses 16 and 17 of chapter one, Ruth joins herself to Naomi's people, to her God, and vows to be with her til death. This is in spite of the fact that Naomi's husband has died and her two sons have also died while living in Ruth's homeland of Moab. Upon arriving back in Israel, Ruth goes out and begins to work to collect food for provisions for the both of them.

An interesting statement in verse 3 of chapter 2 seems to hint at providential guidance, "...she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz." Boaz recognizes Ruth's character, and he invokes God when referencing her praiseworthy behavior, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge."(Ruth 2:11&12). Boaz then orders his servants to treat her well and allow her to gather from his fields. Interestingly, he does not simply give Naomi and Ruth food, but he gives them greater access to his fields so they can come and gather enough for their needs.

The story takes and interesting twist when we discover that Boaz is a relative of Naomi's dead husband. In Israel's culture at this time, this meant that he was in a unique position to "redeem" his relatives land and lineage. This meant that he could choose to cultivate the land AND marry a bride of the dead relative to keep their family line from dying off. Naomi's advises Ruth to submit this idea to Boaz in a rather creative way, and Boaz seems quite taken with Ruth and pursues this avenue. However, there is a twist. There is one other "kinsmen redeemer" who has first choice before Boaz can have an opportunity to do so. Boaz informs his of the situation, and he declines. There is much more to digest from the way that this story unfolds than I have given time to here, but upon the other relative declining, Boaz marries Ruth, and they conceive a son named Obed. This is probably the closest to "...and they lived happily ever after..." you will find in the Bible.

There is one more interesting twist to finish off the book. The book of Ruth is also a transitional book from the time period of Judges to the time of Kings. The great hero of Israel will always be King David. You discover in the closing passages of Ruth that Boaz is David's great grandfather.

Side note--as a Christian, I cannot help but notice the unbelieveable amounts of parallels in the story and the redemption story of Christ. Feel free to explore these angles of Ruth as well as you read the story.

Bill Maher and I Agree!

2011-02-26T14:22:00.000-08:00

If that title doesn’t grab some attention, I don’t know what will. :) Recently, on Bill Maher’s show on HBO titled Real Time with Bill Maher, he was having a debate with Tavist Smiley, a nationally known talk show host from radio and PBS. Smiley was asserting the following,
“…that when we have these conversations how they treat women, as if somehow we treat women better here in this country, it…”
(Maher interrupts) “We do!”
(Smiley speaks on.) “It demonizes Muslims. It demonizes Muslims all over the world.”
(Maher speaks in the midst of Smiley and after) “No, it’s not demonizing, that’s, that’s saying that I’m prejudiced. I’m saying I’m not prejudiced. That’s prejudging. I’m not prejudging. I’m judging. I’m judging. They’re worse. What’s wrong with just saying that. You’re a cultural relativist. It’s not relative.”
Smiley responds, “I don’t think there’s a worse version of sexism. It’s either right or wrong. It’s acceptable or it’s unacceptable. You’re trying to shade this thing, Bill.” (audience applauds)
The debate goes a little beyond that and then Maher is heckled by a member of the audience who is forcibly removed by security.

I will rarely agree with anything that Maher stands for, but the basic point he is arguing for here is one that I wish more in the media would stand up and acknowledge. The point I am referring to is not just regarding our treatment of women versus Muslim treatment of women, but the cultures that are most clearly linked with Islam as opposed to our culture. It is not bigoted to state that there are quantifiable differences between the two, and those differences are NOT only differences that highlight preferences resembling different “flavors of ice cream”, but the differences are more accurately represented by different ethical, moral, and philosophical choices that flow from the religion of Islam. These differences create hindrances for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

I am not even going into the political debate about whether or not freedom and democratic rule is possible in the Middle East or other Islamic regions. Islam is a religion that has certain truth claims. It is built on certain tenets, revolves around a specific history, was established by a specific individual, and has been maintained by a small handful of groups claiming authority in continuing to lead muslims. Arab culture has been greatly, though not solely influenced by Muhammed and Islam. It is not only NOT wrong to put forth a judgment about their culture. It is a wise thing to allow our discernment to grow through exercising it, and yes, even occasionally speaking that judgment out to give it a chance to sink or swim when in the face of outside criticism. Perhaps the saddest thing about this entire interaction to me came when the audience applauded Smiley’s follow up point.

The point I am making is not that we have good culture and they have only bad culture, but that the notion of NOT engaging in discernment is somehow applauded while an incredibly true and honest observation is seen as scandalous and arrogant. Write down the date. There may never be a time when I defend Bill Maher and anything else he stands for after this. :)

Judges

2011-02-19T09:25:00.000-08:00

The book of Judges begins at Joshua's death. It is a book that follows the story of Israel once it has conquered the majority of the inhabitants of the "promised land" known as Canaan. These geographical borders becomes their national borders of Israel. Primary function of the judges found within Judges was to lead the people to freedom from oppressors and lead them during times of peace. More than half of this period is lead by six judges for approximately one generation for each judge. Joshua, Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah & Barak, and, finally, Gideon all lead the Israelites for 40 years or more at a time. Their rule is characterized by beginning with conquering an enemy. They then lead the people during a time of relative peace for the remainder of their life.

However, the people are consistently plagued by their own unfaithfulness that is accelerated by the remaining presence of local peoples that they were supposed to have wiped out during the initial conquering of Canaan. As they drift away from their love and fear of God, and they are seduced to pursue the other gods of the local people and their practices, they are consistently given over to new oppressors by God to teach them the consequence of unfaithfulness to Him. This destructive cycle seems to get worse after about 200 years of living in the conquered land, and the judges rule begins to osciallate to a range of 3-23 years instead of the 40 year cycle that existed early on in their history. This exponential downward spiral is highlighted in a couple of ways besides the straightforward recorded history itself.

There is also a structure within Judges that seems purposefully designed to illustrate the consistent AND worsening unfaithfulness of the people and the consequences that follow. The majority of Judges is chronological, but the last few chapters are stories that are highlighted within this time period. They seem to be chosen more for their importance and ability to demonstrate how bad things got during this period of Israel's history known as the time of the Judges. First, there is the story of the corruption of the entire tribe of Dan as they steal and appoint their own priest to a graven image as they march off to claim their inheritance. Secondly, there is a gruesome story that is very reminiscent of the account given of Sodom and Gomorrah from Genesis. It, however, involves the tribe of Benjamin within the nation of Israel. The book of Judges begins on a high note with two brothers(tribes) going up together to help conquer the judged inhabitants in obedience, and it ends on a tragic note of all the tribes coming together to wipe out the majority of their youngest brother(tribe) in judgment of the thorough corruption that has been found to permeate it.

Something to consider during this time is the fact that the judges were only one of a few primary means of leadership and governance within Israel during this time. The priests also had a major role and carried God given authority in discerning and making judgments in many areas. Also, there were "lesser" or lower level judges below those explicitly mentioned in the book of Judges. These were elders and respected peoples within various families, clans, and tribes.(Exodus 18:24-26) The judges, both the lower level ones and those mentioned by name in Judges, arose from within all the various tribes. The priests, however, were explicitly restricted to those who were from the tribe of Levi. As we will soon see in I Samuel, this structure of God raising up leaders from within all the various communities is rejected by the people of Israel because they insisted on trying to solve their nation's problems by structuring themselves after their surrounding neighbors who were led by an institutional King that flows from an existing family line.

Thoughts about Egypt

2011-02-02T05:45:00.000-08:00

These are some rambling thoughts about the developing story in Egypt.

First, Wow! If I'm getting an accurate read on this, this could be a HUGE development in the region and possibly even the world.

Next, "Who's side should we take?" seems to be one of the questions floating around out there. It is an extremely valid question. I want to look at what may be a few angles of that question that may not be explicitly brought out in the media.

Does the U.S. pick the leaders of these countries? No, but we are certainly a force that is considered when whoever is leading these countries moves forward and crafts its own domestic and foreign policy. Why is that? You ask. Well, there seem to be quite a few reasons. First, let me point out, I pray I'm not your sole source of info on this, and if I am, please educate yourself elsewhere as well as here because I am by no means an expert in this or any other area. That having been said. We are influential because of our unique position of power in the world both economically and politically. Also, and perhaps most prominently, we utilize our nation's "checking account" quite liberally when it comes to gaining "allies" for our various foreign policies. I believe I've heard that Egypt has been receiving one of the largest of these kinds of checks for quite some time. It is also my understanding that Egypt, just like many other countries around the world, have a very limited scope of economic resources within their borders to drive their economy. They nationalize these industries and only a certain percentage of their population is able to make a living from employment and economic activity surrounding these industries directly. Therefore, the countries divide the profits up and dole them out at their discretion to keep the remaining population from starving. These checks seems to have been getting smaller and smaller.(thanks to my friend, Jason for this insight) When you understand this arrangement, you begin to see the important role our "foreign aid" checks play in these countries. For better or worse, our contributions are being used to prop up an ECONOMIC system that does NOT work. Welfare states don't work here or there. It lends itself to centralized control which further and further limits freedom and robs the people of the opportunity to realize and pursue their own economic self-interests. The problem, of course, is that our concerns about Egypt's foreign policy out strips our concerns about their domestic policy. I doubt very seriously that a new government birthed in the midst of such dire circumstances as the starving people of Egypt or any other nation will produce the fruits of democratic change the people are looking for in the streets, but I genuinely sympathize with their plight and can only pray for them, their leadership, and ours as we navigate this mess. I hope you can and will do the same in the days ahead.

Steyn and Coulter

2011-01-23T11:14:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to highlight two of the people I believe are the most enjoyable and capable voices for political conservatism in the media today. I am simply going to provide the links to their websites and a few quotes from them to give you a sampling of their work. I hope they prove as entertaining and informing for you as they have been for me.
Ann Coulter
MUD LIBEL
January 19, 2011

The same people who had blamed Sarah Palin for the massacre at the Tucson Safeway and then taunted her for her "silence" were enraged when she responded.

Last Tuesday, the night before Palin responded, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann mocked Palin's silence throughout his show:

-- "And why is the ever self-promoting Miss Palin so quiet?"

-- "And it's quiet, isn't it?"

-- "It's too quiet."

-- "The silence is deafening from the great Northwest."

It was deemed an admission of guilt that she hadn't spoken about the Tucson shooting or denied the accusations that she had inspired the shooter.

The next day, Palin posted a video response, and Keith immediately attacked her for "the worst timed political statement ever." It's almost as if liberals would attack Palin whatever she did.

Olbermann sneered about Palin's use of the phrase "blood libel," scoffing, "This, to Sarah Palin, is analogous to what is happening to her." No, not only happening to her, but to all right-wingers, tea partiers, Republican politicians, and conservative radio and TV hosts -- all of whom have been accused of complicity in murder.

On the day of the Arizona massacre, Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva blamed the "Palin express." The father of Gabrielle Giffords, one of the victims, blamed "the whole Tea Party." The sheriff of Pima County, Clarence Dupnik, who had failed to lock Loughner up despite repeated arrests and other contacts, blamed "the vitriolic rhetoric that we hear day in and day out from people in the radio business and some people in the TV business." (Dumbnik also said: "We're not convinced that he acted alone.")

A comment on Gawker the day of the attack said: "Palin ... you now have more than just elk blood on your hands."

The next day, New York Daily News columnist Michael Daly wrote, with stunning originality: "Palin may have the blood of more than some poor caribou on her hands." (See -- he changed "elk" to "caribou.")

In an especially prissy "Special Comment" the night of the shooting, Olbermann said that if Sarah Palin "does not repudiate her own part in amplifying violence and violent imagery in politics, she must be dismissed from politics." Ditto for Rep. Allen West, ex-candidate Sharron Angle, Rep. Giffords' opponent Jesse Kelly and "the Tea Party leaders."

In response to the Arizona shooting, the governor of Rhode Island, Lincoln Chafee, banned state employees from going on talk radio, telling reporters he had been a victim of rhetorical violence himself, citing the title of one of my columns from four years ago: "They Shot the Wrong Lincoln."

In that four-year-old column, I supported Chafee's opponent in the Republican primary by pointing out that "the only person who hasn't figured out that Lincoln Chafee is a Democrat is Lincoln Chafee. As the expression goes, if Chafee switched parties, the average IQ on both sides of the aisle would go up."

My column got results: Chafee is no longer a Republican.

But the column did not produce my secret goal, which the governor has now exposed: That John Wilkes Booth return from the dead to stalk people named "Lincoln."

Yes, the governor of Rhode Island is afraid of 19th-century assassins. Whatever you do, Lincoln, don't look under the bed!

After it came out that the Tucson shooter, Jared Loughner, was a liberal pothead who hated Christianity, laughed about aborted babies, never listened to talk radio, hated George Bush and cited "Mein Kampf" as one of his favorite books to annoy his Jewish mother, liberals suspended blaming "political rhetoric" for about two days. Then they went right back to blaming conservatives for the shooting.

The media continue to avoid giving any details and simply announce that Loughner was "anti-government," implying that he's your standard George Will conservative who believes Congress has offended the principles of federalism by encroaching on the states' authority under the Constitution.

In fact, Loughner's "anti-government" beliefs consist of: burning the American flag on video; denouncing our currency with the exclamation, "No! I won't trust in God!"; and wanting to kill cops.

His other big anti-government position is that he believes the government was behind 9/11 -- just like well-known tea partiers Rosie O'Donnell, Obama's "green jobs" czar Van Jones, Rehab habitue Charlie Sheen and left-wing historian Howard Zinn.

If we're looking for a rationale other than "Loughner was nuts," I think the more relevant facts about him are that he was an atheist who detested religion and religious people, made lots of references to satanic New Age "conscience dreaming" (sic) and was involved in the occult.

When a fellow participant on a UFO website wrote a lengthy response to Loughner's question about "what is wrong or right with the current date?" which included the subordinate clause, "a day in Christ is as a thousand years," Loughner fixated on that one line, railing, "I won't listen to that fictitious crap without the author. This is laughable to notice a gospel or writing related to Christ."

Shouldn't we at least bring Bill Maher in for questioning?

This was her latest article posted on her web site. anncoulter.com

Mark Steyn
The Sharia Squad

Steynposts
Sunday, 30 May 2010
A few years back, a propos Salman Rushdie, I wrote:
The Rushdie fatwa established the ground rules: The side that means it gets away with it. Mobs marched through Britain calling for the murder of a British subject - and, as a matter of policy on the grounds of multicultural sensitivity, the British police shrugged and looked the other way.
One reader in England recalled one demonstration at which he asked a constable why the "Muslim community leaders" weren't being arrested for incitement to murder. The officer told him to "f--- off, or I'll arrest you."
A decade and a half after the Rushdie hit contract, Islamic supremacists decided enough with the legalistic fatwa stuff, let's just kill the guy in the street:
To express his disgust at Theo van Gogh's murder, the artist Chris Ripke put up a mural outside his studio showing an angel and the words "Thou shalt not kill". But the cops thought this was somehow a dig at the local mosque and so came round, destroyed the mural, arrested the TV news crew filming it, and wiped their tape.
A couple of years later, it was the Danish cartoons:
There was a photograph from one of the early Muslim demonstrations in London that I cut out and kept: a masked protester promising to behead the enemies of Islam, and standing shoulder to shoulder with him two Metropolitan Police officers, dispatched by the state to protect him and enable him to incite the murder of others.
I think this is what old-school coppers would call a pattern of behavior. This weekend, the blogger Blazing Cat Fur went along to an anti-Netanyahu protest at Palestine House, a taxpayer-funded den of Jew-hating genocidal eliminationists. He was assaulted by Ali Mallah, local heavy from the Canadian Union of Public Employees and Vice-President of the Canadian Arab Federation. The Toronto Sun's Michael Coren takes up the story:
Surely this isn’t legal – at least not in countries where Sharia Law doesn’t apply. The bully then told the police that the awful man with the camera was a racist and the cop told the blogger to “keep things peaceful.” Surely this officer should be reminded of the law and that a man who crosses the road to insult and threaten another person is the one not keeping things peaceful.
I'm afraid Mr Coren's view of law enforcement is hopelessly outmoded. The enforcers of the modern "tolerant" "multicultural" society will tolerate the explicitly intolerant and avowedly unicultural, but they won't tolerate anyone pointing out that intolerance. From Rushdie to van Gogh to the Motoons, law enforcement has guarded the thugs and harrassed those who draw attention to the thuggery. This is PC policing: There are identity groups who merit the solicitude of the constabulary, and there are the rest of you who don't. Mass Muslim immigration will impose severe strains on the Euro-Canadian welfare states in the years ahead. In increasingly fractious societies, the police will be out in force - upholding not the law but the dopiest fatuities of the multiculti delusion.

This is a blog post from Steyn last summer. His web address is marksteyn.com.

Both Coulter’s and Steyn’s web addresses will have a permanent home under the section listing my political links. Hope you’ll avail yourself of their insights and talents.

Violence and its causes

2011-01-12T10:43:00.000-08:00

I want to talk about the current story out of Tuscon, Arizona. I want to dialogue with any and all who have views about the act AND especially the political fallout that seeks to assign blame. I want to dialogue with those who agree with my take on these events, BUT even more so, I want to have a conversation with those who do NOT agree with my views about these issues. Hope there are lots interested in discussing it. Thanks. Dennis.

New Year's Prayer

2011-01-02T17:14:00.000-08:00

I used to be fairly deeply troubled by a passage that is found in the gospels.

"Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." Matthew 10:36-38

I remember sensing that even if the basic nature of what Christ was saying here was true, it still seemed a bit harsh to force me to be CERTAIN that I did not love my father, mother, son, or daughter, etc. more than I loved Jesus. I simply chose to let this objection go because of His overwhelming display of love and power, but it still occasionally resurfaced in my mind.

Finally, I had a moment of clarity one day, and this insight came to me about this scripture from some of my own experiences.

What does it look like to love your closest family members(spouse, parent, child, etc.) or friends more than Christ? When looking back, I see lapses in the intensity of my love for Him. Whenever that happens, guess who consistently pays the most immediate price for my lull in love? It often seems to be those closest to me. I become a much more self-centered person. And without fail, those who reap the greatest benefit to my increase in consistency and intensity regarding my love for Christ are those closest to me as well. Why is this?

Psalm 119:32 states, "I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!"

I believe that this is the key. God enlarges our CAPACITY to love others when we seek Him FIRST! I can never love my family or friends or anyone else in my own strength as much as I can love them by way of His strength. Therefore, if I love them more than Jesus, I love them less. However, if I place Christ first, He enables me to love them more than I could have otherwise been capable of on my own.

Therefore, my prayer for 2011 is simply this,

"Dear Lord, enlarge my heart. Give me a greater capacity to express your love to those I'm closest to AND to those who I don't know at all."

Bakers and Takers

2010-12-18T14:25:00.001-08:00

Anyone who has listened to talk radio for any amount of time in the last twenty years probably knows who Rush Limbaugh is, and even if you have not, you probably have some idea of who he is.

People vary greatly in their overall impressions of Mr. Limbaugh, but one thing is for certain. The number of folks who he has not made some impression on is dwindling by the day.

Limbaugh is above all politically conservative, and he seeks to further the agenda of political conservatism in the United States. In this post, I am going to focus exclusively on how conservative principles apply in regard to economics and what some of the primary differences are when compared to the current administrations' economic philosophy which is generally referred to as liberal, progressive, or "big government".

Some of the primary concerns of the left/liberal leaning in the United States is the belief that wealth naturally flows toward those who have wealth already in a free market system unless the government steps in to make "adjustments" in regards to the economic playing field. This sounds on the surface to at least be plausible. They also believe that it is not fair for the wealthy to have such a large piece of the "economic pie" compared to the hard working people who are struggling. The wealthy have such a big piece of pie that we all must divide what remains. Or so they would have us believe.

However, conservative principles, which strongly hold to a much more "hands off" approach to the free market, do not hold to this view. Ironically, Limbaugh himself is a perfect example of this….no, not his speeches from his show, but Limbaugh's life itself serves as a great illustration of free market principles at work.

When Limbaugh began his talk career, talk radio was almost non-existent. Since then, there have been massive changes to the prominence of an entire band of frequency on your radio (AM) and a new phenomenon of FM talk stations has emerged in most major cities. Many, many nationally known radio personalities have been given opportunities to have careers that they otherwise would not have even had the opportunity to have without Limbaugh blazing the trail. Also, whether you agree with their viewpoints or not, I think most would have to agree that talk radio on the whole has made the general population more engaged in the issues of the day than any time in recent times. The spin-off from Limbaugh's success illustrates perhaps the most important fact of free markets kept primarily free(I say primarily free because of obvious roles for government like enforcing contract laws and protecting its citizens from any harm from commercial interests outside their control). The most important fact is that looking at an economy as an economic pie is only accurate when you have control from a central government doling out slices that originate from someone in the private sector generating the pie itself. A wiser way to manage an economy is to see that when individual initiative, creativity, and risk are allowed to flourish, we all become bakers of entirely new pies that simply did not exist prior to our own personal endeavors. The moral to this story is, "Be a baker, not a taker." J

ASSURANCE

2010-12-08T17:34:00.000-08:00

Wanted to address an issue I believe many Christians struggle with secretly. This is the issue of an assurance of salvation. How does one obtain assurance of salvation? Does not having an internal assurance mean I am not born again?

This post is going to be short and sweet, but I felt the need to post it because I know there have been times I have struggled with these questions, and I know from many personal conversations with close friends who are believers that they have struggled with it also. This is actually my first point to any who relate with this issue.

1. You are NOT alone.

I do not believe that simply wrestling with these insecurities means that one is not born again. However, let me share what has over time become my primary means of dealing with this issue, and, therefore, the number one piece of advice I will give to most I encounter who struggle with insecurities about their faith.

2. No one but God can establish this assurance.

What I mean by this in practical terms is simply that many are either in a position of being unwilling to question even the possibility that they are not born again, or they constantly question whether they are truly born again BECAUSE OF TEACHINGS OF MEN. We all need and CAN be helped by teachers and elders in the faith, but if you are overconfident in your faith because you’ve bought into wrong doctrine about this, the answer is not to simply place your trust in what can be an equally damaging wrong doctrine that causes many to be constantly insecure about their faith. The answer is to WRESTLE with God about this. How do you do this? We have a greater access to the scriptures than any generation prior to us. We have the freedom to cry out to God in prayer daily. These two exercises can NEVER be replaced by the “official” teachings of any XYZ denomination or teacher. “Work out you own salvation with fear and trembling.” I know this seems overly simplified, but I want to be clear that this process, though simple and straightforward, is most assuredly NOT the easy path. However, know that when you receive an assurance from God, your spiritual walk will take on a whole new momentum and intensity. This is a HUGE issue. Don’t ever settle for having anything less than His assurance through His Word and His Spirit!

Amazon Awareness

2010-12-02T21:20:00.000-08:00

I am writing this primarily to raise awareness about what is sure to be a growing problem in regards to content that is not only available on the internet, but is also being made more readily available by large big named providers of web content such as Amazon.com. I am speaking of content that is PROFOUNDLY objectionable to most individuals I know. Before I go any further, allow me to show you a couple of stories regarding Amazon.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2010/1112/How-can-Amazon-tame-controversy-over-book-on-pedophilia

http://www.komando.com/about/my-log.aspx?id=9809

Please take some time to read these stories before reading further into this blog post so that you will understand the points I’m about to make.

I am not a fan of government regulating even MORE than they already do, but things such as this will be used to justify a government control over internet content to the public. This lack of proactive controls by Amazon makes me sick, and even more than their lack of proactive control, their initial attitude and response to the how to pedophilia book’s presence on their site is far beyond sickening. It is infuriating. They equate removing a how-to book on pedophilia as being akin to censorship! The VAST majority of individuals who use Amazon do not know things like this are even available on their site, and the only way to simultaneously keep the government out of the overseer of content business AND keep scum bags like Amazon from using censorship as an excuse to give a platform to PEDOPHILES(!) is to be consistently alert and make our voices heard both by email and by withholding our money from them. Amazon is not the only company to engage in this kind of twisted justification, and we should choose to be as informed as possible about who we give our business to. I know we almost certainly cannot only do business with those whom we agree with; however, there IS a difference between doing business with those whom we disagree with in some issues and choosing to be completely blind to an egregious example like the one mentioned in these stories. More than anything, we should at least be aware enough to send them some sort of communication informing them of our intent to cease doing business with them unless they do not engage in such practices. As you saw in the above stories, the first response of Amazon was to defend their decision, but they eventually yielded to financial pressures that arose soon after. If all else fails, LEARN TO SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE. Refuse to shop til they drop.

Beloved Conqueror

2010-11-30T10:39:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to highlight a friend's blog. Please feel free to check it out, and if you like what you see, spread the word. I'll post a link here, and for future linkage, please see my blogs list on the right hand side of my blog. Beloved Conqueror will be there with many others.

http://belovedconqueror.wordpress.com

Racist Tea Party??

2010-11-27T20:16:00.001-08:00

There has been an accusation floating about for the past several months about the tea party movement. For those who do not know, the tea party movement is a grass roots movement that has been in existence since around April of 2009. In that time, this movement has grown to the single most powerful grass roots movement I have seen in my lifetime. One of the consistent accusations by those who are political enemies of the movement is that the people involved are racially motivated. The only thing even remotely resembling evidence they have had to offer has been a miniscule percentage of signs with racist statements on them caught by camera at tea party rallies.

Well, the results are in, and the question is this, "do the results of the elections seem to justify the claim that the tea party folks are a racist bunch or not?" Who was elected that would most clearly benefit from the tea party philosophy?

Republican Jaime Herrera became Washington state's first Latina representative in Congress.

Marco Rubio is the country's 7th Latino Senator and the first GOP senator since Mel Martinez resigned in 2009.

Tim Scott and Alan West became the first Republican African American members of Congress to enter the House since 2003 (both backed by Palin).

Nevada elected its first Latino governor in Brian Sandoval (Republican).

Susanna Martinez (Republican) is New Mexico's first female governor and one of the country's first two women of color governors.

Nikki Haley (Republican) of South Carolina became the country's second Indian-American governor, the state's first woman governor, and one of the first two women of color.

Also, three Senate candidates that were put forward by the tea party but failed to be elected were Sharon Angle, Christine O'Donnell, and Linda McMahon. Therefore, the representation by females in the U.S. government would have been much higher had some of the tea parties' female candidates won. It looks like they weren't a bunch of male chauvinists either.

Hell

2010-11-21T18:01:00.000-08:00

Many, many folks have a problem with the concept of hell. I thought I would provide some of the best thoughts I've heard spoken in regards to the concept of hell.

1. This thought was contributed by a Christian talk show host I heard recently whose name I know not. In regards to the inequitable or overly punitive nature of hell when looking at it as crime and punishment he said(I'm paraphrasing), "consider that the same act is often treated differently when committed against different people. For example, two brothers fighting leads to one hitting the other, the father or someone in the family may simply step forward and separate them while they cool off. However, if one of the sons hits his mother, this will be handled much more severely, including possibly calling in law enforcement. If this same young man hits a police officer, he will most certainly go to jail, and if he even charges the President and attempts to strike him, he will be charged with a federal crime. The point is that the further up the chain of authority, the more serious the charge and, therefore, the more severe the penalty. Extrapolate that out to spitting in the face of the almighty God of the universe, and you will get my point."

However, to be clear, I do not subscribe to only or even primarily a crime and punishment reasoning for hell. I will now proceed to point 2 about hell.

2. This short and sweet point in regards to the existence of hell is courtesy of a Christian speaker and author whom I have much respect for, Winkie Pratney. Simply put, Winkie states that he does not believe that justice is accomplished in this life, therefore, there must be a means to accomplish justice after this life. When an innocent life is taken, or even worse many times, an innocent life is made to live through years of mental, physical, sexual, or other forms of abuse, even the taking of the life or the incarceration of the victimizer does not accomplish justice. Hell is a means to accomplish justice.

3. Finally, this is the insight into hell that I believe captures the most important element about hell, what it is, and why it exists. Imagine that a person consistently says they don't like water. They want no part of water in their lives, and they continue to speak of the evils of water in spite of the reality that they live daily with the benefits of a world sustained by water. In the liquids they drink, even if they don't realize they contain water, they depend on water. From an ecosystem that is completely dependant on the water that is all around us in our environment, they still curse water. Finally, they are are given what they claim to have wanted all along, a desert world without water. This analogy was also given by the nameless talk show host. C.S. Lewis puts it even more succinctly when he says, "Those who bend the knee to God and say 'Thy will be done,' will be allowed to enjoy Him forever, but those who stubbornly reject God's lordship and offer of love and pardon will be told, 'thy will be done.'"(paraphrase)

Hell is an eternal separation from God that God seeks to rescue all from. I don't claim these eliminate all misgivings about hell, but as I stated I think they are valuable insights into the rightness of the existence of hell.

In the words of Abraham, "Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?"

The colors of language

2010-11-11T10:56:00.000-08:00

This is a very strange post for me to choose to make my reentry into the blogging world, but it is something I've been thinking of recently.....just goes to show you, you never know what's going on up here in my noggin.

OK...short and sweet. Have you ever interacted with a small child as they learned their colors? They learn the rainbow plus maybe a few more, and everything MUST fall into one of those categories. As we grow a little older we learn about pink, violet, teal, gray, beige, and we begin becoming aware of the growing number of possibilities for categories to place colors. Finally, we are sitting at some decorator's desk or at our local home improvement store, and we are confronted with an insane array of colors that include bizarre names like charred sage and robins egg. Most of us are annoyed at this level of color choice and have begun writing our congressman for some rainbow only legislation to be passed immediately.

My wife loves color. She's the arteest of the fam. She can capture whatever that quality is about some scenes that make them riveting and translate it onto a canvas. This is what I strive to do with writing. Language is like color, and words are like the growing spectrum of individual colors. I hope to capture something riveting and translate it into something unique that makes it my own expression of that something. Many times it is spiritual, social, political, or somewhat random, and sometimes it is a very obscure, personal rambling thought about something like color and language. I write because I enjoy it. It helps me process both the world around me and my own internal world. It is primarily a relaxing, organizing process that I occasionally place into a "bottle" on this blog and chunk it out to sea to see if anyone else can relate.

Joshua

2010-05-26T03:36:00.000-07:00

Part 1 Chapters 1-8

Begins with Joshua being told by God that Moses is dead. Joshua is to lead the people of Israel into the promised land. God encourages him and charges him to be obedient and courageous. The verse charging him to immerse himself in the book of the law and be courageous seems especially key to understanding God's initial interaction with Joshua.

Next is the story of the two spies being sent to Jericho. Rahab hides and protects them and saves herself and her family from destruction, and the Israelites learn that the people know of them and are terrified of them.

The Israelites cross the Jordan River in a miraculous fashion that seems to obviously mirror the also miraculous crossing of the Red Sea. They take 12 stones from the river bed to establish a monument to create a historical link to the event for future generations. The priests stand at the edge of the river while the rest of Israel crosses on dry land, and upon everyone else having crossed, they themselves cross over, and the river flows normally again. This would seem to insure that the entire nation of Israel individually had a clear awareness of God holding back the waters for them.

Upon entering the promised land, Joshua commands the men be circumcised because the generation that now exists had not been. Next he runs into the angel of the Lord who makes it clear that he is neither on their side or Israel's enemies side, but he is on the side of God.

Jericho story takes place. Jericho is delivered into the hands of the Israelites, and Rahab is spared along with her family as promised, but one of the Israelites takes some of the articles that they were commanded not to take. This leads to a defeat at Ai(the next city after Jericho) that should have been an easy victory. An interesting fact that dawned on me about Achan this time around is that his sin is not simply that of thievery or greed, but they were given explicit instructions before hand NOT to take anything "devoted to destruction." Achan knew what was at stake when he chose this. He knew he was placing the entire nation at risk from God's judgment. It was a supreme act of self-centered disobedience. I will still admit I don't understand why his entire family was judged for his choice, but I trust in God more than my own understanding in this. Finally Israel is given victory over Ai once they are purged.

Part 2 Chapters 9-16

The word gets out about Joshua and the gang and the Canaanites start reacting. The first response is the Gibeonites who choose trickery as their ticket out of being judged. The most interest thing about this passage to me is how obviously the phrase, "...they did not seek the counsel of the Lord..." appears to make clear the crux of their mishandling of the situation. Next the five Amorite kings unite and come against the Israelites. This seems to represent the most intimidating military challenge that the Israelites have faced, and God encourages Joshua as they begin the fight. A miraculous extension of the day takes place during this major battle. My favorite part of this passage is when it speaks of God hurling rocks down from heaven. It actually says the rocks killed more than the Israelites. Then there is a massive fight against many other kings and their kingdoms and a long list of victories for Israel. Chapter 12 is a list of the kings on both the east and west of the Jordan River who are defeated by the Israelites.

God tells Joshua that he is getting old, and there is still more land to conquer, but the land needs to be divided by lot among the twelve. The description of the borders of the various tribes begins to be spelled out geographically. There is also an account of Caleb inheriting his land(he and Joshua were the only two of twelve spies who returned encouraging the people to trust in God in regards to conquering the Canaanites). There is also an account of Othniel who wins the daughter of Caleb by brave exploits in battle. Note how often the tribes of Israel fail to drive out all the inhabitants of the land.

Part 3 Chapters 17 -24

There is a continuation of the border specifics of the twelve tribes. There is a story of Zelophehad's daughters. Their father had no sons, and they were promised to inherit land in their father's name. The tabernacle is established in Shiloh. Joshua sends out men to map out the remainder of the land for the remainder of the tribes so he can continue to determine the borders by using their information and casting lots. The remaining tribes are told their geographical boundaries.

The cities of refuge are established. The cities of the Levites are established(remember the Levites did not actually inherit any land because they were the servants of God and "...He was their inheritance...". However, the Israelites were commanded to give them cities to live in spread throughout their nation and fields for their livestock to be tended.)

Joshua dismisses the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the 1/2 tribe of Manassah to return to their homes on the east of the Jordan River. Upon passing back over the river, the men of these tribes build an altar that almost causes a huge war and tragic slaughter of these tribes by the rest of Israel. However, the men of Reuben, Gad, and the 1/2 tribe of Manassah explain that they didn't build the altar to sacrifice on it but as a witness for future generations to remember the connection between those living on both sides of the river.

Finally, Joshua gives a very solemn speech challenging the nation of Israel.

Our Protector??

2010-05-14T08:02:00.000-07:00

There have been two big developments (among many, many major news stories) that have caught my eye. First, there is the new Arizona immigration law that has been a huge news story nationally. The link to this ACTUAL BILL is

http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1070s.pdf

I would highly recommend anyone who is genuinely interested in this bill take the time to read it for themselves rather than depending on the news or even our President for an accurate understanding of this bill.

Secondly, there has been the "Times Square Bomber" guy who successfully became a citizen recently and is now accused of being the culprit involved in this attempted bombing.

What do these two stories have in common? Bear with me and I'll illustrate the connection that is very disturbing to my mind......

In regards to the first story, the President has responded on Cinco de Mayo with this statement,

"We can’t start singling out people because of who they look like, or how they talk, or how they dress," the president said. "We can’t turn law-abiding American citizens, and law-abiding immigrants, into subjects of suspicion and abuse."

Speaking at the same function he stated his desire for a law to be passed at the federal level... "[I]t can be done. And it needs to be done... I want to begin work this year, and I want Democrats and Republicans to work with me because we’ve got to stay true to who we are-- a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants."

These comments underline the key issues surrounding the law, 1) the belief that the law is simply legalized racial profiling, and 2) the belief that "the feds" should handle this.

I'm going to keep this simple. Read the law. It is specifically geared toward dealing with illegal immigrants, NOT racial profiling. I am not saying this naively. Consider that in a step that I considered overkill on the part of Arizona legislators, they have recently amended this law to specifically state NOT ONLY that race cannot be the primary factor for questioning and suspicion, but it cannot be a factor AT ALL used to justify reasonable suspicion. Considering we are dealing with immigration problems in Arizona and not Montana, I'm guessing the majority of illegal immigrants are indeed going to be of Hispanic descent, but these are the kinds of laws that must be passed in order to deal with hyper sensitivity about potential racial motivations.

"The feds" have NOT handled this problem for decades. This is THE primary reason this law had to be passed by Arizona. Consider these links:

http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2009/feb/mexican-cartels-make-phoenix-kidnap-capital

http://phoenix.about.com/od/crime/a/dangerous.htm

I think reasonable people can disagree about this law, but there does not need to be a demonization of people seeking to protect its citizens from an exceedingly dangerous environment. This brings me to the second story.

At the same exact time the Obama administration is smack in the midst of pushing intensely for months to have the KSM terrorist mastermind tried in a civilian court, Eric Holder, Obama's Attorney General, has stated that he sees a need to limit miranda rights for terrorist suspects who are U.S. citizens!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/us/politics/10holder.html

The fact that this statement has not received more exposure and outrage than it has is fascinating to me. If George Bush or one of his representatives had stated this on a Sunday morning talk show as Holder did, the media would be abuzz with it by Monday morning. The truly bizarre nature of this move to me is the combination of fighting for the rights of one non-citizen who is a self-professed mastermind while seeking to limit the rights of another SUSPECT who is a legal U.S. citizen. This sets a precedent for all future cases of all U.S. citizens who are SUSPECTED terrorists. For the record, I'm not seeking to be conspiratorial about this. Please notice the lack of conspiracy theories. However, WHY, WHY, WHY is noone disturbed by the one single thread that certainly seems to tie these stories together. We currently have a President who seems much more interested in protecting non-citizens than citizens?? Please feel free to disagree. I always welcome all opinions including dissenting ones as long as they are offered without vulgar language and respectfully.

Letter to School Officials

2010-05-05T09:29:00.000-07:00

I'm sharing this post with any who happen to venture to my random meanderings for many reasons. First, as with any post, I am writing about it simply because it is a subject of interest to me. Also, I believe many are simply not aware of the battle lines that have been drawn, and the conflict that continues to grow more intense in regards to the issue of homosexualityand people's beliefs about the nature of homosexuality. As people's beliefs about homosexuality continue to change on a large scale in our society are these changing notions based on truth or on conditioning?? I'll include the link to this letter sent out by the American College of Pediatricians which will allow you to access lots of other interesting links related to this topic. Please note the sources referred to in this letter for statements, information, and statistics noted at the bottom such as the CDC, the medical journal Pediatrics, Francis Collins, and many other reputable sources.

Letter to School Officials

March 31, 2010

Dear School Superintendent,

The American College of Pediatricians shares with you, your staff, parents, and other professional organizations the common goal of providing a healthful environment for your students. We are increasingly concerned, however, that in many cases efforts to help students who exhibit same-sex attractions and/or gender confusion are based on incomplete or inaccurate information. To correct this and assist you in establishing the optimal school environment, a Web resource, www.FactsAboutYouth.com (Facts), has been created to provide important factual information about healthful approaches to students experiencing sexual orientation and gender identity confusion.
Among the important questions addressed on the Facts site are:

What are the science-based facts about the development of non-heterosexual attractions and gender confusion in youth?

What is a school’s proper role in dealing with students who are experiencing sexual orientation and gender confusion issues?

How can schools better assist a student and his or her family in dealing with these issues?

Adolescence is a time of upheaval and impermanence. Adolescents experience confusion about many things, including sexual orientation and gender identity, and they are particularly vulnerable to environmental influences.

Rigorous studies demonstrate that most adolescents who initially experience same-sex attraction, or are sexually confused, no longer experience such attractions by age 25. In one study, as many as 26% of 12-year-olds reported being uncertain of their sexual orientation1, yet only 2-3% of adults actually identify themselves as homosexual.2,3 Therefore, the majority of sexually-questioning youth ultimately adopt a heterosexual identity.

Even children with Gender Identity Disorder (when a child desires to be the opposite sex) will typically lose this desire by puberty, if the behavior is not reinforced.4 Researchers, Zucker and Bradley, also maintain that when parents or others allow or encourage a child to behave and be treated as the opposite sex, the confusion is reinforced and the child is conditioned for a life of unnecessary pain and suffering. Even when motivated by noble intentions, schools can ironically play a detrimental role if they reinforce this disorder.

In dealing with adolescents experiencing same-sex attraction, it is essential to understand there is no scientific evidence that an individual is born “gay” or “transgender.” Instead, the best available research points to multiple factors – primarily social and familial – that predispose children and adolescents to homosexual attraction and/or gender confusion.

It is also critical to understand that these conditions can respond well to therapy.5 Dr. Francis Collins, former Director of the Genome Project, has stated that while homosexuality may be genetically influenced, it is “… not hardwired by DNA, and that whatever genes are involved represent predispositions, not predeterminations.” He also states [that] “…the prominent role[s] of individual free will choices [has] a profound effect on us.” 6

The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) recently released a landmark survey and analysis of 125 years of scientific studies and clinical experience dealing with homosexuality. This report, What Research Shows, draws three major conclusions: (1) individuals with unwanted same sex attraction often can be successfully treated; (2) there is no undue risk to patients from embarking on such therapy and (3), as a group, homosexuals experience significantly higher levels of mental and physical health problems compared to heterosexuals.

Among adolescents who claim a “gay” identity, the health risks include higher rates of sexually transmitted infections, alcoholism, substance abuse, anxiety, depression and suicide. Encouragingly, the longer students delay self-labeling as “gay,” the less likely they are to experience these health risks. In fact, for each year an adolescent delays, the risk of suicide alone decreases by 20%.7
In light of these facts, it is clear that when well-intentioned but misinformed school personnel encourage students to “come out as gay” and be “affirmed,” 8 there is a serious risk of erroneously labeling students (who may merely be experiencing transient sexual confusion and/or engaging in sexual experimentation). Premature labeling may then lead some adolescents into harmful homosexual behaviors that they otherwise would not pursue.
Optimal health and respect for all students will only be achieved by first respecting the rights of students and parents to accurate information and to self-determination. It is the school’s legitimate role to provide a safe environment for respectful self-expression for all students. It is not the school’s role to diagnose and attempt to treat any student’s medical condition, and certainly not a school’s role to “affirm” a student’s perceived personal sexual orientation.
It is critical to the health of your students that you and your staff rely on accurate information regarding sexual orientation and gender confusion issues. We urge you to review the enclosed information card, What You Should Know, and distribute it and this letter to your staff and to all interested parents and students. For more information, please visit http://www.factsaboutyouth.org/ or we invite you to inquire by email at info@FactsAboutYouth.com.
Sincerely,

Tom Benton, MD, FCP
President

American College of Pediatricians

What You Should Know fact card
CDC Statistics
For further information, please refer to a statement by the American College of Pediatricians “On the Promotion of Homosexuality in the Schools.“
References for letter
[1]Remafedi G, Resnick M, Blum R, Harris L. Demography of sexual orientation in adolescents. Pediatrics. 1992.89:714-721.
[2]Billy J, Tanfer K, Grady W, Klepinger D. “The sexual behavior of men in the United States.” Family Planning Perspectives. 25(1993),52-61.
[3]Centers for Disease Control. CDC Analysis Provides New Look at Disproportionate Impact of HIV and Syphilis among U.S. Gay and Bisexual Men. Press Release. Wednesday, March 10, 2010.
[4]Zucker K, Bradley S.Gender Identity Disorder and Psychosexual Problems in Children and Adolescents, The Guilford Press, New York, NY 10012, 1995 (p. 283).
[5]National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality. Report: What Research Shows: NARTH’s Response to the APA Claims on Homosexuality. For the summary see http://narth.com/docs/journalsummary.html (accessed 3/3/10).
[6] Collins, F. The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. New York. Free Press. 2007.p.260 and p.263.
[7]Remafedi G, Farrow JA, Deisher RW, (1991) Risk factors for attempted suicide in gay and bisexual youth. Pediatrics 87:869-875.
[8]Just the Facts Coalition.Just the Facts about Sexual Orientation and Youth. American Psychological Association. 2008. Retrieved from http://apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/just-the-facts.aspx (accessed 3/3/10).

The following is the link I promised. http://factsaboutyouth.com/posts/letter-to-school-officials/

Deuteronomy

2010-04-29T19:33:00.005-07:00

This is one of my favorite books of the Bible. I think it's because you really get to hear Moses speak in this book. It is almost exclusively speeches from him to the people of Israel reminding them, warning them, teaching them, encouraging them, and passing along the last of some specific instructions from God.

He revisits the past tragic history of the previous generation's choices which has led them to this place and time. He also revisits the law by pointing them back to the Sinai experience that they shared and revisits the law itself.

Moses stresses the fact that they themselves saw the fire and heard the voice. They were fed the manna and witnessed his judgment on both the Egyptians and on rebellious Israelites.

I am struck by the structure of the governance of the people. They did have a hierarchy of the priests, levites, and judges that were the community leaders, but as best as I can tell they were to be a "self-policing" people. By that I mean, there seem to be many exhortations to act when laws are observed being broken. The person whose testimony was most central to the verdict was to be the first to throw the stone to kill the guilty. However, if a person was found to be bearing false witness against their neighbor, they bore the punishment that they sought to inflict on the person they were bearing false witness against. The people were to take a proactive role in knowing the law, integrating the law into everyday life AND conversation, and policing things like worship of other gods, murder, blatant disregard for the Sabbath, adultery, etc. They were to "sound the alarm" so to speak.....I think the idea is that sin like all cancer is dealt with most effectively and with the least pain when caught and destroyed early. Otherwise, what may appear to be an act of mercy from our perspective now, may have actually been opening wide a door for widespread corruption of the entire nation and thus a much more damaging problem.

Again and again, Moses spells out blessings AND cursings that would await the people of Israel depending on their choices to either cling to and wholeheartedly embrace God and His statutes or turn their back on Him.

I feel I know the personality of Moses much more because I've read Deuteronomy. Perhaps not the most deep spiritual benefit, but I like Moses....what can I say. Hope you enjoy reading it and will share any of your thoughts with me. 5 down and 61 to go.....Joshua here we come. :)

My Boy

2010-04-14T19:24:00.000-07:00

I was puttering through my four years of blog posts recently, and it occurred to me that I have never written a post focused on my son. I suppose I dream of a time when my kids will actually read at least some of these posts. I suppose, therefore, I'll start with why I think it has taken me so long to write a post dedicated to my boy. In a word, speed. Thangs got a tad crazy since parenthood, and we had the luxury of leisurely cataloging Ella in a way that we did not have the luxury of with Elijah. Just know that throughout life, there will be meaningful differences in specifics about you and your sister and the life that confronts you. However, never doubt the intense love your madre and I both have for both of you. I can promise you it is sometimes painfully intense. Nuff said....for now. :)

Okie doke, just a couple of quick thoughts. You have been a different ride altogether than your sister's arrival. From the day we suddenly discovered we were going to have a boy a few weeks early to this very day, you have added to the already wonderful insanity. You were nicknamed "Smiley" for the longest time during your first year, and you successfully balanced out the testosterone levels with the estrogen levels. It was nice to have someone to grunt with for a change. You and your sister have already begun to develop a primarily sweet and fun-to-watch relationship. You began loving the Veggie Tales early, and you literally jump and scream for joy at the earliest awareness that we are about to watch Incredibles (this is apparently during the previews according to a hilarious story told to me by mommy). I miss you, Ella, and mommy with a painful intensity sometimes because of work. Your favority word right now is probably, "no or NO!" But I'm not worried about that. You have a wild, fun side and a very gentle side, and you are so very, very bright just like your sister. I'm glad mommy is yo mommy.

That is some of the unique stuff for you, and now to finish with some stuff I have also told your sis at times in the past. I look forward to discovering you as you discover yourself. You are such a miracle, and God is the ultimate provider of twists and turns so don't ever think you know the next development He has for any of us. Your mother and I were given stewardship of you, but never forget your are ultimately His, and this is the best news I could ever inform you of. He is a better parent than we can ever be. Please avail yourself of his power and love in your life.
Til our next conversation. :) Yo, Daddy.

Preexisting conditions

2010-03-08T19:03:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry if this is a boring topic for some who may read this blog, but I feel the need to put this point down on the record. Last fall when President Obama gave his speech to a joint meeting of the Senate and House, I witnessed one of the more disturbing scenes of the current attempts at "reforming" our healthcare system. It was the sights and sounds of politicians applauding the "no health insurance company should be allowed to deny coverage on the basis of preexisting conditions" portion of the President's speech. This moment was particularly disturbing because members from both sides of the political aisle were applauding. Let us consider this statement for a few moments. Just a few, I promise.....:)

Imagine using this logic in regards to any other insurance category such as homeowners or automobile insurance, or my personal favorite is life insurance. Why do health insurance companies reserve the right to deny coverage for preexisting conditions? Isn't it because the concept of insurance is for the insured to pay a small amount in the EVENTUALITY that something big and bad plays out? It is statistically calculated to be worth the risk of the insurance company to pay out in the few cases that the "big bad" happens and accepts the cash of everyone whom it does not happen to as its actual profit. If you force an entire industry to base its business model on the idea that they MUST allow people to be insured regardless of preexisting conditions the auto insurance premiums would go sky high because everyone would supplement the risk of the reckless drivers, homeowners premiums would rocket upwards as we all absorbed the risk of fraud and those who build and/or live in high risk areas, and I suppose we'd all be unable to even get any life insurance because death is the ultimate potential preexisting condition. I know, I know that is silly. However, this is exactly the rationale behind the belief that pushing for a law mandating health insurance for those with preexisting conditions will somehow create a better healthcare system. It will simply either cause existing health insurance companies to raise their premiums to offset the risk that has been forced upon them, or it will simply cause them to go out of this kind of business altogether.

A great example of this is the heavy handed regulations that currently force insurance companies in various states to include specific coverages in ALL of their policies. This was intended to be a consumer protection, but it has actually caused the most basic insurance policies to be more expensive. Guess who gets hurt by this. Yep, the poor downtrodden souls that the governmental do-gooders had supposedly intended to help. They can't afford the new, improved policies at even their most basic rates because they're now too expensive.

The one preexisiting condition noone seems to want to address is the growing involvement of heavy handed regulation in the formation and escalation of our nation's current many faceted economic woes. Did someone say free market?? Look again.

Louder with Crowder

2010-02-09T08:20:00.000-08:00

I've been introduced to a great new link with a powerfully gifted comic genius who is also politically conservative. I highly encourage anyone who can and will to check out this link to Stephen Crowder. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll cry cuz you're laughing so hard.... enjoy. :)

http://www.pjtv.com/page/Louder_With_Crowder/176/

P.S. this link will find a permanent home under my political links section for future reference.

Being Strong

2010-02-02T17:15:00.000-08:00

The notion of being strong is deeply ingrained in all of us. However, what it means to most people and what it means to a Christian are two very different things, and I, as many folks, haven't given that a lot of thought. We are told as Christians not to be worldly, but what does that mean. Unfortunately, most Christians think it refers primarily to not "drink, smoke, or chew and not to hang with those who do" or something along those lines. It seems to me that at least part of what "being worldly" refers to is thinking as if we are still primarily led and influenced by philosophies held by those who are unbelievers.

Being strong in the typical sense refers to diggin' down real deep and being a person who doesn't buckle under pressure. Also, we are to be stoic and unmoved in the face of adversity. We are to rise to the moment. Be all we can be. And so on and so forth.

I don't mean to belittle these notions. I think most who genuinely strive to live up to them (including myself sometimes) do so with the best of intentions. But whether the reason for our thinking in this way is simply driven by ego or some deeper sense of duty to those we care about deeply, there remains a problem. WE are NOT strong. Period.

I have faced a lot of stress and challenges in the last several years as I've taken on the responsibilities of husband and father, and I have many close friends that have faced much more intense challenges and tragedy than I have. I don't mean to make it sound as if I've learned to walk in this truth of being strong, but I see it more clearly now than ever in the past. I hope that will be a first step to walking in it.

The truth is this. "Being" strong, just as "being" anything for a Christian is found in the person of Christ and enabled by the Holy Spirit. The outer signs of being strong for a Christian may look similar to some of the things I described above, but the key to whatever, if any, strength that we possess is in direct proportion that we have recognized and acknowledged our own complete poverty of strength and whether we have chosen to seek to avail ourselves of His limitless strength(and righteousness and patience and mercifulness and self-control and humility and gratefulness and...well...you get the idea). May we all simply make the one choice that is ours to make. Placing our trust in the one and only Strong one among us.

Good Way to Start the New Year

2010-01-03T21:43:00.000-08:00

Many who know me know that I've had a whole lot of stuff go down since the last post. Starting about a week after that post to the present day, a lot has been topsy turvy and an unexpected roller coaster ride that I most certainly wasn't expecting. God is STILL good all the time, and I am always amazed at his desire to simultaneously shake me out of trusting in appearances (whether "good" circumstances or "bad" circumstances) and his ability to swoop in while shaking things up so intensely to use the exact same chronological stretch of time to show me how he is protecting and providing for my family. I want to live a life of complete trust regardless of circumstance, but I'm a whiny scaredy cat a good bit of the time, and I can only hope his patience continues. I just want to publicly say thank you to Him for both the painful, scary events as well as the amazing providential provision He has provided. I genuinely believe I need both in equal measure. Now that the lengthy half-baked explanation of my absence from blogoworld has ended, I will get on with this short, sweet, and to the point, main point.

This is simply one of the verses used by my pastor in his sermon tonight, and I felt that the this simple and powerful statement in Jeremiah was a great way to begin our new year. Hope it is a blessing to you. Be back soon...... hopefully. :)

"This is what the Lord says; 'Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.' " Jeremiah 6:16

Numbers

2009-10-31T07:04:00.000-07:00

Lots of specific instances recorded in the book of Numbers.

People counted. Fighting men numbered(men 20 years or older that can fight = approximately 600,000). Levite tribe numbered by clans and assigned tasks associated with moving tabernacle. The following is my way of trying to remember which clan moved which part of the tabernacle. Kohath-all holy of holies articles(ark of covenant) and articles within the tabernacle(table with showbread, lampstand, stand with burning incense) I call this the heart, Gershon responsible for all fabric on all walls around all sides of tabernacle, I call this the skin, Merrari responsible for all posts and the bases they rest in to support the cloth walls and overhead cloth, I call these the bones. Kohath-heart, Gershon-skin, Merrari-bones.

Second passover takes place a year after the Exodus.

Passover regulations are readdressed.

Cloud of fire(manifestation of God's presence) leads the people.

People complain and fire of God consumes some.

People whine about no meat "only" manna. God sends quail and then judges the people.

70 elders get Moses' spirit(including two who remain in the camp).

People are judged with a plague.

Miriam and Aaron bad mouth Moses. Miriam gets leprosy as judgment. Moses begs for mercy for her.

12 spies sent.

10 spies lead the people into unbelief and rebellion.

God decides noone over 20 at Exodus will enter the promised land.

Next day people decide to go up without God and are slaughtered.

Regulations about no difference between Jew and alien sacrifices.

Regulations about difference between accidental and willful sin.

Story about man working on Sabbath and being sentenced to death.

Questioning of authority....

Korah's rebellion questions authority. God judges Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and their families(ground swallows them up).

THE NEXT DAY!!! -- people rebel
God judges with a plague and 14,700 die.

One staff from each tribe is taken including one from Aaron. Aaron's staff buds and blossoms overnight to further establish God's authority rested on Aaron and his line.

Aaron, priests, and Levites given regulations about their care for temple and offerings.

Sacrifice of Red Heifer regulations.

Also in Numbers are the jealousy test for husbands who suspect their wives of unfaithfulness.
The account of Moses disobeying and being told he would not enter promised land.
Fighting and defeating people east of Jordan.
Tribes of Reuben, Gad, and 1/2 tribe of Manasseh claim land east of Jordan as their inheritance, but they take solemn oath to fight with their brothers on west side until they have conquered the promised land.

That's alot but I've missed a lot. As I said at the beginning, Numbers has a lot of specific events to learn about and consider. I always thought of Numbers as similar to Leviticus (thick with info, but not so much with historical info)but that is not true, Numbers is extremely thick with historical narrative.

One year wake up call

2009-10-24T06:53:00.000-07:00

We are swiftly approaching the one year anniversary of that day in 2008 when we in America decided that the dynamic duo of Obama and Stuart Smalley could save the day. What exactly may lie ahead in the course of the coming year is quite honestly chilling. But first let's recap shall we... during the last year, we have passed well over 1.5 trillion(1,500,000,000,000) dollars in bailout funds (half of which was accomplished by our beloved Bush and his peeps). This is three times the amount that it took to fund Iraq and Afghanistan for the entire time we had been there up to this point(6 years or so). This has put our country perilously close to the international equivalent of bankruptcy because even the U.S. Gov has to pay someone. We must either print more money(devaluing our own dollar), borrow more money from the Chinese, or tax the people of the U.S.A. a bit more and more and more. The Obama administration has chosen doors one, two, and three.

Now, what lies ahead, you ask?? Well kids, the fun has just begun! In spite of the fact that roughly half(depending on whose stats you believe) of current healthcare costs are already being paid through government (or by taxpayer funds), we have been told that Obama and the dems sense a desperate need to saddle the taxpayers with a much, much bigger tax burden to "fix" our horribly broken healthcare system. Also, to see a preview of what "fixing" our horribly broken healthcare system looks like, please note the wonderful job the government has done "fixing" what was our horribly broken housing market. Roughly half the mortgages in the U.S. are currently underwritten by the U.S. government, 70-90% of all new mortgages during the last couple of years are underwritten by the U.S. government, and foreclosures are at all time high. Ra ra sis boom bah, goooooo Uncle Sam. Without going into detail, let's just consider some of the other purchases Obama has been making for us(the taxpayer). He has gotten us a couple of primo American auto companies(Chrysler and GM), multiple banks, and an awesome American Investment Group to help us manage all our new acquisitions. That's just the beginning. He has his eyes of the prize of American energy next, and if you think Obama's just another one of these greedy capitalist just all about the bling for him and us. Think again. In December, at the World Climate Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, he is poised to begin a process of amazingly generous charitable donations to all the tyran....um....poor of the world on our behalf so that we don't have to feel guilty any more about all this wealth that we have.

Ok, the rant portion of this post is now over. Hopefully, it was somewhat enjoyable to some of you, and Lord knows it was therapeutic for me. :) Now for something a bit more constructive. I have some very specific ideas about actual things that we can do as individuals during the next 3-6 months that will actually be helpful and meaningful. The only preview I can give you is that it regards electing actual conservatives(financially, foreign policy, socially, and above all small government conservatives) during 2010 in the U.S. House of Representatives. This is the one area other than prayer, voting and pestering the mess out of our current reps that we can do, and the key is finding and supporting conservatives early enough in the process to hopefully make them the Republican that wins the Republican primary. Whether Dem or Republican, getting a conservative candidate MUST, MUST happen during the primary season of the election process. This means we've got to get cranking on finding and supporting ACTUAL conservatives during the next few months. I have ideas about this, and I promise to have some kind of explicit representation of those ideas with actual opportunity for people to respond with action within the next month.....for the record, even if you don't read this blog, I'll probably be on a recruiting mission with this one.

Smooches and sunshine to all(yes even to President Obama and the Dems, I don't hate 'em. I'm just mad at 'em.)

Leviticus

2009-10-17T07:27:00.000-07:00

Specifics about sacrifices.

Much of it revolves around priest/Levite rules.

Meditate on symbolism of tribe without an inheritance of land but whose inheritance is the Lord.

Sacrifices--burnt, sin, wave, freewill, fellowship

Nadab and Abihu smote after offering unauthorized fire.

Regulations about public health issues.

Priestly duties regarding Atonement.

Sexual relations law specifics.

Lots of different mixture of laws and specific regulations near the end.

BE HOLY--(set apart).

Alaska

2009-10-12T05:42:00.001-07:00

Exodus

2009-09-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

For new comers to my Bible study type stuff, I am not claiming to be tossing out any profoundly insightful nuggets, but I am hoping for feedbacks in the way of questions, answers, thoughts, observations, and, yes, even the occasional disagreement about something. I am primarily seeking to build more dialogue as a way of life about the scriptures with as many folks who will engage me about it.

Act I Genesis closes on Jacob/Israel being welcomed in Egypt and prospering under the current Pharoah

Act II Exodus opens a few hundred years later with a Pharoah who fears and oppresses Israel.

Oral tradition still the primary method of passing on God's story up to this point, but written record perhaps begins here.

Moses and Aaron are of the tribe of Levi.

MOSES

1st 40 years--Egyptian royalty after God's intervention

2nd 40 years--Exile into wilderness, meets wife and Jethro(father-in-law) and has two sons

3rd 40 years--Exodus and wilderness

Significance about 40 years number??

Why were Pharoah's magicians able to replicate any of Moses's stuff?

What was the whole burning bush thing about??

Why did the "almost killing Moses at the last minute because of not circumcising his son" thing happen??

Three primary "Scenes" of Exodus

Act II Scene I---Moses/Exodus

Act II Scene II---Wilderness/Sinai/Golden Calf/Law Part I

Act II Scene III---Details about tabernacle

How does that whole "Moses talking God out of wiping out Israel" thing work??

As you can see, I'm pretty free flow with these entries. But that's sort of the idea. This represents things that are straight from my notes while listening to Exodus on CD.

By the way, does anyone know of a particularly high quality audio Bible on Mp3 that is available for download. I'd like to get a copy sometime during the next year.

Eat, Pray, Love

2009-08-31T17:51:00.001-07:00

I have a close friend who read this book earlier this year, and I snagged the audio book on CD to listen to it in my truck so we could discuss amongst ourselves. The following are the main thoughts I took away from the book.

First, it was an interesting read. Elizabeth Gilbert(the author) takes us on a ride from four months in Italy to four months in India to four months in Indonesia. I personally was the most interested during the parts that showed "the view" from inside an ashram(not sure about the spelling on that) in India. This is sort of like a retreat/temporary monastery type dealio for those seekin a lil enlightenment Hindu style. I also was fascinated with the social structure of Indonesia (specifically Bali--the only Hindu island of the otherwise Muslim Indonesia). The Italy part just primarily made me hungry for pasta and a good cup of coffee. This interesting journey is set within the context of Ms. Gilbert's personal spiritual journey at a very painful point in her life.

I'm not a book critic though, and the thing that drew me to this book was the underlying conclusions that I knew would inevitably be there to be found.

CHAPTERS 3, 57, and whatever the next to last chapter was.....

First, I'll address what I identified as the core message of the book. In chapter 3, Liz shares the catalyst that sort of gets the ball rolling on her spiritual journey. She prays. She is a snotty, crying, sobbing mess on her bathroom floor in the middle of the night while her then husband was sleeping. She knew that she was miserable for many different reasons, and she cried out for help. She holds a conviction that she hears a calm, strong, loving voice(a version of her own voice but much more at peace and authoritative) that responds with very simple instructions to return to bed to sleep. Simple instructions but the experience was a VERY powerful one for her.
This is crucial for two primary reasons. 1.It launches this very committedly non-spiritual person into a new direction and thus the story ensues. 2. It also serves as THE point of reference at the end of the year long journey for the author to make her point(in the next to last chapter). She refers to an old Hindu proverb that claims there are two forces at work that turn an acorn into an oak tree. One is all the physical realities that come from the fact that everything that makes the oak is in the acorn seed and will come out if it gets into good soil, AND the "future" oak that doesn't yet exist that wants to reach its full potential and thus pulls the acorn and its innards along the process. She wonders if the voice she heard in the bathroom was perhaps this new balanced and more fully at peace and stronger version of herself pulling herself forward into the fullness of her potential. That feeling you have right now is called a Hindu headache, grasshopper. :)

Agree, disagree, think amongst yourselfs(in case you haven't figured this one out I disagree). However, the most thought provoking part of the book for me came smack in the middle in chapter 57. It comes just after a very important moment for our leading lady in her guru's ashram in India.

SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES

Elizabeth has a very powerful spiritual experience(a couple of spiritual experiences actually), and this is the watershed moment for her. Everything flows forward out of these hours and days. During this chapter, Ms. Gilbert makes some fairly dogmatic statements about the nature of faith as she sees it. "faith is not rational.....if faith were rational it wouldn't be by definition, faith. Faith is belief in what you cannot see or prove or touch...."

This reminds me of a conversation I had with a Mormon a few years ago on a plane to Dallas(it will be a meaningful tangent, just hang with me a minute). He was explaining to me his religious convictions, and I was listening because I was genuinely interested in the inner workings of the whole Mormon thing, but finally, I began to challenge him about specifics within his faith in what I hope was a very measured and respectful way. The conversation remained very friendly and cordial all the way through with only a few more tense moments, but he eventually always retreated back to what the Mormons call the "burning in the bosom." This connotes a meaningful spiritual experience that seems to signify a real spiritual happening, and for him, this trumps anything I can toss at him in the way of reason or objective problems that exist with his religious beliefs and his religion as a whole. The only thing I knew to tell him was this. I was raised in Pentecostal churches, and I know a thing or two about spiritual experiences. The short version of what I mean by that is that I realized that some of the spiritual experiences I was witnessing or even some I had myself were almost certainly not God at work. This realization caused me to have to seriously reevaluate some things, but I believe the realization was a profound gift from God.

Being a follower of Christ is a belief system that is filled with external checks. The Bible constantly sets itself up to be tested historically, ethically, experientially, scientifically, etc. It is a faith that is firmly rooted in our story and in our existence. It is not some abstract thing that cannot be appreciated outside some spiritual state of mind. Religions that seek to coerce its followers into chunking reason for faith are trying to convince that faith is not faith unless you do that.....unless you bet your eternal destiny on a spiritual experience or a series of spiritual experiences, but God begs to be empirically verified constantly. I can back this up if anyone is interested, but my point is that faith means just what it means when you claim to have faith in your spouse or your father or the pilot of the airplane you are flying in. Faith in God means the same or at least similar things as these examples. Badee.....badee......dats all folks.

New prayer request

2009-05-23T06:43:00.001-07:00

Why there is no car insurance crisis

2009-05-23T06:19:00.000-07:00

I heard a talk show host recently express that there was really not a healthcare crisis, but there was actually a healthcare insurance problem. He then went to illustrate the way to solve many of the problems by comparing our healthcare insurance with car insurance. This is a paraphrase of that.

Consider the most recent car insurance commercial you've seen(the gecko of Geiko, the Progressive commercials, etc.). Consider what they talk about in those commercials. Good coverage AND good rate quotes or bargains are what they claim. Now consider any health insurance commercials you've seen. First, there aren't as many, and when they show up on the TV, they only talk about one side of the equation, good coverage/care. That is because the majority of folks don't shop around for health insurance and compare prices and specifics of the policy like they do with car, home owners, and life insurance. This is because most of us think only of getting our healthcare insurance through our employer, and much like the taxes withheld by our employer, we don't even think of the cost of this to us. We only care about our co-pays and the percentage of our coverage.

There are two primary things that I believe if changed about how we structure healthcare would have a huge impact in the right direction of making healthcare insurance affordable AND would keep and improve the current quality of the healthcare we receive.

1. Begin creating incentives for people to get their medical insurance independant from their employment. This will shift the awareness of "bang for their buck" to the consumer and will not cause people to slip into having no insurance when switching jobs.

2. Allow any persons from any states to purchase medical insurance from health insurance companies from any other state. This will free people from the heavy handed regulatory environment of many states and keep them from having to subsidize the costs of coverage that they themselves don't need. This is a more involved angle to healthcare costs that I don't have time to get into in this post. But for more info, click on the galen.org link on the post a couple of posts down.

Market Disciplines

2009-05-17T06:04:00.000-07:00

I usually leave the economic posts to my friend Kirk at his random acts of economics blog, but I heard this explained recently and felt it was expressed so clearly and made such a great point that I should share it with whomever might dare to be interested in economics.

Market discipline, as I understand it, is an economic principle that states that individual businesses in the private sector(non-government) must constantly adjust their business by what money remains after all expenses have been paid out. When this shrinks, they either must invest less in their business or cut the number of employees or raise prices for their product or service that they provide. When the profits increase, the business can grow by perhaps buying more needed large equipment for the business or hiring more people or many other possibilities. The point is that there is a natural force in place to create a check and balance to how quickly the business does or does not grow. The good news for businesses is that many of the general circumstances that usually influence their growth or shrinkage are also being experienced by the other businesses they are competing against.

Now, let's change this to bring government into the mix. Let's say that the U.S. government decides to get into the home mortgage business just for example(not that they would ever do that) :). The government is not subject to the same market forces that the normal business is subject to. They get their money from taxpayers. This in turn keeps them from being subjected to market disciplines AND it forces the other players in the home mortgage business to compete with them while they ARE still handicapped by market disciplines. Not only is the government not subject to market disciplines. It seems to encourage the management of their resources to move in the opposite direction, recklessness and a complete lack of discipline. In the backs of everyone's mind who works within the government funded businesses is the awareness that government will always be able to bail them out if they fail with more tax money. Perhaps one of the ultimate ironies is that the taxes that pay for these government funded journeys into the market are funded by taxes from the very businesses they are unfairly competing against.

We've all seen the absolute mess that resulted at least partially from this practice of government involvement in the housing market. What else is the government going to become involved in??
Can you say healthcare?

There are so many reasons I'm for limited government involvement and regulation in our economy. These are just a few. In regards to ideas about healthcare, visit the link below to see current ideas about free market solutions to healthcare instead of government dictated solutions.

http://galen.org

"Those who tell stories rule society." -- Plato

2009-05-17T05:16:00.000-07:00

Secular Saturation

2009-05-10T05:11:00.000-07:00

What is secular? The most common use of this word is non-religious. In other words, most people when they use the word secular are referring to their life in the "secular" world like their job or sports. Recently, I was listening to an interview of a contributor to a book called Faith, Film, and Philosophy. This book allows leading Christian thinkers to pick a movie or two and write about the bigger message and issues raised and give some Christian response to it. The guest was asked if he had to pick one bigger agenda being pushed either consciously or unconscioiusly by Hollywood, what would that be. He didn't speak about permiscuous sex or overt slams on Christianity or attitudes about violence or many social issues. Instead, he spoke of an all consuming secular way of looking at life all the time. He clarifies the way in which he means secular. Secularism is basically an attitude that states, "even if God exists, He is irrelevant to how we live our lives on a daily basis." Certainly, most of the films that receive high praise from Hollywood elites show this man-centered view as being THE relevant way to consider the human condition(think Oscar nominations). However, most people I know don't think such films are in touch with the way they view the world anyway. The shows and films I'm concerned with are the biggest popular hits for TV and film. The characters never seem to consult God for their ethical choices, turn to him in their hour of need, profess any devotion to God, or discuss any matters about their faith in God and how that influences their lives.

In the words of the guest being interviewed, "if you truly take the existence of God seriously in regard to His influence and meaningfulness in daily life, it is inevitable that God Himself becomes a character in the show or film if even only indirectly."

The key issue about this to me is NOT that most people who are in power in Hollywood don't consider God to truly be relevant, but that those people saturate our most popular films with this conclusion in a thousand subtle ways. This, in turn, creates a perception in people's minds about how people in general view the world and the way things truly are. Perhaps worst of all, it creates thousands of specific ways on "how-to" live your life without God. The key to appreciating the seriousness of this trend is in grasping the subtlety AND the complete saturation of it. Whether it is Jack Ryan, Jack Bauer, or Jack Shepherd, not a single one has ever uttered a single prayer in all the times I've watched them.

One last point,
1. How often do you consult God about your ethical choices?
2.Do you turn to Him in your hour of need?
3.Do you profess your devotion to Him?
4.Do you discuss the impact of your faith in Him with others?

We are not called to be Jack-like. We're called to be Christlike.

New prayer requests

2009-05-06T11:38:00.001-07:00

New prayer requests

2009-05-02T06:47:00.001-07:00

Thoughts and questions from Genesis

2009-05-02T06:33:00.001-07:00

I'm trying to be more interactive as I listen to the Bible on CD. One of the ways that I'm doing that is keeping a pen and pad with me as I listen to write and journal thoughts or questions that occur to me as I listen. The following are examples of some of those thoughts and questions. Please, please feel free to share your thoughts and responses. That's kind of the whole reason I'm posting these.

1.Paying attention to the order of creation and what happened on what day causes me to question even more the idea that each day was a literal 24 hour day. It doesn't seem likely.

2. Eve-mother of all who live according to Adam

3. Sons of God married the daughters of men??

4. Apparently they did not eat meat before the flood(read Gen. 9), why did God institute the consumption of meat at that time?

5. Why does it tell us about Enoch?

6. Why did God chastise Pharoah and Abimilech instead of Abraham about lying about Sarah being his sister?

7. Why is Lot called righteous in the New Testament?

Thoughts from talk radio...

2009-05-02T06:25:00.000-07:00

I've discovered a host in Nashville that I'm a big fan of named Michael Delgiorno(not sure on the spelling). Anyhoo, the following is a segment from his show that expresses something we've all sort of sensed but it does so pretty clearly and concisely....

How to create bias when you are a journalist....

1.How you choose the stories that you do cover and how you choose the stories you don't cover.

2.Which angles you choose to explore on the stories that you do cover.

3.Which people you choose to talk to and which people you choose NOT to talk to.

4.Which quotes you choose to use from interviews and which quotes you choose NOT to use.

With these simple four considerations, you too can be an activist or, ummm...... I mean journalist and use the news to manipulate the masses in whichever direction you see fit.

Great new political watchdog website link

2009-05-02T05:53:00.000-07:00

The Sunlight Foundation

This site is a collection of a whole list of different ways to learn more about our government from many different angles. Govtrack, my old political watchdog link, is just one of the links you'll find on this much more comprehensive site. Click on the investigative resources tab to see an amazing number of useful links. I will be replacing my govtrack link with a link to sunlight foundation on my links section for future reference. Hope it is as useful for us all. I still need to explore the site a bit more to discover what other features it has to offer.

Pics from the road

2009-05-02T05:36:00.000-07:00

Be sure to click on the bottom pic to get the full impact of the joke that is the sign in the parking lot in a frozen over parking lot in Illinois.

Taking things to heart

2009-04-01T19:34:00.000-07:00

This expression has become a cliche, but for whatever reason it sticks in my head like that milli vanilli song "Girl you know it's true......oooo......oooooo......oooo....I love you." But I digress. What is interesting about the expression "taking it to heart" is that most often when used by most, it is misused. When someone generally says this, they usually mean they allowed themselves to be emotionally impacted by "it". Here's the dealio. Being impacted emotionally is not the equivalent of taking something to heart. Allowing your actions to be changed and yielding yourself to the truth of or the impact of "it" by changing your beliefs and therefore actions/behaviors is taking it to heart.

Taking it to heart is kind of like ingesting something and having it flow through your blood stream to become a part of who you are. This has obvious application to our walk with Christ cuz if any of you are like me perhaps you've been impacted emotionally many, many times by Christ, his life, the gospel, etc., but given this definition of taking "it" to heart, how much of Him have I really taken to heart. I am humbled many times at the answer, and I pray that he continues to patiently make His grace available to me to grow in the percentage of times that I can answer yes to this question instead of hanging my head in shame and frustration.

New Prayer Requests

2009-03-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

New Prayer Requests

2009-03-06T05:44:00.000-08:00

I have recently been given some new prayer requests for my new prayer requests section of the blog to the right side of the blog. This has caused me to give some thought as to how I should proceed in regards to how many prayer requests should be on the requests section and how long they should stay on there. As a rule, I have decided that MOST of the time, I will limit my prayer list to a total of ten requests that will rotate in and out depending on the specific nature of the requests and how long they have been on the requests section. There WILL be some exceptions to this, but this is to help keep this number of requests at a manageable level for those who will commit to consistently praying for the requests mentioned. I would really appreciate as many as possible taking the time and energy to lifting these requests up regularly.

Also, any time I post new requests, I will essentially notify any who have me on their blog rolls by posting NEW PRAYER REQUESTS as a new blog post title. Thanks.

Amazing lyrics

2009-02-11T21:41:00.000-08:00

"Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved...."

"From a knowledge of God's work, we shall know him."---Robert Boyle (Father of modern chemistry)

2009-02-05T09:50:00.000-08:00

The Most Important One

2009-02-03T04:31:00.000-08:00

28One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"
29"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'
Mark 12:28-30

Most of us are probably somewhat familiar with this passage. I was looking at it, and one of the things that dawned on me was the context of it. He is right smack in the midst of various interactions with the teachers of his day who were supposed to be those in the know when it came to God stuff. You can see that some had allowed their very motivations to become corrupt and others had simply bought into a fundamentally wrong understanding of God, and this was influencing the way in which they lived in a negative way to say the least.

In the midst of all this lack of true spiritual leadership, Jesus provides the little guys and gals of both his day and every generation after with a wonderful tool to use in our walk. He shines the light on our true north that our compasses must point toward. In the midst of trying to discern the right and true path to growth in Christ, we can remember to stop every now and then and look up at the unmistakeable landmark that "loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength," provides.

Freedom of Choice Act also known as FOCA

2009-01-28T18:54:00.000-08:00

Want to thank my friend Tammy for alerting me to the following link. The Dems have not wasted any time trying to pass their unbelievably bold social agenda. I am very concerned about the passage of this bill that will apparently reverse many great strides in the pro-life movement over the last 10-15 years. I'll let the web site do its job of explaining the piece of legislation. I hope you will sign the petition against FOCA. This is one more of those small bricks in the wall of influencing our country toward the direction we believe it should go.

www.FightFOCA.com

Thanks,

Free full length Case for Creator video

2009-01-27T19:53:00.000-08:00

I've been a posting maniac this month, but I suppose that's what happens when you're stuck in a truckstop with a pooter and time. Anyhoo, I've discovered another gem that I think if you get the chance to check out will be well worth your time. Lee Strobel published three groundbreaking books over the past decade or so. He has recently released DVD's with materials and interviews that have much of the same material as his books but in a much more 2009 friendly format known as a movie instead of a book. It is really well done, and I shall not rest until I can also bring you the final of the three, Case for Faith(I posted the link to the Case for Christ video about a month ago). Until I can post the link for Case for Faith please enjoy the link to the free Case for Creator.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=688111496234161611

Lee Strobel video site

2009-01-27T04:43:00.000-08:00

I plugged this one a while back, and a friend of mine recently let me know that my link to it was screwed up. I have fixed it now. This is a great resource for all kinds of amazing video clips. Please, please click on the Strobel link on the right side of the page and play around for a bit on his site by clicking on various people's names and topics. I think you will be amazed at the collection of video content on this site. Thanks.

Clarity

2009-01-21T14:58:00.000-08:00

So, you walk into the eye doctor's office and sit on the little stool. He pulls down the big white robotic looking arm of vision with the binocular looking peep holes and puts it up against your face. "Tell me which is clearer 1 or 2," he says. You choose two. Then he flips a lever and flips between two other pieces of glass within the magical binoculars of the doc, "3 or 4?" You pick three. This goes on and on until the doctor gets you as close to clarity this side of lasik surgery.

Why did I walk you through that painfully boring reminder of what it's like at the eye doc's? Because it is an analogy of the point I'm going to make about life and our perceptions about life stuff.

Sometimes our perceptions are screwed up, and we need to have the magical arm of context flashed before our eyes to help us realize how much we either have not seen or have not seen clearly. I have a few quick examples of tools that I believe can help us see things more clearly.

1.Expose yourself to different cultures.
No, I don't want you to embrace your inner native and go running around the house in a loin cloth with a spear or force yourself to eat things that belong on a science fiction movie. I am also not claiming that other cultures have some deep insight that you just don't get until you've delved into their culture. I am, however, talking about compare/contrast and the value of it. An example of what I would suggest is an exercise a friend of mine used to do. Whenever going on a long road trip through a large metropolitan area, surf the radio. Force yourself to leave it in at least 5 or 6 places on the radio dial for ten minutes each that you would normally never listen to.
Again, I am not suggesting that you will be enlightened by the content of what you hear, but that you will be able to compare and contrast what you hear with what you already experience on a daily basis.

2.Get historical
I am not suggesting that you have to love history or become obsessed with it, but G. K. Chesterton used a phrase "democracy of the dead". The idea is that when we in the current generation don't delve at all into what those who went before us thought, wrote, argued about, believed, etc., we are guilty of a great arrogance and snobbery. The ideas that are celebrated and widely accepted without question in our generation were many times pointedly criticized by previous generations. How do you know you are not simply being swept up by the current of the trend of our generation. We can often look back and see the wrong headed excesses and sins of previous generations, but hearing what they did and said can make us more likely to see our own before we are unable to do anything about repenting from them.

3.Read and Listen
Too often, in our age of mass media we get our information from people who don't actually know anything about the subject they are talking about(ahem....journalists....ahem) from people who haven't thought deeply about the subject they are speaking about(ahem....actors.....ahem). However, if we make it a point to occasionally tune into actual experts and thoughtful people within the various fields of interest, we will be more likely to be building our house on the intellectual rock, so to speak. I know it is easier for me to tune out with a bag of mental mush on the boob tube (and lord knows I still do my share of that from time to time), but we've got to develop habits about what we put into our mental mouths no less than what we put into our physical ones. Technology, although certainly a chief villain in making it easier for us to suck up the bad stuff, is also at the forefront of making the good stuff easier to access, but we still have to be pro active about it.

Hope this wasn't too preachy. Just trying to share some thoughts that I thought have practical merit.

Smooches and sunshine to all. :)

Just a few kooks....

2009-01-16T10:12:00.000-08:00

"We are skeptical of the claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged."

I'm going to start occasionally posting a handful of names that have signed an assertion titled A Scientific Dissent from Darwinism that affirms the statement I have quoted above.

This can serve as a rebuttal to those who argue that those who openly question evolution should be relegated to the kooks(usually religious kooks) section of our minds and dismissed.

I am also adding the dissentfromdarwin link to my other links on the right side of this page. Hope it is helpful.

First few kooks....

Philip Skell---Emeritus, Evan Pugh Professor of Chemistry at Pennsylvania State University, Member of the National Academy of Sciences

Kenneth Dormer---Ph. D. Biology and Physiology University of California, Los Angeles

John W. Ballet---Ph. D. Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Post-doctoral Fellowship, Harvard Medical School

Lyle H. Jensen---Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Biological Structure and Dept. of Biochemistry, University of Washington

To view more kooks, just click on http://dissentfromdarwin.org/

Join in on the brainstorm

2009-01-15T07:13:00.001-08:00

Back in November, I mentioned that we need to get involved in the political process much earlier if we are going to make meaningful contributions to the makeup of our nation's, state's, county's, and local governments. I want to delve into thinking about the many, many different ways that this can be done.

It seems to me that our first priority should be to be as informed as possible about the issues that we are going to try to influence. We need to think about this stuff for ourselves and dialogue with each other about specifics. I think we should try to limit our involvement in areas that we honestly don't have a basic understanding of ourselves until we have educated ourselves on what we are trying to influence. I, for instance, must confess a big gaping hole where the info about local politics should be.

However, I know there ARE lots of areas and issues that we probably all have a greater degree of understanding. I know that without the unfolding drama of an election that is right around the corner, this stuff (to me at least) seems a little frustrating to devote time and energy toward, but this is the kind of thinking that leaves us two years and certainly four years from now regretting that we didn't do more earlier. I'm certainly not suggesting that we become obsessed with politics because that causes its own set of problems. However, disciplining ourselves to occasionally think about it and act on our thoughts is a long way from becoming obsessed. I'll give you an example of something that occurred to me the other day.

Who are the ones that will sway future elections? It is not those who are firmly entrenched either on our side or "theirs". It is those who we probably have connections with, but for some reason chose to swing their vote the other way because of various specific reasons. Another interesting thing about these people is that in many cases they can serve as the first domino in a great many to follow. What I mean is that if you can sway the person who is vocal about their views and claims to be among this "middle" category of voters, I believe this has a much greater potential to sway many others in their sphere of influence. Therefore, one of the things I am going to try to do is to search out those who fall into this category who will engage me, and I will be bring my best persuasive stuff to the table aggressively seeking to sway them. This will simply involve multiple conversations over the next few years, but it is a small brick in the wall of trying to influence our country. I've also wondered if there are ways that we can have a greater influence on swing states that seem to always determine presidential elections. I also want to point out the coming battle before the war. The battle for conservatism being the ideological core of the Republican party instead of the Democrat lite version of ideology that has increasingly characterized many, many big names in the Republican party. If this takes hold, we have got a whole different ballgame, and quite honestly, I think this issue may very well be THE deciding factor in all the rest to come nationally.

I'm just throwing this stuff out there to provide a launching point for discussion AND action from each of us. What are your thoughts? Any ideas about moving forward? Please throw something into the mix and join in on the brainstorming. The more that contribute with their energy, time, and creativity, the more likely that we little guys and gals can actually make some kind of difference in the direction that our country takes in the years to come.

Prayer Request

2009-01-03T21:41:00.000-08:00

I would like to extend a request to any and all who read this blog to be in prayer for my friend, Russell. He was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. He has a wife and four daughters. The primary reason I am seeking prayer for a miraculous recovery here is because WE need Russell. WE is those of us who are believers. Russell has been for quite some time an example I look up to and someone whose level of surrender to Christ and service to his body is a truly rare thing. Like Paul, I think Russell would certainly much rather be absent from the body and present with Christ, but I'm hoping for his family's sake and for ours(the body of Christ's sake) that Russell will be allowed to stay because we need him. Just one of many, many examples I can give of Russell's amazing dedication to serving Christ is that even in the midst of dealing with the cancer, he is still a full time counselor for others. I know it is dangerous to put anyone onto a pedestal, but Paul encourages the believers in his letters to honor those who are great examples of service.

PHOTOS 4 U ALL

2008-12-06T06:27:00.000-08:00

Visiting with the Missippi Clan and having fun in the leaves with our cuz....

One of the sights seen from the big truck this month...

sweetwater, texas---home of a lot of big ole windmills

(Need to double click on the windmill pics to appreciate the "bigness")

Full length Case for Christ video

2008-12-02T18:15:00.000-08:00

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3473983875617762630

click on the link above to see this amazing collection of powerful arguments by top scholars

great, great stuff to use if you are having questions or doubts or are dealing with folks who are.

Tracking our Government

2008-11-03T22:43:00.000-08:00

I know everyone is totally consumed with how the election is going to turn out, but I'm already kind of thinking about the midterms of 2010. I think if I'm going to actually begin to take politics a little more seriously, it will start by getting involved way, way earlier in the process and supporting strong conservative candidates for office and getting as informed as I can reasonably get. I am starting this process by adding a new link to the blog. It is govtrack.us/ and I highly recommend that you check it out. It puts any and all info about your representatives, any bills that have been submitted, and who voted for what among lots of other great bits of info. This is the most important piece of the puzzle because they can say all they want to say, but it's the way they vote that actually deserves our scrutiny. Check it out..... I hope it's a useful tool for us all.

Overdue Pics Fix

2008-11-01T20:27:00.000-07:00

The top picks are in our new house as it is being painted and the bottom pics are from when we were still in the Clanton house.....loving the new house. Thanks for all your prayers about getting into it!

Miracle Story 3

2008-10-27T18:31:00.000-07:00

My pastor Steve McCarty was in Nicaragua with a group of his youth from a church in Nashville, Tennessee. While they were there, they began praying for a nine year old boy who could not walk. They prayed for about five minutes and nothing seemed to be happening, and just as they were about to end their time of prayer, one of the youth asked if they could just keep on praying for a little while longer. After praying for a few more minutes, the boy was healed and stood and walked. He had fallen from a tree three weeks before the youth group had arrived in this community, and the entire community was intimately familiar with the tragedy that had occurred because he was so young and told that he would not be able to use his legs again. This obviously had a powerful impact on the people of this community who now saw him walking and recognized it as a testimony of the very real power of God.

Vets For Freedom

2008-10-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

A while back I tried to start up a blog that was going to be dedicated to giving veterans a voice without being filtered through the media, but alas, it was not meant to be. I was not able to dedicate the time needed to get the word out to various vet organizations and/or PR personnel on various military bases. However, in the meantime, I discovered an organization and web site that has the largest collection of Afghanistan and Iraq vets and is dedicated to giving them a voice. This is more than my blog could have accomplished in a lifetime; therefore, I've decided to simply supply a link to this so you all can become aware of them and hear the opinions about U.S. policy directly from the vets mouths. Hope it is a useful link for everyone. The link is located on the right side of this page near the bottom of the list of available links. Just click on vets for freedom.

Help My Unbelief....

2008-09-24T19:55:00.000-07:00

This is a declaration believe it or not, but it ain't gonna begin that way....so just bear with me. Without going into details, let's just say that the uncertainty in some big stuff continues to seem to hang over our heads like a spooky looking rain cloud on the horizon. I am taking this moment in time to speak to it because of the uniqueness of this "moment in time." In this moment in time, I do not know how this will all play out. I know how we want it to play out and quite frankly, we think we know how it ought to play out. I wish I could say I've been a rock of quiet confidence, but it just is not the case. The stress has caused me to get ticked, frustrated, worried, etc. In the midst of this, what I pray is this.....Lord I do believe, help my unbelief. This belief is not necessarily that things will work out as I think it ought. My belief and my hope is in the goodness of God regardless of how things turn out. This is what I need help with. If I trust that he can make this work out as I hope, then I could be disillusioned if it does not, and if it does work out as I hope, I could potentially be trusting in the deceitfulness of riches(see Cares of this world post). I pray that He would help my unbelief in his goodness and my unbelief in his ability to work out his purposes in my life through whatever circumstances he introduces especially his ultimate purpose to remake us all in his image.

Here's the declaration: God is good all the time.

Secret Church

2008-09-20T20:27:00.000-07:00

Through a series of events that could perhaps deserve a blog post for themselves, I have discovered a wonderful resource for myself and all others who desire to study the Bible thoroughly and intensely. It is http://www.secretchurch.org/

This is a pretty fascinating phenomenon that is national and even global but has its roots here in the fair Birmingham Metro area. The pastor of Church at Brook Hills, David Platt, leads an intense six hour long marathon study once every 6 months or so. He has been doing this for about the past three years I believe. The topics covered include: The Old Testament, The New Testament, How to Study the Bible, Who is God, and they will be doing the fifth one this November. People travel from out of state to attend this thing called secret church from 6 PM to midnight. They have breaks every hour for coffee and food and bathroom/stretch your legs type stuff; therefore, the audio available online is actually about 4 hours in length because it only covers the actual teaching sessions. Both the audio and pdf files, that contain the same worksheets that they use in the service, are available online at the above web address for free for all. The reason it is called secret church is because the primary beneficiaries of the teaching are not those who physically attend, but it is specifically designed to be sent out to the church in third world countries who are first generation Christians and desperately need sound teaching about the most basic stuff. I highly recommend anyone with a desire to know your Bible to visit the site and allow yourself to be challenged by the solid approach to Bible study offered within the teachings.

It's GOOD stuff......

bushels of blessings to ya

Cares of this world

2008-09-07T10:18:00.000-07:00

I was recently thinking about that parable where Jesus talks about the seed, the sower, and the four different types of soil. I had some thoughts about one very specific part of this parable that I think might be worth writing about.

Myndall and I are in the midst of lots of stressful, big stuff right now, and I know of at least 8 or 9 close friends of ours who are facing some very serious, scary times in their lives that make our concerns look relatively small. It is in this context that these thoughts have emerged.

First, this parable appears in three of the four gospel accounts(Matthew, Mark, and Luke). This leads me to believe that this parable has a special significance, and Jesus even says, "Do you not understand this parable? How then shall you understand all parables?" This is a pretty powerful red flag that this is a pretty biggie to understand.

I'm just going to focus on one very specific point in the third kind of soil. The one that had thorns that choked out the life of the plant and made it unfruitful. In Mark 4:19 it states, "but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful." I think I've often interpreted this part in the past to be referring to people who just couldn't give up their pursuit of "worldly" things like the never ending quest for the bigger and better house, car, computer, tv, etc. or a hunger for power or something along those lines. I now am beginning to understand that this parable has a much more important point to make than simply chastising these problems.

When he says the worries or cares of this world, this applies to what all people deal with especially upon entering adulthood. However, it is clear to me that this does not mean to say that the cares or worries themselves cause the "soil" to be unfruitful. If this were the case we would think, "yep, it's too bad about old so and so. They would have been a great man/woman of God if they had not been sidetracked by all those terrible circumstances that played out in their lives. That stuff really derailed them from serving God."

I think that most of us inherently know this line of thinking is flawed because outside influences can't be what determines our "fruitfulness" according to our most basic understandings of the gospel. Therefore, what this passage is getting at is actually who we trust when the cares come and who we pursue when the cares leave us alone for a while. "...but the worries of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful." The great thing about our God is that he is teaching us(be it ever so slowly because I for one am a slow learner) that we work in the complete reverse of the world and its people in so many ways. Perhaps one of the most fascinating ways is that when we are in a place in our lives where a sudden storm seems to come in and overwhelm us, this is actually the place where we can find the greatest times of rest in Him because we are supposed to (slow learner) know that we are ultimately trusting in HIS ability not ours. Or another way of putting as my two year old daughter is fond of singing, "With Jesus in the boat, you can smile at the storm, smile at the storm, smile at the storm." :) I pray for my friends and believe they do the same for me. I pray that I would learn this lesson of dependence so I could be a better example of it to everyone. I pray that we would all pursue Christ with our whole hearts during and especially after the storm passes so that the "desires for other things" would exit out instead of entering in.

A possibly encouraging thought is that this third type of soil did receive the word and had roots and did not wither and die early on because of tribulation. It seems to me that each type of soil is progressively closer to the desired type of soil which is "good" soil that is deep and rich and free of thorns that strangle the life out of it. I hope that by the grace of God and the work of His Holy Spirit in our lives we are just around the corner from entering into a place of fruitfulness for those we encounter's benefit and for His glory.

THE ONLY THING

2008-09-01T04:57:00.000-07:00

The only thing I see are the clouds
The only thing I hear are the doubts
The only thing I feel is the pain
The only thing I taste is bitterness

The only thing I see is a ray of light
The only thing I hear is a small, tender voice
The only thing I feel is comfort
The only thing I taste is forgiveness

The only thing I know is the Word
The only thing to accept is the Truth
The only thing we deserve is judgment
The only thing we need is Him

The only thing He died for was you
The only thing keeping you from Him, the same

Miracle Story 2

2008-08-13T06:28:00.001-07:00

I've told this one on another blog I wrote but thought it needed to be posted on this blog because it is so powerful.

This is a bit of a romantic miracle....Andrew and Juliana met but were soon separated and living in different countries(Ju in Brazil and Andy in the States). They called, wrote, and sent packages to each other over about 8 to 9 months time, but about 6 weeks into the relationship, Juliana prayed for God to confirm if Andrew was "the one" for her by having him send in his very next email the passage of Isaiah 61:1-3 since it had a great significance for her. The very next day, Andrew, not realizing he was doing anything unusual or special, sent an email with Isaiah 61:1-3 centered on the email in large green font. It was the first time he had begun an email with a scripture passage rather than a salutation!

1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; 2to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD and the day of vengeance of our God;to comfort all who mourn, 3to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes,the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting so they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

Isaiah 61:1-3

Please visit the link to their blog, Jernigans, about their current ministry in Ghana serving in a medical clinic as well as sharing the gospel at every opportunity.

Revisiting Steven Curtis Chapman

2008-08-13T06:08:00.000-07:00

these are the lyrics from his song called Savior

"Well who is this angry man I see in the mirror looking back at me? It's a man who's tired, a man who's weak..... it's a man who needs a savior.

And who is this fearful little child crying out for home, lost in the wild? With a lonely heart that's fading fast.... it's a child who needs a Savior

And what is this longing in my soul that I get so scared and angry? I need more than just a little help. I need someone who will save me...Come and save me. I need someone to save me. Who will save me? Come and save me

And who is this one nailed to a cross who would rather die than leave us lost? He's come to rescue us, come to set us free. Hallelujah, hallelujah! It is Christ the Lord...our Savior"

Obama's Media?

2008-08-06T19:09:00.000-07:00

The New York Times' refusal to publish John McCain's rebuttal to Barack Obama's Iraq op-ed may be the most glaring example of liberal media bias this journalist has ever seen. But true proof of widespread media bias requires one to follow an old journalism maxim: Follow the money.
Even the Associated Press — no bastion of conservatism — has considered, at least superficially, the media's favoritism for Barack Obama. It's time to revisit media bias.
True to form, journalists are defending their bias by saying that one candidate, Obama, is more newsworthy than the other. In other words, there is no media bias. It is we, the hoi polloi, who reveal our bias by questioning the neutrality of these learned professionals in their ivory-towered newsrooms.
Big Media applies this rationalization to every argument used to point out bias. "It's not a result of bias," they say. "It's a matter of news judgment."
And, like the man who knows his wallet was pickpocketed but can't prove it, the public is left to futilely rage against the injustice of it all.
The "newsworthy" argument can be applied to every metric — one-sided imbalances in airtime, story placement, column inches, number of stories, etc. — save one.....

To see the full article in investor's business daily please click the link below.

I'm not going to add any commentary on this one. I think it speaks pretty clearly for itself.

http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=301702713742569

See below for answer to the Word experiment

2008-08-02T13:07:00.001-07:00

Word experiment

2008-07-27T14:22:00.000-07:00

Give a quick response to all of the following questions and see what you come up with. I will give an answer to each on my following post that may surprise folks......P.S. nope, I didn't come up with it, this is an experiment that I listened to in a talk given by Peter Kreeft--professor of Philosophy at Boston College.

1. Name the living person who has had the greatest influence on your life.
2. Who are you?
3. What is God like?
4. What is the church?
5. What is the church’s gospel?
6. What is truth?
7. What is the meaning of life?
8. What is death?
9. What was the last command of the last apostle?

Remember try to give quick responses. I know that's crazy hard on some, but limit yourself to about 15 seconds to respond to each question. It's not so much to test you, but to make a point.

no cheating......

are you sure you tried to answer all the questions before looking?

last chance to go back and try to answer them for yourself before looking at the answers.....

ok, here we go.....

Answer: Christ

1. Did you not think of him as a living person?

2. Christ lives in me

3. In Christ all the fullness of God dwells

4. Christ’s body

5. Christ in you the hope of glory

6. I am the way, the truth, and the life.—Christ

7. I am life.—Christ John 14:6

8. to live is Christ and to die is gain—more Christ

9. Jesus Christ, this is the true God and eternal life---little children keep yourselves from idols.

Just a clever way to remind us how much we are called to revolve our ENTIRE life around Jesus, and how far short of that we all fall(I don't think I answered Christ on a single one).

I pray He transforms our minds.

Sayings I'll miss

2008-07-19T12:28:00.001-07:00

"Daddy gonna buss you up."

"Daddy, can you come here a second?"

"How bout...."

"Ina(I want to) touch the butterflies."

"Daddy read."

"Squeeze the daddy."

"Daddy/mommy silly."

"Ready, Go, Set!"

"Ina color chalk."

"Ina swing."

"Ina swim."

"Ina see gamma."

"Dere's Elijah!"

Your Pics Fix

2008-07-19T12:12:00.000-07:00

Jesse M. Guy

2008-07-15T21:57:00.000-07:00

"We are always some mix between the influences of who we were ten years ago and who we want to be ten years from now."

Just choice or no choice?

2008-07-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

Certainly there are things in our lives that deserve to be placed into one of the two above categories. Things that are simply a choice we make in the course of our lives, or things that we have no choice about at all. An example of the first would be perhaps the color of the first paint we choose to paint on the walls of our first abode, and the second could perhaps be the country we were born in that determined in large part how many fun filled choices we would be given the opportunity to make in our lives.

However, I believe we are far, far too quick to place many things into one of these two categories. One example of this is homosexuality or sexual identity or identity in any sense. There are often two schools of thought that drift in and out of how we choose to deal with questions of how choice interacts with identity. You are what you do, or you do what you are.

No one believes that a person's gender or race is determined by choice, and these factors greatly affect what a person's identity is. However, a person's identity is not solely based on genetically predetermined factors. Who a person is, is also determined by their beliefs and attitudes. It is true that we all have environmental factors thrust upon us that we have no control over, but is it not also true that we can control what we choose to believe about what those experiential influences mean to us? Can we not affect the direction our lives take by what our beliefs and attitudes are in regard to any genetic predispositions or environmental influences? Therefore, a person's choices can and do affect what their options are in the future to some extent. I know that there are some who would say that sexual identity is as engrained as race or gender. It is important to understand that this is a belief no less than my belief that homosexuality is immoral and is not a predetermined path. We both choose which belief to espouse and this will impact our identity in the future. Beliefs chosen are often like snowballs on the tops of snow covered mountains. If you allow them to roll far enough down the hill, they will create an avalanche that only a miracle can stop the momentum of. This is why it is wise to give serious consideration to what we choose to fully invest ourselves in. The beliefs that we choose to fully invest our lives around are more accurately called convictions and will sway our identities more than mere casually held beliefs to be sure. I say that those who "believe" that sexual identity is as engrained as race or gender is only a belief because that is true. Even in the secular world, this is an established fact. In spite of media reports that muddy the waters(the 1993 story about the 'gay gene' is one of my personal faves) and activist political groups that would try to make it sound like the civil rights movement part deux, the FACT is that this belief about gayness not having any meaningful choice attached to it at all is exactly that, a belief. My point here is not to defend the equally silly notion that someone perhaps wakes up one day and decides to be homosexual, but simply to show that identity is one of the things in our lives that may appear at first glance to be either simply a choice or from another perspective seem that there is no choice to made because "that's just who we are." The truth lies somewhere in between. Although there are a complex mix of genetic, environmental, and experiential influences that contribute to our identities, sexual or otherwise, there will always also be a meaningful role for choice as well that is woven into our lives. I believe my ultimate conviction is that God is ultimately the only one who truly and completely knows both what our identity is here and now and what identity He will give us if we yield to Him.

Daddy/Daughter week....

2008-07-15T20:09:00.000-07:00

Spent a lot of time with mommy and Elijah too, but this was a special week especially for daddy and Ella. We got to hang out a lot more than we usually do during the week and a half off that I was blessed to be able to take off from work. It was special. I'm having family withdrawals now but it was a great week and a half.

Steve Gallagher...

2008-07-10T20:26:00.001-07:00

"God did not call us to success. he called us to faithfulness."

Freedom and a pure life

2008-07-10T19:36:00.000-07:00

It's time to highlight another incredible person/persons for anyone checking out the ole blog.

Pure Life Ministries is a ministry started by Steve and Kathy Gallagher. Steve had what he refers to as a sexual addiction. His story is intense and is worth checking out if you ever get a chance.

If you visit their web site, purelifeministries.org you will immediately be greeted with 3 amazing statistics.

1. 50% of Christian men are addicted to pornography
2. 20% of Christian women struggle with pornography
3. 47% of families said that pornography is a problem in their home

These stats represent a dirty little secret in the church. Sexual immorality is a serious problem for professing believers and not enough is being said or done about that fact. I have struggled intensely in my life with lust and am not in any way stating these facts as someone who is above it looking down on those poor, pitiful souls affected by it. I am talking about it because I know first hand how much damage it can and does do. I long to live in an ever increasing spiral of freedom and purity not in an ever deepening spiral of bondage and depravity.

Pure life ministries is the single greatest resource I know of to point to for fellow seekers of a life of purity.

Ironically, the key to purity is NOT to think of it simply in terms of sexual sin. Purity or the lack thereof is spiritual, and it is spiritual purity, not just sexual purity that we are called to as believers. This is the strength of pure life ministries. They know this secret. Spiritual purity is synonymous with the degree to which our lives genuinely REVOLVE around Christ. Because this is the case, even if you personally do not struggle with some form of sexual immorality, I highly recommend checking out the web site. They also have a podcast if you have itunes. Simply type in purity for life podcast into the search bar of itunes and you can subscribe to their weekly "audio magazine" for free. Their podcast is full of invaluable insights for ANYONE seeking the purity of a life fully consumed with Christ.

The following is a snippet from their show. Steve Gallagher is sharing an overview of principles that he counsels pastors to put into place in their church to be proactively prepared for the ongoing issues that will arise when a pastor chooses to try to begin combating the forces of sexul immorality that are ravaging so many people within the church.

FREEDOM

Foster an atmosphere of truth and honesty

Renounce sin from the pulpit

Educate your congregation about proper and improper sexuality

Establish and encourage men’s ministry

Disciple those in need

Offer restoration for fallen church leaders and members

Model godly character in consecration

May 4, 2008 Purity For Life podcast 2nd segment

Just a lil funny for ya...

2008-07-04T21:35:00.000-07:00

double click to zoom in on the cartoon

Miracle story

2008-06-27T21:18:00.000-07:00

This seems like a pretty good time to implement another new part of my blog which will be making a regular appearance. I plan to share first hand witness accounts of people I know and trust and their first hand accounts of powerful miracles that God has allowed them to experience. I know that stories you hear of and read about in media outlets may be easier to at least harbor some doubt as to the truthfulness of the stories, but these are people whom I trust intensely and know well enough to trust in their truthfulness. I hope these stories, as I present various accounts occasionally in the future, will spur you on to consider asking around to discover the people within your own circle of friends and acquaintances that have stories like these to share and can be used to strengthen our faith and challenge the unbelief of ourselves and others.

10Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
11Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.
12Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. John 14:10-12

Steve McCarty was my pastor in Trussville, Alabama. Before he was a pastor there, he served at a church in Nashville, TN as youth pastor. They took a trip to Nicaragua to do some missions work there. He witnessed some amazing things on that trip. This is just one of the stories he has shared with me.

He was praying for a man who was blind. The man had milky white cataracts that covered his eyes, and as Steve prayed, he began to see the milky white film clearing up. Suddenly, the man said, "You're a white man!" Steve continued praying and said that the milkiness had cleared even more by the time they left the man's house, and he had limited sight that seemed to be continuing to improve.

Chow for now my main chickens

Elijah, Elijah, and mo Elijah

2008-06-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

More to come...

2008-06-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

Elijah Aiden 6:44 PM 7 lbs 3oz. 19 and 3/4 inches