New Post on BASIC Blog

 Some time ago, I started a ministry to homeless people called BASIC.

BASIC Stands for "Believing And Serving In Christ". I started a blog over there that I used to propagate our prayer list, and to provide updates to the ministry's supporters. I would also post theological posts over there, including sermons and lessons I've done other places. now I'm in the middle of a series on the topic of Salvation.

it will be a multi part series, here's the first post:

https://basicorlando.blogspot.com/2023/03/brothers-what-shall-we-do-salvation.html

go and check it out, tell your friends.

Just A Little Grace...

That's a line from a song, "Grace" by "The Choir" a band first introduced to me by Terry Davis while he was the youth minister at Westside Christian Church in Jacksonville. I tell you all this because I've been listening to this song since the summer of 1992. It was part of a mixed tape Terry created (copyrights included) for the summer. More than almost any other song on the album, this one has stuck with me. Go on,take a listen and read the lyrics:

  Lyrics from Genius.com:

Grace Lyrics

 

[Verse 1]

 

Screaming at the newsman Telling him to take it back I'll sue him if he won't retract Crying to the hangman Begging him to render slack If I could, I would go back

 

[Chorus] Will you extend me Will you extend me grace? Just a little grace Will you extend me Will you extend me grace? Just a little grace

 

[Verse 2] Were you talking to the shrubbery? Did you cut the roses down? Someone oughta till that ground You thought I had a pure heart, well I thought you were an angel, girl Mercy is the silver pearl

 

[Chorus] Will you extend me Will you extend me grace? Just a little grace Will you extend me Will you extend me grace? Just a little grace My mother deems me ever dear I'm less a liar than sincere

 

[Guitar Solo]

 

[Verse 3] When you cut me in the alleyway You don't have to turn that knife I'll suffer in the afterlife Praying to the Father Sorry, did I grieve the Ghost? You're the one I love the most

 

[Chorus] Will you extend me Will you extend me grace? Just a little grace Will you extend me Will you extend me grace? Just a little grace You gotta give me You gotta give me grace Just a little grace Will you extend me Will you extend me grace? Just a little grace My mother deems me ever dear

I wish I could take you on a mental journey back to 14 year old Me, figuring out the world. I was high on the love of God, and the youth group at Westside had my back. I cannot emphasize to you the importance of "belonging" to a young man of that age, but I will say this again: This song has stuck with me, it helped me understand that I existed as a person right where I belonged. I knew it was an important song then, but I didn't know how important it would be to me now. First, let's look at it's stucture. I took the song as a pastiche of several of Jesus' parables about Grace. Notably, I believe we're given a scene of people, some refusing to show grace, others begging for grace, and the point is the question that keeps being asked: "Will you extend me grace?" In the first part of the song, I think the question is being asked to people like you and me. Will you give me grace? I think the implied rhetorical answer is "usually not." This brings us to the second part. The People (Church) who are rhetorically answering "No" in part one, are now under attack, and they are asking "Will you extend me Grace" to the Lord. The rhetorical answer is supposed to be yes, as emphasized by the begging line: "You gotta give me grace". There is danger is obliging God to do anything, it's far better to trust God to keep his Word, and listen to Him. Here's how the Lord commands us to be in matters of Grace and Forgiveness:

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Matthew 18:21-35 ESV, copied from Bible Gateway

This is really kind of a simple parable. If you call out to God for forgiveness, you must expect to forgive others too. We can't earn the forgiveness we beg God for, but we can be grateful for it. If we're grateful for the grace we've received, we will show it in kind. That is all. Enjoy the music! Show some grace. No I don't know why the album date is 1993, and I know for a fact we had that song on a mixed tape earlier than that. the only thing i know is that Terry Davis is The Man.

June 12, 1988

Every decision you make alters the course of your life. Some are more significant than others. What I ate for lunch today is probably insignificant, but it could be. I don't know. I can't know how significant something that trivial may be in my life. There are decisions, however, that are significant, and that I can make them knowing they are significant, that they will change me and affect me for the rest of my life.
Many of these significant decisions are choices that are constantly being made. For instance,  I choose every day to remain faithful to my wife and family. I choose to go to work, and i choose the route i take to get there. All of these choices can profoundly affect me,  and i make them knowing this. One choice i made,  i made a long time ago. It seems long ago at least, although, sometimes it seems like yesterday.
On Sunday morning, June 12, 1988, I made a choice. It is a choice I've made every day since. I chose to follow Jesus of Nazareth. He is the Christ,  promised to crush satan's head,  defeat death in resurrection,  and clothe me with His righteousness when I was baptized in His name.

It's a choice that has often sobering and dire consequences. It's a choice that is never not joy-bringing,  and peace-making. I don't fear many things others do but i am afraid for the souls of some.

Every day i choose LIFE in Jesus!

What a choice!

Easily Distractible

In the teachings of "The Sermon on the Mount", a couple of things have always stuck out to me. First: The whole thing ends with the admonition to do the things written in it and not just hear them. We sing the song about wise men, foolish men, building houses, and tell each other to "build our house on the Lord Jesus Christ" but the verse has narrower application than just being like Jesus. Specifically, we are told to DO the things just mentioned in chapters 5, 6, and the previous part of 7. We can't have a life with a firmly built foundation if we don't love our enemies, if we don't control our senses, if we constantly worry about everything. This Sermon isn't meant to be known, or merely heard, it's meant to be practiced.

The second big thing that has always stuck out to me has to do with how we handle the non-believer's favorite passage of scripture: Matthew 7:1-5.

7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

--Matthew 7:1-5, ESV.

We're not to judge, but the focus, instead of being externally non-judgmental, is placed on becoming internally holy. We are not to condemn others, because we know what to do, and we don't do it, so start doing what Jesus has commanded, then we might understand how sin has trapped people. We all have a problem. Everyone, and I mean everyone, has that plank Jesus talked about in Matthew 7:3-5. Believers, non-believers, back-slidden and "Saint", our sinfulness has distorted our perception to the point where we are ever seeing but never perceiving. Further, our lack of discernment in our own lives can influence how others receive our message. People refuse to believe that the grace of God saves us if we never show grace. People don't accept God's love, because they don't see God's love in us. Furthermore, if we ourselves don't take care of the sin in our lives, it cheapens the Gospel in the eyes of those still caught up in the world, the pigs and the dogs.

Because we are crippled in our ability to perceive our flaws, we are susceptible to casting our pearls before swine. That's why Jesus' command to not judge is immediate followed by a command to be very judging.

⁶ Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

--Matthew 7:6, ESV
The Gospel is for everybody, Jesus' love is for everybody, but there is a difference I think between the believer and non-believer. The great temptation of modern Christianity is to presume that since everyone wants to be "Good Boy" that everyone's way to God is equal, and able to save. It's a common human way of thinking. In the field of computer programming, we have an expression: TIMTOWTDI. Pronounced "Tim Toady", it means "There Is More Than One Way To Do It", and it encapsulates the idea that a problem can have more than one solution. This is true when we consider things to which we can equally relate. Our reality flattens our relationships, so there becomes more than one route to along the same plane. Our relationship to God isn't like that though. There is a limited interchange between our existence and His. This is where TIMTOWTDI breaks down. There is not more than one way to get to Him because he is transcendent. We do not exist There until such time as we die, are buried, and raise again. First in baptism (Romans 6 talks about this), then in the future, when we die physically, and are given a new body in the resurrection. Finally, as we die to ourselves each day, sanctification takes us a little bit there each day.(SEEMINGLY RANDOM SIDENOTE CONNECTION: What will happen to us in the future is given greater precedence to what's happening now, what is happening now is directly related to what God did in the past, and what happened in the past was the plan all along. This is essential to my worldview)  We live for a different purpose. This is precious knowledge, and our best efforts at sharing this with others can be met with opposition because let's face it, people can be pretty horrible. Out of the same mouth comes both blesses and curses.

Sometimes it's very frustrating to deal with people who have things "Figured out man," who have deemed themselves experts in the field of religion. They quote Matthew 7:1 without hearing Matthew 7:5, much less with any consideration that they may be the pig or dog of 7:6. As we're sharing the gospel, we need to know our audience. How do they hear us? Are they dogs? Are they pigs? Many times a dog is pleasant to be around, and pigs are smart. Dogs hear without understanding, pigs eat without being filled. When you tell a dog a thing they don't understand (something like "Jesus is the only way to God"), they bark and attack: MATTHEW 7:1 YOU HIPPOCRITE! Try and give a pig real food (Jesus, after all, did say "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink."John 6:53-56), and they will turn on you "ZOMBIE/VAMPIRE JESUS IS A LIE! I FOLLOW SPAGHETTI MONSTER, HE IS THE YUM!" They mock us because they have to.
Don't give them what's sacred.
Their destruction awaits them. Until them, keep the faith you show simple: ask, seek, knock for the opportunities to share faith. Pigs and dogs are easily distractible, lead them toward God's goodness. Let them find the way, and they will remember they walk on 2 legs not 4.

Always

Always

I am always becoming
Shedding my skin
Wearing another
Losing my life

I am always becoming
Turning away
Casting out fear
Breathing in life

I am always becoming
Leading the way
Staying behind
Bringing new life

Life gave me a job
Taught me courage
Made me new
I am always becoming
Only what He will make me to be

"Every Day in Every Way"

I'm getting better and better.
These words come from a French pharmacist turned psychologist, Émile Coué de la Châtaigneraie. According to him, by repeating this statement every day, you subconsciously influence behavior and produce positive change. I believe there is some power in believing in the positive, especially for the Christian. I'd go as far as to say this is Biblical, and commanded. It doesn't come from the rote repetition of words, but from how we practice sanctification. Sanctification is where our repentance turns to positivity, when the meaning behind our action turns from "in order to..." to "because of". We read this in the Bible:
2 Peter 1:3-11

³ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to^[a] his own glory and excellence,^{[b] 4} by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. ⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue,^[c] and virtue with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. ⁸ For if these qualities^[d] are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. ¹⁰ Therefore, brothers,^[e] be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. ¹¹ For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Footnotes:

1. 2 Peter 1:3 Or by

1. 2 Peter 1:3 Or virtue

1. 2 Peter 1:5 Or excellence; twice in this verse

1. 2 Peter 1:8 Greek these things; also verses 9, 10, 12

1. 2 Peter 1:10 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters

   
   

Our lives cannot be stagnant. Jesus Christ has given us the power we need to overcome the world. We must make effort every day, and in every way to get better and better. When we gather around the table, we're renewing the pledge to make our knowledge effective, and effective knowledge makes more Christians, and makes us better and better.

Back to Bromeliads, Making Sense of Knowing Your Place

Recently, I posted about three species of bromeliads:

all three Tillandsias covered by my blog are somewhere in this picture

They are all common in Florida, especially in the Lakeland area where I live. Bet you can find some in your neighborhood.
Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides)
Ball Moss (Tillandsia recurvata)
Southern Needle Leaf (Tillandsia setacea)

Struck by their beauty, and in awe of how they lived, I listened for a deeper message. Sometimes, when you read God's word, you don't remember what you've read, until God shows you something He needs you to see, and then you will remember what you have heard or read.
These plants are not like other plants. They have a different place, and different food. Some plants live on the ground, roots deep in the soil. They have a job to do there. These plants live in trees, and their job is to be in that tree. When an air plant hits the ground, it soon begins to die. They have to stay above. People are like that, especially redeemed people.

Colossians Chapter 3 starts off like this:

1If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

We're called to set our minds on things above. We can't be down below. Just like air plants, we have to be in a different state of existence than the people who still live without Christ. To continue to exist as terrestrial plants means death for our Tillandsia, and so to, we have died in Christ and must live as something else.


Doing this isn't easy. It requires constantly pruning off that which wants to keep us down:

5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice,slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Notice that when we "put off" the old self, something new, by necessity, takes it place. Once we were rooted in the world, but when we take up the old, we must be anchored to something else. Let's remember that our anchor is to Jesus, and that we are 'being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator'.

My Confession

Scripture commands us to examine ourselves before we partake the Lord's Supper. John writes in his epistle on specific thing I think can help us understand what examining ourselves means.
1 John 1:5-10 says

⁵ This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

As I've matured being a Christian, I've learned something, it's very helpful to have someone you can talk to about the sins you still commit. I think from reading this scripture we can understand that this is what God intends. God does not want you to go it alone. Practicing this Scripture is hard though. We've come to have a negative association with 'confessing'. Let's put that to rest today. I'll go first.

I'm not going to drag out a bunch of dirty laundry, or brag on my sins or tell you about all the things I do that seem like a great idea at the time, even if I know it's not part of God's will. I will tell you about something about myself that bothers me though, and I wonder if you can relate. Jesus told a parable about dirt once, and how the quality of the dirt affected the soil. There was hard dirt where the seed could not even find a place to grow. Next was rocky dirt, and seed could sprout there, but it soon withered when the heat came on because the roots were shallow. Third was ground where weeds had taken over, and buried the good plant, choking it out. Finally there was good dirt, and a crop could be grown. Most days I wake up, and I know I'm option three. My dirt is loose, relatively rock free, but these weeds! I know exactly what Jesus is talking about when he says that the worries of this life choke out the word of God. Have you been there too? That's my confession. I worry about this life and it keeps me from stepping out on faith when I know that's what God wants me to do. These weeds didn't come about overnight, I've been a Christian for over twenty-five years now, I've had plenty of burns, marks, unrealized dreams, forgotten promises, missed opportunities. Fortunately, I also know the cure for these weeds.

The passage that we read together is part of one of my all time favorite chapters of the Bible. I want us to read the whole thing together before we take the Lord's Supper today because I'm tired of the weeds and I want to share with you how we can help pull the weeds out of each other's soil.

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— ² the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— ³ that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. ⁴ And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

⁵ This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸ If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

In the beginning of the book of 1 John we see the key to getting the weeds out of our life: we bear testimony to what has happened to us, and what we've seen God doing in the world. When we do that, We will be encouraged to make more happen, to bring forth more fruit, then we have more story to tell. We'll come back to this table prepared, not because we spoke a prayer asking God to forgive us, but because we remembered what God did this week, whether in our lives, or the lives of our neighbours. Let's pledge to God when we take the bread and cup today to tell the story of what He's doing in us!

Heat Death Vs Eternal Life

People have an enormous capacity for missing the obvious. Common sense, as it turns out, isn't, and the consequence is that people will waste their entire lives chasing after something as fleeting as beauty, or "a good time". When it comes to missing the obvious few people miss the obvious as those who profess a disbelief in the presence and person of God. The Bible says it best:

Psalm 14

1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,

there is none who does good.

2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,

to see if there are any who understand,[a]

who seek after God.

3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;

there is none who does good,

not even one.

When God looks out over us, He finds people oblivious to what they are doing. Every day we live our lives as if things are the same as they ever was. Even crazier, we say that when we are in the process of completing something we are 'making progress.' In reality we are kind of clueless about how the universe works. Things are not going to continue forever. Even the most ardent atheist believes that the universe will come to an end. While they do not believe that God has redeemed us by His son Jesus, and made us joint heirs in His kingdom, they do believe that everything stops. Literally, everything stops. The universe ends, many of them contend, when the energy level of the universe is of a uniform density, thus producing a maximum state of entropy. This even is known as "Heat Death".
Don't worry, heat death is a long way away, except between 2 and 3 pm when all I want to do is take a nap. I'm fairly certain that's the closest I'll ever be to heat death. There's plenty of energy available in the cosmos to keep us going for quite a while. One thing this does do, however, is illustrate one of the chief differences between people who believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and people who do not believe God's truth. Every morning when an atheist gets up, if he is honest, he  has to confront the fact that everything he will do on that day is meaningless. Most of them choose to pretend that what they do matters, they don't want to think about the implications of meaninglessness in their lives. They can't escape the truth though, if they are correct, there is no progress, heat death takes all that away. As Christians we have knowledge of the future through God's word:

Revelation 22:1-5

 1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb  2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.  3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.  4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.  5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

God makes this possible through the blood of His son. When we gather for the Lord's Supper, we don't have the face of the Lord before us, we have  reminder in a meal that the sacrifice has been made and the road to the kingdom is secured. Let us partake today knowing that we look forward to Eternal Life, and not Heat Death.

Look Into Your Heart

Jeremiah 17:5- 10 (ESV)

5 Thus says the LORD:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
  6 He is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
  7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose trust is the LORD.
  8 He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
  9 The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
  10 “I the LORD search the heart
and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”

Kaa the Snake in the Disney version of "The Jungle Book" sang a song, it went in part "Trust in me..." I always found his character interesting because he was weak, and his power lay in his ability to control people's minds into doing what he wanted. Usually what he wanted was dinner. He would lull people into a sense of trust so that he could devour them. Our desires can devour us. Our hearts are sick. Our hearts will tell us things to convince us we can do whatever we please. Our hearts tell us to take that first dip into sin. How bad can it be? Try it out! Everyone else is, and if you do it too, you'll fit in. It's pretty easy to suddenly find yourself trapped in a sin, or a bad habit, all you have to do is listen to your heart. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"

   Your heart will deceive you until it is changed, and it can't be changed without be changed. God has done something to us and for us to take the sickness out of our hearts:

Colossians 2:8-15

 8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.  9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,  10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.  11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,  12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.  13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,  14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.  15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

When we became Christians God gave us new stuff on the inside! When we gather around the Lord's table, we remind ourselves of the change within us. Sometimes, we need a little more reminding than others. Fortunately, our trespasses are nailed to the cross, a public spectacle and testimony to the power of God. Christ died, was buried and rose again, so that we could have fellowship with God. Let us pray today and be glad that our fellowship is with God through Christ, and Satan is powerless to use our hearts against us.

Mrs. Happy

I was sitting there in Church wondering what the scene must have been like in the Lord's presence Saturday morning. Jesus is there, and a sizable crowd has gathered some sitting and some standing, at the "pearly gates" awaiting something. I imagine that many of the faces I see are familar to me, maybe not as I knew them, but I know who they are, I've known some of these people all my life.
  Suddenly, a voice comes up from the edge of the crowd closest to the gate, "Here she comes!" As one, a great chord is struck, and crowd stands stands, faces the gates, and the crowd sings as one:

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creates here below,
Praise Him above ye heavenly host,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen"

Know that song? I've sung it after communion service in churches all over the place, even sung it in Haitian Kreyol. The first time I remember hearing it though, has been at First Christian Church of Cheneyville, La. Mrs Margaret "Happy" Tanner struck the chord every week, we all stood, and all sang it together after communion service every week. Today however, Mrs Happy is the one coming thru "the gates", she's being welcomed into the Lord's Presence. I'm so glad to have known her, and I'm on the edge of tears thinking about her.

There's no tears left for her though. She won't cry, nor does she feel pain. Her arms are better, and her heart is healed. She doesn't look the same, but we will know who she is, and as she looks around, she sees many faces she knows.

I imagine the first person she recognizes is Jesus. I imagine the embrace, and the thunder in his voice "Welcome home, my good and faithful servant". I imagine she'll see Mr Buster, big happy grin on his face. She'll see other friends, some family, and faces from the far away places, people who were saved because of the time, money, and prayers she put into the Lord's work.

It's great there.

Here we mourn.

Not as others mourn, though.
Even now, our mourning becomes a song:

Praise God from whom all blessing flow...


Edit to add, Mrs Happy's obituary can be found here: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thetowntalk/obituary.aspx?n=emma-margaret-tanner-happy&pid=165327892&fhid=17436

Brief Reflections on What I've Been Thinking About

TL/DR types Skip to the text between the line of ='s.

Once upon a time, I had an email signature that read in part:
"Philosopher, Photographer, Preacher, Pirate, Poet"

 

seems as if I've been doing very little of the above except for maybe the Philosopher bit, and a few haikus that turn up in strange places. My years of "Piracy" have prepared me for a life as a protector now, and that's primarily what I do. I've always been less of a  "Shiver me timbers" type pirate, and more of a "TCB baby, all day, in any way" kind of pirate. Preaching still happens from time to time, I use words when necessary. It seems that people are far more interested in Radio than Religion when it comes to this bit of meandering I call a blog, but then again, most people have no idea what religion really is. The philosopher in me has been disturbed recently at how everyone talks about "Getting rid of the religion in their lives", "It's all about a relationship!", and they treat religion as if it is a word that has taken on a fresh meaning of negativity. They believe that The Church as an institution has lost it's fresh grip on reality.
Fools, the lot of them. They are utterly bereft of the benefit of perspective. They can't see the nothing new under the sun they have discovered. Or maybe they are feigning ignorance for the sake of the uninformed. Perhaps I will give "Them" the benefit of a doubt!
perhaps...

This could rapidly devolve into a rant against the dispermanence that has infiltrated our subconscious. (creed: I believe humans are accepting that they are dispermanent apparitions content to exist for a short while as replicating glyphs of coalesced energy. Some of them are right, I, however, plan to be around for a long time) I didn't set out to outline the disparity between action and thought, and the hypocrisy of recording the most precious of our intimations within a medium as malleable and dispermanent as something we have ironically termed "The Cloud" (are you kidding me? Clouds disappear when it gets hot, or after a rain! watch a storm progress, as powerful as it may get, they don't take long to peter out into nothing. when a cloud is gone, there is nothing left.) What I do intend is to display how dispermanence has affected the ability of humanity to record events in a static medium that adequately captures the essence of the moment.

The short version:

=========================

 

The worse thing to happen to the art/science of photography is the digital camera.
The best thing to happen to the art/science of photography is the digital camera.

=========================
The greatest strength that digital photography gives to the user is that it makes the recording of events very cheap. Being able to record events as they happen use to cost a lot of money. I spent over $200 just on film and processing to develop the pictures I took when I was in Jordan in 2000, and that doesn't include making specialty prints, or making double copies (often I got these for free at Wolf Camera), just the film, and the processing of that film. With a digital camera, you immediately have the final product, and in a media that makes it instantly shareable with anyone who has an internet connection. Regardless of location, from shot to view is as quick as it's taken.
That's incredibly empowering.
Nothing can be hidden.

At the same time, in some ways, it's become a lot easier to create a false reality. Now that the moment has been condensed into math, it's fairly simple to change variables, and therefore inject your subjective take on the situation. Many times this is done benevolently, with the intention being to improve aesthetics or to highlight a particular aspect of a subject for education and illumination. There's nothing wrong with that, but it does make  possibile malevolent subject manipulation, even to the point of completely altering the point in history to reinforce a false narrative.

We all know you can't believe what you see on tv or the internet.
For some reason though, we have no problem trusting the internet to keep our data safe.
This problem and hypocracy needs further exploration and thought.

I want to focus for a brief second on what making something cheap and common does to the psyche of the person using it. What makes a photographer a photographer now that everyone is a photographer? What makes a story teller a story teller now that everyone tells the story?
Here is some truth:

• If everyone can tell a story, to control the story, one must make sure only one story is told, whether it is the truth or not. Sell the big lie once, to the right voice, and you immediately capture the echochamber, and perpetuate the falsehood to serve your agenda.
• If the truth escapes, you can generate many other stories, so that the truth is lost in a competing stream of lies.
• Cynicism becomes the primary lens through which we trust the information we review.

Trust has become a very important commodity, and trust is necessary before something is to be believed.

That's as brief as I can be right now.
Remember the fallen on Memorial Day.

Do You REALLY Want it All to Stop?

This is a reprise of a sermon I preached in 2007, unfortunately, the world has NOT changed for the better since. If you are like me, you wonder how much longer will God tarry. Do you pray like me, that He will send His son back soon?
I hope you will consider this message when you pray.

Do You Really Want it All to Stop?


An Adventure in Missing the Point

Text: Jeremiah Chapter 12

Intro:

No news is good news, and I'll tell you why. Every time I turn on the radio or pick up the paper, something else has gone wrong in the world. Recently storms made tornadoes in Texas, six people lost their lives, many being flung far from their houses! Hurricane season is approaching and it seems like yesterday when Sandy came to the States, and caused so much trouble. Everyday it seems like someone else is dying for what amounts to no real good reason. Have you seen the Crime coming out of Chicago? Do you ever feel like the world is broken? What about the people around you? What about the government? Why is it that Lindsay Lohan can be arrested multiple times for drugs and alcohol and spend less than 2 hours in jail, but you sleep in the bushes, and it takes three months to get a court date sometimes!?! It's messed up and I'm tired of it!

The bad news is that this is nothing new. I say it's bad news because nothing has changed as far as injustice is concerned. Things were messed up when the Bible was written, and I'll just go ahead and say that things will be messed up until they are made complete in Christ's Kingdom. No matter who is the leader, you will find injustice. Jeremiah the prophet lived in the middle of one of the most wicked times in the history of the children of Israel. There was rampant idolatry, manifesting itself in wicked practices like temple prostitution by both men and women, and child sacrifice. Even the kings of Judah, the very sons of David would engage in this horrible practice. This is what Jeremiah Says:

Jeremiah 12:1-4 Righteous are you, O LORD, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive? (2) You plant them, and they take root; they grow and produce fruit; you are near in their mouth and far from their heart. (3) But you, O LORD, know me; you see me, and test my heart toward you. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and set them apart for the day of slaughter. (4) How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither? For the evil of those who dwell in it the beasts and the birds are swept away, because they said, "He will not see our latter end."

It is important to understand what we feel when we look around at all the suffering, and I think that this passage is one of many that shows that God doesn't expect us to keep living our lives without question why sometimes. The problem I think, and that this passage will show us is that many times when we ask for Justice, we don't really understand all that that implies, and that we often get more than we bargained for. For one thing, things here are in a state of constant flux, and everyone agrees that seemingly insignificant acts can lead to something with grave unintended consequences. I think God is doing something big, but it's something that is taking a long time in manifesting itself in the world. Things really are so screwed up God is going to have to use a do-over to make it right! As we look at this passage, I want us to see one point taking shape: Because making things right means making things over, let us brace ourselves for the change to come. To understand this, we first need to realize that things are not right, and it's not fair.


point one: The question has already been asked: how can an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving God allow evil to go unpunished? Things really on the surface seem to be unfair. Jeremiah starts the passage off assuming that God is righteous, and yet he doesn't do anything about the situation. Jeremiah can see and record with his own eyes the atrocities of the people, even the leaders and priests are not innocent in the matter. First of all this isn't the first time Jeremiah has complained about evil people winning. Jeremiah 5:28 says that the wicked have grown "fat and sleek" by way of their wickedness. Read Psalms 73:1-12, or listen to this: "I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree." That's what Psalm 37:35 says, the wicked just rest themselves, go check out Job 12:4-6, and Malachi 3:14-15. Jeremiah could say much the same thing today, just listen to these recent little news blurbs:

a. The eldest member of a young trio that beat and stoned a homeless man in March of 2007 pleaded no contest to aggravated battery.

Jeremy Woods threw a punch that sent John D’Amico tumbling into a wall March 27 in Daytona Beach. The 58-year-old homeless army veteran was then pelted with rocks and bricks by two 10-year-old boys, suffering a serious eye injury.

Woods, 17, agreed to a maximum sentence of 15 months in state prison with his plea before Circuit Judge Juliane Piggotte. He will ask for less when he's sentenced Sept. 6. The two 10-year-olds are now in juvenile detention programs. (From the 13th Juror Blog)

b. A Florida judge sentenced John Evander Couey to death for the kidnap, rape and murder of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford.

Couey, a convicted sex offender, buried Lunsford alive in two black trash bags with her hands bound and her favorite purple stuffed dolphin tucked in her arms, Circuit Judge Richard Howard said. Lunsford's body was found in a grave in Couey's yard about three weeks after she disappeared. (From Fox News)

Jeremiah wants to see the bad guy get theirs! He screams out in prayer, aloud to God, and on paper so that we can read it today. He asks God to set them apart for the day of slaughter because even the very land the wicked inhabit cry out against them. Today, I think it would be wise for us to pray like Jeremiah prays here, to pray to God to make things better soon, because it is so hard to stand. Also, I don't think we will be ready to hear God's answer to Jeremiah until we express the disgust in our souls.

     Good Lord, your righteousness is from everlasting to everlasting. You see all, and not even a simple sparrow dies on this earth without you knowing about it and allowing it. Father we ask you to no longer let the unrighteousness go unpunished. We ask you to bring judgement on those who continually do us harm. Do not delay in bringing judgement Father, our hearts are heavy, and we feel sick. In Jesus' Holy Name we Pray, Amen.

Remember we are going to learn today that making things right means making things over, so we need to brace ourselves for the change to come. When I am honest to God about how I see things, it helps me get ready for how God responds to me. God's response is shocking in this case.


point 2: If we are going to pray bold prayers, we can expect God to answer boldly. Many of you missed my sermon called "shirt, tie, and mohawk" but in it I mentioned that Jesus likes to mess with us a little bit. In that sermon we saw Jesus messing with a blind man by rubbing dirt into his eyes and telling him to go wash! He gets that trait from God. God messes with people and in this text, he messes with Jeremiah by telling him that things are only going to get worse. Listen to the next part of the passage:

Jeremiah 12:5-13 "If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you are so trusting, what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan? (6) For even your brothers and the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you; they are in full cry after you; do not believe them, though they speak friendly words to you." (7) "I have forsaken my house; I have abandoned my heritage; I have given the beloved of my soul into the hands of her enemies. (8) My heritage has become to me like a lion in the forest; she has lifted up her voice against me; therefore I hate her. (9) Is my heritage to me like a hyena's lair? Are the birds of prey against her all around? Go, assemble all the wild beasts; bring them to devour. (10) Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard; they have trampled down my portion; they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. (11) They have made it a desolation; desolate, it mourns to me. The whole land is made desolate, but no man lays it to heart. (12) Upon all the bare heights in the desert destroyers have come, for the sword of the LORD devours from one end of the land to the other; no flesh has peace. (13) They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns; they have tired themselves out but profit nothing. They shall be ashamed of their harvests because of the fierce anger of the LORD."

Remember, today's sermon title is "Do You Really Want it All to Stop?" Listen to what happens to the children of Israel because of their sin. It's horrible! Consider Jeremiah, he didn't escape the wrath, he was a part of it all, all the suffering in Jerusalem, all the famine, all the killing. He was even kidnapped and sent to Egypt with some Jewish rebels. I really wondered when I studied this book, if Jeremiah would have run away sooner if he had really known he was going to be in the middle of it. Part of being a person who calls on people to repent is being with that people when they suffer, and suffering alongside of them, so what are you going to do? The little things affect big things: Consider what happens when the gov't JUST changes the mortgage interest rates. Stocks fall, houses go cheap, people lose their jobs, everyone panics! We want God to bring Justice, but let us consider what it would take to punish all the rebellion that's been going on since man started living in rebellion. I do rest, and comfort in one thing though: God fully intends to bring judgement. Revelation six nine through eleven says:

Revelation 6:9-11 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. (10) They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" (11) Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

For the nation of Israel, God tells them that he plans on abandoning the temple in Jerusalem. This is significant to the people of Israel, it is, after all, what made them special. They had God with them! No longer would that be the case. God will bring about His punishment in his own time, and when he does, it is complete. I want to know why God Doesn't do it now though, I think I can find some pretty good reasons why not in the scriptures, especially in the New Testament: He wants To Bring the unrighteous to repentance:

2 Peter 3:1-10 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, (2) that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, (3) knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. (4) They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation." (5) For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, (6) and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. (7) But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. (8) But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. (9) The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (10) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

He also wants to keep His true people from stumbling and living in constant fear, think about Christ's parable about the wheat and the weeds:

Matthew 13:24-30 He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, (25) but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. (26) So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. (27) And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?' (28) He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' (29) But he said, 'No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. (30) Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"

Also, I think God withholds his judgement because He wants to teach us about loving our enemies:

Matthew 5:43-48 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' (44) But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (45) so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (46) For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? (47) And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? (48) You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Sin is God's enemy. God will destroy His enemy completely. He desires us to restore ourselves with our fellow man because that's part of missing the point. Sin is what's wrong, and it is the sin that must Go! When we ask God to bring His justice fully and completely to this world, as we did earlier, we are really asking that He takes all the sin out of the world.


point three: I trust this will happen, over time, because this world is proof that God takes His time. As we continue learning that we must brace ourselves for the change to come, we need to remember that things are really screwed up, and that they are only going to get worse. This is good news, because even in the midst of all this evil, we can accept the lessons God is trying to teach us, and that God will bring us back to Him. Listen to what God says at the end of Jeremiah Chapter twelve:

Jeremiah 12:14-17 Thus says the LORD concerning all my evil neighbors who touch the heritage that I have given my people Israel to inherit: "Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. (15) And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. (16) And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, 'As the LORD lives,' even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. (17) But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the LORD."

God's punishment in this life is meant for one reason only I think, I think it's to bring purity. God tells the lukewarm Church of the Laodiceans in Revelation the third chapter: "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent." We would do well to heed that advice. If we do so, God will bring us to our heritage. God's children have a heritage and God will welcome us in it. God even tells the Israelites about us all. Listen again: "and it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, 'as the LORD lives,' even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be bult up in the midst of my people." God has a two fold invitation: that was His invitation to follow God and live. God also has an invitation to destruction: "But if any nation will not listen, then I wil utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the LORD."

Conclusion: Either way, brace yourself for the change to come. Expect judgement, if you will continue to live in disobedience. God will find you. You cannot hide. God did not spare the Israelites, not even one escaped judgement. You won't either. God will burn the sin out of you when the time is right. I want to live. I want you to live too! I would rather have my sins washed away than burned away. God may promise the judgement for the future, but He promises salvation today for all who will seek Him. We all know that the world is messed up. We know that things are going to get worse. We also know that God will take us back inspite of all we have done to offend Him. Don't miss the point: Because making things right means making things over, let us brace ourselves for the change to come. Seek God out with me today, and do not allow yourself to be caught unprepared for the holiness of God to overtake you.

Storm Season

Already we have had four named storms in this 'average' hurricane season.
How strange!
It's like the weather is unpredictable. Truth is, it's better and more profitable to prepare for the storm than to guess when and where it's going to strike. I live in Florida! There's going to be hurricanes. Preparation over prediction.
There's a time and a place to practice preparation, and this weekend is a perfect example of why preparation is important.

Debby popped up in the gulf just in time for Amateur radio field day. Every summer, during the last full weekend in June, ham radio operators make it a point to showcase their skills operating under simulated emergency conditions. Ham radio is a hobby with a point, and that point is to be available to provide emergency communications whenever and wherever necessary. You can't predict when an emergency occurs, you can only practice and prepare. Still it seems like some people would rather spend their time speculating, or even denying that the storm is coming.

I think people treat their faith in a similar fashion. Instead of preparing themselves to meet God in judgement, they either spend their time guessing when and how the judgement day will come, or they speculate that it's still a long way off. This is foolishness because judgement is coming, and God's requirements are plain: be perfect, or be forgiven, or be condemned. I don't want to be condemned by God, and it's too late for me to be perfect. All that remains is to be forgiven. That's why we partake in the Lord's Supper. 1 Corinthians 11:27-32 says:

 27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord.  28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.  29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.  30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.  31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged.  32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

God calls us to judge ourselves now, to examine ourselves and to ask: How did I honor the covenant I made with God when I was baptized? Did I proclaim the Lord's death on the cross? Did I honor his broken body?

That's your preparation, and as you eat the bread, and drink the cup, you will be prepared, or you will be judged.

Psalm 46

46 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
Selah

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah

8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah


English Standard Version.
Thank you Bible Gateway!

Psalm 46 is this week's Psalm in my lil' prayer journey.

So many layers to go through with this, let's think for a minute.
Nah,
Not going to think, I'm going to trust, intentionally trust that what I perceive is known and appreciated by God, my Refuge and Strength.
I need some this week.
People that I know and love need refuge and strength.
Pray this Psalm with me today.

Time

Press play, read blog:

So I've been trying to make a point to blog and read every day, and sometimes, I start, and never finish an article, sometimes it takes more research, and I work on something for months before releasing, just because I'm doing this in my free time, but free time isn't something I really have, every minute is spent doing something, and it's only a matter of priorities. What's more important, maintaining my body, or maintaining the connection between my spirit and body, I mean, I see the trap of dualism so easily, but when I regard things from a strictly Biblical perspective, I can't acknowledge that there is a split. There is flesh, there is spirit, and they feed each other, one side just happens to like little debbies more than ideas.

I try to make my flesh submit, but I've had this idea that self-control is a focused "No" when in reality, my spirit has known that self-control is more a focused "Do". Now, in Morse code, the difference between D and N is one dit, so I'm not surprised something got lost in translation. The Stream will not allow for a QSM, it's dislinear and valve-like in relevance and manifestation.

my watch is broken, how can I run intervals if my watch is broken?
Just saying

There's Strange and There's Providence

...and there's business as usual.
This is a little of all of the above.
Recently a Friend (see previous post for discussion on friendship) made a blog post about meeting a murderer. He's all the time doing crazy things.
Part of my Theology begins with the following assumptions:
There's Strange
There's Providence
and
There's Business as Usual.

I'd say that for Matt, his post illustrates all three. It's strange because these folks were just standing around talking, it's providence because Matt was right there, at the right time, with the right word, and it's business as usual because this isn't the first time Matt's had this conversation about Gospel presentation style, I have proof!
Here he is, circa 1999 (Maybe early 2000) talking to a member of "The Bible Baptist Church of Deland":

That's Matt on the left, with the backpack. Matt was feeding the homeless in downtown Orlando, sharing with them the Gospel, and some sack lunches. Often we would be able to have conversations with folks in Downtown. On Friday nights, these guys would be out there with a similar message to Brother Jed and Brother Micah in Matt's blog post.

The Passage is Enough...

Communion meditation 7/31/2011

1 Corinthians Chapter 10
1 I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. "

We're either all together, or we're missing the point.

String Theory, Bayou Rat Style...

The universe exists in spite of Inertia...
That is a blessed finger in the eye of materialism.

Inertia tears at me again.
Ugh.
I get to a point where I'm just doing the same things over and over again, until one day, something gets neglected, and not picked up again.
Inertia. It kills me slowly day by day. Until a week goes by, then a month, then a year, then two years, then ten years.
Inertia. I can't stand it, but then again, I can't stand not having that next Soda, or that next candy bar. Give me the sugar buzz.
Inertia.
Leave the mess alone, just let it be, this other mess needs cleaning first (and more often), little by little, I'm crowded out until it spills over into whatever I'm doing.
Inertia is fear.
fear is the mindkiller.
Inertia is the enemy.

How can I deal with this inertia? How can I grow?
I'm pondering my cucumber vines. They are getting long, when they get the right amount of sun, water, and nutrition, they grow well, and fast. Then, all of a sudden, one day, the vine starts to lose leaves at the bottom. The end keeps growing, but if the end stops growing, the vine dies. Death catches up.
The cucumber feels the effects of inertia.
I suppose there are several stages of growth, physical growth, mental growth, spiritual growth. The inertia of any one can carry over to the next, so I learned a new skill, one that will help me physically develop some dexterity and keep my fingers moving, one that will help me mentally by keeping my mind focused on one task while monitoring all the rest (my mind is a skattagun folks, hence the blog name) of reality, and it is one that will help me spiritually by keeping me connected to the lessons of the past, and how great lessons subtly reveal themselves to you over time.
"I'm just tyin' a square knot over and over, right over left left over right..."
Grandpa's words trailed off at the sight unfolding before me.

There was a beltbuckle, and string. Nylon string. He was making a belt, by hand. I was somewhere around 10 or 11 and my mind was fascinated by it. The belt took shape over the next week. When he was done, he gave it to me, sometimes I still wear it.
Somewhere in that is a lesson in patience. It's up to you to learn it.
Recently, his words echoed in my mind when I gained a new insight into something his son(my Daddy) told me once on the subject of knots. More specifically, it was on the subject of the hangman's noose.
We were going somewhere with some purpose in mind, and I had a bight of some small diameter unremarkable cordage in my then teenaged hands. I was trying to figure out how to tie a noose. For some reason it fascinated me, but I couldn't quite understand it. When my dad asked me what I was doing, I replied honestly that I was trying to tie a noose.

He took the cordage and quickly tied the noose, telling me something that often echos in my brain:
"Most people don't understand what they see"
wow. That's so patently obvious I couldn't appreciate the depth and beauty of the statement.
At the time, I took the advice at face value, and applied it to the knot. He gave me the proper lecture about not tying a noose with 13 loops, and about how the knot was more useful than people think, pointing out how it could be used in fishing, and other applications. Now I look upon his advice with new eyes. Most people don't understand what they see. A lot of times I don't understand what I see. I wonder if you do.

When I see something a lot of times it takes me a minute to figure out that what I'm seeing is a chance. Sometimes I see a chance to mess up, others a chance to do something great and powerful. I'm slowly training myself to see every chance as a chance to do right. I want you to think about this for a minute. Every chance you take, is a chance to do right. My friend, the grey is an illusion. There is no grey, you don't understand what you are seeing.
Every choice, every chance, is a chance to do right, and sometimes, you do wrong. You make millions of choices every week, sometimes, you get the choice right, others you get the choice wrong, and most importantly, your choices interact with the choices of others around you in a way that you cannot possible have hope of perceiving. That's what's grey, the myriad decisions viewed from afar.

When you learn that you cannot perceive the consequences of your choices beyond the nearest of futures, and most immediate of contexts, inertia cannot control you. Inertia is conquored by humbly recognizing the limit of your perception. I choose to tie knots to keep from tying myself into knots.